Hello! It's been so quiet on the blog because I've been prepping the Makeup Museum's latest exhibition. I am incredibly pleased and honored to announce that I was asked to organize an exhibition in conjunction with an academic conference! "I’m... Read more →
Plus links from...oh, the past 6 months. It's been a while. - Signing up for this online makeup history course at the Victoria and Albert Museum as soon as it's open to the general public! Also hoping they hire me... Read more →
2022 was the year I realized that I shouldn't try to stick to any kind of schedule in terms of blogging or even exhibition openings. I need to assign target dates, but also try not to beat myself up too... Read more →
Reiji Himatsu, Winter Journey, n.d. IBY Beauty, Ocean Awakening palette, spring 2019. Read more →
Not entirely sure how to write one of these, but I did my best. Feedback is appreciated. :) The annual report can also be found on the Museum's information page. Download Makeup Museum FY 2022 annual report Read more →
Discussing various styles of face paint1 worn by different Indigenous peoples is critical for a better understanding of the history of cosmetics and recognizing that makeup outside of the modern industry exists. For many people across the globe, cosmetics beyond... Read more →
The general process for this post was to try to write something, immediately get overwhelmed and move on to something else. Hence why it took me 5 years to come up with anything on NARS's holiday 2017 collection, which featured... Read more →
Consumers have come to expect a good measure of dishonesty in makeup marketing. But given the lack of strict regulations for cosmetics labeling in the U.S. ("clean" beauty, anyone?), companies have considerably more freedom to concoct some rather outlandish claims,... Read more →
Multimedia artist Sylvie Fleury (b. 1961; Switzerland) is truly speaking my language. While her works involving fashion, rockets, and neon signs are certainly thought-provoking, it's Fleury's larger-than-life reproductions of makeup products that will be the focus of this post. Fleury... Read more →
Between being distracted by the nonstop avalanche of particularly horrible current events and my inability to realistically estimate how long it takes for me to write anything, two months' worth of links had to be condensed into one post. Sigh.... Read more →
I forget what I was looking for when I stumbled across beautician and stylist Eddie (Eadward) B. Deason (1921-1976). Like Blanche Hunter, Deason's story is incomplete. But the few things I could find are definitely worth highlighting. Deason opened several... Read more →
Over the past 4 years or so there has be... Read more →
CW/TW: racist imagery and slurs for Indigenous, Asian, Latinx, and Black populations as well as those of Middle Eastern descent. It's been nearly a decade since I discussed one of the many ugly parts of the beauty industry: cultural appropriation... Read more →
Belated April links. - I was saddened to hear of the very untimely death of makeup artist A. J. Crimson. I hope someone will publish a biography and catalogue of his work. - Interested to check out this new documentary... Read more →
Vilhelm Hammershøi, Interior with Ida Playing the Piano, 1910 NARS, NARSissist eyeshadow palette, spring 2014 Read more →
Today the Museum is featuring a flash-in-the-pan brand from the 1940s. Shem el Nessim was a very short-lived line, lasting only about 6 months during the second half of 1946. I couldn't find much info, but one thing I can... Read more →