This is a truly original, intriguing piece. The make-up emphasizes the eyes to an extreme, and yet the eyes remain soft, almost blended in to the make-up. The soft airbrushed red that blends seamlessly into the rest of the model’s skin is surprising to see; rarely does red make-up look so soft and demure. The clear blue of the model’s eyes links perfectly with the blue in the background; this stops the red make-up from completely stealing the show. It’s still a whole photograph, not just a display of skillfully done make-up.

The combination of the lace pattern under the model’s eyes, the jewels around the sides of her eyes and her expression leads to an almost owl-esque appearance; at the same time these elements combine to make her look like an antique doll. The expression is a rare one—she looks surprised but remains delicate.

However something about the framing seems slightly unbalanced. We can see the antique-y red flowers on the model’s clothes, and we can tell that her clothes probably enhance the mood of the photo, but the photo cuts off, leaving only a glimpse of the costume. Her hair sticks out a bit to the right, and yet we can’t see the rest of it. I love the clarity of the close-up, but I think that as long as so much is being cropped out, I would rather see a little more cropped out. I would also be interested to see what the background was before it was edited; the abstraction to the left of the model draws my attention too much, to the point where it becomes a distracting.

Ultimately I think this is the kind of photograph that most photographers aspire to make one day (myself included). From the make-up, to the model’s expression, to the impeccable choice of colors and the softness and clarity of the image, this work is a product of high skill.