The Chequered Lily Apothecary

Well, it's been almost a year since the last post, I guess it's time to dust this thing off and get it ready for regular use again. I will try to keep this post brief, since I have a tendency to be long-winded when it comes to these things (sorry!).

So you may or may not have noticed the changes on facebook recently concerning fan pages. Here's the quick version if you missed it: Over the past year or so, the facebook algorithm has made it harder and harder for businesses to reach their audience (people who already 'like' the business's page). This year, facebook decided to charge businesses advertising fees to reach their audiences. Basically what it amounts to is that if I want my audience to see a post, I have to pay for it to show up in people's news feeds, including people who already like the page. Since I cannot afford to pay the advertising costs (it would be too expensive to reach even half of my audience), I'm moving most of my advertising off facebook and into other social media, like my trusty old blog. :) So here's the quick rundown of where to find us:
official blog:  http://thechequeredlily.blogspot.com/
facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thechequeredlilyapothecary
twitter: @ChequeredLily
instagram: http://instagram.com/thechequeredlily/
pinterest: coming soon! You can follow my personal account if you want, it's here: http://www.pinterest.com/halostrata/ or just the beauty board: http://www.pinterest.com/halostrata/unconventional-beauty/
the shop is still here: http://thechequeredlily.etsy.com

Okay, business is outta the way - now for something completely different.^_~ If you've been following me on instagram, facebook, or twitter, you might have seen the teaser shots of the new spring collection. I'm almost done with all the formulating, so I thought I'd take a moment to announce the collection, or at least part of it, before I start the work of taking and editing photos.

For this collection, I started with a poem (much like the 2012 Valentine's collection, which was in part inspired by poetry from Kenneth Patchen and Pablo Neruda) by e. e. cummings that is, to me, the absolute embodiment of spring:

in Just-

by E. E. Cummings

in Just-

spring when the world is mud-

luscious the little lame baloonman



whistles far and wee



and eddyandbill come

running from marbles and

piracies and it's

spring



when the world is puddle-wonderful



the queer

old baloonman whistles

far and wee

and bettyandisbel come dancing



from hop-scotch and jump-rope and



it's

spring

and

the

goat-footed



baloonMan whistles

far

and

wee

I adore this poem, and so I decided to build a collection that felt like spring flowers and first love; of awakenings and dreams, smiles and the nostalgia of growing up in innocence and bliss. This collection is comprised of 6 eye shadows, 2 glitter blends, and a blush; there may be more products released separately, if time allows. Here are some descriptions, since I don't have photos yet. I promise to do a more detailed post when I have photos! ^_^

#156 Daffodil - pale, semi-opaque yellow with violet shimmer
#157 Snapdragon - soft tangerine with pink sparkle
#158 Canna - coral red with orange shimmer (pending final formulation)
#159 Azalea - vivid magenta with copper sparkle
#160 Lilac - cool lavender with soft pink pearl
#161 Wisteria - periwinkle blue with violet pearl

#G14 Bleeding Heart - Intense magenta, red, and fuchsia glitters with hot pink iridescence
#G15 Forget Me Not - Soft blue- violet with pink, gold, and purple iridescence

#B08 Damask Rose - warm blushing rose with soft golden-coral iridescence (pending final formulation)

Here's a couple of quick snapshots, this one is a bokeh shot of #G15 Forget Me Not:

 And this one is a process pic of #160 Lilac, in the grinder:

That's all for now, more coming soon!