What kinds of things inspire your makeup looks? I get a lot of my ideas for looks from magazines, other beauty blogs and books, but some of my favorite looks are based upon things in nature, especially flowers. I’m a sucker for flowers.
Can you spot the mini calla lilies in my wedding bouquet?
Pretty, yah? I love all flowers, but lilies are my favorite, so whenever El Hub gets me flowers, he always throws in a lily or two for good measure. Last week’s Valentine’s bouquet contained a handful of pink stargazer lilies.
I still have the bouquet in my bedroom. When I awoke and saw them this morning, I decided I wanted to wear a lip color today that reminded me of pink lilies! I grabbed two hot pink cuties from the MAC Fafi collection — Fun ‘n’ Sexy lipstick ($14) and Cult Fave lipgloss ($14) — and went to work building my look for today.
Fun ‘n’ Sexy lipstick reminds me of the bright pink Wet n’ Wild lipsticks I wore as a teenager, ha!
Here’s the pink stargazer inspired result…
To get this look, I first lined my lips with MAC’s Pink Treat Cremestick Liner and then applied two coats of Fun ‘n’ Sexy with a MAC 316 lip brush. I topped it off with a layer of Cult Fave applied directly from the lip gloss applicator.
It’s raining here in San Francisco today, but this pink lip combo puts a little springtime pep in my step. A girl can never have enough pink lip combos, right? What’s your favorite?
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
Karen – Very pretty…a little bold for me though… I mean I like my lips and all…but I’m normally shy about doing anything bright because I’m pretty fair. My mom loves lilies too. My favorites are orchids…oddly enough because of research I did with them in my plant systematics class. 🙂
Wow Karen your bouquet was beautiful, i have just saved the photo to my wedding ideas folder lol!
I love the gloss, with the lipstick it reminds me a lot of my favourite Chanel Glossimer!
Very pretty!! i just bought Not so innocent and Totally it from the collection and i love them!
Hi Megan,
I also did some plant research too! I did an experiment of the pollination of black walnut trees (Juglans nigra, holla) when I went to UCD back in the day.
I randomly heard this fun fact about my alma mater this morning … Haagen Daz ice cream is donating a ton of money to the UC Davis bee program. UCD is doing a ton of research on the rapidly dwindling bee population, and apparently Haagen Daz needs for the bees to not dwindle because they use a lot of honey products in their ice cream, oy.
Hi Holly,
What’s your favorite Chanel Glossimer! Do tell!
BTW, are you getting married soon?
Hi Crystal,
Oh yes, I like those colors, too. In fact, I have Not So Innocent sitting here on my desk, LOL!
I was very surprised by the texture of the glaze lipsticks. I like ’em though. They feel light and not sticky!
I love calla lilies too! They’re gorgeous in your wedding bouquet. Like Megan, my favorites are orchids – because my name translated from Vietnamese means orchid flower 🙂 And because there are so many varieties and they’re all pretty!
I definitely get my makeup inspiration from other blogs, magazine makeup is often times too out there for me – but it’s always fun to try and interpret for myself.
My favorite pink lip right now is Lancome’s Seashell gloss. I rocked it yesterday to pick up my mood from the gloomy Bay weather.
Happy Thursday! The weekend is almost here – yay!
Pretty! both the flowers and lips-you did a great job interpreting the color, and the sparkles in the lips is reminiscent of the “dots” in the flowers too. one of my all time fave pinks is mac’s malibu barbie lipgloss-straight up outta the tube. 🙂 another good one is mac’s half n half lipstick topped with the hot pink side of cargo’s la la land gloss duo-more of a natural/nude but still pink lip.
Hi Lilan,
Love the Lancome Seashell. I wore it a few times while I was in Vegas!
I love that your name has a story/pretty translation. Do you have a favorite type of orchid?
Hi Amanda,
Thanks girlfriend! Ohhh, Malibu Barbie lipgloss! I am still kicking myself for not getting that.
Hey sexy,
it’s bed time for me now in my country (; but I’ll stay a little a while. Fun n’ sexy is amazin’ and it’s on the list of lots of mac stuff which I’ll buy soon (:
my wish list is:
kinda sexy
queen’s sin
fresh moroccan
fun n’ sexy
slimshine bare + most wanted
fafi sheer sparke powder in sassed-up
the no#1 eyeshadow quades fafi
dior red nail polish
chanel rose-beige nail polish (wonderland)
the body shop daises blush for 2008
chanel eyeshadow in winter nights
fafi dolls ( in love with theme all )
what do you think?
