Smudged, is the state of being so profoundly entranced in someone that their “messed up” makeup is welcomed because it signifies your desire for this person. The moment when you don’t have time to take off your shoes because of your passion for them, the red lipstick is a sign of your connection. The boring, the normal, and the excitement are all positive when you are with them, the person that makes you forget about any imperfection and smudged lipstick. The person who makes you run to the door with just one shoe on because you are so ready to see them.
The moments in between, the laughs, silence, and random conversation between kisses, feel infinitely perfect. When someone makes you appreciate every moment of intimacy and all the in-between, they have made you comfortable with the smudged.
Looking into their eyes is an expansive ocean, a world beyond yourself, a place where you lose yourself and any sense of time. They bring you a calm altered reality and get you back to life. The thought of not knowing where your love and lust start and end. Unsure of the future but focused on the moment, a trail of red kiss marks on their neck.
The person who taught you the depths of intimacy in a relationship, the quiet laughs you share. Unsure if you will leap towards them or launch into a philosophical conversation in nothing but a bra. Smudged makeup is a sign of passion, the comfort of being in a smudged state. A place where you have infinite time with them.
You run from the door to the couch, needing to make out with them. The email notifications ring out from your phone as you fall to the floor while longing for closeness. The state of the unknown float into the distance while vague music plays in the background; all that is in view is your smudged makeup on their cheek.
Creative direction and Words by Annika Petersen.
Creative Direction Assist by Anna Jara.
Production Design by Gonie Weinstock and Madison Mitchell.
Photography by Sierra Aguilar.
Photography Assist by Rumen Zdravchev.
Styling by Anna McGregor.
Makeup by Ari Young Sang.
BTS video by Lucas Martinez and Madison Mitchell.
Talent by Erin Hughes and Audrey Magarian.