Burlesque Boudoir

This week I asked if y’all wanted a blog on a makeup review or some BTS in preparing for the Adore Me shoot. And the response was overwhelmingly the latter! So here I'll break down how I got involved with the campaign, my inspiration, styling, and more.

After seeing a few of my fellow stunning creatives post through the Adore Me Creator Program, I decided to apply as well. I sent my application on a Sunday night and by Monday morning, I had an answer -- I was in! Lately I’ve been trying to keep track of my wins to better recognize and celebrate them, and this was definitely a win. Believe it or not, I’ve been ordering sets and lingerie from Adore Me since

2013 (Peep this old IG post from my first order with them!)! This made the win really special to me, to be able to make content for a brand I’ve purchased from for years. 

Upon looking at the available campaigns, I was immediately drawn to the one titled “Burlesque Boudoir”.  Below is the description listed with the campaign.

The queen of burlesque showed up tonight. 💃 So dim the lights, bust out the vintage lingerie sets of your pin-up dreams, and do your own thing with never-before-seen routines, costumes, and props—featuring feather fans, indulgent martinis, and a million candles to go off! 🍸🕯 These burlesque-inspired styles mean (risqué) business—so embrace your big starlet energy, channel your inner glamonatrix, and enjoy the show! 😏

As many of you know by now, I love a conceptual shoot. I want to do more than take a pretty photo, I want to tell a story or evoke a feeling. With that in mind, and my love of vintage, this campaign was the perfect one for me. I approached Mauricio (Choco), with old Hollywood glamour and vaudeville inspirations in a Pinterest board called Burlesque Boudoir, and of course he said yes. 

For the campaign, I was given a code to purchase the items I wanted to feature for the campaign. I chose three: Scarlett, Ashoka, and Temperance Contour I wanted each of the looks to be glamorous, unique, and vintage inspired. For styling, I knew exactly what I wanted: a feather fan, gloves, a headpiece and a small faux fur. For sake of cost and convenience, I found my accessories on Amazon. Since the Scarlett corset was red with a lacy black pattern, I wanted to keep this more simple and paired it with the black feather fan. I finished the look with a sheer black coverup skirt I had previously purchased and a pair of knockoff spiked Louboutin heels.  For the all black corset, Ashoka, I wanted to add a little color and flair with the accessories. I ordered a typical 1920s accessory kit that contained gloves, a headpiece, a pearl necklace, earrings, fishnets, and a cigarette holder. Originally I looked for a headpiece with either blue, green, or purple details, but by the time I ordered, the gold was the cheapest option. Only the gloves, headpiece, and earrings were used for this look. Finally, I wanted a softer, more sensual glamour look with the pink Temperance Contour set. A large, light colored faux fur would be perfect with this set, but of course, the budget was tight so I ultimately ordered just a faux fur stole that could be easily wrapped around my shoulders. I already had a pair of nude fishnet stockings and nude heels that would add to that more delicate vibe and wrapped the pearls around my neck

From left to right: Scarlett, Ashoka, Temperance Contour

My makeup was a blend of my normal routine and 1920s mood. Although highlighter wasn’t a thing back then, it was not an aspect I was willing to sacrifice. I really wanted to channel that era with the smoky eye, lip shape, bold brows, and copious blush. I gave the smoky eye a purple tint through the crease, lower lash line, and  the corners of my eyelid. I filled the eyelid with an opaque black shadow, then tapped a metallic charcoal on top. Finally I added a hint of a purple duochrome in the middle of my eye lid and a bright pearlescent white in the inner corners. I finished the eye look with a pair of beautiful lashes. The lip shape emphasizes the cupid’s bow and has the illusion of a pouty lower lip. I accomplished this by overlining the cupid’s bow and keeping the outer corner of my upper lip unlined. I used a similar approach to the bottom lip -- overlined in the middle and bringing the corners a little tighter than they are naturally.

Hair is really not my forte, if we’re being honest. Miami’s heat and humidity isn’t particularly conducive with styled hair so I wasn’t too inclined to spend the time to curl my hair. Instead, I had thrown my damp hair into french braids in hopes of some soft waves. Before heading out the door, I used a blow dryer to try to finish drying my hair and left my hair in the braids. With my suitcase packed and my face ready to go, Sam and I were off. Although I’m sure Sam would have loved to be doing something else, I needed his help with wardrobe, to tie me into the corset as tight as possible.

Now here comes the fun part of this story. After picking up Choco, we headed off to the Design District, where we parked in the Museum Garage and walked to the location a block or two away. He had told me about this spot -- it was seemingly abandoned, or at least under construction. The inside was beautiful and airy and looked like the perfect spot to shoot. We took the elevator up to the top floor and discovered signage warning against trespassing with threats of cameras. With a sigh, we went a floor down to discuss our options. Did we risk the top floor? Would there be alarms or would we be calling a bluff? And if it was truly off limits, where would we go instead? This floor didn’t have any viable options. The Museum Garage was a popular spot. But was that the only spot? Choco made one last attempt to see if our original spot would work. “Stay here. If you hear alarms, it’s time to go.” He listened as the elevator went up, then silence. 3, 2, 1, and we could hear the alarms. Choco came back to our floor and then we descended to the second floor, ultimately retreating down the backstairs out into an alleyway. 

Rather than shoot in the ever popular Museum Garage, we walked two blocks down to another garage that was very quiet and empty. Again, we went to the top floor and explored to see what would work the best as a backdrop. Down into the next floor of the garage, there were some walls with hexagon and abstract cutouts. With the artificial lighting, this would be perfect. As Choco set up the lights, I opened my suitcase and chose a look to start. The red look was first, as one, it was Sam’s favorite, and two, I hoped that wearing a corset would help keep everything tight before the two piece pink look.

One of those pop up tent/changing rooms would have really come in handy here. Although the garage was pretty empty, it was not devoid of cameras, so I tucked myself behind a pillar and had Sam stand behind me as I clipped myself into the first corset. He tied me up as I took out my braids, and with the addition of the skirt and shoes, I was ready to shoot. The lighting for this look was very dramatic, like a spotlight on a stage (Sam was a great production assistant). It was perfect for the prompt. I teetered in the uncomfortable, tall heels, playing with the skirt and the fan. The corner of the garage was our spot for the second look. The asymmetrical cut outs and rails added a lot of dimension to the (almost) all black look. For the final look, I thought the stairs would be an interesting spot. I love the glamorous shots of women sitting in front of a vanity. As we didn’t have a set like that, the stairs were my best option for seated poses and the rails were great for leaning poses. 

Which of the three looks was your favorite? Stayed tuned for a black and white version being published soon!

Disclaimer: Although I attached links to many items, I am not an affiliate with any of the brands and just wanted to make it easier if you were interested in purchasing any of the items I used.