The Makeup Museum
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/
The Makeup Museum®, established 2008 - where cosmetics and art intersect. Exhibits, preserves, and researches makeup design, beauty culture and history from all eras.en-USdaily22023-11-12T19:34:02-05:00Top makeup fails (inspired by the Museum of Failure)
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/11/top-makeup-fails-inspired-by-the-museum-of-failure.html
Rejuvenique mask at the Museum of Failure. The golf club is an unrelated but equally ridiculous product. I had way too much fun at the traveling Museum of Failure pop-up, which is currently in Washington, D.C. until November 30. It's...<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a26d34200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a26d34200d" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a26d34200d-pi"><img alt="Rejuvenique mask at the Museum of Failure" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a26d34200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a26d34200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Rejuvenique mask at the Museum of Failure" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a26d34200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a26d34200d">Rejuvenique mask at the Museum of Failure. The golf club is an unrelated but <a href="https://allsharktankproducts.com/shark-tank-products-sports/the-uro-club/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">equally ridiculous product</a>.</div>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I had way too much fun at the traveling <a href="https://museumoffailure.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Museum of Failure</a> pop-up, which is currently in Washington, D.C. until November 30. It's exactly what it sounds like: a monument to all the seemingly good ideas humans have had over the years that for one reason or another failed spectacularly. There wasn't too much information readily available - that required downloading the museum's app - and at times the scant label copy was presented far too flippantly for inventions that seriously injured or even killed people. Then there were the "inspirational" quotes from less than savory characters and a disproportionate amount of space devoted to debating whether Elon Musk is a genius (spoiler: he's not. But he is a fascist.) Despite these critiques I enjoyed the show. Plus, it inspired me to briefly discuss some of the biggest makeup fails of the modern era. While there are tons of failures across all beauty categories such as skincare, haircare, fragrance, bath and body products, etc., literally thousands of defunct brands, and a history of toxic ingredients that goes back to antiquity, I narrowed it down to just a handful of what I think are the most notable modern cosmetic fails. Here's the makeup edition of the Museum of Failure!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Kurlash Eyelash Curler </strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>ca. 1923</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">It's fairly obvious why the first patented eyelash curler did not stick around long. Known as the "bear trap," Kurlash's instrument does not resemble anything one would want to get near their eyes. While it's actually not dangerous per se, as <a href="https://lucyjanesantos.com/the-kurlash-natural-eyelash-curler/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Lucy Jane Santos notes</a>, the lack of cushioning meant an increased risk of tearing out the lashes, or at the very least resulted in a sharp right angle to the lashes instead of a soft upward curve. A new model was produced less than a year after the initial design and became the standard.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2157f200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Kurlash eyelash curler, ca. 1923" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2157f200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2157f200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Kurlash eyelash curler, ca. 1923" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">For more on Kurlash, also check out <a href="https://www.cosmeticsandskin.com/companies/kurlash.php" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Cosmetics & Skin's excellent history</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Drug Detecting Nail Polish</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>2014-2018</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In 2014 a group of 4 students from North Carolina State University proposed a nail polish that would change color upon detecting date rape drugs such as rohypnol in beverages. I'm not even sure where to start in terms of the many points on which this idea failed. The technology wasn't even available, yet the polish, named Undercover Colors, was <a href="https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/controversial-science-drugs-news/nail-polish-detect-drugs" rel="noopener" target="_blank">touted as something that was ready to be put into production</a>. It wasn't until 2018 the <a href="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/no-nail-polish-wont-detect-date-rape-drugs-in-a-drink-20201211" rel="noopener" target="_blank">group ceded that the technology would not be available any time soon</a> and presented instead the Sip Chip, a coin-sized disk that can detect certain drugs with 99.93% accuracy with just a couple drops of liquid. Still, the <a href="https://www.distractify.com/p/stay-close-fingernail-polish-real" rel="noopener" target="_blank">myth of the polish persists</a>. Perhaps the biggest misstep is that, as usual, it placed the burden of prevention on the would-be victim. As a sort of epilogue to Undercover Colors, in 2022 a company named Esoes (pronounced S.O.S.) announced a drug detecting lipstick. Clearly undaunted by the <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-28958365" rel="noopener" target="_blank">backlash</a> surrounding Undercover Colors, the company forged ahead with a liquid lipstick containing drug test strips hidden in the cap and equipped with a Bluetooth connection to call 911. Sigh.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f133200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f133200d" style="display: inline-block; width: 474px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f133200d-pi"><img alt="Esoes lipstick" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f133200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f133200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Esoes lipstick" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f133200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f133200d">Esoes lipstick in No Means No</div>
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<p><br /><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><em>(image from <a href="https://esoescosmetics.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">esoescosmetics.com</a>)</em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Glamour Lips Lipstick Applicator</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>ca. 1940-50s</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">As we'll see later, lipstick, like mascara, is a fairly straightforward cosmetic to apply. A contraption like this applicator is exceedingly unnecessary and only complicates things. Users were instructed to put a coat of lipstick to the applicator - I'm guessing that was a rather messy process - and then press the applicator to the lips for a perfectly defined pout. I can't locate the one in the Museum's collection at the moment so here are photos from one on Etsy.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ef1a200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Glamour Lips lipstick applicator" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ef1a200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ef1a200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Glamour Lips lipstick applicator" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e9148200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Glamour Lips instructions" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e9148200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e9148200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Glamour Lips instructions" /></a></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(images from <a href="https://www.etsy.com/listing/1562724250/vintage-1940s-glamour-lips-hollywood" rel="noopener" target="_blank">etsy.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">It's baffling that this company believed it could hoodwink women into thinking smearing lipstick on a piece of metal first was somehow easier than applying straight from the tube, or even using a lip pencil to line and/or a brush, especially as both lip pencils and brushes were readily available at the time. Heck, Tussy offered a product called the Stylip, a pen-like device which was obviously much less cumbersome to use. Then again, there is nothing businesses won't do if they think it'll make money.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Honorable mention: this (presumably) earlier version, which worked similarly.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a153af200b photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a153af200b" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a153af200b-pi"><img alt="Lipstick applicator tutorial, St. Louis Globe Democrat, June 8, 1941" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a153af200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a153af200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Lipstick applicator tutorial, St. Louis Globe Democrat, June 8, 1941" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a153af200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a153af200b">Lipstick applicator tutorial, St. Louis Globe Democrat, June 8, 1941</div>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Calvin Klein Cosmetics</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>1978-1985</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>2000-2003</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>2007-2009(?)</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>2012-2015(?)<br /><br /></strong>Since the 1920s, nearly every fashion house expands into beauty at some point as a relatively low-effort additional revenue stream. While most fashion designers are able to maintain their grip on fragrances, many struggle to keep a color cosmetics line afloat. The popularity of both fashion and celebrity-fronted makeup lines exploded in the '70s and '80s and many of them, including Halston, Diane von Furstenberg and Ralph Lauren, did not survive. However, I want to highlight Calvin Klein cosmetics, whose failure is interesting because the company tried not once, not twice, not thrice, but FOUR times to sell a color cosmetics line.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15450200b" id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15450200b" style="display: inline-block; width: 322px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15450200b-pi"><img alt="Calvin Klein makeup, 1979" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15450200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15450200b-320wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Calvin Klein makeup, 1979" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15450200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15450200b">Calvin Klein makeup, <a href="https://archive.vogue.com/article/1979/10/the-way-color-works-now" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Vogue</a>, October 1979</div>
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<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3fbf200c photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3fbf200c" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3fbf200c-pi"><img alt="Calvin Klein Eye Color Wash ad, 2001" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3fbf200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3fbf200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Calvin Klein Eye Color Wash ad, 2001" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3fbf200c" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3fbf200c">Calvin Klein Eye Color Wash ad, 2001</div>
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<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a21592200b photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a21592200b" style="display: inline-block; width: 352px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a21592200b-pi"><img alt="Ck Calvin Klein Beauty, ca. 2007" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a21592200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a21592200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Ck Calvin Klein Beauty, ca. 2007" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a21592200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a21592200b">Ck Calvin Klein Beauty, ca. 2007</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.cosmostore.org/catalog/product/makeup_set_with_brown_cosmetic_bag_1xtinted_moisturizer_1xmascara_2xeyeshadow_1xlipstick_1xlip_gloss_173567/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cosmostore.org</a>)</span></em></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29618200b photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29618200b" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29618200b-pi"><img alt="CK One Calvin Klein Cosmetics ad" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29618200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29618200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="CK One Calvin Klein Cosmetics ad" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29618200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29618200b">CK One Calvin Klein Cosmetics ad, 2012</div>
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<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2961c200b photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2961c200b" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2961c200b-pi"><img alt="CK One Calvin Klein Cosmetics ad" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2961c200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2961c200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="CK One Calvin Klein Cosmetics ad" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2961c200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2961c200b">CK One Calvin Klein Cosmetics ad, 2012</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(images from <a href="https://www.designscene.net/2013/08/ck-one-cosmetics.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">designscene.net</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">It's a long and muddled saga for which I hope to give the details someday, but in a nutshell, it seems the repeated failures were largely due to poor management rather than bad products. The cosmetics arm was sold numerous times and had a revolving door of executives. Without stable leadership and a clear, consistent vision for marketing and distribution, it's virtually impossible for any brand to last. Maybe 5th time's the charm?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Lash Lure Eyelash and Eyebrow Dye<br /></strong><strong>1933-1934</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The story of Lash Lure is a rather gory one so consider yourself warned. In 1933 a company named the Cosmetic Manufacturing Co. released an lash and brow dye that contained paraphenylenediamine (PPD), a chemical that can cause acute allergic reactions when used around the eyes due to the skin being thinner in those areas. Between 1933 and 1934 the Journal of the American Medical Association <a href="https://www.aao.org/senior-ophthalmologists/scope/article/lash-lure-paraphenylenediamine-toxic-beauty" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reported the cases of 5 women</a> who went blind after using Lash Lure and one more who developed abscesses after using the product, contracted a severe bacterial infection and subsequently died. In 1938 the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act was finally passed, and the <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=dFYgAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA2-PA29&dq=lash+lure+blind&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjM3IS9jpmCAxWXLFkFHWjHCTAQ6AF6BAgKEAI#v=onepage&q=lash%20lure%20blind&f=false" rel="noopener" target="_blank">first product it removed from shelves was Lash Lure</a>.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15360200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Lash lure" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15360200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a15360200b-600wi" style="width: 600px; border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Lash lure" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from the <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/fdaphotos/42239588524" rel="noopener" target="_blank">FDA on Flickr</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The FDA prohibited PPD from being used in cosmetics in the U.S., but it's still widely used in hair dyes; however, the risk of death is considerably lower than in the '30s. The scalp is thicker than the skin around the eyes and less prone to irritation, and if severe reactions like abscesses and infections did occur, there are treatments available. In the early 1930s allergy remedies and most antibiotics hadn't been invented. Having said that, PPD is derived from coal tar, which doesn't seem like a good thing to put near one's eyes in any case.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Automatic Lipsticks</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>1930s-2015(?)</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In doing the research for the <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/03/art-deco-makeup-presentation.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">presentation</a> I made for the Art Deco Society UK back in March of this year, I came across many fascinating so-called "automatic" lipsticks. They expressed the design proclivities of the time in that they were intended to be streamlined, cutting-edge devices that only took a fraction of a second to open for the busy modern woman. No need to use both hands turning a slow-moving swivel tube or one with a traditional cap - the new automatic lipstick was here to save the day!</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a240a4200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Ad for Jean Patou Lift lipstick" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a240a4200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a240a4200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Ad for Jean Patou Lift lipstick" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I was hoping to get to an in-depth discussion of automatic lipsticks for National Lipstick Day back in July, but obviously that didn't happen. Maybe in 2024.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea47200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Automatic lipsticks" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea47200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea47200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Automatic lipsticks" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Anyway, I think there's a reason the swivel remains the most common lipstick mechanism. This is purely anecdotal based on the automatic lipsticks I've added to the Makeup Museum's collection, but they tend to get stuck easily. I noticed that vintage swivel lipsticks still work pretty well despite their age. The automatic ones, not so much; many of the ones available for sale are broken. Additionally, even when they do work as they should, they were really no quicker or easier - for the Coty Periscope and its copycats (Constance Bennett Flipstick and the So-Fis-Tik), for example, I found two hands were still necessary.