Beauty on the Brain

For more about the Prados Beauty x Steven Paul Judd collection, pick up the May/June 2021 issue of the magazine.

As an editor with anxiety, I tend to overthink just about everything. I can’t just watch a show and enjoy it—I have to understand the characters’ every motivation. When I read a book, I must read another book about that time period so I can get the full context (it’s a real If You Give a Mouse a Cookie situation). If I eat something, I want to know who made it, where the ingredients came from, the overall environmental impact, whether the cows were happy to be milked, etc.

Quite frankly, it’s exhausting. When your brain is always doing cartwheels... That’s not quite the right way to put it. Can you do a cartwheel angrily or fearfully? When you can’t get through a single sentence without an internal struggle for truth and perfection, it’s really important to find activities you can get lost in.

Makeup is one pursuit that will temporarily quiet my brain. I think it’s the unique combination of creativity and repetition that does the trick, perhaps like other people find in coloring books or sports. Seriously, when I’m doing my eyeliner—anyone with experience will attest to the endless frustration of this part in particular—the house could catch on fire and I probably wouldn’t notice. There’s also no way to achieve perfection: I’m limited by my flawed canvas (i.e. my face).

Photo Editor Megan Rossman volunteered to be Karlie's makeup canvas.

A few months ago, I was watching a makeup tutorial by one of my favorite drag queens, Trixie Mattel, and she showed off an eye shadow palette she’d recently received. Lo and behold, it was a collaboration between an Indigenous-owned company I’d never heard of—Prados Beauty—and an Oklahoma artist I wrote about in Oklahoma Today’s July/August 2016 issue. Side note: The Nontraditionalists is in the archives, so you should check it out. It’s one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Naturally, I was ecstatic to get it into the magazine as soon as possible and finally unite two of my worlds.

The Prados X Steven Paul Judd palette is beautiful inside and out. The cover was designed by Judd, so it’s a piece worthy of inclusion in any art gallery. But open it up and reveal some of the softest, butteriest, most pigmented colors to rival even the most prestigious brands. It’s also thoughtfully curated, with plenty of brights and neutrals arranged to blend with their neighbors for a complete look. I was so excited that I asked Photo Editor Megan Rossman to help me try it out.

The day I arrived with my palette and other accouterments, I was sweaty and anxious—a real treat for Megan, who would soon be sitting inches away from me. I hadn’t done anyone else’s makeup in years, and the palette had so many options I wasn’t sure what to do. Luckily, Megan is a beautiful lady with good skin, so at least my job wouldn’t be too hard. But once I got started, I completely lost myself in the flow. Blending and buffing, lining and lacquering: I felt like an artist creating a sunset-inspired, temporary masterpiece.

Photo Editor Megan Rossman gets expressive with her makeover.

When I finally set down my brush, ninety minutes had flown by. I marveled at my work—makeup is also one of the few areas in my life in which I can unashamedly take pride. More importantly, I was amazed at how light I felt mentally. For an hour and a half, I’d not thought about the news or my family or any pressing philosophical questions. Makeup might not be on par with meditation, but for me, it’s a beautiful and beneficial distraction.

Written By

Karlie Ybarra

Managing editor Karlie Ybarra loves to explore her home state—and meet many of its animal citizens—any chance she gets.