Welcome back to NEW ERA BEAUTY — a brand new editorial series bringing the delicious intricacies of personal beauty to the forefront. With each forthcoming editorial, I will introduce a new muse of mine and an original beauty look inspired by their persona.
Meet: Kelly Mittendorf
Born and Raised: Arizona
Age: 28
Occupation: Sometimes I model, sometimes I brainstorm market strategy
Star Sign: Gemini sun, Sagittarius rising, Virgo moon
First Meeting: At the shoot in NY 💖 It was one of the few shoots I was on set for the brand doing casting, and is such a special moment for me to realize I loved being behind the scenes as much as being in front of the camera to make beautiful images. Was so blown away by Sarah IRL
Instagram: @kelly_mittendorf
Shoot Location: NYC
Most Likely To Be Found: With my dog in Fort Green, looking for a great wine bar, finding a reason to go to Paris
I want to tell you a little story. Back while I was studying at university, I covered all of my academic folders with collages of magazine and editorial cut-outs that inspired me, and Kelly was actually in one of the photographs. It was a beautiful black and white shot of her from back in 2013 when she had just started out on her modeling journey. She was featured in Prada campaigns and countless editorials and I remember that I was instantly mesmerized by her face; so dreamlike and feline. A few years later, I was living in Berlin already and Glossier contacted me to cast me in a beauty campaign of theirs in NYC. It was my first beauty campaign in New York and I still remember feeling like, pinch me. It was an absolute dream. As fate would have it, it was actually Kelly who thought of me for this project and I was only able to connect her name to her face when she sat down in front of me on set. Life writes the best stories. We’ve followed each other on Instagram ever since and when I started the New Era beauty series, I knew I wanted Kelly to be a part of it.
When Mollie, my makeup artist, and I were in the prepping phase for this shoot and just beginning to set everything into motion together, I still wasn’t one hundred percent decided on the direction that I wanted the look to flow in. There were a million different inspirations that I felt I could’ve indulged in with Kelly creatively. I look at her and fifty different makeup-visions pop into my mind. I love that we settled on a subtle framing of the eyes here in the final look, shimmery, springtime pastels blended in with hints of darker glam elements reminiscent of sirens, water nymphs, and Russian fairy tales. A memorable moment from the shoot was when Kelly and I talked about her dog, Bob, and she introduced me to the niche universe of Halloween dog costumes – something I wasn’t privy to and didn’t know I needed so badly until that moment.
BEAUTY BREAKDOWN?
To put it simply, this look is: evocative and magnetic. For the women who love a little mythical magic.
LOOK INSPIRATION
Mollie had this super beautiful Japanese book of color palettes with her on set. On one of the pages I saw this hypnotic mix of blush pinks and pastel purples and I immediately knew that that was the direction I wanted to go in. To add an element of mystery and depth to the look, we added some black shadow and dark glitter on the eye. I wanted to channel the seductive mystery and lore of the mermaid and create a look that really captures the imagination.
EYES
With Kelly, we started out by focusing on just building up her eyes. We used Pat McGrath’s Mothership I palette in Subliminal, sticking to the matte neutral shades. The warm gray was a great base. We applied it to the center of the lid and smoked it out with the deeper gray, then brought in some depth using black shadow in the inner and outer corners. We took a lilac chrome pigment from Fenty Beauty’s Killawatt Freestyle Highlighter in 7 Day Weekend/Poolside, and with some Prep + Prime Fix+ Spray from MAC Cosmetics, we gave that pigment a more metallic finish, applying it to the inner corners both on and under the lid as well as down towards the center of the eye. We finished off the eye with MAC Cosmetics’ Kohl Eye Pencil in Feline and their Mac Stack Mascara.
LIP
On the lips, we used MAC Cosmetics’ Viva Glam Rihanna II – a medium brown gunmetal duo chrome – and added the Glass Slipper clear gloss from Fenty Beauty on top.
SKIN
For the skin, we used MAC Cosmetics’ Face and Body foundation with some Saie Super Glowy Gel in the shade Starglow which gives the skin a luminous, sheer candle-lit effect that is super fresh. We added Pat McGrath’s Skin Fetish: Divine Blush in the soft beige pink Fleurtacious shade on the very top of the cheekbones, then doubled up with a touch of the shade Lovestruck to the highest points just to intensify the color.
“I wanted to channel the seductive mystery and lore of the mermaid and create a look that really captures the imagination.”
Pat McGrath
Mothership I Subliminal Palette
Fenty Beauty
Killawatt Foil Freestyle Highlighter Duo
MAC Cosmetics
Original Prep + Prime Fix+ Spray
MAC Cosmetics
Face & Body Foundation
Fenty Beauty
Gloss Bomb Lipgloss
MAC Cosmetics
Eye Khol in Feline
Saie
Glowy Super Gel
MAC Cosmetics
Viva Glam Rihanna II
MAC Cosmetics
Mascara MacStack
Recreate this look and tag us Instagram. #NewEraBeauty #NBGA.
Photography SARAH FEINGOLD
Art/Beauty Direction SARAH FEINGOLD
Model KELLY MITTENDORF
Makeup MOLLI GLOSS
Nails ELLA VIVII
