Art by : @lillyyfries [ Twitter / VGen ]

Izumi raised an eyebrow slightly as his eyes scanned the contents of the package that rested before him. Various cosmetic items, each in their own different shade, laid neatly within as the brand’s logo remained pristine and untouched upon the lid. From eyeshadow palettes, to blushes, mascaras and even eyebrow pencils and lipsticks, each and every one was labeled with their own unique name, which was to be expected given the brand as a whole.

Seems like free products come as a perk of being a model, at the cost of promoting it, of course.

The chills of the winter weather started to melt away against the hum of the heater that rested in the corner of the room; however, since it merely sprung to life upon the moment of their arrival, which was a mere few minutes ago, nobody bothered to slip out of their jackets just yet.

Izumi’s fingers grazed the smooth surface of the eyeshadow palette on the left side of the package, taking it carefully in his hands as he opened and inspected the shades within. The tip of his index finger even rubbed on the pink-tinted hue that piqued his interest, just for him to swatch a small sample on the top of his hand, inspecting the way it blended with his skin tone.

‘Too warm… What about this one…?’ He thought to himself silently, wiping the excess with a tissue before swatching a more neutral tone right after as he mirrored the same actions as prior, only for him to make another internal note to himself.

‘Too dull…’

‘Hmm… This one’s better than the last two, but it still needs to be eye-catching or else the background and props in tomorrow’s photoshoot would overpower the features of the set. As a model, I can’t let that happen. I need to make sure I put forth the very best to showcase the brand perfectly.’

‘How about I mix these two together instead…?’ Insightful thoughts plagued his mind as he continued to test the cosmetics, one after another, under his keen eye. No detail went unnoticed from the model; from the way the blushes blended, to the sheen of the highlights, even down to the fullness of the eyebrow pencils, Izumi meticulously combed through every product, ensuring that everything was tested and was either approved or vetoed under his critical gaze. He wouldn’t accept anything below perfection, after all; however, through it all, he wasn’t in complete silence.

‘If I layered this shade on top of this one, it’d be subtle but striking enough to fit the theme of the photosho–’

“–I still can’t get over how I found this!” Elira exclaimed with pure excitement as she plopped down onto a spare space on the couch, humming contently with a smile as she held the game box up in the air. She couldn’t help but slightly kick her feet in a giddy manner as the golden hues within her eyes seemingly shone with unbridled joy. “I’ve been hunting for this since launch but it got completely sold out. Even in New York, Io was stressed out when he couldn’t find it for me either. Hehe~ To think that the vendor had one copy left, how lucky~!” she rambled mindlessly, not minding that all she got was a simple, “Mhm…” of acknowledgement from the idol sitting beside her.

Perking up, the pink-haired girl looked over and watched the model expertly separate each specific product. By now, there was already a batch on one side of the coffee table’s surface, neatly laid out with meticulous care, while the other was a pile that was carefully stacked instead. Elira couldn’t help but smile as she placed the game down beside her, opting to reach out for one of the eyeshadow palettes within the so-called ‘chosen’ batch as she peeked at the colours.

“Uwaaa~ How cute! This one’s super sparkly! Are you gonna use this one in the shoot tomorrow?” Elira mused, pointing at the middle square. It contained a rose-gold tinted eyeshadow that sparkled under the gentle sunlight that seeped out of the balcony’s sliding glass door. The swatch itself already had a subtle smudge to it, indicating that Izumi did, in fact, test it as Elira’s question broke his focus away from the eyeliner currently in his hands.

“Hah?! On its own? No way! It wouldn’t suit my complexion at all,” Izumi huffed, turning his face slightly upwards in disapproval, “But, I’m going to combine it with the nude tone on the left to help blend it more naturally with my skin while maintaining a good, but subtle, level of glitter,” he explained as Elira let out a curious hum, allowing Izumi to continue with his own little rant.

“This brand’s new set is Valentines themed but they want to keep their elegance as well. If I used that shade on its own without any proper blending with other shades, it’d be soo~contrasting that it would disrupt the overall coherence with the other products it’s supposed to be pair with.”

“Eh~? No wonder there’s a ton of pinks, roses and neutrals in here then.”

“Of course! Though, I do praise their ability to use cool tones in a complimentary way for some of the swatches,” Izumi sighed as he placed the eyeliner in the opposite pile before he reached out to inspect the next one. Elira couldn’t help but smile, admiring his sheer dedication and passion for such a job. The way he thought about even the smallest of details was admirable and she couldn’t help but stand up before shuffling around the couch to the back rest behind him, leaning in close and over his shoulder just to watch him carefully select each and every product, creating his own unique set in the process.

She even turned it into a little game, trying to figure out the pattern of his choices as she began to internally guess whether or not the product would pass his standards. Small hums of content could be heard from her lips whenever Izumi placed the cosmetic in specific piles while, other times, she would let out a small huff as if she lost her own little bet.

“Wait, why not that one? It’s more of an orange-brown than a cooler shade.”

“That’s exactly why, Eli. It wouldn't compliment my hair colour.”