Term time is creeping back in, the light's gone all amber and low, and suddenly everyone on our feeds is dressed like a slightly cursed literature student. Yes, we're talking about dark academia, the aesthetic of candlelit libraries, oversized cardigans and a face that looks like it's been up all night reading gothic poetry (in the best way). It's been a moodboard staple for a while, but this week it's crept off Pinterest and onto TikTok as a proper makeup trend in its own right, and we couldn't resist giving it the Jolie Beauty treatment.
Unlike a lot of our looks, dark academia isn't about drama for drama's sake. It's soft, warm and a bit rumpled, like you rolled out of a four poster bed and straight into a seminar on the Brontës. Think warm concealer instead of full coverage, a smudgy berry eye instead of a sharp wing, and a stained, bitten lip rather than anything glossy. Here's how we're wearing it this week, entirely with vegan and cruelty free bits from the Jolie shelf. 🦇
Step one: a face, not a mask
Skip full coverage foundation altogether. Dab our Second Skin Concealer only where you actually need it (under the eyes, any blemishes you're not feeling) and blend it in with the BASEBLEND Pro Makeup Sponge. The goal is skin that still looks like skin, just a touch more rested than you actually are.
Set the under eye area with the Smooth & Set Brightening Powder in Cinnamon. That warm cinnamon tone brightens without ever tipping into "porcelain doll", which is exactly the note we want here.
Step two: the smudgy scholar eye
This is where the look lives. Open the Tainted Palette and reach for the deepest plums and burnt browns. Pat a warm brown all over the lid as your base, then work a deep aubergine or wine shade into the outer corner and lower lash line with a fluffy brush, blending until there's no harsh edge left, only a soft bruised looking smudge. This should look like eyeshadow from three days ago, not eyeshadow applied twenty minutes ago.
For the liner, we swapped our usual sharp black flick for the Prime Time & Line in Muted Mauve. It's a two in one eyeshadow primer and liner, so you can smudge it straight into the crease with a brush for that just rolled out of bed haze, then use what's left on the brush to softly define the lash line. No wings, no precision, just mood.
Leave brows soft and a little undone. This is not a laminated brow moment, it's a "forgot my brow gel because I was reading Byron" moment.
Step three: a flush like you've been near a fireplace
Warm the whole look up with the Velvet Cream Blush in Crave, pressed high into the cheeks and blended up towards the temples. It gives that just been by the fire flush rather than anything sculpted or precise, which is exactly the energy dark academia runs on.
If you want the faintest hint of shine, tap the Second Skin Powder Highlighter in Dreaming onto the very top of the cheekbone. Keep it minimal. We want candlelight, not a disco ball.
Step four: the stained lip
Finish with the Eternal Lip Stain in Inferno, patted on with a fingertip rather than swiped straight from the wand. That gives a blotted, bitten in look, like you've been drinking red wine or biting your lip over a plot twist, either works. It wears down gently through the day rather than sitting there looking freshly applied, which is half the appeal.
And that's the whole look: warm, soft, a little melancholic, entirely wearable for actual lectures, libraries or just moping about beautifully in a big coat. As with everything on the Jolie shelf, every product here is vegan and cruelty free, so you can go full brooding romantic hero without a shred of guilt.
Wear it with a battered paperback and a black heart necklace and honestly, you've basically become the moodboard. 🖤 Tell us below: are you a dark academia convert, or a die hard trad goth for life?