Anyone within range of a TikTok account has witnessed the rise of the mob wife aesthetic this year. Antithetical to'clean girl beauty' and inspired by the darkly glamorous women of Scarface, Casino, and The Sopranos (among other movies), the mob wife look is characterized by all-out opulence and maximalism. Loud animal prints, luscious (faux) furs, and flashy jewelry define the mafiosa’s wardrobe; bright lips and heavily lined eyes are her beauty staples.
Of all the ways to get in touch with your inner Connie Corleone, switching up your makeup is the lowest commitment. That said, it involves striking a balance between leaning into the aesthetic and ensuring the overall effect isn't too much. (No one wants to look like they're wearing a costume.) According to Victor Anaya, director of education and artistry at Bobbi Brown, finding that balance boils down to offsetting vampy, defined eyes with cloud skin and soft glam.
"The trend calls for a soft matte complexion, soft smokey eye, and velvet matte lip," he tells Marie Claire. "The focus is on defined eyes, sculpted cheeks, and a fuller looking lip.”
Below, Anaya describes exactly how to channel the drama of The Sopranos through your makeup(without any of the murder).
Mob Wife Lips
(Image credit: Alamy)
From deep reds to subtle nudes, most lipstick shades can channel head-of-the-table energy. Just remember the intended final effect: "The overall lip is a matte velvet lip," Anaya says.
Lips that can command a high-stakes meeting begin with a lipliner close to your natural color, but a few shades darker. "Emphasize the outer corners and cupid’s bow," the expert recommends. "Next, softly press in a matte crème lip color in the center and softly blend where it meets the lip liner." The makeup artist suggests Bobbi Brown's lip liner pencil in cocoa and the luxe matter lipstick in parkside for a mob wife lip that will also last all day.
When channeling your inner mob wife, "Eyes are the focal point," Anaya says. They're soft, smokey, and defined, like Adriana la Cerva's smolder on The Sopranos.
Anaya recommends starting with a rich, jet black liner to build definition around the eye, using a small pencil brush to blur and defuse. Next, add a mid-toned smokey brown shadow—Anaya's preferred shade is Bobbi Brown's Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick in sand dune—over the liner and onto the lid, blending and blurring the edges with a blending brush. Finally, apply a few coats of volumizing mascara, plus extra liner to frame the eye.
Don't forget the brows: Anaya suggests building definition with a brow pencil and setting with a soft wax.
Urban Decay Perversion Waterproof Liquid Eyeliner
Bobbi Brown Long-Wear Cream Shadow Stick
Makeup by Mario Master Mattes Eyeshadow Palette
Fan Fest Fanning & Volumizing Mascara
Retractable EyeBrow Pencil - Waterproof
Rare Beauty Brow Harmony Flexible Lifting and Laminating Eyebrow Gel
Mob Wife Face
(Image credit: Alamy)
On one end of the viral makeup spectrum, there's the strong contour that ruled beauty from 2016 onward. On the other, there's the dewy, natural complexion of the "clean" aesthetic. Where does mob wife makeup fit in—and which products are best for the mafiosaface?
Anaya says a Ginger McKenna-like complexion has a soft, matte finish. Bases like Bobbi Brown's Skin Long-Wear Foundation can prime your mob wife canvas. "It’s perfect for this trend because it self-sets to a modern matte finish," the expert explains.
To apply, Anaya recommends sculpting the parameter of the face with a soft bronzing powder and finishing with a soft pink blush on the high point of each cheek. (Bobbi Brown Pot Rogue in powder pink is one of his favorites.) Add a touch of concealer under the eyes to brighten, lift, and define.
Skin Long-Wear Weightless Liquid Foundation with Broad Spectrum SPF 15 Sunscreen
Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge For Lips And Cheeks
Refy Duo Face Brush
Tarte Maracuja Creaseless Concealer
Mob Wife Nails
(Image credit: Alamy)
No mob wife look is complete without a stunning set of nails. Carmela Soprano sported a classic French manicure for most of The Sopranos, after all. But if you don't have the budget for acrylics (or can't take the nail damage), considering painting your nails at home or opting for a set of press-ons.
Olive and June Classic French - Press-On
Nails Inc. 73% Plant Power Nail Polish
Meet the Expert
Victor Anaya
Victor Anaya is the Director of Education and Artistry. A professional makeup artist, he is currently based in New York City.
