Close-up of a white mascara wand with thick textured white cosmetic paste swiped against a seamless off-white background.

Close-up beauty portrait of a blonde model with graphic black and grey winged eye makeup looking to the side.

Extreme close-up of a closed eye featuring a bold black and soft grey gradient eyeshadow application.

Close-up beauty portrait of Emily Liptow featuring white mascara and bold dark red lipstick against a light grey background.

A thick vertical swatch of deep red creamy lipstick texture centered against a solid black background.

Makeup brush with duotone bristles dispersing fine dark grey powder pigment against a solid white background.

Close-up beauty portrait of a blonde model with bleached eyebrows and glossy burgundy lip colour against a dark gradient background.

Various Editorials Pigment Studies 2026

About

In the ongoing series Pigment Studies, photographer Jae Eun Seok elevates the cosmetic industry through a meticulous, high-concept lens. This collection of imagery serves as a masterclass in beauty photography, transcending traditional commercial promotion to function as a profound material analysis. By juxtaposing macro studio strobe photography with high-speed, freeze-frame captures of loose powders and bristles, the project treats cosmetic formulas as sculptural elements. The series leans into a stark editorial minimalism, where the tactile quality of a cream-based lipstick or the viscous nature of a mascara wand is given as much narrative weight as the human form. Model Emily Liptow anchors these compositions, her presence providing a clean, architectural canvas for the dramatic, geometric eyeshadow applications and saturated pigments that define the visual rhythm of the work. Throughout, Seok employs crisp, even lighting to emphasize skin texture and color depth, eschewing artifice for a raw, organic celebration of raw material. By alternating between extreme close-ups of product swatches and intense, focused portraiture, Pigment Studies successfully challenges the boundaries of conventional beauty aesthetics. The result is a sophisticated interplay of form, texture, and high-impact color, demonstrating how a refined technical approach can transform everyday cosmetic tools into subjects of compelling, singular beauty.