The concept of this photoshoot is based on the expression “beauty is pain”, a well-known adage and an all-too-common experience in the beauty world and beyond. Tools, techniques and procedures that we use to attain the unattainable can be chillingly powerful for some and triggering for others. We’ve taken some of those examples and amplified them through photography and makeup. The cold, sterile light, dark backgrounds and blood-curdling materials represent the inhuman side of many of the spaces where this expression continues to prove true, channeling the normalization, and even expectation, of pain to achieve the archetype of beauty.
During this moody time of year, with Halloween, Día de los Muertos and All Saint’s Day — holidays that celebrate in quite different ways those who have gone before us — we are reminded of beauty techniques that forcefully invoke the past. Some of which will carry forward into this age of self-acceptance and some of which we could do without.
Beauty editor Antonia Rosa
Make-up artist and concept Andre Fernandes using MAC Pro/MAC Cosmetics
Assisted by Federico Simão and Joana Lopes
Nails by Michael Cardoso
Photography GD2R / www.gd2r.com using Leica
Assisted by Luana Piedade and Marcel Fonseca
Production Pedro Chalbert
Featuring Marisa Cruz • Alexandre Amorim • Conceicao Rhodes • Anna Whittlestone • Marcos Hass Horn • Joana Lopes • Michael Cardoso
Text by Andre Fernandes
Special thanks to Luis and Dora at ETIC, Michaela Doyle, Guido Avelino and Thomas Probosch.
MAKEOVER
with model, actress and tv presenter MARISA CRUZ
Marisa Cruz won the Miss Portugal contest in 1992. She was the main model of Face Models, the premier modeling agency in Portugal. She was the face of the launch campaign and cover model for Maxmen magazine (Maxim Portugal). Put another way, Marisa is the picture of Portuguese beauty.
Yet in our first image, Marisa is the personification of an unattainable perfection and a reminder of the high stakes for keeping up with beauty standards. We wanted to give Marisa a completely unrecognizable look, switching from the blonde bombshell image to a cold, piercing, darker look, representing the extreme changes that women in the entertainment industry undergo to continue to reinvent themselves.
MAC Studio Fix Foundation; MAC Eyeshadows; MAC Dazzleshadow Liquid – Stars in my eyes; MAC Retro Matte Lipstick – Ruby Woo; MAC Lipglass Clear; MAC Stack Mascara.
FACE TAPE
with visual artist and accessory designer MARCOS HASS HORN
Face taping is a beauty trick involving adhesive and elastic bands to sculpt facial lines and enhance features, giving a more lifted, feminine and youthful appearance. A quick but uncomfortable and potentially risky fix, it has been popular in the drag scene for a long time, has been used by makeup artists for decades and has existed in similar iterations for even longer. It’s now making a comeback on social media as a “homemade” alternative to the famous eye lift, brow lift, fox eye surgery.
MAC Pro Paintstick – Pure White; MAC Retro Matte Lipstick – Ruby Woo; The Face Tape.
ECDYSIS
with painter CONCEICAO RHODES
Ecdysis is the scientific term for the process of shedding old skin for reptiles or moulting the exoskeleton for some insects. In the latter case, while the moulting is necesssary for growth, it leaves the creature vulnerable without its protective outer casing.
For this photo, we used a peel-off mask to stand in for other abrasive beauty treatments like chemical peels. While these processes may be a critical part of beauty routines for some, as in the natural world, they may leave you feeling exposed and raw. And the imagery is chilling in itself.
7TH HEAVEN Tea Tree Peel Of Mask
GLUED
with painter CONCEICAO RHODES
Our beautifying processes are an extension of ourselves. Psychologically, we feel our makeup helps us present our own best versions to the world. Literally, we physically extend features we already process naturally.
In this picture, we show the phenomenon of press-on or fake nails — here, like deep chasms of matte black and sharp as daggers.
ESSIE 88 Licorice Nail Polish; MAC Retro Matte Lipstick – Ruby Woo.
SCULPTED
with gym-lover and bartender at “O Bom, O Mau e O Vilão” = “The good, the bad and the villant” ALEXANDRE AMORIM
Beauty standards for men are changing rapidly, with pressure from social media to look more sculpted, shaved, contoured, jaw-lined — all with the help of skin tight razors, contouring techniques and procedures like laser hair removal and fillers.
MAC Studio Radiance Foundation; MAC Pro Paintstick Palette; MAC Omega Eyeshadow, MAC Fix+.
AUTONOMY
with model ANNA WHITTLESTONE
Throughout history, red lipstick has held several meanings and associations. It has been used as a subtle yet powerful symbol of protest over the past century, representing a stance against fascism, in support of feminism and as a pushback against worn-out gender and racial norms. All of these social demonstrations are indeed related to the concept behind this editorial: breaking stereotypes, maintaining bodily autonomy, ending unattainable beauty standards.
MAC Retro Matte Lipstick – Ruby Woo; MAC Color Excess Gel Pencil – Glide or Die.
SHARP
with ANNA WHITTLESTONE
Makeup techniques are no longer secrets: any tutorial is just a click away. With the impact of social media, anyone can call themselves a makeup artist. And with that comes a lot of misinformation and some dangerous techniques — such as the use of sharp objects to obtain perfect lines.
MAC Retro Matte Lipstick – Ruby Woo; MAC Lip Pencil – Ruby Woo; MAC Pro Longwear Fluidline Eyeliner and Brow Gel – Blacktrack.
LASH LIFT
with make-up artist and content creator JOANA LOPES
What technique/beauty object makes you most uncomfortable? We asked several people this question, and the majority opinion was perhaps no surprise: lash curlers. With their wiry metal arms that create a tiny cage for the eye, one might be forgiven for thinking they were antiquated objects of torture.
MAC Pro Paintstick – Pure White.
Get into the thrilling spirit of the photoshoot while listening to a playlist curated with all of the team’s favorite horror music.
