Color Spotlight: Copper

I have a true, deep, and abiding love for the color copper.   Rich, metallic, and reminiscent of the colors of autumn (my favorite time of year),  copper has such a warmth and radiating beauty.   I love it in so many forms: jewelry, eye shadow, nail polish, home decor, and it has the added sentimental value of being the color of my wedding band and the color of my daughter's hair.  Here are some of my fav's:

Clockwise from left: Maybelline Eye Studio eyeshadow quad in Copper Chic, E.L.F. Smudgepot in Brownie Points, Sephora Mirror eyeshadow in Lucky Penny , Mary Kay Mineral Eye Color in Copper Glow and Amber Blaze

I am drawn to metallic copper eyeshadow.  Even though I have a cooler skin tone,  I'm drawn to the beauty and warmth of this color.  (When I say "copper," I'm also lumping it into similar hues like rose gold and amber). 

  

E.L.F. Baked Eyeshadow in Toasted

Left to Right: Ulta Gel Eyeliner in Copper and Rimmel Kate Moss Eye Shadow Stick in Rose Gold

After doing a bit of experimenting with different eyeliner colors throughout the years, I have come to the conclusion that I am definitely a black-eyeliner-only kind of girl . . . with one exception.  I am a sucker for copper eyeliner, my favorite being the Ulta brand gel liner, with gives the perfect saturation without straying too far into a brown.  I don't wear copper liner often, but when I do it gives a soft, flattering look. 

E.L.F. Cream Eyeliner in Copper

Becca Shimmering Skin Perfector Poured in Rose Gold

Hello gorgeous. This is "poured" rose gold in a compact.  How could I resist?  I am too fair to use this product as a highlight.  I may be able to use to pull it off as a blush, I want to try.  But what I have used it for is a pretty contour.  I may be breaking the rules, but I don't care.  I love this stuff.  I ordered it from Sephora's site by mistake thinking I was getting the powder, (which is also amazing),  but I fell so in love with the flawless finish of this cream, I kept it.  The powder is still on my wishlist.  ;)

Mary Kay Crème Lipstick in Copper Glow

I know metallic, glittery lipsticks are out of style now, but I still love this lip color, (which is now discontinued by Mary Kay).  I have a beautiful Japanese aunt who looks absolutely stunning in this color.  I can't pull it off quite as well as she does, but I like it anyway.  It looks prettier in the tube than on my lips, so I keep it in my collection.

Left to Right: Revlon Ultra HD Lip Lacquer in Amber, Maybelline The Elixer gloss in Glistening Amber, Too Faced Melted Metal liquid lipstick in Debutante

These glosses are more sparkly amber shades, that is a little more true orange-y and less rich and rosy, but still in the same color family. 

 

Clockwise beginning from bottom left:  OPI Nail Lacquer in A Woman's Prague-ative, Revlon Brillant Strength nail enamel in Captivate, Revlon Metallic nail enamel in Copper Penny, Sephora by OPI in Traffic-Stopper Copper, and Sally Hansen Triple Shine Nail Color in Dream Sequins

I love to rock copper nails, glitter or metallic.  'Nuff said. 

Rose Gold Fox ear studs by Fossil

Over the years I have amassed a collection of rose gold jewelry (rose gold is a gold-copper alloy) the most special of which is my original rose gold piece, my wedding band given to me (of course) by my husband.  Over the years he has given me a few rose gold necklaces, which are of course, very special to me, too special to photograph.  The beautiful, fun fox earrings (above) I chose for myself when my brother gave me a certificate to Fossil when my daughter was a newborn. 

Yes, this is a beauty blog, but this tray and planter set in "butterscotch copper" (don't you just love that?!)  was a gift from my mother-in-law. 

Caron Simply Soft yarn in Pumpkin

This is one of my favorite yarns.  The color is called "pumpkin," but it is a beautiful orange-red, that celebrates the fire-y side of the coppery spectrum.  My sweet mother knitted me some socks and a scarf from this yarn. 

And last but not least:

Close up of my daughter's hair color (unfiltered!)

My toddler's red hair is rose gold, the same hue as my ring.  I pray that it stays this color forever.

<3 <3 <3

A Note on Color

Deer in a Monastery Garden, Franz Marc, 1912

I love color.  I am drawn to  are bright, bold, saturated arrays of color.  I think most of us are.  For instance I've observed that my preschool-aged child is much more likely to think a candy, ice cream flavor, etc looks delicious if it is colorful.  I suppose I have never grown out of that trait that lures me to color in all forms: food, art, scenery.   I hope I never do.    

The above paintings is by one of my favorite artists, Franz Marc, a modernist who loved to depict animals in his bold geometric paintings.  In college I minored in art history   I even went on an art history study aboard in Europe and toured museums and cathedrals all over France, Belgium, and London.  Sometimes I fantasize what kind of career I may have had if I had chosen to pursue art history and curatorial studies in graduate school.  Would I be working at a job I loved at an art museum (unemployed with a lot of debt, praying for job opportunities)?  I remember hearing somewhere, that in trying to figure out what career you should have, you should think about what careers you envy.  In recent years, on the rare occasions when I've been to local art museums, I always find myself "envying" the docents, typically so serene and classy.  What an amazing, sophsticated job that would be, and to be surrounded by all of those beautiful things . . . Then again, sometimes I envy the employees who work at Sephora for the same reason (then again they have to deal with the aggravation of working in retail).  For now my main responsibility is my family, but I still try my hardest to surround myself with beauty and expose my kids to it as well.

Because color is such an integral part of makeup, I want to start a spotlight series featuring some of my favorite colors in makeup, nail color, and jewelry, and show how and with what products I use it.  I'm still experimenting, but that is part of the process.  Aren't we all just a work in progress anyway?