Caramel by Bao Ngo

Friday, June 2, 2017

Happy Friday! I wanted to share this photoshoot I did with the amazing Bao Ngo last January! After spending the day shooting outside in the cold with Karen Sofia Colon and visiting a nearby bakery, we headed to an Airbnb we rented. We cranked up the heater and chatted until Karen fell asleep - while whispering we decided to do another shoot in the cosy, warm Airbnb and it was so nice and relaxing! Here's hoping the stars align and I get to see Bao again soon - truly one of the sweetest, most talented and hilarious people I've had the pleasure of working with! You can see the first shoot we did together here.

Here's to the weekend!






Four Looks with Lancôme L'Absolu Rouge Lipsticks

Sunday, May 28, 2017

Recently, Lancôme sent me their range of L’Absolu Rouge lipsticks to try and I was absolutely gobsmacked! Revamped by their global makeup creative director, the incomparable and extremely talented Lisa Eldridge, these lipsticks come in a wide variety of stunning hues and in three different finishes - cream, matte, and sheer. There is truly a shade for every occasion in the line of 44 lipsticks! I'm also incredibly smitten with their new, sleek case with the "signature Lancôme rose as a gold domed seal on the cap - with just one simple push of the rose, the lipstick is revealed". Sublime!

I asked my readers on Twitter what shades I should spotlight in this post, and had such a fun time creating looks centered around the lip colors you helped chose!

The Isabella
A classic, timeless look: the matte red lip, perfected skin, and winged liner. Exemplified by Isabella Rossellini, Lancôme's muse for over a decade.

One of my favorite actresses and models is Isabella Rossellini - the always poised, stunning inside-and-out, daughter of Ingrid Bergman and Roberto Rossellini. Growing up, I would pour over books and websites, admiring her campaigns for Lancôme in the 80s and 90s. I was extremely excited to hear she was recently invited back as one of Lancôme's ambassadresses at age 64! When I saw this shade was called Isabella, I had a hunch it was named after her - and Lisa Eldridge herself confirmed she named the shade after her in this lovely post! The lipstick, a matte, cherry red is a truly classic shade.

I'm wearing:

  • L'Absolu Rouge 189 Isabella Lipstick *
  • Lancome Teint Idole Ultra Cushion Foundation *
  • Mattifying Translucent Powder

    The Deneuve
    A light lip and heavy liner - the trademark look for any bombshell.

    One of my favorite beauty looks is the iconic bombshell - the heavily lined eyes, light lip, and voluminous, tumbling locks combination was popularized in the late 50s/early 60s by Catherine Deneuve and Brigitte Bardot! The L'Absolu Rouge shade 202 Nuit et Jour is a gorgeous, sheer pink that is perfect for this look.

    I'm wearing:

  • L'Absolu Rouge 202 Nuit et Jour Lipstick *
  • Black Eyeliner
  • Muted Rose Blush
  • False Lashes

    The Clara
    The roaring 20s are back! Silent film actresses Clara Bow and Louise Brooks inspired a legion with their expressive faces and dark, vampy lipstick drawn in the style they popularized, the "beestung" lip.

    The 20s were the beginning of when it was socially acceptable to wear makeup again after the Victorian era completely looked down on it. The first wave of film stars inspired people all over the world to paint their lips, fringe their eyes with eyeliner, and publicly powder their noses (and knees, to the distraught of the older folks with Victorian sensibilities)!

    When I first got into makeup as a teenager, I was incredibly smitten with the Bright Young Things of the 20s and attempted to recreate their look on my own face. Though I had very beginning level skills, attempting my first smokey eye and drawing my lipstick in the exaggerated "beestung lip" style, I was completely transfixed by the image in the mirror. It was incredibly exciting to see the transformative nature of makeup that I hadn't really experienced until then - and it was truly the beginning of my love of makeup! I wanted to try my hand at the 20s style again now that I know a bit more about makeup (heh). 399 Secrete is a vampy purple that is perfect for this era, but is also completely timeless.

    I'm wearing:

  • L'Absolu Rouge 399 Secrete Lipstick *
  • Mauve blush

    The Gidget
    Retro summer sweetness! I can just imagine relaxing on the beach in this fruit popsicle inspired look.

    For the final look featuring 114 Amuse-Bouche, a bright coral in a cream finish, I wanted a fresh look that could be worn relaxing on the beach like in a retro summer flick - preferably with a fruit popsicle in hand!

    I'm wearing:

  • L'Absolu Rouge 114 Amuse-Bouche Lipstick *
  • Peachy blush (in Beam)
  • Gold eyeshadow (in Kitten)
  • Kat Von D Pastel Goth eyeshadows *
  • Milk Makeup foundation *

    Which of the four looks is your personal favorite?

