Welcome to Lessons In Cool, a new series all about the people we’re constantly inspired by. They are tastemakers, curators of style, thought leaders, and well, just cool.

Meet freelance illustrator Jane Kirby. After studying fashion design and working as an assistant on beauty shoots at magazines like Mademoiselle, she fell in love with the beauty industry and has since built a career that combines her love of fashion and beauty with her passion for illustration. Take a quick scroll through her Instagram (@janepaintsbeauty) and you’ll see why her bright and colorful illustrations have caught the attention of everyone from Sephora to Nike. We caught up to learn a little bit more about her style and beauty essentials and how she defines cool.

Name & Occupation:

Jane Kirby, Freelance Fashion Illustrator @janepaintsbeauty

Describe yourself in 3 words:

Enthusiastic, dedicated (especially to my diabetic cat, Taco), and determined.

First thing you do when you wake up:

I check my phone and I give my cat a kiss.

The 5 beauty products you can’t live without:

• Dr. Timm Golueke’s Royal Fern Phytoactive Serum: I love the scent and it’s keeping my skin hydrated and helping with pigmentation.

• Macrene Actives High Performance Face Cream: This cream has saved my skin from getting rough and patchy in the winter.

• SiO Beauty Eye Patches: They plump the skin and really help those fine lines around my eyes.

• Jones Road The Best Pencil in Brown: This is my go to eyeliner when I want to do a “smokey eye” but not have it too intense. It can be strong or subtle and goes on so smoothly and lasts all day!

• Womaness “Let’s Neck” Neck Roller Gel: It’s really eased the lines in my neck.

Your style uniform is:

In my studio I wear Madewell jeans and a rotation of my favorite Charvet men’s oxford shirts (I love how they look with the sleeves rolled up and splattered paint on them). I’m obsessed with the new jewelry collection by JDuval. I always take off my favorite ring and bracelet before I start painting for the day, but otherwise I wear them all the time!

The song you have on repeat:

“B-Boy Bouillabaisse: A Year And A Day” from my favorite Beastie Boys album “Paul’s Boutique.”

Recipe you’ve perfected:

I’m obsessed with making French macarons. Making the ganache filling is fun and scary, working with boiling sugar. I must have baked 10,000 of these almond devils.

Last person you texted:

My friend Noelle, we text & talk daily. We send each other funny cat memes throughout the day. She keeps me laughing and has been such a light, throughout this pandemic.

What does “cool” mean to you?

Cool is the state of mind that I get into when I’m feeling connected and the people I love know their value to me. One of my favorite ways to cultivate this feeling is painting watercolor cards for my family and friends to surprise them when they open their mailboxes. I like the old-fashioned aspect of a tangible note—that’s a lot “cooler” to me than a text or social media post. Plus, it’s a gesture of kindness and there is nothing cooler than being loving!

For more from Jane, follow her at @janepaintsbeauty.