Other current makeup trends can be easily incorporated into the aesthetic: siren eyes, dark lip liner and bold eyebrows are peak mob wife. Long nails are yet another important staple, with shades of red and french tips being preferable.
The starting point of the mob wife look is typically a simple all-black outfit, which is then adorned with eye-catching statement pieces like lush faux-fur coats, bold jewelry, boots and even some animal-print accessories.
In millions of TikTok videos, 2024 has officially been hailed as the "year of the mob wife." The style is big, bold, and often involves a (real or faux) fur coat. There's no "quiet luxury" here, honey — a true mob wife always makes an entrance. Where TikTok goes, the rest of the world follows.
What Is the Mob Wife Aesthetic For Hair? Like the fashion, mob wife hair is elaborate. While famous mob wives in pop culture sport hairstyles ranging from fluffy blowouts and banged bobs to big, bouncy, '80s-style curls, the best way to incorporate the trend into your look is to embrace a “more is more” sensibility.
While a deep red acrylic nail was the preferred look of Miss La Cerva, the quintessential mob wife nail look will always be an extra long, extra square, extra white French tip. It was the go-to look for Carmela Soprano, Elvira of Scarface fame, and, of course, the mob wife, Big Ang.
From hair to makeup to skincare to clothing, shoes, and accessories, the clean girl aesthetic celebrated minimalism. And it worked for a long time as a trend that almost everybody embraced. With the 25 th anniversary of HBO's classic show The Sopranos, everything “mob wife” is now trending.
Janhvi Kapoor shows you how to get the 'mob wife aesthetic' right. Avoid colour clash and pastels: Keep the palette to dark and deep tones such as brown, black, maroon and deep green. Avoid clashing bright colours and embracing pastels. Remember, the idea is to look rich, without trying to hide access to wealth.
According to Trivieri, the mob wife look is for the people who don't identify with minimalistic style of the clean girl or quiet luxury aesthetic. "The whole Y2K thing felt a little younger," the New York-based content creator told the magazine, "and I think this is a little bit more mature, sexier, and bold."
And it's there in the much-discussed "Mob Wife" trend on TikTok – characterised by aforementioned fur coats and animal print, paired with stacks of gold jewellery. This is luxury at its very loudest. Alamy. Sharon Stone played the iconic Ginger McKenna in the 1995 film Casino (Credit: Alamy)
Sarah Jordan Arcuri, the self-declared “Mob Wife Aesthetic CEO,” who goes by @thesweetpaisana on TikTok, shared a video in October in which she broke down the look: all black, as much leather as possible, “your mom's fur jacket from the '80s,” gold jewelry, and sunglasses, plus an Italian designer bag.
The mob is decidedly not long, but it's also not short and has all the hallmarks of a traditional bob without locking you into a precise crop with blunt lines, says hairstylist Mara Roszak. The mob cut also has "hidden layers in it," which translates to some layering at the ends to take weight out of the hair.
DiMichele, a mother of three, was facing up to six months in prison under a plea agreement. Instead, she will be on probation for four years and will have to pay $40,000 in restitution.
Maria Licciardi was known as “The Godmother” and was hailed as the unchallenged crime boss of the Camorra (an Italian mob-type crime syndicate) in Naples from 1993 until her arrest in 2001. Maria's entire family belonged to the Camorra, as did her husband, Antonio Teghemié.
While HBO denies having anything to do with the trend, “The Sopranos” likely has something to do with it as Gen Zers seek to recreate the iconic looks of characters like Carmela Soprano and Adriana La Cerva. Like any TikTok trend, the mob wife aesthetic probably won't stick around for too long.
Key elements of the mob wives aesthetic include faux and vintage fur coats, animal prints, messy hair, heavy makeup with dark eyeliner, red or acrylic French manicured nails and lots of gold jewelry.
By Callie Holtermann. Jan. 28, 2024. It's not every day that Francis Ford Coppola deigns to weigh in on a TikTok trend. But he made an exception for the so-called mob wife aesthetic — a louche amalgamation of fur coats, leather and leopard prints that are being presented on the platform as a kind of mafiosa cosplay.
Hobby: Shopping, Table tennis, Snowboarding, Rafting, Motor sports, Homebrewing, Taxidermy
Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