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f05e200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Coty Periscope lipstick ad, Jan. 1937" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f05e200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2f05e200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Coty Periscope lipstick ad, Jan. 1937" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8e4a200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Coty Periscope, Constance Bennett and So-Fis-Tik lipsticks" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8e4a200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8e4a200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Coty Periscope, Constance Bennett and So-Fis-Tik lipsticks" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Vibrating Mascaras<br />2008-2009<br /></strong>Vibrating mascara wands existed at least as far back as 2005, but it was <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2008/10/vibrating-mascaras-gimmick-or-groundbreaking.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">around 2008</a> that the major cosmetic companies began taking the gadget mainstream. <a href="https://archive.vogue.com/article/2008/9/estee-lauder" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Estée Lauder's Turbo Lash</a> was introduced in July 2008, followed by Lancome's Oscillation (with 7,000 "micro-oscillations per second") that fall. Maybelline's Pulse Perfection arrived in spring 2009. Unlike, say, an electric toothbrush, which actually can help ensure a more thorough cleaning, <a href="https://www.makeupalley.com/product/showreview.asp/ItemId=113192/Oscillation-Vibrating-Infinite-Mascara/Lancome/Mascara" rel="noopener" target="_blank">most reviewers agreed</a> that a vibrating mascara does not significantly improve application. It also seems users had to learn how to maneuver the wand carefully so as not to poke their eye or create a mess. As one PR exec explained, "[The customer] needs to understand how to use it." Some makeup techniques are worth putting the effort into figuring out, but mascara application should not require a learning curve - like lipstick, a basic level of application is intuitive. As I predicted, vibrating mascaras were indeed a flash in the pan.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea5f200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Maybelline Pulse Perfection mascara" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea5f200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea5f200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Maybelline Pulse Perfection mascara" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Honorable mentions: <a href="https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/beauty-hair/news/a11110/dior_bourjois_rotating_mascaras/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Bourjois and Dior 360 Mascaras</a> (2011), which rotated instead of vibrated, and <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2017/07/165490/mac-cosmetics-rollerwheel-liquid-liner-pizza-cutter" rel="noopener" target="_blank">MAC Rollerwheel eyeliner</a>, a.k.a. the "pizza cutter" liner.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Revlon Eye Makeup Glasses<br />1966-1973<br /></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">My appreciable nearsightedness greatly impedes my ability to apply makeup - a big reason for switching to contacts 30 years ago. Back in the 1960s, however, contacts were not as commonplace. So what was the gal with glasses to do? Enter Revlon's flip-up magnifying glasses, which were intended specifically for wearing during makeup application. Rest assured I have tried them out, along with magnifying mirrors and such, and nothing works quite like getting about 1-2 inches away from a regular mirror and applying with short-handled brushes and mini-sized pencils (regular sized products prevent you from getting close enough to see what you're doing as the handles keep poking the mirror.) Other companies make similar <a href="https://www.lensmartonline.com/eyeglasses/frames/bab-oval--11719/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">versions of these glasses</a> today, so I guess maybe they're not a total fail, but trust me when I say there are much more efficient ways for nearsighted folks to apply makeup.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29728200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Vintage Revlon eye makeup glasses" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29728200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a29728200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Vintage Revlon eye makeup glasses" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Lipstick Tissues</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>1930s-1960s</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">You can check out <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2017/08/spotlight-on-vintage-lipstick-tissues.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">my post from 2017</a> for the full scoop on lipstick tissues, but suffice it to say they failed because they were largely useless. To pull in more dollars, in 1937 Kleenex, building on previous patents, invented a solution to a completely fictional problem: the social crime of leaving lipstick traces on linens and towels, or heaven forbid, a woman's (male) significant other. As I noted in my post, there was no reason why one couldn't use regular facial blotting sheets for lipstick as they work just as well - separate lipstick tissues were wholly unnecessary.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3eaa200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Kleenex lipstick tissues, late 1930s" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3eaa200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39d3eaa200c-500wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Kleenex lipstick tissues, late 1930s" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I'm a bit hypocritical, however, since I think it might be fun to bring them back. I even had the husband make a little mockup of Makeup Museum branded lipstick tissues. Would you buy these if you saw them in the museum's gift shop?</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8a60200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum lipstick blotting sheets" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8a60200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8a60200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Makeup Museum lipstick blotting sheets" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Honorable mention: Not makeup, but <a href="https://tobacco.stanford.edu/cigarettes/womens-cigarettes/marlboro/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cigarettes with a red tip</a> so as to <a href="https://tobacco.stanford.edu/cigarettes/womens-cigarettes/debs/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">disguise any lipstick smears</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>The Estée Edit</strong></span><br /><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>2016</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">With much fanfare, in 2016 Estee Lauder unveiled a diffusion line targeted at the Millennial generation. Despite an extensive campaign starring the hugely influential Kendall Jenner and a whole brick-and-mortar store in London, the Estée Edit folded roughly a year after its initial launch.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e9181200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Estee edit store" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e9181200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e9181200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Estee edit store" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">So what went wrong? The <a href="https://fashionista.com/2017/06/estee-lauder-edit-discontinued" rel="noopener" target="_blank">official stance</a> was that the Edit didn't sell because Estee Lauder already had Millennials buying their products, so a separate line wasn't necessary: "Estée Lauder created The Estée Edit collection for Sephora to recruit millennial consumers. Simultaneous efforts by the core Estée Lauder brand have recruited millennials via digital and makeup at an unprecedented rate. Therefore, after a year of valuable insights and learnings, we have decided that a separate brand in North America dedicated to recruiting millennials is no longer necessary."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8ede200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="The Estée Edit" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8ede200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8ede200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="The Estée Edit" /></a></p>
<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.globalcosmeticsnews.com/estee-lauder-companies-drops-millennial-focussed-estee-edit-brand/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">globalcosmeticsnews.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Sounds like Estee was just trying to save face. What really happened is that customers saw through their pathetic attempt at being "edgy" to court a younger demographic. Frankly, the Edit reeked of desperation to revamp Estee Lauder as a youth-oriented brand, and <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/MakeupAddiction/comments/6cypww/estee_lauder_pulls_the_plug_on_the_estee_edit/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">customers could smell it a mile away</a>. Devoid of any real innovation or inspiration, the Edit was also out of touch with the needs and wants of Millennials - the whole shebang was basically this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiOMbqPHFwo" rel="noopener" target="_blank">classic scene from <em>30 Rock</em></a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Lipstick Matches<br />1920s-1950s<br /></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">As the makeup industry grew exponentially in the early 1920s, companies explored many different designs and packaging. The <a href="https://www.matchpro.org/Archives/2018/Lipstick%20Matchbooks%203418.pdf" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Parisian firm Fracy</a> introduced "allumettes" lipstick matches <a href="https://cleopatrasboudoir.blogspot.com/2014/07/fracy-perfumes.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">around 1924</a>. These single-use items were advertised as being more sanitary than regular tube lipsticks and portable due to their miniature stature. And, like lipstick tissues, they made great hostess gifts or customer freebies for businesses. But were they superior to regular lipsticks? Probably not. Water or saliva was needed to get the dry pigment to adhere so the formula probably wasn't the most comfortable, and the packs sold without a fancy mirrored case negated the "on-the-go" aspect. (I don't know about you, but I find it impossible to apply lip color without a mirror.)</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea51200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea51200d" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea51200d-pi"><img alt="Fracy salesperson kit with sample lipstick matchbooks, ca. late 1920s-early '30s " border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea51200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea51200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Fracy salesperson kit with sample lipstick matchbooks, ca. late 1920s-early '30s " /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea51200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea51200d">Fracy salesperson kit with sample lipstick matchbooks, ca. late 1920s-early '30s</div>
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<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea55200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Fracy lipstick matches" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea55200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a2ea55200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Fracy lipstick matches" /></a></p>
<p><a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2021/12/cosmetics-and-clothing-a-brief-history-of-makeup-outfit-color-coordination.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">By the 1950s</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">, companies shifted to advertising lipstick matches not as more sanitary, but a fun way to try new lipstick shades without committing to a full tube.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a297a2200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Charles of the Ritz lipstick matches" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a297a2200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d3a297a2200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Charles of the Ritz lipstick matches" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Still, mini versions of products with the same or similar packaging as their full-sized counterparts proved much more popular for sampling makeup, and they were easier to produce. With all angles of promoting matchbook makeup as better than other designs exhausted, it quietly faded from the market.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><strong>Mainstream Men's Makeup Brands<br />ca. 2000-2008<br /></strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I'm not going into a whole history of men's makeup here - it's another topic the Makeup Museum will tackle eventually - but I did want to highlight the failure of men's makeup to become as ubiquitous as that for women. Makeup has been worn by all genders for millennia, but you would never know it looking at most 20th century cosmetics. Makeup was advertised as being strictly the domain of women. While it was acceptable for men to wear makeup for the stage and screen, it was largely frowned upon for the average cis-het man. Cosmetic companies managed to profit from men by introducing toiletries such as after-shave, hair gel and cologne and developed entire grooming brands exclusively for men, but color cosmetics were still a no-go. However, much like makeup for Black customers, some of the larger companies launched men's makeup to tap into what they thought could be an additional cash cow. For the most part, unlike other grooming products, big brands' attempts at makeup for men consistently failed. It's not clear when the first men's makeup brand on the commercial market was introduced; there were some individual products such as concealers to cover beard stubble and "after-shave talc" used as face powder as far back as the 1930s, and some brands added one-off men's makeup items to their regular lines - for example, Aramis Bronzing Stick and <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bloodynora/48444470952" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mary Quant's Colouring Box</a> in the '70s and Guerlain's Terracotta Pour Homme in the '80s. And there were companies like Biba and Manic Panic and later, MAC, that intended their products to be genderless.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8f97200c-pi" style="display: inline;"> </a> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8fa0200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Aramis Bronzing Stick ad, 1969" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8fa0200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e8fa0200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Aramis Bronzing Stick ad, 1969" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">But it seems the first complete lines of makeup for men by a mainstream, non-niche company did not appear until the 2000s in the U.S.* And neither of these are still around. Aramis released Surface in 2000, which contained "correctors" (concealers), a bronzing gel and mattifying gel, followed by Jean Paul Gaultier's Le Male Tout Beau in 2003. Tout Beau was discontinued and relaunched as Monsieur in 2008.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e0966200c photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e0966200c" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e0966200c-pi"><img alt="Gaultier Le Male Tout Beau lip balm and concealer/eyeliner pen" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e0966200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e0966200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Gaultier Le Male Tout Beau lip balm and concealer/eyeliner pen" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e0966200c" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e0966200c">Gaultier Le Male Tout Beau lip balm and concealer/eyeliner pen</div>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Indie brands that were started around the same time such as 4Voo somehow managed to outlast their big league competitors. With so many more resources than small companies, why did Aramis and Le Male/Monsieur fail? I think the industry shot itself in the foot, so to speak. Perhaps if it hadn't spent roughly 100 years and billions of dollars enforcing makeup usage along a rigid binary and making it socially acceptable only for women, more mainstream brands for men would be successful. The modern industry really entrenched the ancient notion of everyday makeup as solely a feminine pursuit, and it's going to take a long time to undo that sort of brainwashing on a mass scale.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">So that's just the tip of the makeup failure iceberg. These were interesting, but it's equally fascinating to see what has actually stuck around.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">What do you think? And did you ever experience a makeup fail?</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">*Japan's Kose had introduced a line in Tokyo in 1985, and this <a href="https://www.photobookmagazine.com/features/yogi-cameron" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hunky gentleman</a> prepared to launch a small brand in 1993, which never came to fruition. Other niche brands included Male Man Unlimited (1980), Marcos for Men (1996), Menaji (1997) and Hard Candy's short-lived nail polish line for men called Candy Man (1997).</span></p>Cosmetics historyFunVintageMM Curator2023-11-12T19:34:02-05:00Curator's Corner, summer 2023
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/09/curators-corner-summer-2023.html
