Self-Taught Makeup Artist Transforms Her Face Into Striking Optical Illusions

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

Self-taught makeup artist, simply known as RJ (aka @cakefacerj), uses her face as her canvas to create striking optical illusions. With makeup brushes as her tools and brightly-colored eye shadows and pigments as her palette, RJ’s impressive portfolio of trompe-l'œil looks showcase her superb skills and boundless creativity.

With a passion for both makeup and art, RJ learned how to combine the two by watching countless YouTube tutorials from other makeup artists. Since then, she’s mastered a number of creative effects that are sure to make you do a double (or triple) take. What’s even more impressive is that RJ has only been practicing her creative looks for less than two years and is already making a name for herself in the beauty industry.

In a piece inspired by one of Picasso’s abstract portraits, RJ transforms her face into a confusing myriad of multiple eyes, noses, and lips. In another, the artist creates the mind-bending illusion of twisting off the top of her head to reveal a mechanical metal maze inside her skull. And instead of deliberating over which color eyeshadow to use, RJ went ahead and painted extra eyes onto her face to create a surreal six-eyed look—complete with three pairs of false lashes.

Keep up to date with RJs jaw-dropping facial transformations on Instagram and check out her YouTube channel to learn how you can recreate her looks.

Self-taught makeup artist RJ uses her face as her canvas to create striking optical illusions.

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

The artist’s impressive portfolio of trompe-l'œil looks showcase her superb skills and boundless creativity.

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

A post shared by 🎨RJ🎨 (@cakefacerj) on

RJ: Instagram | YouTube

All images via RJ aka @cakefacerj.

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Emma Taggart

Emma Taggart is a Contributing Writer at My Modern Met. Originally from Northern Ireland, she is an artist now based in Berlin. After graduating with a BA in Fashion and Textile Design in 2013, Emma decided to combine her love of art with her passion for writing. Emma has contributed to various art and culture publications, with an aim to promote and share the work of inspiring modern creatives. While she writes every day, she’s also devoted to her own creative outlet—Emma hand-draws illustrations and is currently learning 2D animation.
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