Meet Torin Ashtun: The Model-Painter Who Swears by DIY Face Masks
Model Torin Ashtun opens up about her minimalist beauty routine, the DIY self-care tricks she learned growing up, and her forthcoming book.
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For Torin Ashtun, the knockout model with sky-high cheekbones and an Afro comprised of perfect spirals, modeling is about more than just getting the perfect shot. “It’s about telling stories,” she says. It helps that she’s a master of multiple mediums: Besides starring in campaigns for Adidas, Kosas Cosmetics and KKW Beauty, the 20-year-old is an artist who makes abstract paintings using acrylic paint on canvas or wood, allowing her “unconscious mind to take control throughout the creative process,” a style known as Surrealist Automatism.
Torin started painting at age 4; it’s long been a source of solace in uncertain times. Growing up in Long Beach, “my family and I were homeless and lived in a shelter for three years when I was 6,” Ashtun said. “But my mom did the best she could as a single mother and immigrant. She taught us how to escape through creativity whether it was painting or sewing.”
Ashtun took a DIY approach to self-care and beauty. “As I grew up I realized it’s important to care for yourself and be conscious of the essence you bring into a room,” Ashtun says. “Around that time, I began creating my own face masks. There wasn’t much money around to buy beauty products but my sister’s dad had a garden that I would grab items from.” Because her mom was against makeup, Ashtun taught herself a few tricks using YouTube tutorials. It wasn’t until she started modeling that she really embraced it. “I only wear it for me,” she adds. “That was the balance my upbringing gave me: I don’t have to put a show on for anyone”.
