Beauty Breakdown: cutesy time

Good morning creative people!

Welcome to a Beauty morning with me, MaJo :) Every Thursday I'll delight you with gorgeously packed beauty products (and every now and then, I'll even throw you a beauty secret).

This week I'm bringing you a taste of sweetness. Kawaii is the Japanese word for cute, adorable and loveable that has grown into a whole strong and popular aesthetic movement in Japanese modern culture, not to mention its influence among many western designers (including me… I love incorporating a touch of cutesy in my work). 

Kawaii style is recognisable by the candy fresh bright colours, adorable characters, and soft shapes (just think about Hello Kitty and all her Sanrio® friends: they are the greatest representation of Kawaii style). Kawaii design is used in a variety of markets, including beauty products. Below you'll find some of the most adorable cosmetics I've every seen; with striking and interesting motifs that would for sure catch your attention in any shop you'd see them. They also give me the idea of being sweet-smelling and gentle to the touch (kind of what you expect people to feel when using a beauty product, right?) Enjoy the eye candy!

missing U season 3 (image courtesy of etude house)

…and the bird trend continues... 

missing U hand cream (image courtesy of etude house)

Will insects be the new birds? (trend-wise)

Mini Me perfumed stick (image courtesy of etude house)

Perfect to keep in different handbags. 

Luscious lip cream (image courtesy of jshoppers)

To me, this packaging is very clever. It is cute and pretty, and also comes in a perfect gift box.

Bandai, Rilakkuma Medicinal lip cream (image courtesy of jshoppers)

This tube bear would for sure make me smile every time I use it. 

Make Essence eye concealer (image courtesy of jshoppers)

Isn't this the cutest concealer packaging you've ever seen? 

How adorable is that bear with dark circles (lol). 

Tonymoly Petite Bunny lip gloss bar (image courtesy of h2Dream)

Is it a pen? no! It's the sweetest lip gloss ever!

Ichigo Milk Flavor soap (image courtesy of amazon)

Can't really explain why, but this packaging reminds me of yogurt taffy pop ^-^ .

Lovely ME:EX Mini Pet Perfume Hand Cream
(image courtesy of the face shop)

Imagine this lovely kitten next to you on your nightstand: 

the perfect friend for perfect soft hands.

Speaking of hands… 

Get baby velvety hands and feet by applying every night a rich nurturing hand cream before going to sleep (it works even better, if you wear soft cotton gloves and socks too). 

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read. See you next week with more inspiring designs. Have a great day, MaJo. 

Beauty Breakdown: It feels like Spring

Good morning creative people!

Welcome to a Beauty morning with me, MaJo :) Every Thursday I'll delight you with gorgeously packed beauty products (and every now and then, I'll even throw you a beauty secret).

A couple of weeks ago I was round-n-about Milan doing a street style trend report when I stumble upon 3 cosmetic brands that immediately caught my attention for their vernal, crisp packaging design. It was one of those gray rainy days where all I could think was: 'I can't wait for Spring to arrive', and looking at these refreshing brands made me think they were the best way to welcome my series on Rachael Taylor's blog... just a drop of sunshine and dreamy images of a soon to arrive Spring!

I quickly snapped a couple of pics with my iPhone to remember the brands, and then researched them back home. Curiously, I had chosen 3 brands that share similar Asian inspiration and styles: erborian (Korean medicinal science meets French luxury), herborist (Chinese tradicional medicine and herbal science made contemporary), and bi mât cây (traditional beauty Vietnamese recipes shared with the western world).

All three labels use floral motifs on their packaging design, but each of them shows a distinct brand identity. Erborian's packaging (designed by French agency L'oeil avisé) exhibits simple silhouettes of tall grass and slim flowers that exude a modern and urban feel thanks to the use of bold and contrasting color combos. 

image courtesy of agence L'oeil avisé

image courtesy of agence L'oeil avisé

image courtesy of agence L'oeil avisé

Herborist outlined florals remind me of traditional Chinese motifs while the pastel color palette really gives me the sense of delicacy and sophistication. This exquisite design was created by the French Delo for the design agency Centdegres.

image courtesy of Delo

image courtesy of Delo

image courtesy of Delo

Finally we have bi mât cây... a series of lip balms packed in cute little jars bundled up with the traditional colors of Vietnam and Indochina, and exotic flowers that definitely take us to a mind trip to the far Far East. Once again, gorgeous design created by another great French agency: Halley des fontaines. 

image courtesy of Halley des fontaines

image courtesy of Halley des fontaines

image courtesy of Halley des fontaines

Before I say good bye I would like to give you a simple beauty secret for you to welcome Spring with gorgeous skin: softly rub your body with some sugar and body lotion (or almond/orange oil) before showering, and rinse with lukewarm water. Do this once a week to get your skin ready for sunnier days. 

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read. See you next week with more inspiring designs. Have a great day, MaJo. 

Asian food

Happy Monday folks!

Something a bit different for you today in the form of vegetarian Asian food! The colour, textures and of course the taste of Indian food is fantastic, and so culturally inspiring. I had a go at making some classic Gujurati (West Indian) recipes taken from the lovely Hansa Dabhi's cookbook which can be bought on Amazon. There are some stunningly vivid colours that can be taken from the ingredients and the recipes as inpsiration as well as the textures such as the stripes running along the ginger and garlic or the veins of the fresh coriander. 
To find out more about Hansa and her restaraunt as well as her charity work and trips to Gujurat, check out the facebook page or the website.

Enjoy cooking! Kelly :)