It was a very busy summer indeed! I blinked and it was basically over. Let's try to catch up, shall we? - Lots of beauty history bits and bobs, including Sephora celebrating its 25th anniversary, Guerlain unveiling a company archive...<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e4850200d-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="Curator's corner" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e4850200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e4850200d-150wi" style="width: 150px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Curator's corner" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">It was a very busy summer indeed! I blinked and it was basically over. Let's try to catch up, shall we?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Lots of beauty history bits and bobs, including <a href="https://wwd.com/beauty-industry-news/beauty-features/celebrating-25-years-of-sephora-u-s-1235689205/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sephora celebrating its 25th anniversary</a>, Guerlain unveiling a <a href="https://fortune.com/2023/06/09/bernard-arnault-guerlain-archives-lvmh-queen-elizabeth-first-lipstick-perfume/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">company archive</a> (not available to the public, sigh), an interview with scholar Fabiola Creed for a <a href="https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/tanned-skin-beauty-standard-sexist" rel="noopener" target="_blank">history of tanning</a>, and a profile of centuries-old brand <a href="https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/15010/santa-maria-novella-the-story-of-the-worlds-oldest-apothecary-history" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Santa Maria Novella</a>. I also enjoyed an inside look at the <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90936173/how-they-made-that-viral-whipped-cream-sunscreen" rel="noopener" target="_blank">design behind this sunscreen bottle</a> (which, while not makeup, needs to be in the Museum's collection.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- New <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/667034/flawless-by-elise-hu/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">beauty</a> <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/How-to-Be-a-Renaissance-Woman/Jill-Burke/9781639365906" rel="noopener" target="_blank">books</a>! I mentioned these a while back, but they have finally been released.<br /><br />- </span><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.instyle.com/beauty/barbiecore-beauty-trend" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Barbiecore</a> and <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/viral-latte-makeup-trend-bronzed-goddess-beauty" rel="noopener" target="_blank">latte makeup</a> were the top trends, along with fruit-themed aesthetics (various "girls" - <a href="https://www.bonappetit.com/story/tomato-lemon-vanilla-girl-summer" rel="noopener" target="_blank">tomato girl, lemon girl</a>, etc.) Frankly, I've had enough of the <a href="https://mashable.com/article/tiktok-blueberry-milk-nails-backlash-individuality" rel="noopener" target="_blank">same trends repackaged with absurd monikers</a>. Barbiecore and latte makeup are pink and brown/bronze, respectively, and <a href="https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/blueberry-milk-nails-tiktok/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">blueberry milk nails</a> are just...baby blue. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Is <a href="https://www.allure.com/story/cbd-beauty" rel="noopener" target="_blank">CBD beauty</a> really over? And were <a href="https://www.harpersbazaar.com/beauty/makeup/a44040126/weird-girl-colorful-lipstick-trend/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"weird" lipstick colors</a> ever out of style? (And would it have killed <em>Harper's</em> to link to <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2014/01/trending-bold-lips.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">my article</a> on it?)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Beauty's ugly side sadly continues with the <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/7/26/beauty-salons-in-afghanistan-are-closing-on-taliban-orders" rel="noopener" target="_blank">shuttering of salons by the Taliban</a>. :( Other not-great developments: a rather dystopian collaboration between Microsoft Teams and Maybelline, Tiktok's <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/07/15/tikrok-aging-aged-filter-ai-obsession-youth/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"aged" filter</a>, and a kerfuffle surrounding the <a href="https://www.reuters.com/lifestyle/make-up-artist-explains-thinking-behind-bradley-cooper-nose-2023-09-02/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">prosthetics</a> used for Bradley Cooper's role as composer Leonard Bernstein. While <a href="https://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-groups-bradley-coopers-nose-in-leonard-bernstein-film-not-antisemitic/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">most</a> <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/08/bradley-cooper-maestro-movie-leonard-bernstein-jewish/675106/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">agreed</a> the makeup was not offensive in this case - Bernstein's own family <a href="https://www.billboard.com/culture/tv-film/leonard-bernstein-family-approve-bradley-cooper-fake-nose-maestro-trailer-antisemitism-1235394289/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">gave their blessing</a> - nose putty has fairly anti-Semitic roots. More on that later.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Fashion designer brands <a href="https://fashionista.com/2023/08/prada-skin-care-color-makeup-products-campaign-prices" rel="noopener" target="_blank">continue</a> <a href="https://www.cosmeticsbusiness.com/news/article_page/Paco_Rabanne_expands_into_make-up_amid_business_shakeup/209795" rel="noopener" target="_blank">unabated</a>. As a fan of Prada's previous beauty line from the early 2000s, I'm particularly curious to see if their 2nd attempt will be more successful.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The random:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- One of the curator's idols announced her <a href="https://pitchfork.com/news/kathleen-hanna-announces-memoir-rebel-girl-my-life-as-a-feminist-punk/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">upcoming memoir</a>. It's still a year away but I'm looking forward to it.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- In '90s nostalgia, <a href="https://collider.com/theres-something-about-mary-movie/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>There's Something About Mary</em></a>, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/07/26/1190192741/celebrating-25-years-of-beastie-boys-album-hello-nasty" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Hello Nasty</em></a> and the <a href="https://www.mentalfloss.com/posts/furby-returns-25th-anniversary" rel="noopener" target="_blank">furby</a> all turned 25 this summer. I also watched <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/tv/2023/06/28/american-gladiators-netlix-series-muscles-mayhem/70359226007/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Muscles and Mayhem</em></a> on Netflix, a documentary about '90s hit show American Gladiators.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Another Netflix documentary, this one on <a href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/merpeople-review-netflix-paints-riveting-portrait-of-real-life-mermaids" rel="noopener" target="_blank">professional mermaids</a>, naturally caught my fancy.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- I'm usually not bothered by celebrity deaths, but the passing of <a href="https://time.com/6299801/paul-reubens-pee-wee-herman-dies/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Paul Reubens, a.k.a. Pee Wee Herman</a>, was quite sad for me as his show was a childhood staple (and honestly, even adulthood.) Plus, how fun would a Pee Wee makeup collection have been?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Another thing I am feeling strangely saddened by was the death of the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. <a href="https://www.vox.com/culture/2022/11/22/23466381/leaving-twitter-x-saying-goodbye-social-media" rel="noopener" target="_blank">I am not alone</a>, apparently.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- At least there were some good exhibitions opening! While I couldn't go to them, "<a href="https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/the-offbeat-sari" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Offbeat Sari</a>", "<a href="https://www.somersethouse.org.uk/press/black-venus-reclaiming-black-women-visual-culture-curated-aindrea-emelife" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Black Venus: Reclaiming Black Women in Visual Culture</a>" and "<a href="https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/exhibitions/past/after-impressionism-inventing-modern-art" rel="noopener" target="_blank">After Impressionism: Inventing Modern Art</a>" all sounded amazing. I did manage to see "<a href="https://artbma.org/exhibition/the-culture-hip-hop-and-contemporary-art-in-the-21st-century/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Culture</a>" at the BMA which was excellent. <span class="styles--2TdGW styles--3da4O" id="QA_6763814_label"></span>You might <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2013/07/not-the-samo-basquiat-and-addiction.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">recognize</a> this piece:</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39df695200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="The Culture exhibition - Basquiat" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39df695200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39df695200b-500wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="The Culture exhibition - Basquiat" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Lastly, I did a lot of baking using a bounty of fruit from the farmer's market, which the plushies greatly enjoyed, and picked up a new (and unfortunately expensive) habit of flower arranging.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e4abe200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Strawberry cookies, brownies and pie" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e4abe200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d39e4abe200d-500wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Strawberry cookies, brownies and pie" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399d5dd200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Peach pie" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399d5dd200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399d5dd200c-500wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Peach pie" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399d5e1200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Spring flowers" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399d5e1200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399d5e1200c-500wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Spring flowers" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">How was your summer?</span></p>Curator's cornerMM Curator2023-09-09T17:03:00-05:00Celebrating 15 years!
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/08/celebrating-15-years.html
On this day 15 years ago the Makeup Museum published its very first blog post. Hopefully before the end of the calendar year there will be a small exhibition to continue the celebration, but for now I just wanted to...<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399e5ee200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum 15 year anniversary" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399e5ee200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c8d399e5ee200c-800wi" title="Makeup Museum 15 year anniversary" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">On this day 15 years ago the Makeup Museum published its very first blog post. Hopefully before the end of the calendar year there will be a small exhibition to continue the celebration, but for now I just wanted to quickly acknowledge this milestone and thank everyone who has supported the museum over the years. :) Stay tuned!</span></p>Exhibitions and museumsMM Curator2023-08-07T11:10:00-05:00Setting the course for Black makeup history: William (Bill) Pinkney
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/08/captain-bill-pinkney.html
(image from soundingsonline.com) I was doing some digging on Ultra Sheen cosmetics after purchasing a great vintage display for it and stumbled across the name Bill Pinkney, who had a brief stint as a marketing executive for the company. As...<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b259cb74200d-pi" style="display: inline;"></a> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb11a200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Capt. Bill Pinkney" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb11a200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb11a200d-800wi" style="width: 800px; border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Capt. Bill Pinkney" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.soundingsonline.com/features/inspired-by-the-sea" rel="noopener" target="_blank">soundingsonline.com</a>) </span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I was doing some digging on Ultra Sheen cosmetics after purchasing a great vintage display for it and stumbled across the name Bill Pinkney, who had a brief stint as a marketing executive for the company. As it turns out, <a href="https://www.captainbillpinkney.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Captain William Pinkney</a> is the first Black man to circumnavigate the globe solo via the five Great Capes. While this is an astonishing feat that very people have accomplished, obviously I'm more interested in how he shaped Black makeup history - specifically, his significant contributions during the late '60s and '70s, one of the eras that witnessed an explosive growth of brands for Black customers. (Another era would be the early-mid '90s, a history I'm still working on.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Pinkney was born on September 15, 1935 in Chicago. He joined the Navy after high school and discovered sailing while visiting Puerto Rico after being discharged in 1959. He held a variety of jobs during this time, including elevator mechanic, limbo dancer (!) and X-ray technician. As much as he understood the importance of a steady job, boredom crept in.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6cecf52200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Bill Pinkney in the Navy, ca. 1950s" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6cecf52200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6cecf52200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Bill Pinkney in the Navy, ca. 1950s" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.yachtingmonthly.com/cruising-life/captain-bill-pinkney-committed-to-sailing-88435" rel="noopener" target="_blank">yachtingmonthly.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Around 1963, he began pondering what he could do as a creative outlet that would also pay the bills. Pinkney's friends suggested makeup artistry. In his own words: "Since 1963 I had been working as an X-ray technician at Queens General Hospital. Although it paid well, it was hardly creative, and the creative impulses of my youth were resurfacing: I also longed to sail. As much as I wanted to be an artist, I was following my family's advice to have a good, steady job. Keeping that in mind, I began to look at my possibilities. I still had time left on my G.J. Bill and I wanted to find a job that would be creative yet practical. In the Village one night, I expressed my dilemma to some of my old friends in fashion photography. They unanimously agreed that I should become a makeup artist! I laughed at first - me, a make-up artist? Bur they insisted that it was creative and quite lucrative. If I did well at it, I could also make connections with celebrities. So I decided to take a stab at the beauty industry."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25a8aad200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Bill with his ex-wife Ina, ca. late 1960s" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25a8aad200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25a8aad200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Bill with his ex-wife Ina, ca. late 1960s" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/07/multimedia/how-to-get-divorced.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">nytimes.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Pinkney attended Queens Beauty Institute during the day and continued working as an X-ray technician at night. After passing the New York state exam to become a licensed cosmetologist, he began practicing makeup on any willing participants (mostly friends and family.) Looking to break into film and TV makeup, he found a job for a non-union picture. While it didn't pay much, he was promised both extensive experience and a credit as makeup artist. Pinkney was a bit taken aback when he got to the set and discovered the, ahem, particular type of movie he would be doing the makeup for. "[The job] was in film, all right - soft core skin flicks. The films were shot in black and  white, and the make-up wasn't critical, but I got a chance to experiment. I mostly covered blemishes and scars and attached false mustaches and sideburns, which were in vogue at the time. The first film showed in Times Square, and while it was hardly pornographic by today's standards, a group of my friends furtively crept in, wearing turned up collars, hats pulled down over their eyes, and sunglasses. They roundly applauded the credits when my name came up."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751ae55fe200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Two films for which Pinkney is credited as the makeup artist" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b751ae55fe200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751ae55fe200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Two films for which Pinkney is credited as the makeup artist" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(images from <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2719056/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">imdb.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The first TV commercial Pinkney worked on was for the American Tuberculosis Association. Upon realizing he had no suitable makeup on hand to match one of the actresses, he chose to let her go with the makeup she was wearing. "A Black woman came in and I didn't know how to make her up. There were no products with which to make her up. Luckily, she had makeup on already, so I didn't touch it. I just said, 'Beautful makeup, luv.' I was lying, but what could I do? Right then, I realized the need for a color-oriented cosmetics line." The fact that even a Black makeup artist struggled to make up a Black actress demonstrated that the cosmetics geared towards Black customers that existed in the mid 1960s (Posner, Overton's, etc.) were still not meeting their needs, nor was much advice offered in beauty guides. He noted that Max Factor's darkest shade at the time was "meant to make whites look like Blacks," a statement that is backed up by the <a href="https://www.exhibitions-makeupmuseum.org/venus-beauty-standards" rel="noopener" target="_blank">origin story for Max Factor's Egyptian shade</a>. Pinkney made it his mission to learn about makeup for those with deep complexions, which, as we'll see, proved to be the thing that allowed him to realize his sailing dreams. "If I learned anything that day, it was that I knew very little about makeup. Undaunted, I made it a point to study make-up for Black women, a decision that would eventually serve to get me into the business on a big scale." He joined the National Association of Broadcast Employees and Television union and had more than 150 films and commercials under his belt by 1969. At this time he began working for Astarté, a brand by the very short-lived Spectrum Cosmetics.  While he initially got into makeup as a creative outlet, by 1970 Pinkney's outlook shifted towards makeup being more "psychological" than artistic: "Makeup is fascinating because you're working with psychology rather than art...if anyone tries to define beauty, he's opening a can of worms. It's an indescribable thing. It's really a feeling within the individual...ideally, I want to make a woman see how she really is inside - I want to relate to her, to feel what's behind the surface. I'd say I do that kind of makeup job one out of every 50 times. But I shoot for it every time."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb13d200d-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="Bill Pinkney, 1970" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb13d200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb13d200d-800wi" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Bill Pinkney, 1970" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">There will be a full history of Astarté and its place among the proliferation of Black-focused makeup brands of the time shortly, but for now, some basics: Astarté was a higher-end line catering to the "ethnic" customer and sold in department stores. While the emphasis was on providing quality makeup for women of color, there was a range of foundation shades available - 22, to be exact - that were meant to match every skintone. Twenty-two shades seems like a paltry amount these days, but back then this was a big assortment. Not only that, Astarté organized its foundations from darkest (Nuit) to lightest (Aurore), which, to this day, is still the opposite of how most brands arrange their shades.  