A-Z Shoot: Euphoria
Photography - Christina Karras
Makeup - Christina Karras, Katherine Kokinos
Models - Katherine Kokinos, Caleigh Wallace, Kristen Belfall
This shoot was initially published in Issue 001 of A-ZINE, buy a copy here.
Just over a year ago, the now cult-favourite HBO show Euphoria wrapped filming its first season.
It feels like an alternate universe ago, but what better time to revisit its overwhelming influence.
The drama fueled series received critical acclaim for it’s gritty representation of teen life in the digital age, the show’s protagonist Rue (Zendaya) grapples with addiction, Maddy (Alexa Demie) deals with an abusive boyfriend, and almost everyone in the show attempts to navigates their sexuality. But it was it’s equally dramatic makeup looks that also stole the show.
From stick on pearls and diamantés, graphic liner and smeared with glitter, the series’ Gen Z viewers quickly claimed the trend as their own.
It spawned endless posts across social media, as thousands recreated the outlandish looks. The show’s makeup artist Doniella Davy explained how she found the inspiration behind the aesthetics in the teens of today, who’ve grown up watching YouTube tutorials and using beauty blenders.
"Gen Z is completely redesigning what makeup can and should be used to do," she told Vulture. "They're using it to challenge beauty and makeup norms, to redefine what makeup is. They're using it to challenge stereotypical gender identities.”
The looks speak to that time of adolescence where experimenting with style and beauty is the norm, and while I was never quite as bold or as good with makeup, many of us in the early 2000’s grew up impartial to a good diamante.
For all the glitz and nostalgia, see our take on the looks in the gallery above.