Beauty inspiration comes in all forms, including lavender...and lemonade.

Growing up in California, I have been lucky enough to be surrounded by flowers almost year-round– however, in the Summertime one of my favorite things about where I live is that the flowers go into overdrive mode and every corner I turn has a new beautiful, vibrant, colorful bunch both in my neighborhood’s gardens, local parks and storefronts– and even a whole bunch of nearby farms that specialize in growing one of my favorites–

Lavender!

And as Summer is “lavender season” there are more than a few opportunities in Monterey County to experience these gorgeous flowers firsthand– there’s even an annual lavender festival held during the Summer months in Carmel Valley! You don’t need to go to the festival to enjoy these beautiful buds though– I was able to stop by a lavender farm this past weekend to learn a little bit about their growing process, and even harvest some for myself firsthand. 

Lavender Inspired Eyes and Lavender Lemonade

This trip inspired me to do a lavender themed post for you. 

The lavender inspired eye aren’t where the lavender fun in this post ends… I’m including my favorite recipe for lavender lemonade, too– so you can sip this Summer treat in style ;)

 Lavender Eyes

To start, I chose three super vibrant and gorgeous Simple Beauty Minerals Eye Shadows: Blue Opal, Iris, and Lavender Silver and chose to go with a light, shimmery, nude lip to balance out the beautiful bright eye with my Perfection Mineral Organic Lip Gloss. 

 

(top to bottom– with flash) Lavender Silver, Iris, Blue Opal

(top to bottom– without flash) Lavender Silver, Iris, Blue Opal

Blue Opal Mineral Eye Shadow

I applied Blue Opal all over my lid using the Simple Beauty Minerals Eyeshading Brush (btw did you know that all of our brushes are not only fantastic for applying mineral make up, but they are vegan to boot?!).

Make sure to really saturate the color and not to blend it out - just yet… 

Iris Mineral Eye Shadow

Next, I used Iris as a transition color over top of my crease.

Again, I made sure to saturate it and did not blend it out (that comes later!). 

Lavender Silver Mineral Eye Shadow

I went in with Lavender Silver as my highlight on both my brow bone as well as in my inner corners (I used my ring finger to apply the highlight to my inner corner since I find this gives me less fall out and more precision than using a brush for the effect that I want here!).

Then, I went in with my Mini Fluff Brush and blended out the eyeshadow starting from the middle of my lid and working up and out.

 Finishing Touches

To finish up my eyes, I used Blue Opal to line right below my lower lash line for a little pop of color leading into the inner corner highlight– and then of course curled my lashes and added in my mascara! 

Satin Cheeks

For my cheeks, I skipped blush and chose to simply go with a highlight for a dewy glow– I used Simple Beauty Mineral’s Satin Finish Powder (my absolute go-to highlighting finish powder!) and then finished up by applying a couple of coats of Perfection Mineral Organic Lip Gloss for a beautiful, shimmery, nude lip– Ta-da!

 Now, for the lavender lemonade… 

Sophistication and Mystery

I love how simple yet elegant this recipe is– both in effort and in taste. The lavender truly does add a note of sophistication and mystery– but it doesn’t over power the lemon, and doesn’t complicate things too much. It’s just perfect.

Gather Your Supplies

You’ll need 1 part honey and 1 part lemon juice to 5 parts water  (if you prefer you can use Bee Free Honee although it will give a distinctly apple-y flavor– so I personally just opt for some local raw honey that I like to enjoy!) and a healthy dose of lavender (this can be done to your own personal taste, but I tend to add a little under a tablespoon for every five cups of water!). Also, you will need a tea infuser (or a reusable tea bag– or, alternatively you can use a strainer to sieve the lavender buds out if you choose to simply add them straight to the lemonade during the steeping process!). 

Ready?

Once you have all of your supplies gathered, bring the water to a boil and add in the honey. Once the honey is dissolved, remove from the heat and add in your lavender (either in your tea infuser or using your aforementioned method of choice). Let the lavender steep for at least half an hour (up to two hours depending on how strong you prefer the taste!). Remove the lavender, and add in the lemon juice (and ice cubes!), and enjoy!

 

 

Abby is a photographer and blogger who never says no to a hot cup of tea or a new shade of lipstick. She lives in Monterey, CA with her husband where they enjoy hiking, cooking/eating everything vegan, and basically living the (neat and tidy) hippie dream. You can follow her @galaxyandglowworm and @abbyroephoto on instagram.