please me

My initial lipstick acquisition phases centered around reds and oranges, then deep red wine shades, so, for someone who has a lot of lipstick, pink is relatively underrepresented. Or, it was.

We’ve done some catching up, pink and I.

One of the most recommended shades was MAC Please Me, a matte mid-tone rose pink. This is right on the border of being too pale for me, that region of the spectrum of yellow-based pink that makes me look ill/green, from which I have to go either brighter (toward neon) or darker to find a shade that doesn’t jar.

It’s surely partly a mental block of my own as well, I concede. I don’t wear pale pinks, so I always think they look off. That said, paired with a slightly darker liner (this lipstick is better with a liner, anyway, not opaque enough on its own), I can totally work with this.

mac please me lipstick

Look who put on eyeliner! That’s Bobbi Brown gel liner.

I’m willing to experiment to push the boundaries of how pale I can go before things get weird. Ideally I will at the same time shift those boundaries, expanding the realm of color open to me. [Of course the entire realm of color is open to me…but I am not open to it.]

Rimmel Exaggerate lip liner in Pure with MAC Please Me in the center, Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation (still loving) with Rouge Bunny Rouge Impalpable Finishing Powder (also really like, though I’m going back and forth between that and the Charlotte Tilbury pressed powder, with is fantastic). Chanel Cream Blush in Affinite, which you can’t exactly see but which you would notice if it weren’t there. Played about with my Lorac Pro palette, even! Eyeshadow! And the brow perfection going on is MAC Pro Longwear Brow Set in Bold Brunette, pretty emphatically not my shade, several shades darker than my real brow color, but just the thing when I want to get the brows really dark but still natural. Officially I prefer Benefit Gimme Brow in Light/Medium for going just a teeny bit darker and grooming into place.

Barry M Nail Jelly in Satsuma.

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girl about town

A vibrant pink lip pairs so well with florals.

floral summer dress

MAC girl about town lipstick

Madewell mira pumps

Love this sage green suede.

Anthropologie straw hat

Straw hat from Anthropologie, pumps and belt from Madewell, thrifted dress. On the lips: MAC Girl About Town with Lipstick Queen lip pencil in Hot Rose as a base (great pairing). Wearing the Koh Gen Do Aqua Foundation in 123, which is fantastically like skin, and Stila convertible color in Tulip on the cheeks. MAC Rosemary & Thyme eye pencil under the eyes, a really pretty mossy sage green with a bit of shimmer. MAC brow set in Bold Brunette on the brows, which is a few shades darker than my actual brows and SO GOOD. Just what I was looking for as far as a natural-looking (and quick/easy) way to distinctly darken my brows. Dark brows and blonde hair are so great anytime, but especially for summer.

floral summer dress

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