Riley Franck

Like most makeup artists, Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I love gory, scary makeup artistry. For this look, I decided to stay away from my usual horror show inspired style and create a more complex, shall we say…uncomfortable design. As I have a great fear of spiders, I wanted to turn myself into my biggest fear! This creepy look feels as if it could jump out of the screen; eight eyes blinking at its victim (scary!). This Halloween-inspired artistic approach was definitely a learning experience for my artistry. 

Stars and space have always intrigued me (maybe because KISS was my first concert and I was enamored with their look). I sketched out a girl with stars for eyebrows and decided to incorporate it into a look using grays and blues. I consider this an astronaut meets street-style makeup look.

A dark winter and stressful semester left me feeling creatively uninspired. I envisioned my creativity being sucked into a black hole. Using blues, pinks, purples, and blacks, I was able to convey my message through my favorite artform: makeup. The glitter on my eyebrows and eyes represent my creative spark  slowly re-emerging - and then…bursting through the black void.

An outfit with a maroon jacket made me feel like a superhero on a bad day so I decided to go home and become a superhero. The bold shapes on my eyes are my personal interpretation of what an eye mask would look like on the Green Lantern. The maroon colors came from my jacket which matched the rest of my ensemble.

Spring was fast approaching in New York and I was feeling the pastel vibes. I've always wanted pink eyebrows, but never tried them on for size (for obvious reasons!). I decided to experiment and explore ways to give myself the same look without anything permanent. Channeling a 90’s JLo aesthetic, I put combined bright pink eyebrows, neon-pastel eyeshadow, a harsh lip-line and a clear gloss on top. This pastel 90’s look became one of my favorites.

As February approached, hearts were popping up all around me. I love doing Valentine’s looks every year and wanted something subtle, yet playful. While this look conveys happiness and love to me, others may see it as a heart tear…for those that see the holiday as less festive.

Inspired by my August astrological sign, a Lion, I wanted to create a burning look that was just as fierce as a Lion. Using oranges and yellows, I blended the colors to make a fiery eye look. 

Gory Halloween makeup will always be one of my favorite creative explorations. This look was inspired by my neighbor's Halloween display - a glass window with bloody handprints and splatters.

A recent episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (Season 9) struck me with inspiration. One of my favorite queens, Shannel, used blues, yellows, and oranges for her outfit color pallet. She spray painted a corset, which inspired the spray paint dots on the perimeter of my face.