The brand was also intended to "highlight [the] natural beauty" of Black women in keeping with the "Black is Beautiful" spirit of the late 1960s and early '70s. As noted previously, the vast majority of cosmetics, including non-complexion products like lipstick and eyeshadow, were formulated for white customers and tended to look either completely unnatural or at the very least, unflattering on non-white women. According to Pat Evans, the model who starred in the campaign, most makeup "turned Black women's mouths into neon signs, turned their skin ashen, made their eyes recede."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb130200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Astarte ad 1970" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb130200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb130200d-800wi" title="Astarte ad 1970" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Pinkney served as Astarté's National Director of Makeup, crisscrossing the U.S. to train salespeople and provide consultations and makeovers at counters. It's a bit of a chicken and egg scenario in terms of Astarte's focus and Pinkney's approach towards makeup - was Astarté influenced by Pinkney's natural aesthetic or vice versa? A 1970 article featuring a makeover of a Detroit resident presented Pinkney as a champion of understated cosmetics. "'A good makeup means nothing about it is obvious. It's a group of subtleties which combine to make you,' he stressed. For this reason he's against shadowing the face to change features such as making the nose seem longer or the lips seem narrower. 'It just won't work except for a model who's being photographed in controlled lighting. Women are seen in many different lighting situations and shadowing just makes them look phony,' he went on." The article continues with more of Pinkney's tips for no-makeup makeup, including using a powder brush rather than a puff for a seamless finish.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6d0ef55200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Bill Pinkney, ca. early 1970s" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6d0ef55200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6d0ef55200b-320wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Bill Pinkney, ca. early 1970s" /></a><br /><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><em>(image from <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/07/multimedia/how-to-get-divorced.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">nytimes.com</a>)</em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">It's not clear when Pinkney's relationship with Astarté ended, but Spectrum filed for bankruptcy in 1971. Pinkney continued working as a makeup artist, doing magazine editorials such as this spread in <em>Essence</em>. By this time he was also sailing as much as he could.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6cecff5200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Essence May 1973" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6cecff5200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6cecff5200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Essence May 1973" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Incidentally, the products used here were from Ultra-Sheen.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751ac3753200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Essence May 1973 " border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b751ac3753200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751ac3753200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Essence May 1973 " /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In 1973, "Revlon made me an offer I couldn't refuse," Pinkney said. The company hired him to oversee the marketing for the new line they were planning for Black customers called Polished Ambers. It doesn't seem as though Pinkney was involved in creating the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CDgQw7AJahcKEwi4zt7L5teAAxUAAAAAHQAAAAAQAg&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.aaa.si.edu%2Fblog%2F2019%2F06%2Fthe-black-art-historian-and-the-visual-legacy-of-revlons-polished-ambers&psig=AOvVaw1yPHrmCzZzkVdRRaVj3VIm&ust=1691953095718900&opi=89978449" rel="noopener" target="_blank">extensive advertising campaign</a>, but he was responsible for ensuring Polished Ambers was well-represented in the media and stores across the U.S. Most importantly, he was Revlon's first Black marketing executive. Polished Ambers hit shelves in early 1975.</span></p>
<p class="default__StyledText-sc-1wxyvyl-0 fxgoSg body-paragraph ContentPasted0"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6ced01d200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Pinkney and model Tamara Dobson in Women's Wear Daily, 1976" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6ced01d200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1a6ced01d200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Pinkney and model Tamara Dobson in Women's Wear Daily, 1976" /></a></p>
<p class="default__StyledText-sc-1wxyvyl-0 fxgoSg body-paragraph ContentPasted0"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Pinkney used his knowledge and experience with Astarté to promote the Polished Ambers line. Echoing the comments of Pat Evans from some 5 years prior, he noted that Revlon carefully formulated the Polished Ambers lipsticks and eyeshadows to avoid the usual pitfalls of products made for deep skintones. According to one article, "Pinkney claims frosted lipsticks need a special formulation for Blacks because the ones on the market give a 'mirrored, chalky effect.' Eyeshadows were given gold undertones for life and vitality, and colors were given depth to to complement dark eyelids." As we'll see in the upcoming history of the brand, Astarté's lipsticks and eye colors were formulated more or less identically.</span></p>
<p class="default__StyledText-sc-1wxyvyl-0 fxgoSg body-paragraph ContentPasted0"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751adb03d200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Revlon Polished Ambers ad, 1975" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b751adb03d200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751adb03d200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Revlon Polished Ambers ad, 1975" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In the fall of 1977 Pinkney was recruited by a headhunter to join Johnson Products to market their new Moisture Formula line within the Ultra Sheen brand. While this was a lucrative opportunity to work for a Black-founded and owned company, that wasn't the only reason for Pinkney's departure from Revlon: working for Johnson also meant that Bill would finally be able to own his own boat. He recalls, "I had met the head of the company [George Johnson] when I last lived in Chicago; his huge yacht was tied up next to Art's [Dickholtz, Pinkney's sailing mentor] slip at Belmont Harbor. One of the inducements to go back to Chicago was the lure of Lake Michigan and the chance to sail with Art again - and get my own boat. A perk in my contract with Johnson was that they would obtain a mooring if I bought a boat. The chances of procuring a mooring in Chicago harbors were less than winning the lottery." Pinkney subsequently purchased his first boat with the profits of the sale of his Revlon stock.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Pinkney was unceremoniously forced out of Johnson in 1980 after the Moisture Formula failed to produce the profits Johnson anticipated. As told by the <em>Chicago Tribune</em> in 1992: "'It didn't succeed' is one way of putting it,'' says George Johnson, then the company president. 'We were trying to sell an upscale line in drugstores, and it didn't work out.' Johnson rates Pinkney as 'a good guy,'  yet not only didn't his line succeed but, Johnson says, he ran afoul of marketing vice president Lafayette Jones, who fired him. 'I got caught in a Friday-afternoon shootout,' Pinkney says."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Still, Pinkney maintains the firing was a blessing in disguise. Reflecting in 1999, he said, "Coming through Revlon, one of the best marketing companies in the country, I had the best training ground. But as I worked for Johnson, I got further away from what I liked, which was creating makeup...I could have stayed in the industry and worked. But I decided it was time to break free." He took a job with the city government in Chicago. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb4e4200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Bill Pinkney" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb4e4200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302c1b25cb4e4200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Bill Pinkney" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image via <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12791654/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">imdb.com</a>)</span></em><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The rest, as they say, is history. After <a href="https://www.abebooks.com/signed-first-edition/Long-Takes-PINKNEY-William/31118752468/bd" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reflecting on the legacy</a> he wanted to leave behind for his family, particularly his two grandchildren, at age 50 Pinkney "decided he would attempt to sail around the world alone to encourage them to think and do the impossible." Five years later, on August 5, 1990, Pinkney began his adventure from Boston Harbor, returning in June 1992. He <a href="https://www.discoveringamistad.org/celebrating-captain-bill-pinkney" rel="noopener" target="_blank">continues sailing</a> and has racked up <a href="https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/capt-william-bill-pinkney-39" rel="noopener" target="_blank">numerous awards</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQbir7eKrLs" rel="noopener" target="_blank">honors</a>, including a <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-great-equalizer-what-the-sea-taught-bill-pinkney-about-life-and-success" rel="noopener" target="_blank">lifetime achievement award</a> from the <a href="https://nshof.org/inductees/pinkney-william/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">National Sailing Hall of Fame</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I'm so curious to know if Bill ever picked up a makeup brush again after leaving Johnson, or what he would think about makeup for Black customers these days. I also wonder whether, despite his varied interests and intense determination to succeed at anything he tried, his skills at both makeup artistry and beauty marketing specifically allowed him to pursue sailing full time. Could it be said that his dream was fulfilled via the makeup industry? I would reach out for an interview but at the same time feel like I should leave an 87 year-old man in peace!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">What do you think? And have you ever been sailing? Despite being a mermaid, I haven't quite found my sea legs - I've gotten sick every time I've been on a boat. Ah well. In any case, stay tuned for histories of Astarté and Ultra Sheen. :)<br /></span></p>
<p><strong>Update, September 1, 2023</strong>: I am sad to report that <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/09/01/sports/sailing/bill-pinkney-dead.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">William Pinkney passed away</a> on August 31, 2023. Rest easy, Captain.</p>
<p class="default__StyledText-sc-1wxyvyl-0 fxgoSg body-paragraph ContentPasted0"> </p>
<p><span style="text-decoration: underline; font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Sources</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Bennett, Bev. "Test of Time." <em>Press-Dispatch</em>, 25 Apr. 1999, p. 5-7.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Bernardo, Stephanie. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Ethnic Almanac</span>. New York: Doubleday, 1981, p. 341.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Gabriel, Joyce. "Beauty Is Indescribable Thing, Says Executive in National Cosmetics Firm." <em>Kitsap Sun</em>, 23 Oct. 1970, p. 5. (This is a syndicated article that appeared in multiple papers...I don't know how to cite it.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Grant, Pick. <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1992-10-04-9203300540-story.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"Race Against Time."</a> <em>Chicago Tribune</em>, 4 Oct. 1992, p.163-165.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Kunz, Mary. "New Hairdo, Makeup for Nancy." <em>Detroit Free Press</em>, 15 Dec. 1970, p. 3-C.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Kushla, Gigi. "Black Cosmetic Industry Competitive." <em>Chicago Tribune</em>, 13 Sept. 1976, p. 60.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Hopkins, Barbara. "Cosmetics Line Designed Specifically for Blacks." <em>Chicago Sun-Times</em>, 9 Sept. 1979, p. 64.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Leiva, Miriam A. Algebra 1: Explorations and Applications. Evanston (IL): McDougal Littell, 1998, p. 322.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Pinkney, Bill. <span style="text-decoration: underline;">As Long As It Takes: Meeting the Challenge</span>. Piermont (NH): Bunker Hill Publishing, 2006.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">Ringle, Ken. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2000/03/23/sailor-on-historys-seas/f20ed0f9-3b1e-4747-942d-cb79f08f823b/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"Sailor on History's Seas."</a> <em>Washington Post</em>, 23 Mar 2000.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;">"The Beauty Part," <em>Women's Wear Daily</em>, 25 Jun. 1976, p. 10.</span></p>1970sCosmetics historyOther makeup brandsMM Curator2023-08-04T16:55:00-05:00Event: LGBTQ+ makeup history highlights
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/05/lgbtq-makeup-history-highlights.html
A long-time Makeup Museum supporter invited me to speak at her organization's Pride festivities! I'm so incredibly honored! I'll be at the Old State House at Delaware State Parks on Saturday, June 10 at 1pm. Details here (and yes, it's...<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">A long-time Makeup Museum supporter invited me to speak at her organization's Pride festivities! I'm so incredibly honored! I'll be at the Old State House at Delaware State Parks on Saturday, June 10 at 1pm. Details <a href="https://destateparks.com/History/FirstStateHeritage" rel="noopener" target="_blank">here</a> (and yes, it's free!) Hope you can make it!</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75181b351200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum presents LGBTQ+ makeup history highlights" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b75181b351200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75181b351200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Makeup Museum presents LGBTQ+ makeup history highlights" /></a><br /><br /></p>MiscellaneousMM Curator2023-05-27T13:02:03-05:00Curator's Corner, February-April 2023
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/05/curators-corner-februaryapril-2023.html
Lots going on behind the scenes! Not necessarily a bad thing, but doesn't leave much time for blogging and social media. Realistically Curator's Corner will have to be cut down even further so that it's on a quarterly basis instead...<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7519f55d6200c-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="Curator's corner logo" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b7519f55d6200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7519f55d6200c-150wi" style="width: 150px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Curator's corner logo" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Lots going on behind the scenes! Not necessarily a bad thing, but doesn't leave much time for blogging and social media. Realistically Curator's Corner will have to be cut down even further so that it's on a quarterly basis instead of trying to post it monthly...I know I should abandon it entirely but I can't! Anyway, onto some links.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- I learned so much prepping for the Museum's presentation for the Art Deco Society UK. You can check it out <a href="https://vimeo.com/808412059/cca0d956d4" rel="noopener" target="_blank">here</a> (and see first-hand why I'm not a YouTuber.) I do hope to turn it into an article or maybe an exhibition.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Another thing that involved quite a bit of research was an <a href="https://english.elpais.com/society/2023-04-20/glow-skin-why-the-post-pandemic-era-and-tiktok-have-relegated-contouring-to-the-past.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">interview for El Pais</a> on the history of glowy skin. Meanwhile, my makeup history partner-in-crime weighed in on the <a href="https://www.popsugar.com/beauty/period-piece-hair-makeup-unrealistic-49130563" rel="noopener" target="_blank">unrealistic hair and makeup in period films and TV shows</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- "I don't understand why makeup brands don’t have [women over 40] — we're the face of a lot of things and we're not the face of makeup right now." <a href="https://www.allure.com/story/where-is-the-makeup-for-people-over-40" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Allure</em></a> points out the issue with brands that seemingly cater to the over-forty crowd: namely, they refuse to acknowledge that some mature women (ahem, like me) have not abandoned bright color and other vibrant makeup. Being over forty does not automatically sentence you to focus on hair and skin and wear only minimal, no-makeup looks, and just once I'd like to see a brand feature an old lady with glitter seeped in her wrinkles.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- If anyone can tell me exactly what <a href="https://artdaily.cc/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=156344#.ZFab5s7MLcs" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sulwhasoo and the Met</a> are partnering for, I would be most appreciative.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Been spending far too much time on Reddit and should probably cut back, as <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Feminism/comments/120o3xg/call_us_ugly_to_sell_us_shit/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">this post</a> sent my blood pressure soaring. Coupled with this <a href="https://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/school-posters-calling-make-up-drug-sexism" rel="noopener" target="_blank">school calling makeup a "drug"</a>, makeup is experiencing a backlash. I'm not sure why people can't discuss it with nuance and acknowledge that while it has a long history of being a tool of the patriarchy to oppress cis-het women, makeup is so much more than that.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Along those lines, I'm still ambivalent about companies selling makeup intended for kids - feels like an indoctrination of sorts into harmful beauty standards - but if they're going to do it, <a href="https://www.wallpaper.com/fashion-beauty/zara-beauty-mini-artists-beauty-line-for-kids" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Zara Beauty's Mini Artists</a> line is the way to go. At least they're trying to emphasize the artistic aspects and the packaging/names aren't overly gendered, unlike, say, <a href="https://www.ulta.com/brand/petite-n-pretty" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Ulta's Petite and Pretty</a>. It's also safer ingredient-wise than most kids' makeup and since it's water-soluble, much easier to remove than stuff formulated for grown-ups. Plus, Diane Kendal designed it, so it's quite sleek and stylish compared to other kids' face-painting kits on the market.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Hate to break it to you, people of Tiktok, but <a href="https://www.premiumbeautynews.com/en/mascara-cocktailing-is-the-latest,21867" rel="noopener" target="_blank">layering mascara</a> is not new.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Between Isamaya Beauty's LIPS and <a href="https://www.happi.