the music video for "shades of cool" was directed by jake nava and was released on june 17, 2014. the video features tattoo artist mark mahoney, who also appeared in the music video for "west coast", as del rey's love interest. filmed in los angeles, california, the clip is a "romantic" visual depicting the streets of los angeles at night, a 1970s-themed neighborhood, and a pool. in the video, del rey dances for her love interest in "flowing" dresses. an alternative version of the visual for "shades of cool", which was also directed by nava, was released in july 2014. this version, in which del rey is seen drowned in a pool, was described as "darker" than the original video.