On Beauty Standards & Hamlet Inspired Self Portraits...

To sleep,
perchance to dream --

Sometimes, I have a hard time feeling like I need to be all these things - youthful, pretty, soft, small. While taking photos the other day, I was trying to project all of that: but after looking at the photos I wanted to cry. I began hyper focusing on the lines under my eyes, how tired I looked, how my body looked.

So I decided to hell with it - I put my hair up, smoked out my cried off eye makeup, and started taking portraits - only this time, instead of worrying about looking pretty, I decided to try to look annoyed, confident, bored, smug… Slowly, I realized I was trying to emulate a bit of a Shakespearean hero - think Romeo’s bravado or Hamlet’s weariness.

Voilé

Happy New Year's Eve! Thank you so much for being on this journey with me. I hope your 2019 is filled with love, light, and happiness ♡ I wanted to say goodbye to 2018 with a conceptual shoot I'm actually really proud of! Sometimes I feel like there is a thin veil between myself and others — ever present and isolating. Having a hard time expressing myself, occasionally I'll feel like a ghost: always watching, never participating. I wanted to explore these emotions in a shoot, and immediately thought of using veils to literally and figuratively show feeling obscured. I also took inspiration from Victorian era† ghosts — think spirits shrouded by lace and dust — one of my favorite motifs to explore in media.

I shot these on a cold September evening with the very last rays of golden light to spotlight how the veils cast shadows on the face. Shooting these photos felt like a beautiful marriage of many of my favorite concepts and designers which that have been swirling around in my head for months: Meadham Kirchhoff, old favorite Victorian era ghost stories, and past shoots I've done with Hana Haley all served as inspiration.

This dreamy vintage Gunne Sax dress I found at House of Vintage was a perfect match for this shoot. The brand’s use of high necks, puff sleeves, and delicate frills were all borrowed motifs from Victorian fashion trends! The makeup was directly inspired by Rodarte's stunning Spring/Summer 2019 Ready-To-Wear Collection that featured Robin's Egg blue eyes, matte skin, and a deep true red matte lip *.

Here's to 2019!

Spring Trends: Romantic Blush

One of my favorite editorial trends for Spring? Too much blush. A trend usually associated with contouring, and at times, harsh, blush of the 80s - I've been seeing makeup artists like Pat McGrath streamlining the look with dewy fresh skin and otherwise toned down makeup. Personally, I LOVE this look and would definitely wear it out for the right occasion... It reminds me of beauty icons in period pieces - think Keira Knightley as Elizabeth Bennet getting flushed running through grassy plains (or her younger sisters eagerly pinching their cheeks to recreate the look!) and Kristen Dunst as Marie Antoinette aggressively piling on the baby pink rouge before finishing with a drawn on beauty mark. What do you think - would you try this trend?

I'm Wearing...
Eyes: Colourpop Eyeshadows in Going Rogue, Itty Bitty, Flipper, & One by One *
Lips: Urban Decay Ultra Cushion Lip Gloss in Snitch *
(Fake) Monarch Butterflies (thank you Bao for these butterflies!)
Forever 21 Gingham Top

Photography Q & A

My interest in taking photos started when I was very young and was fueled by my fear of loss. In my mind, if I could capture a photo of something I loved, it was like I could keep part of it forever. This slowly turned into me starting Mermaidens and investing time and love into learning about photography to better document what I love!

Trying to navigate the photography industry was, and still is, overwhelming and intimidating. While I am very trepidatious to call myself a “photographer” (eep…), I have learned a lot over the past few years and I want to share any knowledge I can with you all! Whether it's with a dslr or iPhone, a snap of a posed model or a candid moment of your friend laughing - I believe everybody should be able to create art and document the important and beautiful things in their lives!

How to get started with photography and with what equipment/software? I know there’s lots of guides online but it’s overwhelming. - Wes
I will be speaking from the perspective of someone entirely self-taught. If you have the resources for classes, that’s definitely a great option, but for me that wasn’t possible.

Here's an actionable list of things you can do to "Start" your journey:

Ask yourself questions and try to narrow down what you want (Do you want a flip out screen? How much are you willing to spend? Etc.)

Google phrases like "best cameras under $600", "best lenses under $400" (depending on your budget), etc., to help you narrow things down

Find out what people you admire use (photographers and youtubers usually list or talk about their favorite equipment somewhere!)

Found a camera/product that sounds good? Cross reference everything - read and watch as many reviews as you can on that specific camera, software, or piece of equipment

Once you have what you need - practice practice practice! Sometimes, trial and error is the best teacher, so let yourself have fun and experiment! Try not to get discouraged or be too hard on yourself at this point, you need to give yourself room to make mistakes so you can grow.

What camera do you use? - Annie
I have a Canon Mark II 7D and use a 18-135 and 50 mm f/1.8 lens interchangeably. I love this camera but there are definite pros and cons - I'm not sure if I'd recommend it for people trying to take self-portraits and it is definitely not a camera for beginners. I also use my pink Fujifilm Instax Mini 8 and an iPhone 7 - both of which I LOVE. iPhones really take amazing photos these days - I highly recommend using them to start out!

How do you put a portfolio together? - Wes
Take as many pictures as possible! Take pictures of your cat, both candids and posed photos of your friends, a pretty street, an experimental self-portrait, the way the sun streams into your room - and then look at them all with a critical eye. Ask your friends which they like if you need to, and then compile your favorites.

How do you take nice looking self portraits? I remember you posting an old vs. new self portrait of yours and the new one looked so much more professional! - Stefania
Thank you so much! I genuinely love taking portraits and feel like I have made a lot of progress in the past few years taking them.