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2023-02-03/elf-cosmetics-launches-new-o-face-satin-lipstick/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">E.L.F's O Face lipsticks</a>, sexual makeup names (and packaging as well in the case of LIPS) continue to be attention-getters. Admittedly I purchased LIPS for the Museum, but I wholeheartedly <a href="https://open.substack.com/pub/jessicadefino/p/isamaya-ffrench-lips-dick-lipstick?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email" rel="noopener" target="_blank">co-sign this piece by Jessica DeFino</a> on the ridiculousness of it. (Also, LIPS should be modeled after a vulva, no?)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Some spring 2023 goodies - three of the five collections shown here were collabs (MAC x Richard Quinn, Clarins x Foxco and Shu Uemura x Nicolas Lefeuvre) so I'll just add them to the pile I hope to cover eventually.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517fad18200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Spring 2023 makeup" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517fad18200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517fad18200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Spring 2023 makeup" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The random:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- In '90s nostalgia, I'm watching <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106056/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Living Single</em></a> and loving it. Get Hulu if you don't have it already so you can enjoy the hilarity. Also, two of my very favorite movies turned 25: <a href="https://people.com/movies/the-wedding-singer-25th-anniversary-drew-barrymore-adam-sandler-working-together-reunion/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>The Wedding Singer</em></a> and <a href="https://deadline.com/2023/03/the-big-lebowski-25th-aniversary-rerelease-fathom-events-1235302426/"><em>The Big Lebowski</em></a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- If you weren't already petrified of AI taking over the world, let me introduce you to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/meet-chatgpt-the-artificial-intelligence-chat-bot-that-could-take-your-job/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ChatGPT</a>. I fear for the future of both my day job and the Museum.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- This absolutely <a href="https://hyperallergic.com/810907/did-a-simpsons-episode-predict-the-florida-david-outrage/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ludicrous story is literally the plot of a <em>Simpsons</em> episode</a>. Also, please stop <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/climate-activists-smear-paint-edgar-degas-sculpture-case-180982078/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">throwing things at art</a>, even if the artist was a terrible person.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- So as not to end on a down note, I got some test shots back from a professional photographer for the Museum's collection and they are stunning. Doesn't this little Paul and Joe fellow look extra jaunty?</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517fac64200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Paul and Joe lipstick" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517fac64200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517fac64200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Paul and Joe lipstick" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">How are you? How is your spring so far?</span></p>Curator's cornerMM Curator2023-05-06T14:49:23-05:00Shaken before taken: experimenting with liquid pearl
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/04/opaline-liquid-pearl.html
I admit I purchased this object without fully understanding what it was. I couldn't unearth any ads for Opaline1 and very little exists about the company. There were a couple calls for De Baranta-Windsor salespeople in 1898 for totally different...<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I admit I purchased this object without fully understanding what it was.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a077e1200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Opaline toilet preparation by the De Baranta Windsor Company, ca. 1900" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a077e1200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a077e1200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Opaline toilet preparation by the De Baranta Windsor Company, ca. 1900" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I couldn't unearth any ads for Opaline<sup>1</sup> and very little exists about the company. There were a couple calls for De Baranta-Windsor salespeople in 1898 for totally different products - no mention of beauty preparations, so I had to rely on other clues to suss out what Opaline could possibly be. The substance appears to be a powder in the bottle, but there were a few reasons why I didn't believe it was a face powder upon closer inspection. Namely: 1. powders were normally packaged in boxes, not bottles; 2. the directions instructed the user to shake well and apply with a sponge, and powders did not usually require shaking and were applied with a puff; and 3. the directions also insinuated the product was a liquid by including the phrase "when nearly dry...".</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b685333823200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Opaline toilet preparation by the De Baranta Windsor Company, ca. 1900" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b685333823200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b685333823200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Opaline toilet preparation by the De Baranta Windsor Company, ca. 1900" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">So what exactly was Opaline? Certainly not perfume and most likely not a skincare treatment either. It was clearly some kind of liquid makeup (with the liquid obviously evaporating over time) but not quite foundation as we know it today. Thank goodness for Cosmetics and Skin, as I really didn't know what I was looking at until some frantic Googling led me to their website, which has an <a href="https://www.cosmeticsandskin.com/ded/liquid-powder.php" rel="noopener" target="_blank">excellent summary of the three most common types of "liquid powders"</a> popular at the turn of the 20th century: calamine, wet white and liquid pearl (not to be confused with pearl powder).</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c1e8d200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Opaline toilet preparation by the De Baranta Windsor Company, ca. 1900" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c1e8d200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c1e8d200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Opaline toilet preparation by the De Baranta Windsor Company, ca. 1900" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Liquid pearl was essentially white face powder mixed with water and glycerin. Despite its tendency to streak, it had several advantages over dry face powder, namely that it lasted longer and provided slightly more coverage. Although the powder component consisted of the same ingredients as face powder (usually zinc oxide or bismuth oxychloride), liquid pearl was used on the body in addition to the face, primarily for evening wear to impart an even, whitening effect on any exposed skin - ideal for the plunging necklines and short-sleeve styles of fin-de-siècle Europe and the U.S. It was also less frequently recommended as a sort of sunscreen for daytime due to the zinc. Sources detailing liquid pearl from the early 1900s align with Opaline. A 1904 recipe instructed the user to "Keep in a tightly corked bottle and apply with a sponge when required,"<sup>2</sup> and in 1910 beauty columnist Margaret Mixter advised, "When bottled there will be a white sediment at the bottom, and the preparation must always be shaken before any is put on the face. In applying a piece of muslin or linen should be used."<sup>3</sup> Opaline's name, color, packaging, and instructions perfectly match liquid pearl. Compare to others from the time, which were packaged in bottles and claimed to have a whitening effect.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c9dd5200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Ad for Milliere's Liquid Powder, Muncie Daily Times, Dec. 7, 1880" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c9dd5200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c9dd5200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Ad for Milliere's Liquid Powder, Muncie Daily Times, Dec. 7, 1880" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I can't uncork the Opaline bottle due to its fragility, but I was very tempted to try to sprinkle out some powder to get a sense of the texture and opacity. Instead of potentially damaging or breaking the bottle, to sate my curiosity I decided to whip up a batch of liquid pearl using a common recipe - this one appeared in a column by Harriet Hubbard Ayer<sup>4</sup> in 1902 and was reprinted in several other beauty guides: "pure oxide of zinc, 1 ounce;  glycerine, one dram; rosewater, four ounces; essence of rose, fifteen drops. Sift the zinc, dissolving it in just enough of the rosewater to cover it, then add the glycerin, next the remainder of the rosewater. Shake well and apply with a soft sponge or antiseptic gauze." All ingredients were procured via Etsy.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a07759200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Liquid pearl ingredients" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a07759200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a07759200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Liquid pearl ingredients" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a07761200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Liquid pearl mix" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a07761200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a07761200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Liquid pearl mix" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">My measuring may have been off, but the mixture ended up being very thin and watery.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b685333781200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Liquid pearl mixed" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b685333781200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b685333781200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Liquid pearl mixed" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I didn't have any cheesecloth on hand to strain it nor a pretty little bottle to put it in, but I did have plenty of travel containers. After a good shake I used my trusty Beauty Blender sponge (dampened) to apply a thin layer  - I was also short on linen, muslin and gauze. <br /></span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c1ddb200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="DIY liquid pearl finished" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c1ddb200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c1ddb200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="DIY liquid pearl finished" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Once applied, it's actually not too dissimilar from today's zinc-based sunscreen lotion in that it leaves a pretty noticeable white cast, even with just a small amount on my pasty skin. Smelled lovely though! And the texture was surprisingly smooth and comfortable. Not as emollient as a lotion, but it didn't feel dry or like it was just sitting on top of my skin. I'm sparing you a photo, but I did try it on my face and neck in addition to my inner arm...looked quite ghostly. I also neglected to take a photo of it in the bottle a few hours after, when it had separated with all the zinc on the bottom - the instructions to shake well were definitely necessary.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a0776c200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Liquid pearl swatches" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a0776c200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a0776c200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Liquid pearl swatches" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Given its unnatural appearance - I can't imagine putting on more layers - I found myself wondering if liquid pearl was commonly worn. Whiteness was (is) highly prized as a beauty standard, and liquid pearl was one way to achieve it, albeit temporarily. As was the case for centuries, the starkness of ultra-white skin wasn't an issue despite being at odds with the "undetectable" makeup that middle-class women were expected to adhere to; the whiter, the better, especially according to ads for liquid pearl. A 1914 ad for a liquid powder called Derma Viva states, "It whitens the skin at once, a single application being most effective. Red, brown or dark complexion - face, neck, arms, and hands - made a beautiful milky white by use of this wonderful beautifier."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c9243200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Ad for Derma Viva, Knoxville Sentinel, May 8, 1914" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c9243200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b7517c9243200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Ad for Derma Viva, Knoxville Sentinel, May 8, 1914" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Judging from my experiment, liquid pearl doesn't seem like it would look remotely natural on even the palest of skin tones, but it appears whiteness trumped any concerns about liquid pearl's obviousness. It could also be that as there were so few formulations, liquid pearl and other liquid powders were relatively natural-looking by fin-de-siècle standards, or at least, that's what companies wanted customers to believe. Derma Viva notes that it is "absolutely invisible" and "will not show as does face powder," while <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=treG8BAnJcwC&pg=PA63&lpg=PA63&dq=%22marie+mott+gage%22&source=bl&ots=sZDibIu8r2&sig=ACfU3U1X3IKpNCO9BlCEljcZ-OXFVfNmLg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjIvrOw67H-AhUpGFkFHcqvA9o4ChDoAXoECAQQAw#v=onepage&q=%22marie%20mott%20gage%22&f=false" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Mme. Gage</a>'s Imperial Japanese White Lily, "a delicate liquid powder for evening use" was also advertised as invisible. "A successfully made-up woman does not look in the least artificial," proclaimed Mrs. Henry Symes, who then followed up this statement by a recipe for liquid pearl.<sup>5</sup> Another column from 1903 advises using one of the new "flesh" tinted liquid powders instead of white, but notes that white powders were still preferable to the harshness of theatrical makeup. "Only a few years ago Milady was forced to be content with just two colors of face powder, chalk white and rose. Both of these were easily discernible, for they made her either too red or too pale...Not only are there fifteen tints of complexion powders, but they are put up in different forms to suit different occasions. There are liquid powders, which are to be 'shaken before taken'...at any big entertainment the women may be seen with their faces chalked till they resemble nothing so much as a company of corpses. These women do not bother about preparing the chalk; they simply take a chalk pencil and rub it into the skin with unction, and the more ghastly the result the better they are pleased."<sup>6</sup> Given that every liquid pearl recipe dictated careful application with a sponge or other piece of cloth, it seems that as long as women were using it primarily for nighttime and paying attention to how and where they applied it, liquid pearl was an acceptable cosmetic for the average (white) woman.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a0ebe3200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Photo of a woman applying liquid powder from Mrs. Henry Symes beauty column, February 16, 1902" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a0ebe3200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b751a0ebe3200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Photo of a woman applying liquid powder from Mrs. Henry Symes beauty column, February 16, 1902" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">We also can't discount the fact that electric lighting wasn't totally ubiquitous at the time and liquid pearl was mostly recommended for evening wear, so perhaps it was less obvious in darkened settings. In any case, while some cosmetic recipes hold up today and all the ingredients in this particular concoction are still used in contemporary cosmetics, it appears quite crude by comparison and is best left in the 1900s.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">To conclude, I'm 99.9% sure Opaline is liquid pearl, but less certain is whether Mme. De Baranta was a real person. I am skeptical! Perhaps the <a href="https://cortlandhistory.org/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Cortland Historical Society</a>, which also has this <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@cortlandhistory/video/6942270099143347462" rel="noopener" target="_blank">artifact in their collection</a>, could shed some light on the company.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">What do you think of Opaline and liquid pearl? And have you ever tried DIY'ing makeup? Believe it or not, this was my first experiment despite all of the recipes that have been printed in various makeup history books and <a href="https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2021/16/makeup-a-glamorous-history" rel="noopener" target="_blank">seeing it done</a> numerous times <a href="https://sites.eca.ed.ac.uk/renaissancecosmetics/cosmetics-study-day/cosmetics-workshop/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">before</a>. I think <a href="https://www.beautifulchemistryproject.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">recreating old formulas</a> would be pretty fun Makeup Museum events. ;)</span></p>
<p> </p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>1</sup>There were several instances of liquid powders named Opaline from the late 1800s/early 1900s including one by UK-based Crown perfumery and the Opaline Toilet Manufacturing Company in San Francisco, but no Opaline from the De Baranta company.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>2</sup>Emily Lloyd, <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=loc.ark:/13960/t34184w8d&view=1up&seq=1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"The Skin: Its Care and Treatment,"</a> (Chicago: MacIntosh Battery and Optical Co) 1904, 104-105. The story of this book's author is fascinating by itself - apparently Emily Lloyd was an alias used by Ruth Maurer, who established the Marinello company. Once again, Cosmetics and Skin <a href="https://www.cosmeticsandskin.com/companies/marinello.php" rel="noopener" target="_blank">has all the details</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>3</sup>Margaret Mixter, <a href="https://archive.org/details/healthbeautyhint00mixt/page/118/mode/2up?ref=ol&view=theater" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"Health and Beauty Hints,"</a> (New York: Cupples and Leon Company) 1910, 118.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>4</sup>"Harriet Hubbard Ayer Responds to Many Inquiries Directed to the Sunday Post-Dispatch," <em>The St. Louis Sunday Post Dispatch</em>, May 25, 1902, 42.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">5Mrs. Henry Symes, "How To Be Healthy and Beautiful: Use of Cosmetics for Improving the Complexion's Appearance - When It Is Justified," <em>The Minneapolis Tribune</em>, February 16, 1902. This entire column is a hoot - Symes basically calls out the hypocrisy of men judging women who wear makeup, and states that if they weren't so obsessed with certain beauty standards, women would not feel the need to wear makeup. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">6"The True Uses of Powder for the Complexion," <em>Evening Star</em> (Washington, DC), Nov. 14, 1903, 32.</span></p>1900sCosmetics historyMM Curator2023-04-10T11:11:00-05:00Event: Art Deco makeup presentation!
