The pros & cons of vampy makeup à la Lily Collins

It’s been a long time since Twilight and True Blood were in their prime, but arguably the best beauty trend to survive from these franchises is vampy makeup. Those eyes as black as midnight, those lips a deep, deep shade of rouge: if done well, the final effect can be completely mesmerizing. If poorly done, however, it’s…painful to watch.

We assess the pros and cons of dabbling in the dark (makeup) arts.

PRO
It’s something different. We all need a change from the typical Hollywood red lip or smoky eye once in a while.

CON
Experimentation at home essential; you simply cannot apply ’n’ go, trusting the vampy makeup you do will suit you. There’s plenty of dark, sultry shades to be played with.

PRO
It has an immediate intimidation factor. Something about those glam, gothy eyes…

CON 
Vampy makeup can make you look more like a witch than a fierce witch with a ‘b.’ It’s very easy to enter costume territory than IT’S COU-TU-WAH, DARLING.

PRO
It instantly elevates any look. In a matter of moments your average, all-black outfit becomes super-mysterious and alluring.

CON
Finding the right lipstick hue is a challenge. At their worst, dark reds appear like dried blood (and not in a good way) and/or they don’t stay on long enough and you end up with BJ lips. Moral of the story: avoid sheer lip products.

PRO
Cons aside, a perfectly executed vampy makeup can make you truly feel like an absolute vixen. And who doesn’t want to feel like that?