If we’re talking about auto-buy authors, then Anna-Marie McLemore has to be on my list of favorites. I have read, and loved, all of their books so much. They all have such a special place in my heart and I’ve reviewed them over the years. So when Anna-Marie said they wanted to collaborate on a project to promote The Mirror Season that mixes my love for their books AND makeup – I was obsessed.
The Mirror Season
When two teens discover that they were both sexually assaulted at the same party, they develop a cautious friendship through her family’s possibly-magical pastelería, his secret forest of otherworldly trees, and the swallows returning to their hometown, in Anna-Marie McLemore’s The Mirror Season…
Graciela Cristales’ whole world changes after she and a boy she barely knows are assaulted at the same party. She loses her gift for making enchanted pan dulce. Neighborhood trees vanish overnight, while mirrored glass appears, bringing reckless magic with it. And Ciela is haunted by what happened to her, and what happened to the boy whose name she never learned.
But when the boy, Lock, shows up at Ciela’s school, he has no memory of that night, and no clue that a single piece of mirrored glass is taking his life apart. Ciela decides to help him, which means hiding the truth about that night. Because Ciela knows who assaulted her, and him. And she knows that her survival, and his, depend on no one finding out what really happened.
Find The Mirror Season on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.
Anna-Marie McLemore’s Books as Makeup!
Basically, I told Anna-Marie how much I adored all their books. I wanted to do something that would highlight The Mirror Season, which is one of my most anticipated releases. At the same time, I wanted to highlight the range of fantastic books Anna-Marie has written! You all know how much I love makeup, but Anna-Marie also enjoys the creativity and expression. We decided to try to match our mutual love for stories and makeup together – enjoy!
The Mirror Season – pan dulce pink
From her favorite pan dulce—the pink sugar-shelled concha—to her rose hip tattoo, to her favorite blush, to the pink in the pansexual flag, pink is a staple of queer girl Ciela Cristales, and it’s the color of so many things that help her reclaim herself in the wake of trauma. I’m thrilled artist Marly Gallardo and designer Liz Dresner featured it alongside that beautiful blue and yellow, giving the full pan flag.
I love the Maybelline Color Stay Matte Ink formula. The liquid ones have PHENOMENAL staying power, but if you’re looking for something just a smidge creamier (still a bit drying and not 100% transfer proof), but vibrant colors, the pencils are fabulous. They are a good alternative for someone who wants a matte,but can’t handle the no transfer more drying formula. I love this pink and don’t have enough occasions to wear it!
Dark and Deepest Red – burgundy red
True to the title, I’m going with a very deep red here. Think the red shoes that bewitch Rosella Oliva, the spilled wine at the medieval dance, the skirts worn by Lavinia Blau’s friends, and the words and symbols of some very queer vows at the end of the book (no spoilers).
My absolute favorite burgundy red has to be Bichette. It’s my classic burgundy berry red color that was one of the very first discoveries I made from Colourpop. It will stain your lips and you might need a waterproof eye makeup remover to remove it, but it’s gorgeous.
Wild Beauty – borraja blue
Among the lush green and many shades of flowers filling La Pradera, there’s the blue of starflowers that Estrella grows from the ground, the blue of the spectacular dress Estrella wears as she fights back against the owners of La Pradera, and the blue mushrooms she and Fel find together.
All the photos I found of this color, had this gorgeous almost ombre blue look. I love these two shades that really gave me the vibes of this color. Together they illustrate the almost two toned blue depth and if you blended them together as well they’d be so striking.
Blanca & Roja – swan white, swan black, rose red
Okay, I’m definitely cheating here, but for my Snow-White & Rose-Red meets Swan Lake, I have to. The ghostly white of white swan feathers haunts this story, the beautiful black of rare swans mirrors night time in the magic-laced woods, and the rose red shows up in the sisters’ ribbons, the flowers around their house, and the apples growing on the trees Page Ashby cares for.
This palette has this gorgeous icy white, pigmented black, and a fantastic rose shimmer, with a burgundy shimmer which I used for my own Blanca & Roja makeup look! It’s such a perfect color story for the entire cover honestly.
Miss Meteor – cactus green
For this book of themed diners and beauty pageant upsets, I got to write stardust-hearted Lita Perez, alongside Tehlor Kay Mejia’s snarky, Selena-hearted Chicky Quintanilla. As kids, these girls bonded over throwing birthday parties for the cactuses in their town, so for this book, my pick is the green of nopales.
I love the shades of green in this palette which I use for ALL my green looks. The pigmentation is stunning, it features a beautiful gold as well, and some fantastic green matte shadows. And for like $3 you really can’t go wrong!
The Weight of Feathers – brilliant red
From the red streaking Cluck Corbeau’s feathers to the mermaid tail my mom and I made for me to do some very hands-on research for this book, vibrant red was a symbol of both my writing process and the story itself.
When I think of a brilliant red, I think of a bright shiny red. One that not only oozes power and brilliance, but also that extra oomf! I needed to use a waterproof eye makeup remover for this swatch, because there’s some serious thickness and grip. It’s not transfer proof, because it’s more of a satin lacquer kind of thing.
When the Moon Was Ours – autumn moon gold
From the soft yellow-orange of pumpkins, to the lamp-light of Samir’s moons, to the colors of autumn leaves, to the gold stars Samir presses onto Miel’s skin, shades of gold sparkle throughout this story.
I actually don’t have this palette with me because of the pandemic shipping issues BUT this is the palette I thought of immediately. It has so many gorgeous tones of gold and it’s PERFECT for this. I’ve never had a palette from Colourpop where the quality was poor. They’ve also been pigmented and soft and such a good bargain!
Find The Mirror Season on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.
About the Author
Anna-Marie McLemore (they/them) writes magical realism and fairy tales that are as queer, Latinx, and nonbinary as they are. Their books include THE WEIGHT OF FEATHERS, a 2016 William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist; 2017 Stonewall Honor Book WHEN THE MOON WAS OURS, which was longlisted for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature and was the winner of the James Tiptree Jr. Award; WILD BEAUTY, a Kirkus, School Library Journal, and Booklist best book of 2017; BLANCA & ROJA, a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice; MISS METEOR (co-authored with Tehlor Kay Mejia); DARK AND DEEPEST RED, a Winter 2020 Indie Next List selection; and the forthcoming THE MIRROR SEASON.
This was a great idea for a post! I already had Miss Meteor on my TBR but I’m adding The Mirror Season too
OMG YES, pls check out the trigger warnings, but if you can read it, then do it is my fave!
This is a wonderful post, Lili!! It’s also great that I got some palette recommendations.
It was my dreams come true!
What a fun post!! I love that you got to collab with one of your favourite authors on two of your favourite things (books and makeup) 🙂
I KNOW! I was like, “WAIT YOU WANT TO DO THIS TOO?!” it was the most amazing mind meld