Bloom Where You Are Planted

Faux flowers and artificial plants provide an endless number of creative possibilities for creatives and content creators. Not only do they provide everlasting blooms in vibrant colours that never fade, but there are many varieties available for every project and purpose. Artificial flowers are some of my favourite resources to work with for photography, makeup and DIY style. In this article I cover a few of my favourite things to do with them including how to choose them, how to style them, and how to store them.

Faux Fashion | A Guide to Artificial Flowers

How to Choose | A Guide To Artificial Flowers

The best way to choose the right faux flowers is to have a large selection and experiment with what varieties and colours you prefer to work with. Makeup and beauty looks need attention to detail, so often smaller flowers and petals work best. I like to have a selection of blossoming buds as well as full bloom flowers to use for creative makeup looks or projects that need a delicate look. Artificial flowers are excellent for many different photography backdrops, props, and photoshoot accessories including portraiture, flatlay and product photography. The key is a variety of sizes, shapes and colours for a more realistic and softer result. Ensuring you have a large supply of greenery in addition to colourful blooms is essential when creating photography backdrops and using artificial flowers for portraiture backgrounds. Completing an outfit using artificial flowers is also a great way to add accessories to a photoshoot, and make a look more unique.

How to Style | A Guide To Artificial Flowers

Styling artificial flowers is an important part of working with them for any project. For makeup looks and appliqué the flower heads and individual leaves need to be removed from the stems, keeping the plastic bases intact. These provide the heads with shape and dimension and without them the petals sit flat and lifeless. When using artificial flowers for props, backdrops or photography styling the flower heads and leaves need to be shaped and opened to create fullness within a bunch, and often the original leaves and greenery that comes attached to the bunch needs replacing with a better fit. Often I will remove excess greenery and replace with flower heads to create fullness.

How to Store | A Guide To Artificial Flowers

Keeping artificial flowers and plants and storing them properly when they’re not being used is essential to maintaining their longevity. If looked after correctly they can last for decades, so here are my list of Do’s & Don’ts when it comes to faux flowers. Keep in mind that in general they are made of synthetic materials and plastics, so therefore are extremely flammable. Don’t place them near any heat sources or open flames, otherwise they will catch on fire or melt!

How To Store Faux Flowers | Do’s & Don’ts

DO keep them in an airtight container, to prevent dust and dirt settling on your collection.

DO store them according to colour rather than shape, this is the easiest method for finding and selecting the right ones when you need them.

DO trim the stems using wire cutters to create the appropriate height for your creations.

DON’T use paints to colour or decorate your flowers, paint is too heavy and will distort the shape of your petals and buds.

DON’T discard any parts of your faux flowers, as they can be mixed and matched to create new looks.

DON’T store them in direct sunlight, as this can bleach or discolour your flowers over time, as well breaking down the plastic components resulting in brittle stems and breakages.