So pretty! I have some stargazers on my mantle right now, I love that they last for such a long time!
Right now I’m loving the Chanel Waterlily glossimer over everything (or nothing!) for a pink lip! It’s the one from the Spring collection and it’s really a great shade! I especially like it over a creamy rose lippie for a perfect rosy-pink pucker!
Hi Karen,
Hahaha no im nowhere near getting married, ive yet to even find the man im going to marry! But hey it cant hurt to be prepared now can it!?!
My favourite Chanel lipgloss is a Glossimer from a limited edition collection from a while ago it doesnt have a name just a number i think its 146! I am trying to use it sparingly because I know i wont be able to get it again!
It’s raining cats and dogs here in TLH too! When you said “Wet ‘n’ Wild” lipstick, I remember exactly the color that my mom had back then. It looks exactly like the Fafi lipstick. How creepy is that?
I’m not into lipsticks but my fave is “Shy” from the old VS collection. It’s a very nice, creamy and sheer baby pink, just enough color for my lips but not enough to give the “grandma, where were your lips in this photo?” reaction 😀
Hi Carla!
Great list…I haven’t thought about Queen’s Sin for a while! You will love it, it’s a fantastic color. 🙂
I haven’t seen that Dior nail polish yet but will hopefully check it out tomorrow when I go to Union Square in San Francisco to do some makeup shopping. 🙂
BTW, the Fafi dolls are super cute!
Hi Glosslizard,
Oh yah, I remember that color. I almost got it, but then remembered the Pink Crystal shade I got for Christmas and passed. It’s so pretty though!
The other day I took out Galactic and wore it with Pink Treat lip liner. That’s another simple, yet sassy pink lip that I like! 🙂
Isn’t Fun N Sexy a unique colour? I got a back up just in case Luna (the kitten) knocks it into her litter box or something.
And you know what she did to my Layin’ Low paint pot? It rolled off my lap when I got up, and she scampers in…picks up the paint pot in her mouth…and runs off with it to hide in her secret toy stash. A week later and I still haven’t found the darn thing.
Hi Holly,
Oh yeah, I know the feeling! That’s how I am with my Barbie Beauty Powders from MAC. If the day comes when I actually use em all up I will be a sad, sad, girl 🙂
You are so cute with your wedding prep! I agree, it never hurts to be prepared. I know SF is far from you, but here’s where I got my dress, in case you need want to keep a few design ideas on file:
http://www.amykuschel.com/
I ended up with this dress:
http://www.amykuschel.com/gowns/tandie.html
When you get married I will vicariously live through your planning! It was stressful when it was happening but afterwards I missed it.
Hi Dao,
Girl, I think *everyone* had that same obnoxiously pink Wet n’ Wild lipstick back in the day! It was a staple…
Are you more of a gloss girl, rather than lipstick?
Hi Tekoa,
That is too funny! I bet when you find Luna’s secret toy stash there will be all sorts of cool stuff in it too, like catnip, jewelry, gold bars, maybe a manual explaining the meaning of life…darn cats are always so tricky.
Do you like the Glaze texture? It’s so light, I love it! 🙂
Karen – My advisor was an animal behavior expert…that’s what she got her PhD in. Anyway she focused on bees and wasps…apparently their hive behavior etc. is interesting.
Yeah I did some orchid studies as well as some studies on wild flower populations – one was the swamp aster (Aster puniceus). It’s funny how many scientific names I remember…we had to learn keying and be able to identify an insane number of species. So now as I drive along and see the stray wildflowers growing alongside the road…I’m thinking the scientific names in my head…yeah that’s brain space I’ll never get back. e.g. Daucus carotus – Queen Anne’s Lace (related to the carrot), Chicorium intybus – Chicory, Rudbekia hirta – black-eyed susan, Chrysanthemum leucanthemum – ox eyed daisy… you get the picture.
Lobelia siphilitica (blue lobelia) is one of my faves…but i never see it around here…
Hi Karen,
Wow what a beautiful dress, so elegant, i absolutely adore the hem on it! That site is exactly the sort of thing i like, im so not into huge merangues i want something really tasteful! Im fully prepared for the fact that im never going to find what i want over here so a trip to sf sounds good to me, you can show my mum and I around all the bridal hot spots haha! Oh imagine the makeup decisions that will have to be made!!
