ANNSO

Mascara Stains

Posted on by Karuna Milakovic-Bauer

ANNSO releases “Mascara Stains”

With the single Mascara Stains, ANNSO invites the listener into an honest and emotionally charged moment. The emotional pop track captures the feeling of standing in front of the mirror with mascara running down your cheeks, realizing you have let yourself down. With a stripped-back, intimate sound and sincere lyrics, she invites the listener to feel alongside her. The song is dark, yet comforting – an acceptance of all the emotions we sometimes try to hide.

Listen to the music

Daring to truly see yourself

Mascara Stains emerged during a period of doubt, when ANNSO felt she had lost herself while trying to live up to others’ expectations. The song centers on the moment in front of the mirror, when you see traces of tears and broken promises in your own face. Through direct, honest lyrics, it captures the conflict between wanting to be strong and the need to be seen and loved. Instead of hiding the feeling, she lets it come forward through music.
AnnSofie Bouvin

ANNSO behind the music

Behind the artist name ANNSO is songwriter and singer AnnSofie Bouvin. In Mascara Stains, the voice takes center stage, closely mixed with guitar. She describes how recording the song required courage.
“Recording the vocals was intense and emotional, since the lyrics are so close to me. It required me to dare to be vulnerable in the studio as well.”
For AnnSofie, it became a liberating experience – letting go of a deeply personal part of herself. The strongest memory from the creative process was the moment when lyrics, melody, and emotion fell into place and the chorus landed. There, in the most charged part of the song, lies the core of the entire project – the place where the difficult is allowed to become beautiful.

When tears turn into strength

With Mascara Stains, ANNSO wants to create space for everyone who has ever tried to hold it together in front of the world, only to fall apart when no one is watching. The single is the first step in a larger project where she explores vulnerability as strength. For her, it’s about creating music that listeners can see themselves in – and if someone feels a little less alone after hearing the song, then it has done its job.

Project members

Contributors
Artist: ANNSO
Lyrics & Music: AnnSofie Bouvin
Arrangement: AnnSofie Bouvin, Kasper Randler

Musicians
ANNSO: Lead vocals and backing vocals
Mikael Agstam Bouvin: Guitar, percussion
Kasper Randler: Recording producer, programming, backing vocals

Engineers
Production: Kasper Randler
Mixing (Stereo): Kasper Randler
Mixing (Atmos): Filip Killander
Mastering (Atmos & Stereo): Filip Killander

Studio
Recording: KMR Studios
Mixing (Atmos & Stereo): KMR Studios
Mastering (Atmos & Stereo): KMR Studios
Recording year: 2026

Executive production
Photo & Video: Filip Killander
Graphic Design: Filip Killander
Editor: Karuna Milakovic-Bauer
Release: KMR Studios (2026 02 20)

Hemsida - Mix och Master - KMR Studios - Studio A

Mixed and Mastered in Dolby Atmos

This production has been mixed and mastered in Dolby Atmos. KMR Studios is one of the few studios in Sweden that's actually certified by Dolby. This means that both the studio room and the technician working on the music meet international high standards.

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