By Taylor Medford-Major | @taylor.louise.m
On February 23, 2021, WayV made a ripple through Ncity, releasing the first image of their album cover for Kick Back. The days that followed were filled with group and member teasers for the upcoming music video release, and boy, were they beautiful.
Their skin looked clean and fresh, like the princes WayZenNi see them as, and their hair was perfectly placed, keeping with the decadent theme. Many of the shots showed softer eye shadows. Ten had a warm, brown smokey eye and the other members had almost invisible eye makeup, like Yangyang’s brown waterline or Lucas’s clean lids. Most noticeable for fans were Winwin’s freckled cheeks, giving a youthful appearance. NCT’s beauty team recently used similar looks in Resonance Part 2; Departure, which made for a nice segue into WayV’s long awaited comeback.
When the Kick Back album and music video dropped, fans went wild for the member’s looks.
The first member clearly seen is Yangyang, sporting icy-blue streaks in his straight hair, later on are joined by bright red streaks to match the outfit change. Throughout the music video, we see snippets of Yangyang wearing strong gold eyeshadow, fitting the warmth of the set and outfits that he’s performing in.
Next up in the video is Hendery, and his makeup rarely changes throughout. The heavy yellow shimmer is carried through most shots for him, as his pink hair changes from straight to wavy. The gold matches the hues of his shirt, and the yellow braids scattering his hair in many of the shots.
For many fans, Winwin’s white-silver glitter accent stood out from the darkness of the cooler shots. The skillful positioning of the line highlighted his sultry eyes and reflected the lighting. This contrasted the darkness of the room, but also added a magical underscore to the video (0:19). Later on, Winwin donned a subtle red-brown liner, complimentary of both his deep brown eyes and animal-print shirt. The liner shape, much like the glitter, pulls focus to his eyes and gives the look a sexy, powerful feel (2:28).
Following on from Winwin’s red-brown liner, the color scheme is continued through leader Kun’s makeup—his shadow the same shade, with a charming, shimmer finish. Likewise, he is given a radiant glow, with highlighter strategically placed on his nose, cupid’s bow, and chin, reflecting the mellow orange fabric of the set (2:16). Kun’s hair was on the blonde scale, giving him an overall softer aura.
Lucas’s clear skin stood out, more clearly linking the teaser’s makeup to that of the music video. His eyelids were left fairly clear, with only a smokey brown liner deepening his appearance. His hair was given a red tint, perfectly fitting the transitions with flames, capturing the heat of the shots and atmosphere created. Lucas also had a sharp undercut, calling attention to his chiseled facial structure.
Ten’s makeup left 10vely gasping for air when he appeared with gems on the inner corners of his eyes, and strong under-eye blush (0:42). The SM stylists have pushed further with their boldness, and purposely misplaced the blush to create a fuller youthful look for Ten’s cheeks and under eye. Later on, we saw Ten with an almost-wet glitter look, covering his lids (2:03). This look practically became the focal point of the entire shot, with the camera following Ten’s face and his eyelids catching the light, just right.
Much like Ten, Xiaojun proved to rock the inner corner gems, pushing his Prince Charming narrative, and making his eyes sparkle even more than usual, and drawing attention to his prominent brows. The addition of the gems brought forward Xiaojun’s eyes, pushing through his messy bangs, swept over his forehead. The look added some spice to the shot and a sprinkle of glamour to Xiaojun’s appearances.
The makeup for WayV’s Kick Back comeback has been extremely cohesive among the member’s looks and among the other production design elements. It’s clear that each member’s personal charms and features have been taken into consideration for every look, with the makeup and hairstyle choices highlighting these.
Have you watched their Kick Back stage yet? Check out the full performance recap here!
Thumbnail Credit to SM Entertainment