I kinda want quite a small wedding so that I can do everything to an amazingly high standard plus that means I dont have to invite all those relatives and work mates I dont like! ha!
Now all I need to find is a groom!
You got it right, I’m a gloss girl but MAC lip glosses are too sticky for me, boo! I’m still looking for the perfect gloss that’s shiny, moisturizing, well-pigmented, and has good staying power. Do you have anything in mind?
Hi Karen! I personally love the Fun N Sexy lipstick with Totally It Lipgloss. It’s like “WOAH!” major major hot pink action going on but it’s fun!
Hey Megan,
That’s so awesome that you know your plant names. I took a California plants class and we had to key like crazy! I remember bits and pieces, like when I’m when I go to the beach and see Carpobrotus or when I’m running around my hood see some Brassicaceae. The class was held during spring, and I have bad allergies so I was miserable all the time.
I remember more of the chemical processes…this weekend when we were in Vegas I saw some cacti and thought “CAM 4 photosynthesis ROCKS!”.
Hi Holly,
LOL, right? Now why does the finding the groom part have to be so darn hard?
Okay, if you make it out here to SF I’d be happy to go dress cruising with you and your mum. I know you’ve got some fab makeup skills, but you have to promise me that you’ll think about hiring somebody the day of your wedding to do your makeup. Chances are you’ll be really stressed out so it helps to have to not worry about it. Springing for a makeup artist was the smartest thing I did, seriously.
The wedding I had sounds a lot like the one you want. We only had a handful of people and made everybody fly to Hawaii, ha! I really wanted to get out of the bay area; my mom’s extended family is huge and I was so not down with having 200 “aunties” and “uncles” who I haven’t seen since I was a kid crash the party.
Hi Dao,
I really like Laura Mercier Lip Glace lipglosses ($20). They aren’t sticky, have excellent pigmentation, and don’t have a weird taste or smell. I have the Rose shade!
I also really like Chanel Glossimers ($25) for the same reasons. However it seems that Glossimer’s are one of those makeup products that people either love or hate. Some people think they’re over-priced, others believe they are the makeup gods gift to man/woman-kind.
A great drugstore option are Sally Hansen Diamond Lip Treatment ($2.99). I love almost everything about ’em… except they have a strong vanilla scent which took me while to get used to. If you don’t mind scented products then they are fantastic choice.
Ohhh, Jennifer that sounds like a really pretty combo. I have both of those so I will try that next! 🙂
Oh sis. Whenever I see pictures from your wedding, it really makes me feel like I’ve known you for a long time and I get that feeling like I wish I could have been there to celebrate that day with you. Gosh, am I corny or what? Lol.
But I love the stargazer lilies. So gorgeous! And look at those smackers! El hub is a lucky man to get those puckers 😉 Hope you’re having a great week hun and Happy Birthday to MBB!!
Hi Karen,
I will definately have a makeup artist at my wedding, in fact I already know which one! One of the girls I work with at Chanel is an amazing makeup artist and she offers a service where she does wedding makeup and stays all day to do touch ups etc! so she will be attached to my hip all day!
I think I need to go out and search for this groom now, i wanna plan a wedding!
My absolute hg combo will be syrup lipstick and prrr lipglass. I always got major compliment. And with light lips, I could always go crazy with colors on my eyes. Btw, I’d love to see your wedding make up. Did you jot down what the make up artist use? I missed a lot of the process, because i had to lay down on my back while my MUA did my face. It lasted for hours and I barely could recognize my face. I looked amazing, though.
Awww, Mrs. Lynne! I love your corny-ness! I know that if we met IRL we’d be great friends. 🙂
And thanks for your blog birthday wishes, whoppee!! Can’t wait to celebrate your first. I’ll bring the shave ice 😀
Hi Holly,
That’s great! It sounds like you’ve got your bases covered.
Now all we gotta do is find you an awesome guy, LOL!
Hi Pia,
That’s so funny that you mentioned Syrup. Yesterday I was rifling through my lipstick collection and I found a long-lost tube of Syrup that I got a year ago from Back to MAC! I don’t have Prrr but will have to find a similar replacement so I can try your HG combo!
Yo Karen!
Lovin’ those lips! I think I should try something pink, too. I’m usually a nude kinda girl.
Is it too late for the party? I said I would come yesterday, but I got RSI (repetitive strain injury) in my right wrist so I haven’t really been able to write..:/ It’s all due to the 50 pages of notes I made for geography exams. Lol.
