Francois Nars, founder of eponymous beauty brand NARS, has racked up a pretty impressive list of artistic collaborators. He’s teamed up with the likes of Sarah Moon, Steven Klein and Erdem to create make-up products that sell out almost instantly, and he’s also dedicated collections to his favourite artists like Andy Warhol, Guy Bourdin and Man Ray. But you might not have heard of the brand’s latest artist hook up: up-and-coming LA illustrator and creative director Connor Tingley.
He may not have hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers (yet), but that’s not to say Connor isn’t an increasingly big deal. A trained illustrator, he learned his craft under the prestigious Sheldon Borenstein before setting up his own creative direction and design company, COOL LLC. His work has already seen him work on music videos for A$AP Rocky and create album artwork for Kid Ink, and his artworks have reportedly been picked up by collectors like Michèle Lamy, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford. Now, he’s turning his hand to make-up.
Obsessed with his free-hand, sketched aesthetic, Nars gave Connor full creative control, allowing him not only to design the packaging to house each product, but to chose and name the shades too. The limited edition collection consists of an eye shadow palette, four lipsticks and four lip crayons. He picks out Madura, a deep purple lipstick, as his favourite shade, which coincidentally, has already earned a spot in Marilyn Manson’s make-up bag after he wore a pre-launch sample for a shoot.
For Connor, the collaboration was a dream opportunity. “NARS represents contemporary beauty, all in for art,” he tells i-D. “This vast support of creative minds and the history of photography, fashion, and design make for a comfortable but vicious place to make a unique and healthy baby.”
As for the packaging, Connor was keen to talk about the torture of beauty. “The reflection of the chrome allows one to see themselves in the product, and quite literally interact with these tortured images that personify the race for beauty. To be beautiful in the contemporary sense is a desire that may be painful to achieve, and one’s expectations of beauty may never be personally met.” Striving for ‘beauty’ may be futile, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy wearing lipstick!