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FAQs

Curious about the Makeup Museum?  Hopefully this page will answer your queries! 

Does the world really need a cosmetics museum?  Why?

Of course! Makeup is a multi-billion dollar-a-year industry.  Cosmetic history and objects need to be researched and preserved to help us understand the industry's enormous influence on society and effect change within it.  On a superficial note, makeup is pretty to look at!

I found an old compact/lipstick/other beauty item.  Can you identify it and/or tell me how much it's worth?

I LOVE getting inquiries and researching them. I will do my best to identify the object and provide as much information as possible.  However, as museums do not provide valuations, I cannot appraise the object's monetary value.  Also, I reserve the right to share your inquiry (I won't use your name or any identifying information) and any pictures you might have at the Museum's website, unless you ask me not to. Please understand that since I can't devote all my time to the Museum, I'm not able to get back to you with an answer right away, but I always do respond eventually.  And if you have any other beauty-related questions I'm happy to help with those too.  I like to feel useful. Finally, researching inquiries is free, but donations are encouraged if you're able. :)

Collecting makeup is weird.  Aren't you supposed to actually USE it?  And won't it go bad after a while anyway?

Well, collecting it isn't so weird - no different than those who collect stamps or baseball cards.  There are people who collect staplers, teabags and pencils so having a collection of makeup, relatively speaking, isn't so strange.  I must also point out that there are museums devoted to things like water, memes and mustard, so why not makeup?!  As for it going bad, most of the items in the collection are powder-based, which can hold up for many years  (provided you don't drop them, of course.)  If stored properly, cream and liquid-based items will last a long time as well.  Frankly, since the objects aren't being used, the issue of them going bad is moot.

So I get collecting the vintage stuff, but why contemporary makeup too? 

Current makeup items are just as important as vintage as they tell us where the beauty industry is and where it's going.  They also speak volumes on contemporary views on not just makeup, but cultural and political values as well.  If nothing else, new makeup will be vintage eventually, right?

Do you get any freebies from makeup companies?

Sadly, no.  Nearly everything in the Museum is paid for with my own hard-earned cash.  Sometimes I receive items as gifts from friends and family, and I always acknowledge them as such.  I've also been fortunate enough to receive some incredible donations from fellow makeup aficionados over the years.  When I refer to the Museum's "budget", it really just means my own personal money that I've set aside for Museum purchases.  If companies do ever want to throw free makeup at me, and I accept, I will definitely disclose it. 

I'd love to work at the Makeup Museum!  Any jobs available?

I appreciate your enthusiasm!  And there's nothing I'd like more than having a hard-working, dedicated (and ideally, well-paid) staff.  But the Museum is currently a volunteer effort/labor of love on my part.  I'm not employed or paid by the Museum - I have a completely unrelated full-time job, which I need so that I can afford to build the collection.  Thus, there are no paid employment opportunities right now.  However, if you'd like to volunteer, that would be amazing.  I would fully credit you for your work and I may even be able to scrounge up a Sephora gift card in exchange for your help. ;)

I'm interested in purchasing some of the objects from the Museum.  Would you sell them to me?

Apologies, but no. None of the Museum's objects are up for deaccessioning at the moment.

I'm blatantly plagiarizing your idea of a freestanding, independent cosmetics museum in the U.S. and presenting it as my original concept/the world's "first and only" makeup museum.  I'd love to  "collaborate" in that I don't want you involved in any way other than for you to donate objects or your whole collection.  Interested?

Desus-and-mero-desus-n-mero

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Beauty Library

  • A Collectors Guide Book to Estee Lauder Powder Compacts 1963 - 2015
  • : Dior: The Art of Color

    Dior: The Art of Color

  • A' Lelia Bundles: On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker (Lisa Drew Books (Paperback))

    A' Lelia Bundles: On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madam C.J. Walker (Lisa Drew Books (Paperback))

  • Aileen Ribeiro: Facing Beauty: Painted Women and Cosmetic Art

    Aileen Ribeiro: Facing Beauty: Painted Women and Cosmetic Art

  • Andrea Benoit: VIVA MAC: AIDS, Fashion, and the Philanthropic Practices of MAC Cosmetics

    Andrea Benoit: VIVA MAC: AIDS, Fashion, and the Philanthropic Practices of MAC Cosmetics

  • Angeloglou, Maggie: A history of make-up

    Angeloglou, Maggie: A history of make-up

  • Anne Camilli, Jean-Marie Martin-Hattemberg: An ode to the complexion: the art of skincare and beauty objects from the 18th century to the present
  • Autumn Whitefield-Madrano: Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women's Lives

    Autumn Whitefield-Madrano: Face Value: The Hidden Ways Beauty Shapes Women's Lives