  • Butterflies by Bao Ngo

    Tuesday, May 16, 2017

    When I first "met" Bao Ngo on tumblr a few years ago, we immediately clicked! We’d stay up late chatting, laughing at memes and exchanging tips as self-taught freelancers. Bao is incredibly talented, darkly humorous, and sharp as a tac - I feel like we had been friends for years in our first week of friendship.

    Bao’s hazy, stunning photography style envelopes you into a dreamlike world with the incredible use of light and color.

    In January, Bao and our friend, fellow photographer Karen Sofia Colon (more on Karen and our photos together soon!), made the trek from New York all the way to the West Coast and stopped by Oregon! We got to spend 24 hours together, taking photos, laughing, and staying in a cosy and adorable Airbnb.

    For our first shoot together, Bao was inspired by the Cottingley Fairies and styled me in a tutu with daisies, butterflies, and glitter. Though I was absolutely freezing (ayyy-o wearing very little in 30°F and sitting in wet grass! haha), it was still so fun just being able to finally hang out with Bao in person, and the end result looks magical!

    I tried my best at doing a bit of vlogging that day, and you can see a little peak at our day together in this video! I keep wishing I got more footage, but alas, I’m still very new to these things!

    We ended up doing two shoots together, I’ll be posting more soon! It is incredibly reaffirming and in a way healing to be able to work on little projects like this with people I click so well with - I'm so grateful to be able to work with such talented people.







    Spring Flowers

    Thursday, May 11, 2017


    DRESS: c/o Unique Vintage

    For some reason, I feel a bit like a Disney princess in this Unique Vintage dress. I really am loving the length and candy pink stripes - all in my favorite silhouette, the fit and flare...!

    I hope you are having a lovely day!




    Rainbow Brite

    Monday, May 8, 2017

    PINAFORE DRESS: c/o Chrissa Sparkles PURSE: Skinnydip London

    Chrissa Sparkles literally made my dreams come true with her clothing brand debut piece - a frothy, iridescent pink heart pinafore prettily trimmed in white ruffle! I believe she will be restocking this piece along with new ones soon - keep your eye out on her website and instagram if you want one of your own ♡

    I felt this dreamy pinafore would be perfect paired with my rainbow novelty purse from Skinnydip London - one of my favorite brands! Unlike some of my other novelty purses, this one actually fits a decent amount too!

    Sending you all my love.

    Sunset Makeup Look

    Tuesday, April 18, 2017

    Even though it's still rather dreary in Oregon ("Local Girl Shakes Fist at Unrelenting Grey Skies"), Spring is finally here! The flowers are blooming, I've been baking strawberry cookies, and playing with new spring makeup releases! Here is a simple look but with a hint of glam I've been wearing a lot lately.

    Maybelline's newest releases have knocked it out of the park - the Dream Cushion Foundation and lipstick in Honey Pink have quickly become a new holy grail for me! The foundation is buildable, light to medium coverage, beautiful finish that is dewy but not TOO dewy for my oily combo skin type - all while using the compact and easy to travel with cushion design! Meanwhile, I've been searching for a favorite pink lipstick shade and Honey Pink has become just that! The tone is so pretty, not too warm or too cool, and I love how creamy the lipstick is. If you would like to see swatches from the entire Inti-Matte Nudes lipstick line, please let me know!


    L to R: Maybelline Honey Pink Lipstick, Smashbox Spotlight "Pearl" Palette Highlighter Shades in: Blow a Fuse Pearl, Crank It Up Pearl, Turn it On Pearl, Wet n Wild Blush in The Princess Daiquiries

    Meanwhile, in January I picked up two of the Wet n Wild Color Icon Ombré Blushes - the gorgeous gradient look of the blush was what initially got my attention. But to my absolute delight, the blush went above and beyond my expectations, delivering a flushed, natural sun kissed glow! Glitter is visible in the pan, but none transferred to my cheek - just a beautiful sheen of reflective pink! Perfection.


    Wearing the Smashbox highlighter in Turn it On Pearl

    Finally, I partnered with Smashbox to do a collaboration on instagram featuring their Spotlight Palette - and was so impressed I wanted to share it here as well! Highlighter has dethroned lipstick as my favorite makeup product - it just feels magical! In the palette, you get three different highlighters. I used the yellow toned "Turn it On Pearl" which looked stunning specially when paired with the delicate pink shades of blush and lipstick - I later swapped it out for the shade "Crank It Up Pearl", a rose gold, and was equally impressed!


    Wearing the Smashbox highlighter in Crank It Up Pearl

    Happy Spring!

    FACE
    Maybelline Dream Cushion Foundation *
    Too Faced Chocolate Bar Palette
    Wet n Wild Color Icon Ombré Blush in The Princess Daiquiries
    Maybelline Inti-Matte Nudes in Honey Pink *
    Smashbox Spotlight Pearl Palette *

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