be blushless

Sneaky preview of work lately

Happy Easter Everyone!
Though I have mainly been brainstorming new ideas and concepts as well as feeding myself delicious cakes and coffees, I have also been doing a lot of make-up designs and great collaborations lately. And it seems like outdoor location has started too, which is extra exciting.
The sneaky preview below was a project with the great photographer Claire Huish and the fantastic Stylist Rosie Williams. Next to the tall beautiful model I look so very short.
I am looking forward to all the exciting work for this Spring and Summer.

Pastel Spring Pixie

image via Dashing Magazine, Make Up & Hair by Liv Lundelius

This morning I had some Yoga time in the sunshine through our living room window and painted my toe nails in pastels.
Yoga in the morning is a great exercise, and if you’d like to get started, you can use this great coupon for Patagonia gear to help you save.
Someone played the piano in our courtyard that someone has thrown out.
The latest issue of Dashing Magazine has been published this week.
I love the whole magazine and read it today for breakfast.
You can see above some of the shots of the hair and make up I have done for the Spring issue.
Now I am really in Spring mood. The sun tingels and looking at all these pretty pastels get’s me really excited. For Spring.

about supernatural nails and japanese food

It’s the little things in life that are making me very happy, like coffee in the sunshine,
or a new nail polish.
Nails are huge at the moment. Which makes me happy, since I have always loved nail colours a lot.
I am still staying away from nail art and sticking with simple uni colourings.
The other day I met the girls behind the hip nail polish brand Rococo Nail Apparel, Ange and Vernice Walker.
The talented sisters have worked as nail designers and celebrity manicurists with all the big names and started their own successful little family business.
At the same time they are also 2 very humble and extremely kind sisters. No wonder they came so far. Real team work.
And not only where this two interesting to chat to and told me about their passion for everything Japanese, including a slight very healthy obsession with Japanese food, they also offered to paint my nails and chose the coolest colour, which I now own as well (it’s LabNude 6.0).
A mannequin nude, somehow vintagey, somehow clean but edgy at the same time. Or in Rococo’s words: Supernatural.
Thanks ladies! So very nice to meet you, you have made my day.

Wonderful quotes on marriage

I am not married myself, but I love the whole philosophy behind it from a yogic point of view. I find it very inspiring.
The following quotes are taken from Yogi Bhajan Lecture Archive

“The one act to perform is for a man and a woman to merge as one.
If from this minute they merge as one, they amalgamate now, they shall succeed.

To make an alloy, you take two elements and put them together. The alloy cannot be separated. You can boil it, you can
form the alloy into a liquid, you can totally burn it, but once it becomes an alloy, it will totally keep its own quality, own
quantity, own weight, own molecules, own electrons, protons and neutrons, and own combination. Whatever made brass
doesn’t matter. Brass has its own faculty, own quality, own weight and own property.

Marriage brings happiness. It’s an amalgamation of two psyches. And when these two psyches are amalgamated, neither one
is an individual. There is no question of he and she. That’s it. There is no loss, there is no gain and there is no bank account.

And that is what love is, that is what marriage is, that is what life is, that is what good luck is. There are no two opinions about
it; when a male and a female merge together. That’s why we do it before God. ”

© Yogi Bhajan 2002

Happy New Year

Happy New Year everyone.
This one will be the year of the Dragon (whatever that is supposed to mean!?)
It sounds pretty good. I am very excited about 2012.
Here are my little resolutions: Liv’s New Year Resolutions

Full On Make Up

Recently I have been up a lot of make-up work.
Great and inspiring work, most of the time.
I met interesting people and have been learning and experimenting.
December should now get a little more quiet so I can catch up with blogging and updating my website.
And for Christmas cookies and tea.

I will post a few recent projects within the next weeks.
Have you all checked out the great Dashing Magazine?
I have done a little step by step make up tutorial in their first issue that just launched yesterday.
Happy December, all!

A royal wedding party

The Royal Wedding, is long ago be now, and though I have blogged about the special atmosphere here,
I never got round to post the photos.
I love how everyone dressed up it felt like actually being on a wedding.
The best wedding party ever. And a new public holiday for us in the U.K.
See more photos here.

What does growing up mean to you?

image via papier mache

Not long ago, I felt really far from being a grown-up.
27 has always been my idea of a grown up age.
Don’t ask me why. I turned 27 in January.
But was does it actually mean being a grown-up. Growing.
Our body stops growing in height when we are around 18 years.
Our mind will hopefully never stop growing.
Growing up to means to not cry over a lolly in the supermarket.
Literally. To me it means to start sharing what you have learned.
To keep up without complaining. To accept, without giving up.
To teach, beside sill learning.
To take yourself less seriously but to treat yourself and others with more respect.
My goals in life have lately drastically changed. So have my values.
Not that I am no longer full of silly ideas, and still a hopeless romantic, doing 100 different creative projects at a time…all that is hopefully never going to change. I am still learning, always.
But something is different.More Relaxed. Less drama.
Something happened within the last year. I feel more grown-up.
What does growing up mean to you?

who needs an engagement ring?

image via le love

This week I actually happened to have a conversation about engagement rings and the question was, if I’d even want an engagement ring.
My initial reaction was: OF COURSE! Then I had to defend my point of view a little, which made me feel like a silly cow that is obsessed with diamonds. Hello?
I started realizing that in my hippie-esque family an engagement ring is fairly uncommon, my mum only wears a wedding band.
In Germany we don’t have such a big fuss about weddings in general.
Everything is more practical than fashionable.
Maybe that’s why I like it. For me it’s exotic and special.
When I did research on this topic in the web I was surprised how many people even questioned that an engagement without a ring isn’t an engagement at all. Of course it is.
Remember the engagement guitar, here?
If I want to marry someone, a ring is obviously the least important thing.
But it is pretty. That’s all.

