Live Your Look: Naezrah

At Milk Makeup, we believe it’s not just how you create your look; it’s what you do in it that matters. That’s what our motto Live Your Look is all about. It means forgetting the rules. Having the freedom to show up as you every day, whether that’s with graphic liner or a glossed lip. Being seen and celebrated for living your truth. And there's no better way for us to show what that looks like than passing the mic to our Milk Fam.

In this series, we're opening it up to our community to share their inspirations, self-expression, beauty routines, and so much more. Get to know the faces behind our campaigns who are as inspiring off camera as they are on. This week, we're getting to know Naezrah, who starred in our Sculpt Stick and Pore Eclipse Matte Setting Spray campaigns. Find out a little bit more about the social media-famous makeup artist, content creator, and beauty innovator.

Model, muse, makeup artist—Naezrah is all three. The looks she creates on stars like SZA boast a level of artistry and imagination that make her work so uniquely hers. She is probably, though, most known for what she creates on her own face. Many of us were first introduced to her work after her pastel under eye makeup look went viral several times over. Folks all over social media were scrambling to recreate and reinterpret her ingenious artistry.

But Naezrah isn’t just inspiring makeup enthusiasts and pros online. She’s also inspiring us—she’s part of the reason we created our four-shade range for Sculpt Stick and extended our selections of Matte Bronzer to include deeper hues. You’ll find out how it all happened below, as well as more about this mango-loving Pisces and her passion for makeup.

What is your favorite beverage?

Water or smoothies in the morning. Any mango smoothie.

How would you describe your personal style?

I'd say it's complex minimalism, very half and half. Some days I'm wearing a suit, very monochrome, black and white. Maybe a pop of color in the shoe but that's it. But some days, I want to throw on pink plaid with blue plaid and tweed and pink platforms; it's either or with me, which is very fitting because my makeup is like [that too]. I'm doing more editorial or FX. They complement each other very well.

How did you first get into makeup?

Ironically, I was not a makeup person. I didn't even have my eyes on makeup, technically, until like freshman year of college. And I got a little piece of makeup and I'm like, Okay, we're doing brows. A little foundation. It was just your regular go-to glam. And then my mom bought me a Sephora kit and Anastasia kit. [I was like] Oh, this is nice to see something new. That's when the story begins!

You've been such a big proponent for helping us expand our shade range. What do you think about the new Sculpt Stick?

I’m so excited about it. How it started: I was with Milk in Colorado, on a ski and snowboarding trip. We were able to pick up some Milk products. I got home and was like, “Okay, cool, cool. I have the bronzer.” And then I realized it wasn’t dark enough for me.

At first, I didn't want to make it seem like a big deal. I approached someone at the brand and said, “Hey, I love the formula for this, but it's not deep enough. Is there any way we can extend the shade range?” Then I guess that was the beginning of the conversation. They heard the feedback, but I didn't think they were gonna be on it this fast.

The colors make me so happy because a lot of deeper skin complexions don't get the opportunity to do glam like everybody else can. There's often no bronzers or contours dark enough. And even when the products are dark, they're never the right undertones. They give you a whole bunch of dark shades, but they're not usable. They're too gray, they're too red, too green, too purple; And then nobody wants to resort to using eyeshadow only for your whole face, you know? I just never want deeper darker skin tones to not feel included in something that is supposed to be inclusive.

The Sculpt Stick formula is so good, it's really smooth. Really creamy. It's deep enough. It's rich, it's not too warm—you can tell you guys take your time with the color. It's definitely checking off the boxes.

Portrait shot of Naezrah wearing Milk Makeup with a graphic eye makeup look on a gray background

You’re someone who knows makeup. What advice would you give somebody, particularly with a deeper skin tone, on how to use Sculpt Stick?

A cool tone is preferable for your contour, meaning your cheekbones, and a warmer tone would be your bronzer. That's how you remember to do it, you have to learn you're shading your face. Think of it as a drawing—when you're shading something in, you're making it darker, you're giving it more angle, more structure.

Speaking of dimension, you are known for your bold under eye looks. How did you develop that?

It was a work in progress. Over the years, it's just gotten brighter. But there are a lot of makeup artists, I know Makeup by Jurnee, she's very talented. She does the bright under eye. I was like, “I like that. But I want more.” And then I was like, “I'm just gonna put white here instead of the beige and the yellow.” And it looks cool. It adds a good contrast, especially because I do colored eyeshadow and a lot of cool shapes. Especially if you have, let's say, a pastel shade and you need to blend it on my skin complexion—I'm a darker-skinned woman, I can't just put that on my center to pop up. So if I put the white under eye [as a base], the shadow will pop up and give it a good contrast.

How do you feel when you're wearing it?

The same, but not really? It's like, ‘Yes, I feel like a baddie.’ You feel more empowered, you feel more feminine. That dark feminine energy. Love it. Makes you look older too. Especially if you have a face that's more young.