Best of NYC: Adrian Castillo

For Multiple Piercings

Adrian Castillo at 108 Studios, 37 Greenpoint Ave., No. 106, Greenpoint; 917-275-8270; 108studio.us

One doesn’t go to Adrian Castillo for a single piercing; one goes for the whole earscape. He’s known for balanced, tasteful, and harmonious groupings. That’s what first appealed to software engineer Djassi Julien when he came across Castillo’s Instagram. “What’s cool about Adrian’s aesthetic is that the individual piercings themselves definitely shine, but he’s really got an eye for big-picture composition,” Julien says. Makeup artist Ashleigh Ciucci calls Castillo “an actual artist who doesn’t just stick a hole somewhere without paying attention to placement. He really has such a cool, keen eye for what looks good” (black and white diamonds scattered along the ear or an assortment of different-size hoops and studs). After encountering Castillo, both Julien and Ciucci refused to go to any other piercer. Castillo is responsible for eight of Julien’s 11 piercings (from $60), including both second lobes, a floating rook (where the piercing point is hidden by the ridge of the ear), and his eyebrow, and half of Ciucci’s 29 ear piercings — but his impeccable judgment means he knows when it’s time to put down the needle. “I’m always like, ‘I need another hole.’ And he’s like, ‘Ashleigh, there’s no more room,’” Ciucci says.