The nightmare about the green dress

image via Motilo

Here is to another fashionable wedding : Full of very well dressed guests! See more here.
I had a dream last night. My mum forced me to get married out of the blue, and not enough she wanted the whole event in her backyard, and she invited her friends only. I said: ” But Mum, I haven’t got anything to wear just now.” She handed me a dress and said: “Sure you do!” – “But it’s green…”, I desperately tried to make my point. “Don’t be so fussy” she said, pushing me out in front of the guests. I was wearing flip-flops and a green dress. My future husbands family she sat down in a corner away from the other guests. None of my friends were attending,
The whole thing couldn’t have been further from what I wish my wedding to be like one day. Stupid nightmares!!!
We have a saying in Germany that if you want your dreams to become true, you shouldn’t share them with anyone.
I don’t want this to become true at all, so I thought I better share it with the whole world, just to be safe.
Happy wedding planning everyone!

the best thing about britain

image courtesy of Bombay Bicycle Club
The best thing about living in London is for sure all the great music.
All the little venues where you can see great talent all week long.
What I am listening to right now is Bombay Bicycle Club, sooooooo good on a Sunday.
Like today.
Their music is beautiful, though they look so young that they almost make me feel old.
And Dave.I.D. sooo good for partying. Just bought the album. My Dave loves it.
Check them out! Bombay Bicycle Club would make great wedding music as well…

hello sunshine!

Hello Sunshine!
So good to see you. I have been trying to get in touch for a while.
I prepared to meet you at this sunny wonderful weekend off.
It was so good to hang out in the park with my summary friends:

+ fresh fruit (my favorite are mangoes and apples)
+ Vichy thermal water spray (amazing to set make up and refresh the skin)
+ big (round) sunglasses
+ a well fitting bikini/swimwear this one is by Lepel via lingerieplease they were kind enough to sent me a set to review and I LOVE IT.
+ a good book , (“A Woman’s Book of Yoga”, brilliant!)
+ non greasy sunscreen 30+ for the face
+ a hat

Thank you sunshine! I had the best time. See you soon.

Love Liv

beach babe…

Yep that’s me! In Portugal.
That’s why I love the sun so much.
Recently my dad emailed me tons of photos of my childhood.
I grew up in a car, where I was traveling around with my hippie mum in Portugal and southern Europe.
That might be the reason I am never feeling homesick.
Though I don’t want my kids to live in a car, I wish they can bounce around by the beach a lot.
David came to visit my parents in Germany for the first time, since I moved to London.
They had a big garden party where Dave performed his first few German sentences.
It was great fun. (and really cold!)

pause…and play!

image via Papier Mache
It’s time to pause and PLAY!
With the whole moving chaos and stressful housemates, my previous studies and full time job, trying to built up my new career in make up artistry and schedule photo-shoots at all days off, there was little to no time for myself.
Nor for my loving relationship, though we are living together.
I got the point of being anxious and unhappy and every few weeks a hormonal moodiness.
Sometimes living in a huge city like London feels insane.
I am sometimes really hard and impatient when it comes to myself and I wouldn’t allow myself days of laziness and relaxation.
Since the move part 1 is done and we are currently in a gorgeous temporary house I decided to step back and book myself a yoga class. Finally.
And I will continue going every week.
There are also a few health problems that I want to heal and I really feel, it’s time to take time for myself. At least some exercise and yoga on a regular basis and good food.
It made me also realise that I really want to change a few things in my life I no longer agree with.
And I know now that I DO want kids, one day, NOT JUST YET. (I last explained here how I feel about kids: Do you think you will be a good mum?)
I am feeling better.
In tune. Time to play.

Happy hair days…

Shortly after my last professional hairstyling course, I was looking for the best styling tools, to use on my clients as well as for myself.
I got really lucky to get the chance of reviewing a pair of the famous ghd hair straighteners.
Most people agree that they are the best on the market, but I have never used them before.
This week I got sent a really chic box with the “GLAMOUR” version of the limited edition “Iconic Eras Of Style” stylers.
Including a heat resistant black satin bag, two sectioning clips, a styling look book and the ghd Gold Classic styler.
Not only was I impressed with the packaging and design of the product, it was really professional and safe to use. The styling was super fast and easy. The styler tells you with a beep sound, when it’s ready to use and will also automatically switch off if not used for longer than 30 seconds.
I will definitely use this for my bridal hairstyling!
The styler set mentioned in this post is available for 129,00 GBP.
If you are interested in the award winning ghd products check out their website.