The idea for this editorial was born years ago from my curiosity about the history of beautification and makeup specifically. It has a long and rich history, deeply ingrained in tradition, which is still present today. However, modern-day makeup tends to involve a lot of elements that stray from the original practice, which is also rooted in working with the natural resources around you. We have all heard one too many scandals about a makeup brand involving testing products on animals and using ingredients that verge on being toxic for its users.

The idea was further nurtured by my often playful approach to my concepts. I always seek to inject as much enjoyment as possible for all people involved. I guess it is my childlike, inquisitive nature that I maintain to this day when creating concepts and exploring visual ideas. This led me to entertain the idea of creating a beauty editorial revolving entirely around the idea of using food and edible substances to create makeup looks. On the one hand, this reflects my desire to create a more sustainable practice; on the other hand, it highly amused my inner child. After all, we probably have all heard our mothers say that ‚ „one should not play with one‘s food.“

Having successfully amused and enticed my inner child, so to speak, I began looking for a makeup artist to join forces with and found my counterpart in the wonderful Barbara Neundlinger. Her exuberant nature and curiosity immediately enhanced the original concept tenfold, and this editorial, in collaboration with the gorgeous Celina Aishata, was born.

Barbara developed an approach to the editorial that essentially transformed the process into several face masks and skin care treatments for Celina. After all, we did not want to damage her skin, and we both value a mindful approach to our work. Additionally, she used ingredients that would complement and enhance Celina’s natural skin tone, i.e., a blend of crème Chantilly, vanilla and chocolate syrup, cane sugar, freeze-dried raspberries, and honey.

The final pieces are images dipped in warmth, radiating a sense of calm that mirrors the feeling of being connected to nature and the world around you.
After all, is it not in nature that we truly feel ourselves most rooted and connected?