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/03/art-deco-makeup-presentation.html
I am so honored to present at the Art Deco Society UK's winter event series! On Tuesday, March 14 at 7pm BST (3pm EST) join the Museum for "Makeup Moderne: Art Deco Influence in Cosmetics Design". Admittedly I knew very...<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I am so honored to present at the Art Deco Society UK's winter event series! On Tuesday, March 14 at 7pm BST (3pm EST) join the Museum for "Makeup Moderne: Art Deco Influence in Cosmetics Design". Admittedly I knew very little about Art Deco so it's been quite the learning process, but I hope I deliver a good talk. Get your tickets <a href="https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/art-deco-society-uk" rel="noopener" target="_blank">here</a>.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75198d59f200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Art Deco powder box and compacts" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b75198d59f200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75198d59f200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Art Deco powder box and compacts" /></a></p>MiscellaneousMM Curator2023-03-04T18:29:42-05:00Trending: Makeup licensing deals
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/02/makeup-licensing-deals.html
I'm delighted to share a guest post by new Makeup Museum volunteer Shannon Mendola, who will be discussing the licensing deal trend in makeup. These sorts of collaborations are different than other partnerships in that they are usually the result...<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I'm delighted to share a guest post by new Makeup Museum volunteer Shannon Mendola, who will be discussing the licensing deal trend in makeup. These sorts of collaborations are different than other partnerships in that they are usually the result of brands purchasing a license from any brand that offers one. Unlike <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/games/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">collabs with certain artists</a> or brands who work together directly on a special, one-off collection, this makeup is simply another consumer good - along with things like mugs, apparel, and stationery - that a franchise or brand has sold their license to, leading to a rather impersonal and uninspired yet still oddly compelling product.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Now that the difference has been noted, let's take a peek at the seemingly infinite number of collabs that have flooded the market as of late. Thank you, Shannon, for your fantastic insight on this trend!</span></p>
<hr />
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Colourpop x <em>High School Musical</em>! Hipdot x Cup Noodles! Wet N Wild x Peanuts! Urban Decay x She-Hulk! When did the makeup industry become collab after collab? Lately, it feels like all we are seeing is another brand collaborating with Disney or some other TV show, movie, food item, etc. But why? I’m not necessarily complaining, I have even purchased these makeup collections!</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Is it to get people buzzing? There seemed to be a lot of interest in the Glamlite x Scooby Doo collection. To keep the brand relevant? I kind of forgot Spectrum Collections existed until I saw their collection with the TV show <em>Emily in Paris</em>. Some of these brands don’t seem to be releasing anything else but these licensing deal collaborations. What is a brand if it is always relying on other brands to help it stay afloat? These deals must be working though if brands like Hipdot and Makeup Revolution seem to only be doing just that.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a015200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Glamlite x Scooby doo, fall 2022" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a015200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a015200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Glamlite x Scooby doo, fall 2022" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://glamlite.com/products/scooby-doo-x-glamlite-full-collection-with-limited-edition-shipping-box" rel="noopener" target="_blank">glamlite.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">While not new – <a href="https://www.allure.com/story/dr-pepper-lip-smacker-discontinued" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Lip Smacker partnered with Dr. Pepper</a> nearly 50 years ago - licensing deals have exploded recently. There are many reasons collaborations are such a trend. First, companies are leveraging consumers' feelings of uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. Nostalgia always sells, but in the face of an ongoing global health crisis and all the anxiety and dread that accompanied it, we're finding even more comfort in our favorite TV shows and childhood favorites. These collaborations are made in hopes you will remember how much you loved <a href="https://www.happi.com/contents/view_breaking-news/2021-09-13/temp-title-582600/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Playdoh</a>, <a href="https://beautyvelle.com/2022/08/04/i-heart-revolution-x-looney-tunes-collection/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Looney Tunes</a>, <a href="https://www.nylon.com/beauty/colourpops-candy-land-collection-includes-a-nostalgic-roller-ball-lip-gloss" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Candyland</a> and Cocoa Krispies and have to snag it all as a sort of coping mechanism. </span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852adad6200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Revolution x Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Krispies, summer 2021" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852adad6200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852adad6200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Revolution x Fruity Pebbles and Cocoa Krispies, summer 2021" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.bestproducts.com/lifestyle/a37339680/revolution-beauty-post-consumer-brands-fruity-and-cocoa-pebbles-makeup-line/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">bestproducts.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Secondly, licensing deals allow for a built-in theme, making it easier for companies to create collections. Collaborating with another brand opens the door for new types of products and advertising. For example, the Lottie London x Vampire Diaries collection featured a Blood Drip Lip Tint. Making a brand new lip gloss with no given theme is harder to sell and requires a more creative marketing strategy. When Colourpop used the <em>Hocus Pocus</em> films for multiple collections, the brand had instant ideas for the color story, shade names, and packaging. <a href="https://thepopinsider.com/features/licensed-beauty-products-feature/">Comments from a spokesperson for Ulta</a> confirm this: "Our recent Ulta Beauty Collection collaborations, including Gilmore Girls and Disney and Pixar, were like love letters to fans of those franchises. We wanted to evoke a nostalgic feeling with throwbacks that are beloved…we [also] want to ensure the colors from the artwork are season-appropriate, trend-forward, and that they can be translated to the packaging or shade options seamlessly."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a01f200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Colour pop x Hocus Pocus, Halloween 2021" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a01f200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a01f200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Colour pop x Hocus Pocus, Halloween 2021" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Speaking of packaging, licensing deals also inspire companies to experiment with design.. When I saw the <a href="https://stylecaster.com/beauty/hipdot-eyecons-3d-eyeshadow/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hipdot CareBears</a> EyeCon Sculpted Pigments Collection, I immediately bought it. Typically, I am one to think about my purchases before spending, but I saw this, got excited, and bought it in a matter of a few minutes. Why was I so impulsive? I loved CareBears as a kid. It had the nostalgic aspect, but it also was little eyeshadow sculptured pigments, which I had never seen done before. So it was unique and fresh in the very saturated makeup market.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75197f6fa200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Hipdot x Care Bears, fall 2022" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b75197f6fa200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75197f6fa200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Hipdot x Care Bears, fall 2022" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.hipdot.com/collections/care-bears/products/care-bears-eyecon-collection" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hipdot.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">As an article at <a href="https://thepopinsider.com/features/licensed-beauty-products-feature/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">PopInsider states</a>, packaging details do indeed help licensed collections stand out: "HipDot’s licensing partners have included Nickelodeon for SpongeBob SquarePants and Rugrats, Reese’s, Hasbro Games, Tapatio and more. And some of those storytelling details that make the collections extra special? A coffin-shaped collector’s box for its Addams Family collection, a peanut-butter scent in the Reese’s lip balms, and even a special ingredient in the Tapatio collection to create a lip-tingling effect."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Thirdly, licensing deals are effective because they expand the brand’s target market to new categories of consumers. Consider Makeup Revolution’s fall 2022 <a href="https://hypebae.com/2022/9/makeup-revolution-clueless-collaboration-release-info-where-to-buy" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Clueless</em> collection</a>. The collection was not only for makeup lovers and fans of Makeup Revolution, but also for <em>Clueless</em> fans and those who cherish the '90s. Hipdot recently released eyeshadow palettes shaped like CDs as a result of <a href="https://www.licenseglobal.com/beauty-cosmetics/evanescence-korn-release-makeup-with-hipdot" rel="noopener" target="_blank">partnering with musicians Korn and Evanescence</a>. It wasn’t only Hipdot customers and eyeshadow enthusiasts who purchased these; given that both sold out quickly, it’s clear that fans of the bands and rock/metal aficionados were drawn to the products as well.  <a href="https://www.mishcon.com/news/growing-your-beauty-brand-through-collaborations-and-licensing-deals">Says</a> one brand management director, “Many beauty brands have capitalized on [the industry’s] growth through collaborations that broaden their reach and find new consumers in places they may not be able to access on their own."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a086200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Revolution x Clueless, fall 2022" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a086200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a086200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Revolution x Clueless, fall 2022" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.lifestyleasia.com/hk/beauty-grooming/makeup/revolution-beauty-clueless-makeup-collection/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">lifestyleasia.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Along those lines, these collaboration products are even being <a href="https://digiday.com/marketing/full-products-and-brands-how-the-merch-ization-of-beauty-is-being-shaped-by-celebs-venture-capital/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">purchased as collectors' items</a>. Using the above example, Korn and Evanescence fans may not even use or open the products. This means non-makeup users are buying makeup when they never would have otherwise. With the CareBear Pigments, I honestly forgot if it was Hipdot or Spectrum Collections who came out with them prior to writing this article. That demonstrates that there was no brand loyalty or even brand knowledge in my purchase. Thus, in some cases, customers aren’t even caring who is selling it or what it's for - as long as it represents their particular area of fandom, they are sold.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Thinking about licensing deals solely in terms of makeup customers, they also draw people to the brand that may become new customers down the line. I purchased the Sigma Beauty x Cinderella eyeshadow palette because I am a big Disney fan and I couldn’t resist the cute packaging and pretty jewel-toned shades. It turned out to be a nice formula and I am considering buying more from Sigma Beauty soon. I probably never would have purchased from this brand if not for this collaboration, so it made me take the chance of trying a new brand. If you like the collaborator, the launch will top all other new releases for you. It gets your attention in the sea of new products. Even if a collab gets attention in a more negative way, such as Winky Lux Applebee's wing sauce-inspired lip glosses or <a href="https://www.delish.com/food-news/a38868437/oscar-meyer-face-mask/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Seoul Mamas Skincare Oscar Mayer Bologna sheet mask</a>, any buzz is good PR. The strange collaborations may do better than one would expect just because customers are curious or find them humorous. These are all examples of marketing strategies whose primary goal is turning heads. In recent years, with the boom of social media and emergence of apps like TikTok, our collective attention spans are getting smaller and smaller. These eye-catching collabs demand our attention and stop us from scrolling past. With unconventional products or collaborations, Instagram and TikTok users will be doing the marketing because the collaboration is so wild, they just have to repost it and share it with everyone they know. It's genius really. Perhaps, the more unexpected the collaboration partner, <a href="https://imclicensing.com/food-and-makeup-brands-are-hungry-for-buzzworthy-brand-collaborations/">the better it is from a marketing/buzz creating standpoint</a>.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a09b200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Applebee's x Winky Lux, summer 2022" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a09b200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75173a09b200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Applebee's x Winky Lux, summer 2022" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.applebees.com/en/saucy-gloss-winky-lux-lip-balms" rel="noopener" target="_blank">applebees.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Lastly, licensing deals aren’t just for the cosmetics industry; others are also shifting their focus to these sorts of collections. The fashion industry has increased the number of collaborations in the past few years (LOEWE x Studio Ghibli, Forever 21 x Barbie, Givenchy x Disney, Pacsun x Strawberry Shortcake, etc.) <a href="https://www.today.com/food/crocs-just-released-kfc-clogs-they-actually-smell-chicken-t187865" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Crocs even worked with Kentucky Fried Chicken</a> to make a unique shoe. The food industry also participates. Star Wars Igloo Coolers, Kellogg and Nickelodeon’s Apple Jacks Slime cereal, and Hello Fresh with help of Warner Media created the spaghetti dish from the famous holiday movie <em>Elf</em>. In looking at these, it seems as though the licensed partnerships for makeup brands are part of a greater trend that spans multiple industries, perhaps due to mostly two simple reasons: an increase in the number of available licenses, and the fact that the more nonsensical the partnership is, the better it will sell.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852add05200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="PacSun x Strawberry Shortcake" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852add05200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852add05200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="PacSun x Strawberry Shortcake" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.pacsun.com/strawberry-shortcake/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">pacsun.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Given how lucrative licensing deals are and the fact that the resulting products are less labor-intensive to create as compared to original items, companies will continue hunting down any license they can get their hands on and make a collection out of it. But is this actually leading to consumer fatigue? On Revolution Beauty’s website, the 'Collabs' tab is before any of their other makeup and skincare items. It seems as though some of these brands have used every available license under the sun. At what point does a brand cease to have an identity outside of collaborating? Hipdot, Makeup Revolution and Colourpop could all be the same brand, as they have become best known for their collaborations. Case in point: the recently defunct brand Kailav, whose <a href="https://grainofsaltmag.com/embracing-authenticity-and-art-through-makeup-a-review-and-conversation-with-kailav-beauty-co-founder/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">entire basis was famous paintings</a>. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but customers are fickle. Initially, seeing Van Gogh's Starry Starry Night or Monet's Water Lilies on a palette and the eyeshadows inspired by the paintings was fun and novel, but subsequent releases featuring other artists proved repetitive to consumers. The same can be said for <a href="https://www.rockandrollbeauty.com/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Rock n’ Roll Beauty</a>, a brand owned by Makeup Revolution that launched in early 2022. Their whole product lineup consists of licensing deals made with various musicians or their estates. While it hasn't folded yet, the brand was met with a lukewarm reception at best. Without any original products that are not based off of a particular theme, brands that make their identity from collabs are destined to struggle long-term as customers grow weary of only seeing partnerships with other brands. Also, when many different makeup companies use the same license, it causes the novelty to wear off quickly. I've seen many Mickey and Minnie Mouse collections from various brands (Dose of Colors, Makeup Revolution, Anna Sui, L’Oreal Paris, etc.), so that one feels old to me. Other examples include Hello Kitty and Barbie, of which there have been no fewer than 15 and 10 makeup collections, respectively. It dilutes the feeling of uniqueness provided by the first, original collaboration. Then again, as mentioned earlier, while this may be an issue for makeup aficionados, fans of the various franchises or themes don’t seem to mind seeing their favorites over and over from different or even the same brands. States <a href="https://www.licenseglobal.com/trends-insights/love-makeup-how-licensed-collaborations-are-giving-cosmetics-boost">License Global</a>, "Diehards of the classic '90s sitcom <em>Friends</em> may already own dozens of eyeshadow palettes, but three separate drops from Revolution based on the show proves that fan demand keeps them coming back for more…these launches continue to roll out – and sell out…the reason that the licensing industry continues to grow is because of the love fans have for the properties and the brands behind them."