My top 2 favorite beauty brands would have to be Isamaya and Aora. ISAMAYA is a brand under the creative direction of Isamaya Ffrench, who heavily draws inspiration from performance art and futuristic art. The use of grunge metallics in her palettes, experimental silhouettes used throughout her packaging, and sleek font throughout the ISAMAYA websites reflects a very intentional focus on an avant-garde approach to beauty, from packaging to final product. On the other hand, Aora is a company that brings a bold, colorful approach to sustainable luxury, with an emphasis on being based in Mexico. Personally, I’m a person who reuses the packaging of already used products. For example, I put my toner in my used-up Elf setting spray bottle so it’s easier to apply and grow dandelions in my old pickle jars. In the beauty industry, packaging is often impractical to reuse, but Aora’s makeup pallets are durable and uniquely designed to be able to be reused or recycled without worrying about the bigger consequences of adding onto existing plastic waste.

I try to find old magazines and reference pictures I like. For the most part, I go on Pinterest for inspiration and would describe my aesthetic as 60's whimsy.

For inspiration, I use Pinterest and brainstorm in my sketchbook. I use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator to edit my content. For writing, I use Microsoft Word or Google Drive.I upload articles on designers and trends I see online on my Substack @modegenesis. I schedule my posts on TikTok Studio and Substack, but manually on Instagram.