Have a great weekend!
PS. Good news: we’re getting FAFI here in Finland next month! Can’t wait! 😀
Karen girl I love that you get inspired and all. HOWEVER I’m (almost) deathly allergic to stargazer lily’s. I mean they’re pretty but the smell sends me into a watery eyed, congested, nasty, mess. Not pretty. Nonetheless, I love your colors and need to head to my MAC counter to try those on. I desperately need the FAFI 1 eye quad.
Hi Aleks,
Wow, that’s a LOT of notes! Good luck on your exams, girl, and watch out for that wrist. I have a carpal tunnel that occasionally flares up…stretching and doing forearm curls helps me a ton.
So WOOT, Fafi in T-minus one month, that’s fab. I am sure you already have your list ready to go!
Have a good weekend and study hard!
Hi Tania,
Aww, that sucks! At least you can enjoy ’em without the terrible reaction when you see em on the computer! I get allergies, too… in the spring when certain trees and grasses in California bloom I react badly, so I have to carry around an the asthma inhaler and medicine for hives, boo.
I am thoroughly supportive of your Fafi 1 quad desires! Today I wore it for the third day in a row…Vanilla e/s on the browbone, Perky paint pot w/Pink Venus e/s in the crease, and Cash Flow Paint Pot on the lid topped w/Hey e/s. I’m so crushing on it, badly!
Hi Karen!
I am a hugh fan of pink lips! On my Fafi must-have list there are (next to others) l/s Fun’n’Sexy, l/g Totally It and Cult Fave. Can’t wait to try them myself.
My MA called me yesterday that the Fafi samples have arrived finally. Now I drink my coffee and then start to visit the MAC counter. I am really excited to see Fafi in real!
By the way, I still love Barbie l/g Malibu Barbie 😉
I wish you have a great Saturday, too!
Hi Susanne,
Hooray! Enjoy your MAC counter trip…you’ll have fun playing with the Paint Pots and the Quads, trust me 😉
Makeup and coffee…that’s a great way to kick off a Saturday! Take care.
Thanks, I’ll let you know when I come back!
Thanks, will do my best for the exam (finals eeekk) as well as the studying! 🙂 It sucks to have injuries/any kind of pain, but at least you start appreciating being healthy! At least in my case not being able to write for a couple of days has made me realise how lucky I am to be alive and kickin’. 🙂 My wrist is doing a little better today, but I think stretching wouldn’t be a bad idea. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Yeah, I definitely have a shopping list ready for FAFI, will let you know what I got. 😀
You too have a great weekend!
PS. I have a question for you since you’re such a pro in terms of makeup! I would like to find a great highlighter, so is there anything you could recommend? MAC, for example? 😀
Hi Susanne,
Hope you had a good makeup trip and came back with lots of goodies 🙂
Hi Aleks,
Stretching helps me a lot. So does remembering to take breaks…although when I’m in the groove of working that’s not always easy to do.
As for highlighters, it depends on what you plan on using it for and what formula you like (stick, powder, cream, liquid) and what you want to use it for. I have a few that I reach for often …
Barbie Loves MAC Beauty Powders in Pearl Sunshine and Pearl Blossom
Laura Mercier Illuminating stick in Golden Honey Glow
Oh, highlighter I’ve been loving lately is MAC Cream Color Base in Pearl! I wore it on my the upper apples of my cheeks today (applied with a 217 brush) for a subtle pearly highlight!
Bonjour Karen,
I love your wedding bouquet… You will find that strange, but in December, i asked to my friend florist to make a round bouquet for my wedding with exclusively white flowers, roses,callas etc…
And seeing yours i told to myself ” but this is THE bouquet i do want !!”.
I can’t wait for showing her a photo of yours !!
A few weeks ago ,i went to a MAC store and you asked me what i purchased…
Well i had :
_ a vivaglam lipstick VI
_ a lip-pencil in subculture
_ a blushpowder in blushbaby
_ a tecnakhol in graphblack
_ 2 eyeshadows in club and nanogold
_ a paint pot in softochre
The MUA tried some smockey eyes on me with club and nanogold and with some paint pot in quite natural. It was a kind of weird of what i used to wear but i liked it.
Now ,i just wait for the arrival of the MAC fafi collection to try the look you put on line.
And about the colors i wear, it depends of how i feel myself…
And as i love white flowers, it doesn’t influence me anyway!!!