  • B., Daphne: Made-Up: A True Story of Beauty Culture under Late Capitalism

    B., Daphne: Made-Up: A True Story of Beauty Culture under Late Capitalism

  • Croy, Anita: Terrible and Toxic Makeup (The Bizarre History of Beauty)

    Croy, Anita: Terrible and Toxic Makeup (The Bizarre History of Beauty)

  • De Castelbajac, Kate: The Face of the Century

    De Castelbajac, Kate: The Face of the Century

  • Anne de Thoisy-Dallem: La poudre de beauté et ses écrins (French Edition)

    Anne de Thoisy-Dallem: La poudre de beauté et ses écrins (French Edition)

  • Paula Black: The Beauty Industry: Gender, Culture, Pleasure

    Paula Black: The Beauty Industry: Gender, Culture, Pleasure

  • Collectifs: Le Bain et le Miroir: Soins du corps et cosmétiques de l'Antiquité à la Renaissance (Albums Beaux Livres) (French Edition)

    Collectifs: Le Bain et le Miroir: Soins du corps et cosmétiques de l'Antiquité à la Renaissance (Albums Beaux Livres) (French Edition)

  • Dayagi-Mendeles, Mikhal: Perfumes and cosmetics in the ancient world (Catalogue)

    Dayagi-Mendeles, Mikhal: Perfumes and cosmetics in the ancient world (Catalogue)

  • Fred E. Basten: Max Factor: The Man Who Changed the Faces of the World

    Fred E. Basten: Max Factor: The Man Who Changed the Faces of the World

  • Frances Johnson: Compacts, Powders and Paint: With Values

    Frances Johnson: Compacts, Powders and Paint: With Values

  • Geoffrey Jones: Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global Beauty Industry

    Geoffrey Jones: Beauty Imagined: A History of the Global Beauty Industry

  • Giovanni Gaidano: La Poudre: 100 anni di scatole di cipria
  • Holly Grout: The Force of Beauty: Transforming French Ideas of Femininity in the Third Republic

    Holly Grout: The Force of Beauty: Transforming French Ideas of Femininity in the Third Republic

  • Kari Molvar: The New Beauty: A Modern Look at Beauty, Culture, and Fashion

    Kari Molvar: The New Beauty: A Modern Look at Beauty, Culture, and Fashion

  • James Gager: Miles of MAC

    James Gager: Miles of MAC

  • Jean-Marie Martin-Hattenberg: Lips of Luxury

    Jean-Marie Martin-Hattenberg: Lips of Luxury

  • Jessica Pallingston: Lipstick: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Cosmetic

    Jessica Pallingston: Lipstick: A Celebration of the World's Favorite Cosmetic

  • Farah Karim-Cooper: Cosmetics in Shakespearean and Renaissance Drama

    Farah Karim-Cooper: Cosmetics in Shakespearean and Renaissance Drama

  • Meeta Jha: The Global Beauty Industry: Colorism, Racism, and the National Body (Framing 21st Century Social Issues)

    Meeta Jha: The Global Beauty Industry: Colorism, Racism, and the National Body (Framing 21st Century Social Issues)

  • Julie Patenaude: A Catalogue of Egyptian Cosmetic Palettes in the Manchester University Museum Collection (Catalogue Egypt Collections Manchester Museum)

    Julie Patenaude: A Catalogue of Egyptian Cosmetic Palettes in the Manchester University Museum Collection (Catalogue Egypt Collections Manchester Museum)

  • Juliette Edwards: Miller's: Powder Compacts: A Collector's Guide

    Juliette Edwards: Miller's: Powder Compacts: A Collector's Guide

  • Kathy Peiss: Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture

    Kathy Peiss: Hope in a Jar: The Making of America's Beauty Culture

  • Kyo, Cho: The Search for the Beautiful Woman: A Cultural History of Japanese and Chinese Beauty (Asia/Pacific/Perspectives)

    Kyo, Cho: The Search for the Beautiful Woman: A Cultural History of Japanese and Chinese Beauty (Asia/Pacific/Perspectives)

  • Larry Clayton: The Evans Book: Lighters, Compacts, Perfumers & Handbags

    Larry Clayton: The Evans Book: Lighters, Compacts, Perfumers & Handbags

  • Laura M. Mueller: Collector's Encyclopedia of Compacts Carry Alls & Face Powder Boxes (v. 1)

    Laura M. Mueller: Collector's Encyclopedia of Compacts Carry Alls & Face Powder Boxes (v. 1)

  • Laura M. Mueller: Collector's Encyclopedia of Compacts, Vol. 2: Carryalls and Face Powder Boxes- Identification & Values

    Laura M. Mueller: Collector's Encyclopedia of Compacts, Vol. 2: Carryalls and Face Powder Boxes- Identification & Values