1. Research Light
Honestly, researching portrait lighting on Google and Youtube have been invaluable to me! I saved up for a ring light * and a lighting set and started playing around. Do you need both or either though? Absolutely not. Sitting in front of natural lighting (think open windows) is an amazing and free option - it’s just always cloudy where I live and since this is my job, buying some lights was an investment I (oh so slowly) had to make. Also, look into DIY or store bought reflectors!

* I got this one which I love, some more expensive models come with customizable intensities of light however, and this one doesn’t which is a bit of a con!

This video by Haze Films is a great example of what a difference light positioning can make.

2. Angles
Figure out what angles work best for you - take photos from every angle you can think of!

3. Backgrounds
Play attention to your background! Invest in a paper backdrop, set up a little space in your living space that looks cute, or at the very least, make sure no mess or clutter is visible behind you!

In general, I also highly recommend Maya Washington's incredible Tech Talk series, which is an invaluable resource (go give her a follow and like her videos to give back for all her hard work)!

~ Thanks for reading! Please send me any photos you take - I'd love to see them! Also, if you have any more questions feel free to comment and I'll try to answer in part two ♡

Spring Trends: Cherry Print

If may only be February, but my mind is already dreaming of Spring! Though I am not really known for dressing "seasonally" (this gal was wearing pastels in fall... cough), Springtime gives me the perfect excuse to dress in all my favorite things and I'm dreaming of daisies, cherry printed clothing, berets, ribbons, picnics, poetry books and too much blush. Luckily for me, brands seem to be on the same page and I keep finding the cutest cherry print or themed pieces! Here I rounded up some of my favorites...

What spring trends and activities are you excited for?

I'm wearing...
Forever 21 top, Just Peachy beret *, NYX Powder Puff Lippie in Group Love *, NYX Rouge Cream Blush in Rose Petal and Wet n Wild The Princess Daiquiris blush

MAKEUP: Marie Antoinette

When Lancome asked me to do a makeup look inspired by a modern day Marie Antoinette I jumped at the chance! Growing up, I obsessed over Isabella Rossellini’s Lancome ads and I have been equally smitten with the latest face of Lancome, the incomparable Lupita Nyong’o! Here is the makeup look I created - another excellent last minute Halloween costume idea!

Products Used:
Hypnôse Drama Waterproof Mascara *
Auda[City] in Paris Palette *
L'Absolu Rouge Définition Lipstick in Le Carmin *
Sourcils Gel Eyebrow Gel-Cream in Blonde *
Sourcils Gel Dual End Eyebrow Brush *
Blush Subtil in Rose Paradis *

MAKEUP: Roy Lichtenstein's Crying Girl

THE WHITEPEPPER DRESS *

Decided to do makeup inspired by this youtuber's amazing version of the infamous "crying girl" illustration by Roy Lichtenstein! The perfect last minute Halloween costume - all you need is makeup and clothing that looks like it would belong in a comic book!

Here is a set by step guide to know I did it if you are curious:
To start, apply your concealer and foundation as usual. Use eyeshadow primer on your eyelids and extend to under your eyes. To create the stark lines, I used NYX Matte Black Eyeliner. I like NYX’s eyeliner for it’s small brush which enables you to do very precise work. Steady your elbow on a firm, flat surface, and start drawing a line down your nose. Outline your jawline, and two curved lines - one by your nostril and one between your eyebrows - to make it look like you are in constant distress!

Do a cateye and apply false lashes. Using a thin white eyeliner pencil, line your waterline and extend the line a bit to make your eyes appear cartoony and larger, finish by outlining it with more black eyeliner. Then, start blocking out “tears” under your eyes. I used NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk as a base/primer and to outline where I would be laying down the blue eyeshadow. After perfecting the shape of the tears with the white pencil, I carefully applied the blue shadow overtop the white. Again, outline the tears with your black eyeliner. Clean up around the tears with concealer (I used by favorite NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer) - to perfect any mistakes.

Next, I applied NARS Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in Cruella - a dazzling, true red matte - and outlined the lips with the black eyeliner. For a finishing touch, adding a “highlight” to the lips with NYX’s white liquid liner.

Finally, I used the NYX’s Jumbo Pencil again in Milk to create the white dots on my face.

Do you have any fun plans for Halloween? I'd love to hear all about them!

Makeup: Crying Petals

LIP COLOR: NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Buenos Aires EYE SHADOW BASE: NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil in Milk EYESHADOW: Sugarpill's Tako *, Black Matte Eyeshadow (can't remember which!) EYELINER: NYX Liquid Black Eyeliner EYELASH GLUE: DUO Eyelash Adhesive

Just a little post sharing this self portrait I took a while ago inspired by one of my favorite ladies - Twiggy! I've been practicing a lot with cut creases - they are my favorite eyeshadow technique, and Twiggy was certainly the queen of the style in the 60s! I also glued fake flower petals on my cheeks using eyelash adhesive.

Since moving, everything has been pretty hectic and I've felt a bit upside down. I'm hoping to get my feet firmly back on the ground soon so I can take more self portraits like these and catch up with everything! It's not a nice feeling... ♡❀

Self Portrait: As Jean Shrimpton by Bert Stern

In honor of Spring's arrival, I decided to recreate one of my all time favorite photos - Bert Stern's floral portrait of Jean Shrimpton has always stuck with me for it's sheer beauty.

I plan on doing more self portraits as some of my favorite 60s ladies! I really love taking self portraits - though I do sometimes wish I could just clone myself because it would be easier then running back and forth between the backdrop and the camera, flowers falling out of my hair as I go...!

Happy Spring!

The Inspiration: Jean Shrimpton photographed by Bert Stern for Vogue, 1965