The look i like very much is smockey eyes with grey,black and pearl eyeshadows and pink lipgloss.”Mon chéri”(my husband on the go)likes it very much…
About the Frédéric Malle perfumes you discovered in Las Vegas, there is a store here in Lyon and i’m really curious to try theses strange cabins…
And Karen there is a question i wanted to ask you: several times you wrote that you experienced to loose some weight and that it was really hard.
How many time before your wedding you started your diet and what was your plan to succeed in doing it ??
Thanks a lot for your answer.
Your french friend beauty addict,
Sophie.
Hi Sophie,
Awww, that’s so great! The mini callas are super cute, yah? I hope your friend can do something that you’ll love. LOL, I still have that bouquet. It’s dried and now sits on my dresser.
Your MAC haul sounds fab. I totally want to try the look that the makeup artist did on you. It sounds very pretty! I have all of those colors so I will give it a try, maybe tomorrow if I have time 🙂
I have yet another MAC product that I’ve fallen in love with – Cream Color Base in the color Pearl. It’s a fantastic highlighter and eye base (only on the lids).
You are my fourth friend getting married now! I’m so happy to live vicariously through your wedding planning (I remember it being very stressful, but after it was over I missed it.) Your look sounds pretty! Don’t forget the waterproof mascara, because even if you don’t think you will cry, you just might and it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. I didn’t think that I would cry on my wedding day, but during the vows I got a little teary. I ended up bawling when my dad and I did a father/daughter dance. I was really happy to be wearing the waterproof mascara then, let me tell you.
Oh yah, I remember seeing that there was a Frederic Malle store in Lyon! I hope they have those chambers there for you! They are very neat.
Losing weight for me was difficult. After I turned 26 my metabolism slowed down and I couldn’t eat everything in sight like I used to (sigh!). What helped me was really watching what I ate, eating smaller portions and lifting weights. Without doing those things (in addition to cardio exercise) I think it would’ve been even harder. It’s different for everyone though, and it really depends on your body type and your goals. For some people, exercising is hard, but I like to do it so it wasn’t an issue for me. My biggest challenge was learning how to eat healthy and watching my portion size. I got used to it, though, and to this day still keep up my healthy eating habits. 🙂
Hi Karen!
I came back from my visit at the MAC counter with mixed feelings.
First of all I saw Fafi in real and fell in love especially with the lipsticks and lipglasses. The colors and textures are brilliant! But I am also enthusiastic about the quads and the Paint Pots. It has been worth waiting for Fafi so long. Unfortunately I just saw the samples yesterday, the products themselves will be released next Saturday. I pre-ordered my Fafi must-haves and will get them next week.
I also saw the samples of all new Beauty Powder Blushes. They will be released here next week with Fafi. I am sure you will love them! I decided myself for Shy Beauty and Sweetness.
But there was a shock yesterday as well: My MA told me that we wouldn’t get Heatherette here! I am upset and disappointed and still can’t believe it. I fell in love with the pink packaging and have been looking forward to it since weeks. After the shock I went to Starbucks and ate a big chocolate cookie, but it didn’t help.
There hasn’t been a hint that Heatherette will be an exlusive collection.
Thanks for the tips! I prefer the powder formula, but I wouldn’t mind trying cream formula, for example. I’ve always found it easier to work with powder products but lately I’ve been brave (lol) and tried some cream stuff, too. So I think I’ll try the Cream Color Base! 🙂 What do you think about FAFI Iridescent Powder in Belightful? You think that would do the trick? I’d like to highlight my cheeks and get an overall glowy touch.
Hi Aleks,
I like it! It’s very big glitter though (not fine like the Barbie powders), but you’re young so you’ll totally be able to pull it off! I wore just a splash of it to work the other day, and it made me feel glowy. But you do have to be careful when you apply it, otherwise you’ll end up waaaay to glittery to function!
And you rock with your makeup bravery! GO GIRL!
Hi Susanne,
Did you pick up your Fafi today? I hope you have all your goodies and that you’re loving them.
I am pretty excited about the Beauty Powder Blushes. I am a sucker for blush so I’ll probably end up snagging a pan or two of those. 🙂 I will give Shy Beauty and Sweetness a close look…I hope I like them!
That’s a bummer that you won’t be getting Heatherette! I am a sucker for cute packaging too, and the glossy pink casing makes the entire collection look very spunky and trendy. If I was in your shoes I’d probably ended up going to Starbucks to eat a few brownie bites (my favorites) and drown my sorrows in a tall latte.