Beauty In Disguise: Ben Nye Advertorial
Brand: Ben Nye
A concept advertorial for Ben Nye, built around drag and camp makeup and created in collaboration with photographer Tariell Anderson, with me as art director.
The Headline
The type is deliberately a little tacky. It echoes the overused display lettering common in beauty salons: swirly decorative letterforms for the “B” and “D,” plain serif for the rest, and an italic “in” to push the kitsch further. The tackiness is the point. It sets up the camp tone before anyone reads a word.
Art Direction | Layout Design
The Brief
Create an advertorial for a magazine I invented, working with a photographer from another class, we focused on Ben Nye and chose drag and camp makeup as the world to build it in.
The Idea
Beauty in Disguise. Makeup as a genderless, intersectional tool for self-expression, where transformation and disguise let people explore who they are or who they want to become. Ben Nye’s inclusive range of colors and textures acts as a canvas for challenging norms and telling your own story, and its roots in professional performance make that kind of experimenting possible for anyone.
Building the Shoot
The photographer and I started with shared inspiration, and he then added makeup and lighting references of his own. From that he wrote a strong shot list centered on emotion and unexpected uses of makeup, like drawing over masks and using pantyhose to mask a face while still showing what’s underneath.
Designing the Spreads
I brought in magazine layouts I found interesting, especially ones where the imagery cuts into the text. The opening spread is a full image with type woven around the subject. The following spreads take a collage approach, layering makeup elements into the page, like a heart made of lipstick or an eyeshadow swatch that blends into the photo. The last page shows the Ben Nye products used in the shoot. The goal was imagery campy and evocative enough to make a reader stop and look.
Art Direction & Layout Design: Maria Aliaga
Photography: Tariell Anderson
Tools: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign
Concept project; not affiliated with Ben Nye.