  • Lisa Eldridge: Face Paint: The Story of Makeup

    Lisa Eldridge: Face Paint: The Story of Makeup

  • Lise Manniche: Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy, and Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt

    Lise Manniche: Sacred Luxuries: Fragrance, Aromatherapy, and Cosmetics in Ancient Egypt

  • Little, Clare Douglass: Makeup in the World of Beauty Vlogging: Community, Commerce, and Culture

    Little, Clare Douglass: Makeup in the World of Beauty Vlogging: Community, Commerce, and Culture

  • Lutens, Serge: Serge Lutens

    Lutens, Serge: Serge Lutens

  • Lynell Schwartz: Vintage Compacts & Beauty Accessories

    Lynell Schwartz: Vintage Compacts & Beauty Accessories

  • Madeleine Marsh: Compacts and Cosmetics: Beauty from Victorian times to the Present Day

    Madeleine Marsh: Compacts and Cosmetics: Beauty from Victorian times to the Present Day

  • Katina Manko: Ding Dong! Avon Calling!: The Women and Men of Avon Products, Incorporated

    Katina Manko: Ding Dong! Avon Calling!: The Women and Men of Avon Products, Incorporated

  • Lynn Gumpert: Face to Face: Shiseido and the Manufacture of Beauty

    Lynn Gumpert: Face to Face: Shiseido and the Manufacture of Beauty

  • Stephane Marais: BEAUTY FLASH

    Stephane Marais: BEAUTY FLASH

  • Mary Schaeffer Conroy: The Cosmetics Baron You've Never Heard Of: E. Virgil Neal And Tokalon (Second Edition)

    Mary Schaeffer Conroy: The Cosmetics Baron You've Never Heard Of: E. Virgil Neal And Tokalon (Second Edition)

  • Meg Cohen: Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick

    Meg Cohen: Read My Lips: A Cultural History of Lipstick

  • Howard W. Melton: American Compacts of the Art Deco Era: The Art of Elgin American, J.M. Fisher, and Others

    Howard W. Melton: American Compacts of the Art Deco Era: The Art of Elgin American, J.M. Fisher, and Others

  • Meredith Etherington-Smith: Ultra Vanities: Minaudieres, Necessaires, and Compacts

    Meredith Etherington-Smith: Ultra Vanities: Minaudieres, Necessaires, and Compacts

  • Morag Martin: Selling Beauty: Cosmetics, Commerce, and French Society, 1750-1830 (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science)

    Morag Martin: Selling Beauty: Cosmetics, Commerce, and French Society, 1750-1830 (The Johns Hopkins University Studies in Historical and Political Science)

  • Penny Dade: All Made Up: 100 Years of Cosmetics Advertising

    Penny Dade: All Made Up: 100 Years of Cosmetics Advertising

  • Rachel C. Weingarten: Hello Gorgeous!: Beauty Products in America, '40s-'60s

    Rachel C. Weingarten: Hello Gorgeous!: Beauty Products in America, '40s-'60s

  • Sally Pointer: The Artifice of Beauty: A History and Practical Guide to Perfume and Cosmetics

    Sally Pointer: The Artifice of Beauty: A History and Practical Guide to Perfume and Cosmetics

  • Rachel Felder: Red Lipstick: An Ode to a Beauty Icon

    Rachel Felder: Red Lipstick: An Ode to a Beauty Icon

  • Richard Corson: Fashions in Makeup: From Ancient to Modern Times

    Richard Corson: Fashions in Makeup: From Ancient to Modern Times

  • Roselyn Gerson: Vintage Ladies Compacts: Identification & Value Guide

    Roselyn Gerson: Vintage Ladies Compacts: Identification & Value Guide

  • Sali Hughes: Pretty Iconic: A Personal Look at the Beauty Products that Changed the World

    Sali Hughes: Pretty Iconic: A Personal Look at the Beauty Products that Changed the World

  • Sarah Jane Downing: Beauty and Cosmetics 1550–1950 (Shire Library)

    Sarah Jane Downing: Beauty and Cosmetics 1550–1950 (Shire Library)

  • Sharrie Williams: The Maybelline Story: And the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It

    Sharrie Williams: The Maybelline Story: And the Spirited Family Dynasty Behind It

  • Susan Stewart: Cosmetics & Perfumes in the Roman World

    Susan Stewart: Cosmetics & Perfumes in the Roman World

  • Susan Stewart: Painted Faces: A Colourful History of Cosmetics

    Susan Stewart: Painted Faces: A Colourful History of Cosmetics

  • Susannah Walker: Style and Status: Selling Beauty to African American Women, 1920-1975

    Susannah Walker: Style and Status: Selling Beauty to African American Women, 1920-1975

  • Teresa Riordan: Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that Have Made Us Beautiful