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852adb87200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Revolution x Friends Christmas collection" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852adb87200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b6852adb87200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Revolution x Friends Christmas collection" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.popsugar.com/beauty/revolution-beauty-friends-makeup-collection-47784764#photo-48550866" rel="noopener" target="_blank">popsugar.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I think these collabs are fun to see and I enjoy the creativity that can go with it; however, I don’t think it should be to the point of brands being solely that. I think no one is going to feel loyalty to any one brand that only does these licensing deals. They will just purchase from them if they like whoever they are collaborating with at that time. Variety is great, especially in the makeup industry and it truly means there is something for everyone. But I don’t want the formulas to suffer or the products to be lacking just because the brand was more focused on the funky packaging or the money to be made.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">You may think the Colourpop x Bambi collection is gimmicky or you might have to have it for your makeup collection or your Disney collection. Something I love about makeup is how everyone has different preferences. People wear makeup for a variety of reasons, but the big ones are that it's fun, free from rules and washes off easily. In the case of licensing deals, maybe that new collab from Makeup Revolution will bring us joy when we look at it on our shelf. It will remind us of a simpler time or a great memory. That makes it worth it, for both the brand and us.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75197f77d200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Colourpop x Bambi, spring 2021" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b75197f77d200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b75197f77d200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Colourpop x Bambi, spring 2021" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.allure.com/story/colourpop-bambi-makeup-collection" rel="noopener" target="_blank">allure.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">I would love to see Colourpop collaborate with different Broadway musicals for a collection. I could see a more sophisticated brand like Stila or Charlotte Tilbury creating a "no makeup" makeup 1920s themed collection in collaboration with the TV show <em>Downton Abbey</em>. Now that I would have to purchase! I would love a makeup collection inspired by one of my favorite movies, <em>Breakfast at Tiffany’s</em>. I could see it with Estée Lauder, as Audrey Hepburn used and loved the brand. A more edgy collaboration between the new HBO Max TV show <em>The Last of Us</em> and Urban Decay would be interesting. Vintage Urban Decay was unconventional and bold, while in recent years, they have become more mainstream. With previous eyeshadow shade names such as 'Mushroom', 'Plague', and 'Gash', Urban Decay could pay homage to their roots by partnering with the new post-apocalyptic TV series for a limited-edition eyeshadow palette. The possibilities are truly endless.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Have you purchased any of these makeup collaborations or other ones on the market? What are your thoughts on how often we are seeing these collabs and how wild they sometimes get? Some tend to feel like cash grabs, but others, when done thoughtfully, can be exciting! What collab hasn’t been done yet that you would love to see?</span></p>FunTrendsMM Curator2023-02-28T15:51:16-05:00Curator's Corner, January 2023
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/02/curators-corner-january-2023.html
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...<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14afe5dc200b-pi" style="float: left;"><img alt="Curator's corner" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14afe5dc200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14afe5dc200b-150wi" style="width: 150px; margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px;" title="Curator's corner" /></a><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Plus links from...oh, the past 6 months. It's been a while.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Signing up for this <a href="https://www.vam.ac.uk/event/55r34ZWpYlv/o23010-a-history-of-world-makeup-sum-23" rel="noopener" target="_blank">online makeup history course</a> at the Victoria and Albert Museum as soon as it's open to the general public! Also hoping they hire me to teach a session should they provide another course. ;)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Here's the latest on <a href="https://missionmag.org/the-future-of-beauty-is-ugly/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ugly makeup</a> and <a href="https://www.cosmeticsdesign-europe.com/Article/2023/01/12/wgsn-beauty-trends-2023-highlights-unsexy-beauty-as-movement-to-watch-adding-to-mintel-nielseniq-and-verve" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"unsexy" beauty trends</a>. Speaking of which, where does aging fit in the context of beauty? Spoiler: <a href="https://mashable.com/article/aging-beauty-tiktok" rel="noopener" target="_blank">it doesn't</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Saddened to hear of the <a href="https://fashionista.com/2022/08/allure-ends-print-digital-only" rel="noopener" target="_blank">death of the print edition</a> of my favorite magazine. Along with the Stila girls, Allure magazine led to my obsession with makeup.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Instagram trends are also dead, replaced by Tiktok ones. Recent popular looks include <a href="https://stylecaster.com/beauty/cold-girl-makeup-tiktok/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cold girl makeup</a> and <a href="https://www.byrdie.com/tiktok-crying-makeup-trend-6754537" rel="noopener" target="_blank">crying makeup</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- Amid speculation that the <a href="https://www.beautyindependent.com/has-beauty-influencer-brand-bubble-popped/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">beauty influencer bubble has burst</a>, could <a href="https://time.com/6250881/mikayla-nogueira-mascara-fake-eyelashes/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">mascaragate</a> be the final nail in the coffin?</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- In case you were wondering, here's what it looks like to be <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64384479" rel="noopener" target="_blank">covered in 30,000 crystals</a>. (Courtesy of Dame Pat McGrath.)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- The Museum's Creative Director (a.k.a. the husband) gifted the Museum some proper archival storage. In their new container, I think these powder boxes look almost as pretty as they do out on display. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b685254725200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum powder box collection" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302b685254725200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302b685254725200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="Makeup Museum powder box collection" /></a><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The random:</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- The <a href="https://dmda.york.ac.uk/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Digital Museum of Dress Accessories</a> (DMDA) has given me so many ideas for the Makeup Museum. Plus, their gallery on <a href="http://dmda.york.ac.uk/the-patch-room/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">beauty patches</a> is fabulous, and I can't wait to see the one for compacts (on which I hope to partner with them!)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- In other museum news, I am not a fan of the recent trend of <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2022/10/vermeer-glue-soup-climate-protest-outrage/671904/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">activists throwing food on works of art</a> and no, it doesn't matter if they're behind glass. All it accomplishes is making things miserable for security, housekeeping and conservation staff. Perhaps a more productive method would be protesting the <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2017/07/10/just-100-firms-attributable-for-71-percent-of-global-emissions-report-says.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">for-profit companies that are largely responsible for climate change</a> rather than museums, i.e. organizations that are actually trying to do some good.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- '90s/Y2K nostalgia: finally got around to watching the second season of Vice's <a href="https://www.vicetv.com/en_us/show/dark-side-of-the-90s" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dark Side of the '90s</a>, along with documentaries on <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/81280924" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Woodstock '99</a> and <a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/von-dutch-new-hulu-docuseries" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Von Dutch</a>. It was also the <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/05/1108635464/25-years-on-lilith-fair-is-a-reminder-of-how-one-womans-radical-idea-changed-mus" rel="noopener" target="_blank">25th anniversary of Lilith Fair</a>. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- It happened a while ago, but I'm still heartbroken that <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/26/entertainment/desus-mero-split/index.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">my favorite duo split up</a>. One half twisted the knife further by <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn5J329Sycd/?hl=en" rel="noopener" target="_blank">moving to L.A</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">- But I guess maybe that's balanced out by one of my favorite bands <a href="https://pitchfork.com/news/le-tigre-announce-first-tour-in-nearly-20-years/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">reuniting</a> and stopping in Baltimore on their tour! I honestly thought I'd never see them again.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">What's new with you? Catch me up in the comments!</span></p>Curator's cornerMM Curator2023-02-01T17:56:31-05:00MM ideas for 2023 and beyond
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/01/mm-ideas-for-2023-and-beyond.html
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...<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">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 much when inevitably they are not met. No progress was made on many of the blog topics, exhibition ideas, and bigger initiatives from last year - for example, as predicted, the website is exactly the same. Nevertheless I want to keep soldiering forward.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In an effort to have slightly more realistic expectations and stay focused, this year I've made three categories of exhibition topics. The first group is the Museum's shortlist, topics that I think and that might be doable by myself. The second group consists of exhibitions that I think would have wide appeal but require co-curation, which, again, will be difficult as no payment can be offered at this time. The last category highlights the non-priority topics, i.e. ones that are good but not quite as immediate as the first group. If the title has no notes next to it, that means the description hasn't changed since last year.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Priority: <br /></span></p>
<ol>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Indies and Influencers: The Changing Makeup Landscape" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Age Before Beauty:  Teens and Makeup" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Vanity Projects: Celebrity Makeup Brands" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Color History Through Cosmetics: Blue" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"The Medium is the Message:  Makeup as Art"- same themes as described in 2022, but I'd love to add a smaller gallery just for Makeup as Muse artists.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Ancient Allure: Egyptomania in Makeup" - Tweaked the title from last year, and since I <a href="https://www.issegyptomania.com/virtual-conference" rel="noopener" target="_blank">delivered a paper</a> on this subject in October 2022, it might not take quite as much time to pull together an exhibition. Plus, I just discovered the Cleveland Museum of Art is opening an <a href="https://www.clevelandart.org/exhibitions/egyptomania-fashions-conflicted-obsession" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Egyptomania in fashion exhibition</a> in the spring, so there's definitely interest.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Just Desserts:  <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2013/02/special-exhibition-sweet-tooth.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sweet Tooth</a> Revisited" - I'd love for Sweet Tooth to return on its 10-year anniversary. A section on savory food would have to be added since bizarre food collabs reached a new level in 2022.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Beauty Marked in Your Eyes: A History of '90s Makeup" -  Nearly 10 years and still not much progress <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2014/10/dont-look-back-in-anger-regarding-the-mm-fall-exhibition-or-lack-thereof.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">since I first got the idea in 2014</a>, but I'm not giving up yet. I was thinking it might be better to try to work on individual segments than the entire history. So far, chapters include: the rise of makeup artist brands, the impact of the internet on cosmetics, the battle for the "multicultural" market of the early '90s, makeup in various subcultures/genres (grrrls, grunge, goth, hip-hop) and how these styles got co-opted by the mainstream beauty industry. The epilogue would be the transition to Y2k makeup and the impact of '9os makeup on today's makeup, including various comebacks.<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Design is a Good Idea:  Innovations in Cosmetics Design and Packaging"  <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Nothing to Hide:  Makeup as Mask" <br /></span></li>
</ol>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c984042200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum exhibition list" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c984042200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c984042200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Makeup Museum exhibition list" /></a><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Here are the ones the Museum will need much help with. Who wants to be a volunteer curator? <br /></span></p>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"From Male Polish to Guyliner:  A History of Men's Makeup" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Queens:  A History of Drag Makeup" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Aliengelic: A Pat McGrath Retrospective" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Ugly Makeup: A Revolution in Aesthetics" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Fashion x Makeup (still haven't thought of a decent title!)</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Working Beauty: Makeup Artistry as Profession" - I found myself pondering who the first makeup artist was (and I love the hilarious <a href="https://www.instagram.com/makeupartist.memes/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Makeup Artist Memes</a> Instagram account), so perhaps a history of how the career of makeup artist came to fruition would be interesting. <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Mineral, Animal, Vegetable: 5,000 Years of Cosmetic Ingredients" - We really do put a lot of weird stuff on our faces in the name of beauty. This exhibition would explore the main ingredients used in makeup, along with the more questionable and downright dangerous ones from history.<br /></span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c984046200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum exhibition list" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c984046200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c984046200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Makeup Museum exhibition list" /></a><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">And the last set, which are things I'm still debating or that need to wait a bit.<br /></span></p>
<ol>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"From Mods and Hippies to Supervixens and Grrrls:  '60s and '90s Makeup in Dialogue" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Gilded Splendor:  A History of Gold Makeup" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Black and Blue: Punk Makeup, 1975-2000"<br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Pandemic:  Makeup in the Age of COVID-19" - As COVID case numbers remain high, this is getting tabled until it might actually be reasonably safe to go outside without a mask. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Catch the Light:  Glitter in Cosmetics from Ancient Times Through Today" <br />"Wanderlust: Travel-Inspired Beauty" </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"By Any Other Name:  The Rose in Makeup" <br /></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">"Lash Out! A History of Eyelash Beauty" - This one is new and while it might be boring, I am honestly sick of lipstick getting all the attention. There are so many books on it, why not have an extensive look at another makeup category? Thinking eyeliner, blush, highlighter and face powder might all be great options too.</span></li>
