Label Love: Samantha Pleet

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I was introduced to Samantha Pleet through Tara Violet Niami and Hannah Metz last year, and with spring in the air, I keep thinking back to her gorgeous Spring 2014 collection - with which I've been smitten with since I first saw it!.

Images by Erin Hagstrom

Images via Samantha Pleet's Official Website

The mixture of gorgeous prints, quiet sophistication, and attention to details makes her one of my favorite designers right now and the dreamy fashion films Pleet creates with her group of bright young talents is like icing on the cake! I think my favorite pieces from the collection are the gorgeous foliage covered matching top and bottom, the airy seafoam Tabernacle dress and Scout Dress in Fauna! ♡

Heroine by Hana Haley

I'm not exaggerating when I say being able to work with Hana Haley is an absolute dream come true! She will be cracking jokes and telling cute antidotes before suddenly falling silent as she starts visualizing a shot, considering the location and weighing how the sun will fall on a face while looking through her film camera's viewfinder. She has a strong vision and a very talented, trained eye but is still willing to listen to my silly suggestions.

Shot with failing light and my collection of frothy vintage (or retro inspired, in the case of the milkshake one!) dresses in a Foresty theme park, I am in love with how these turned out. Hana's photography always look like film stills that immediately bring to mind story lines about nostalgia and candy colored adventures.

My friend Bertha's description of what these remind her of is my favorite:

"They (look like stills from a movie about a) lost ghost princess who’s been cursed out of her kingdom and is left wandering the earth, searching for another doorway in, another way back."

You can see more pictures from this shoot on Hana's Facebook and Portfolio ♡

Introducing Powder Doom

In case you haven't noticed me blabbing about it literally everywhere else, Arabelle recently handed over the reigns to me as editor-in-chief of Powder Doom, a makeup blog she created with her friend Chi-Chi.

I have been toying around with creating a beauty blog for months, so Arabelle's offer was an absolute godsend - as I was already a huge fan of Powder Doom (having illustrated their sidebar portraits last year!) and their mission of bringing makeup tips to everybody. So many beauty blogs feel very samey to me, so I wanted to offer a blog with multiple perspectives and one that feels very community driven with guest posts and submissions from readers.

I brought together some of my very favorite bloggers to be regular contributors (take a look at our staff page!) and encourage people to submit, submit, submit! So far, two weeks and ten posts in, I am incredibly happy and proud of the result and very excited!

See the posts so far here and if you want to be featured on Powder Doom, please send your pitches to hellomermaidens@gmail.com. We are looking for beauty/hair DIYs/how-to's/tutorials, reviews, "Get The Look: (insert celebrity/runway makeup here)", "Makeup of the Day" (which would just be a selfie and a list of what products you are wearing), and we are also looking for Beyonce themed posts for our upcoming Beyonce Week special!

♡

I Meow You

FLOWER GARLAND: c/o Beauxoxo • DRESS: c/o Kee Boutique • TOTE: Forever 21 • SOCKS: ASOS (similar) • BOOTS: Forever 21

Hello, it's been forever! March was one of the busiest months I've ever experienced and also one of the best - but more on that later! A not so great part of March was finding out my grandfather had a large aortic aneurysm on his heart in addition to two major blockages in his heart valves. Suffice to say, we were all very scared leading up to the operation. The surgery went well - and then my grandmother over worked herself and needed some extra medicine for her heart…! (Does anybody else's grandmothers' try to do everything herself and won't accept help from her children/grandchildren let alone listen to them?! Eek) But anyway, they are both recovering nicely and my family and I have been helping them along the way to a full recovery!

I was finally able to shoot some pictures at my grandparents' house the other day, and it's a good thing because I have been itching to share this outfit!

This smock dress by Kee Boutique is absolutely darling and I am smitten with the muted, dusky rose hue. I have long admired Keely's lovely handmade dresses, and this beautifully made frock has been a dream to prance around in! Keely was also generous enough to give me a 20% off coupon code for you! Simply enter "mermaidens" at checkout ♥

I paired it with this beautiful pastel flower garland Miss Georgie from Beauxoxo sent me as part of one of the most jaw-droppingly generous and thoughtful parcels I have ever received (which also included my new favorite lipstick, Topshop's Whimsical, which I am wearing here)! This is the first time I've worn one of Georgie's pieces after oohing and ahhing over their online store for a year or two and it's even more beautiful in person! I hope to be able to start a collection of these dainty garlands soon because I am in love…

How cute is this Forever 21 tote? I really, really love the convenience of tote bags for the days I want to carry around some books with me and I cannot resist cute cats and such a good price!

Plus, my pink boots have been perfect for navigating the Spring Oregon rain showers - you might even catch me splashing in puddles like a five year old in these… *cough*

My cousin Mikayla (and me being a ham ;3) - an incredibly thoughtful, hardworking, strong, and caring person I have ever met and gorgeous to boot ;__; <3 Very lucky to have her in my life!

See you very soon! ♥