    Teresa Riordan: Inventing Beauty: A History of the Innovations that Have Made Us Beautiful

  • Val Garland: Validated: The Makeup of Val Garland

    Val Garland: Validated: The Makeup of Val Garland

  • Cheryl Thompson: Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada's Black Beauty Culture

    Cheryl Thompson: Beauty in a Box: Detangling the Roots of Canada's Black Beauty Culture

  • Tiffany M. Gill: Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women's Activism in the Beauty Industry (Women, Gender, and Sexuality in American History)

    Tiffany M. Gill: Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women's Activism in the Beauty Industry (Women, Gender, and Sexuality in American History)

  • David Yi: Pretty Boys: Legendary Icons Who Redefined Beauty (and How to Glow Up, Too)

    David Yi: Pretty Boys: Legendary Icons Who Redefined Beauty (and How to Glow Up, Too)

  • Rae Nudson: All Made Up: The Power and Pitfalls of Beauty Culture, from Cleopatra to Kim Kardashian

    Rae Nudson: All Made Up: The Power and Pitfalls of Beauty Culture, from Cleopatra to Kim Kardashian

  • Robert Mark Silverman: Doing Business in Minority Markets: Black and Korean Entrepreneurs in Chicago's Ethnic Beauty Aids Industry (Garland Studies in Entrepreneurship)

    Robert Mark Silverman: Doing Business in Minority Markets: Black and Korean Entrepreneurs in Chicago's Ethnic Beauty Aids Industry (Garland Studies in Entrepreneurship)

  • Erika Thomas: Max Factor and Hollywood: A Glamorous History

    Erika Thomas: Max Factor and Hollywood: A Glamorous History

  • Woodhead, Lindy: War Paint: Madame Helena Rubinstein and Miss Elizabeth Arden: Their Lives, Their Times, Their Rivalry

    Woodhead, Lindy: War Paint: Madame Helena Rubinstein and Miss Elizabeth Arden: Their Lives, Their Times, Their Rivalry

  • Woodruff-Brooks, Cheryl: Golden Beauty Boss: The Story of Madame Sara Spencer Washington and the Apex Empire

    Woodruff-Brooks, Cheryl: Golden Beauty Boss: The Story of Madame Sara Spencer Washington and the Apex Empire

Recommended reading

  • Ada Calhoun: Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis

    Ada Calhoun: Why We Can't Sleep: Women's New Midlife Crisis

  • Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler, Victoria Rose Pass, Christopher Wilson: Design History Beyond the Canon

    Jennifer Kaufmann-Buhler, Victoria Rose Pass, Christopher Wilson: Design History Beyond the Canon

  • Andi Zeisler: Feminism and Pop Culture: Seal Studies

    Andi Zeisler: Feminism and Pop Culture: Seal Studies

  • Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: We Should All Be Feminists

    Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: We Should All Be Feminists

  • Dana Thomas: Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster

    Dana Thomas: Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster

  • Eric Schlosser: Fast Food Nation

    Eric Schlosser: Fast Food Nation

  • Erik Larson: The Devil in the White City:  Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

    Erik Larson: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America

  • Linda M. Scott: Fresh Lipstick: Redressing Fashion and Feminism

    Linda M. Scott: Fresh Lipstick: Redressing Fashion and Feminism

  • Linda Nochlin: Women, Art, And Power And Other Essays (Icon Editions)

    Linda Nochlin: Women, Art, And Power And Other Essays (Icon Editions)

  • Linda Nochlin: Representing Women

    Linda Nochlin: Representing Women

  • Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers: The Story of Success

    Malcolm Gladwell: Outliers: The Story of Success

  • Marisa Meltzer: Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music

    Marisa Meltzer: Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music

  • Mason Klein: Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power (Jewish Museum)

    Mason Klein: Helena Rubinstein: Beauty Is Power (Jewish Museum)

  • Norma Broude: Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany

    Norma Broude: Feminism and Art History: Questioning the Litany

  • Norma Broude: Power of Feminist Art

    Norma Broude: Power of Feminist Art

  • Professor David M. Lubin: Picturing a Nation: Art and Social Change in Nineteenth-Century America (Yale Publications in the History of Art)

    Professor David M. Lubin: Picturing a Nation: Art and Social Change in Nineteenth-Century America (Yale Publications in the History of Art)

  • Roxane Gay: Bad Feminist: Essays

    Roxane Gay: Bad Feminist: Essays

  • Lucy Jane Santos: Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium

    Lucy Jane Santos: Half Lives: The Unlikely History of Radium

  • Susan Faludi: Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women

    Susan Faludi: Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women

  • Wanda M. Corn: The Great American Thing: Modern Art and National Identity, 1915-1935

    Wanda M. Corn: The Great American Thing: Modern Art and National Identity, 1915-1935

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