</ol>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14ae8b88200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum exhibition list" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14ae8b88200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14ae8b88200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Makeup Museum exhibition list" /></a><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Now for the blog posts. It's too much, but my brain is so eager to research and write!<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/mm-musings/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">MM Musings</a> (1-2): In addition to museums as activists/agents of social change (which is coming soon!), I want to write about museum accessibility and revisit building a permanent collection and the issue of ethics in collecting. As the Museum evolved over the years to discuss makeup prior to 1900 and the cosmetic practices of Indigenous peoples, related objects have been on my collecting radar. But none of them have been purchased because their provenance remains questionable. This could also tie into the idea of using replicas of ancient artifacts as a more ethical way of displaying them. Oh, and I've been very inspired by the <a href="https://dmda.york.ac.uk/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">DMDA</a> - a post exploring in-person events and activities would be really fun.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/makeup-as-muse/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Makeup as Muse</a> (1): Finally got around to <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2022/09/makeup-as-muse-sylvie-fleury.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sylvie Fleury</a> in 2022, so hopefully will be covering Janine Antoni, Rachel Lachowitz, <a href="https://asajungnelius.se/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Asa Jungnelius</a> or <a href="https://tomominishizawa.com/artworks/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Tomomi Nishizawa</a>. But there were a couple of others I discovered in the past year, so those are possibilities too.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/mm-mailbag/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">MM Mailbag</a> (2):  I only got one <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2022/02/mm-mailbag-more-wartime-makeup.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">MM Mailbag post</a> up in 2022. Two posts in 2023 would be ambitious, but I'd like to get them up as I think people searching for information find them helpful.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Vintage/brief histories (4-5): Mostly the same as last year, but I am sidetracked by newer ideas I had later in 2022, which are: ear makeup (the <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2020/08/knee-makeup-history.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">knee makeup article</a> yielded a decent amount of website traffic), mouches and skin tone, true crime and makeup, a history of face gems, bindis (got a little obsessed with kumkum and bindi boxes), matching portraits on vintage compacts, the art of shibayama inlay, makeup for glasses wearers, spray (airbrush) makeup, Russian cosmetics during the communist era, guns and makeup, and Riot Grrrl makeup. Local (Baltimore/Maryland) beauty history might be interesting too. I also like the idea of an article on vices in makeup divided into 4 subjects: gambling/casinos, <a href="https://www.liveauctioneers.com/en-gb/item/57664392_3-vintage-dunhill-lighter-w-compact-and-mirror-lot" rel="noopener" target="_blank">smoking</a>/<a href="https://tobacco.stanford.edu/cigarette/img1060/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">cigarettes</a>, junk food and alcohol. Previous ideas included dolls and makeup, histories of early modern powder applicators, setting sprays and color-changing cosmetics, copycats, profiles of some more obscure makeup artists from the '60s through the '90s, and histories of defunct brands (a slew of celebrity lines, Diane von Furstenberg, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Inoui ID, and revisit Stephane Marais), especially Black-owned brands like Marva Louis and Rose Morgan.  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/trends/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Trends</a> (1):  Licensing deals are at the forefront.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Continuations: Still need to finish up posts on <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2021/03/portrait-perfect-a-series-of-fascinating-women-from-dorothy-gray.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dorothy Gray's portrait series</a>, <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2022/05/chinese-makeup-spotlight-florasis.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Chinese makeup brands</a>, and <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2021/12/cosmetics-and-clothing-a-brief-history-of-makeup-outfit-color-coordination.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">clothing and color coordination</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Topics to revisit (1-2): Mostly the same as last year, sadly, since I still did not tackle them: <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2013/07/a-brief-history-of-faux-freckles.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">faux freckles</a>, <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2014/01/trending-bold-lips.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">non-traditional lipstick shades</a>, and a deeper dive into <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2013/11/vintage-ad-round-up-not-quite-all-there.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">surrealism and makeup</a>. I'd expand to Dada so I can include Rrose Sélavy, this <a href="https://www.theartstory.org/artist/von-freytag-loringhoven-elsa/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">very intriguing woman</a>, and possibly incorporate the <a href="https://www.foodandwine.com/news/fenty-beauty-mschf-ketchup-collaboration" rel="noopener" target="_blank">MSCHF x Fenty collaboration</a>, since it read very Dada to me.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/games/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Artist collabs</a> (5):  The list is absolutely staggering. In 2022 alone there were the following collabs: Marleigh Culver for Laura Mercier, Steffi Lynn for Ulta, Robin Eisenberg for Urban Decay, Obi for Fenty, Katie Scott for Hourglass, Elie Top for Clé de Peau, Cho Gi Seok for RMK, Kazuki Hioki for Osaji, Caho for Blendberry, and Andy Paiko for Kanebo.  There are tons of other collabs from previous years too, including Kelly Beeman for Laura Mercier, Charlotte Gestaut for Clé de Peau, Cecilia Carlstedt and Ethar Balkhair for Bobbi Brown, Masumi Ishida for Osaji, Åsa Ekström for Estée Lauder, El Seed for MAC, Connor Tingley for NARS, and the Shiseido Gallery compacts and lip balms. Not to mention I found a couple of Native American artists who made some beautiful pieces, and some other artists whose work appeared on vintage compacts (Raymond Peynet and Jean Cocteau, for starters.) The series on the artists whose work appears on Pat McGrath's packaging is better suited to the Aliengelic exhibition so that might be at the end of the queue for now. <br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Book reviews (2-5):  The list is seriously out of control. Two more beauty books are coming out soon, plus I came across a couple I didn't know about previously.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Fashion: The collections of Dries van Noten, Off-White, and Marco Ribeiro for Pleasing are at the top of the list, along with a couple of vintage brands.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Color Connections (1-2): Slowed down a bit from the beginning of 2022, but still keeping up with <a href="https://www.instagram.com/color.connections/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">them</a>!  </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Miscellaneous:  Kawaii collections like Kakao Friends, BTS, Sticky Monster Lab and others, along with newcomer Isamaya Beauty, a line by makeup artist Isamaya Ffrench. And I want to keep plugging away on Indigenous peoples' makeup and lesser-known LGTBQ+ histories. I'm finding the latter difficult to locate - the same figures and stories keep popping up, and I want to find others that haven't been shared much before. Finally, it's not even a fully formed idea, but I'm giving myself a crash course in material culture, so I'd like to write something about how that relates to makeup objects. Oh, and some reflections on the Makeup Museum in honor of its 15 year anniversary, which is coming up in August.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Tabled for now: history of colored mascara, how makeup language has evolved (for example, why we typically say "blush" now instead of "rouge" for cheek color, the idea of makeup as jewelry, day and night makeup, wear-to-work makeup from the 1970s-90s, profiles of Halston, Calvin Klein and Nina Ricci brands, BIPOC salespeople and customers in MLM companies, and makeup ad illustrators.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">And finally, the books I can't seem to even start. Meh. New idea for this year is an edited volume of alternative makeup histories. I've seen many examples of "beyond the canon" in other fields and think a book like this is needed for makeup, and I think the Makeup Museum would be perfect to put out such a publication since it has always tried to tell the story of makeup in a different way and uncover hidden histories. Still need a title.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c98c0dd200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum book list" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c98c0dd200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c98c0dd200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Makeup Museum book list" /></a><br /><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">So, tell me: which of the topics from the first exhibition category and which blog posts do you want to see the most? And do you want to see exhibitions and blog posts or would you rather see a book finally get published and the website redone? It's a constant battle between regularly putting out content and devoting time to larger projects.<br /></span></p>MiscellaneousMM Curator2023-01-21T18:13:12-05:00Color Connection #48
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/01/color-connection-48.html
Reiji Himatsu, Winter Journey, n.d. IBY Beauty, Ocean Awakening palette, spring 2019.<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Reiji Himatsu, <em>Winter Journey</em>, n.d.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">IBY Beauty, Ocean Awakening palette, spring 2019.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c98c09b200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Color Connection #48" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c98c09b200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c98c09b200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Color Connection #48" /></a></p>Color ConnectionsMM Curator2023-01-18T18:02:00-05:00MM FY 2022 Annual Report
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2023/01/mm-fy-2022-annual-report.html
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">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.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> <span class="asset asset-generic at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af148b7266200c img-responsive"><a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/files/makeup-museum-fy-2022-annual-report.pdf">Download Makeup Museum FY 2022 annual report</a></span></span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af148b7237200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Makeup Museum FY 2022.annual.report cover" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af148b7237200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af148b7237200c-800wi" title="Makeup Museum FY 2022.annual.report cover" /></a></p>MiscellaneousMM Curator2023-01-02T16:18:48-05:00Empire of sand: the Seri/Comcáac people
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2022/12/seri-comcaac-face-paint.html
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...<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Discussing various styles of face paint<sup>1</sup> 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 mass produced items have been part of their culture for millennia. The practices of the Seri or Comcáac ("the people") will be briefly surveyed in this post.<sup>2</sup></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Former nomads, the Seri live in Northwest Mexico, specifically in the Sonoran desert. Men, women and children engaged in face painting, but not equally: it was mostly women who wore it and almost always applied it. One of the earliest accounts by an American of Seri face painting practices was published in 1898. While an incredibly racist retelling - the words "primitive" and "savage" are staples - <a href="https://speccoll.library.arizona.edu/collections/w-j-mcgee-photograph-collection" rel="noopener" target="_blank">William J. McGee's</a> history of who wore face paint and why at least provides a starting point for analysis. He states, "On noting the individual distribution of face-painting, it is found to be practically confined to the females, though male infants are sometimes marked with the devices pertaining to their mothers, as adult warriors are said to be on special occasions; and so far as observed all the females, from aged matrons to babes in arms, are painted, though sometimes the designs are too nearly obliterated by wear to be traceable...none of the men or larger boys were painted." McGee hypothesizes that the designs could be loosely categorized as corresponding to one of three clans: the Turtle:</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af148633f1200c photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af148633f1200c" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af148633f1200c-pi"><img alt="Illustrations of Seri women known as Juana Maria (left) and Candalaria (right), ca. 1897" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af148633f1200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af148633f1200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Illustrations of Seri women known as Juana Maria (left) and Candalaria (right), ca. 1897" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af148633f1200c" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af148633f1200c">Illustrations of Seri women known as Juana Maria (left) and Candalaria (right), ca. 1894</div>
</div>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The Pelican:</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c3f4200b photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c3f4200b" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c3f4200b-pi"><img alt="Unidentified Seri girls and woman, ca. 1897 " border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c3f4200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c3f4200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Unidentified Seri girls and woman, ca. 1897 " /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c3f4200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c3f4200b">Unidentified Seri girls and woman, ca. 1894</div>
</div>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">And the Rattlesnake, seen on the lower left of this illustration:</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c400200b photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c400200b" style="display: inline-block; width: 403px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c400200b-pi"><img alt="Illustration showing different Seri face painting patterns, ca. 1897" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c400200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c400200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Illustration showing different Seri face painting patterns, ca. 1897" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c400200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c400200b">Illustration showing different Seri face painting patterns, ca. 1894</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(images via <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49403/49403-h/49403-h.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">gutenberg.org</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Further, McGee proposes that the designs take after animal markings either as a warning to others or as simple identification. "[The] designs are sacred insignia of totemic character, serving to denote the clans of which the tribe is composed...On analyzing the directive markings of animals, it is convenient to divide them into two classes, distinguished by special function, usual placement, and general relation to animal economy: the first class serve primarily to guide flight in such manner as to permit ready reassembling of the flock; they are usually posterior, as in rabbit, white-tail deer, antelope, and various birds; and they primarily signify inimical relations to alien organisms, with functional exercise under stress of fear. The second class of markings serve primarily for mutual identification of approaching individuals...the directive markings of the first class are substantially beacons of danger and fear, while those of the second are just as essentially standards of safety and confidence; and they may properly be designated as <em>beacon-markings</em> and <em>standard-markings</em>, respectively...careful analysis would seem fully to justify the casual impression of functional similitude between the Seri face-painting and the directive markings of social animals."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Finally, McGee notes that the most visible markings are displayed by male animals and by that logic, the men instead of women should have their faces painted. He explains, however, that women primarily wear it as they are the "blood-carriers" of the clans. "While the first survey establishes a certain analogy between the primitive face-painting and the standard-markings of animals, an important disparity is noted when the survey is extended to individuals; for among beasts and birds the standards are usually the more conspicuously displayed by the males, while the paint devices of the Seri are confined to the females...the females alone are the blood-carriers of the clans; they alone require ready and certain identification in order that their institutional theory and practice may be maintained; and hence they alone need to become bearers of the sacred blood-standards. The warriors belong to the tribe...but on the females devolves the duty of defining and maintaining the several streams of blood on which the rigidly guarded tribal integrity depends."<sup>3</sup> Instead of admitting this theory may be flawed in the sense that he did not consider other, more plausible reasons for women being the primary wearers of face paint, McGee was steadfast in the accepted beliefs of the time, which treated all Native peoples and their practices as uncivilized curiosities.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">To a white audience, McGee's arguments about the Seri's use of face paint were persuasive, but more inaccuracies about their cosmetic practices and other customs persisted throughout the 1930s and '40s. A widely published article in 1936 asserted that Seri women used large beauty patches in preparation to be auctioned off to a husband.<sup>4</sup></span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c916f72200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c916f72200d" style="display: inline-block; width: 444px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c916f72200d-pi"><img alt="Unidentified Seri women, Evansville Journal, March 23, 1936" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c916f72200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c916f72200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Unidentified Seri women, Evansville Journal, March 23, 1936" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c916f72200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c916f72200d">Unidentified Seri women, Evansville Journal, March 23, 1936</div>
</div>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">While the face paint patterns appear to be patches in this poorly reproduced photo, there has never been any evidence to suggest the Seri used anything other than paint. (Incidentally, this is the only source that also discusses the selling of brides. My guess is that, as with most reports of Indigenous peoples throughout the 20th century, news outlets embellished or flat-out lied about their cultures to sell papers.) The sensationalized feature Ripley's Believe It Or Not also claimed that the Seri painted their faces green, which is completely false.<sup>5</sup></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Fortunately, subsequent publications in the mid-20th century challenge McGee's findings and provide a more accurate account of the Seri's face painting traditions. In 1946, Gwyneth Harrington Xavier published her observations on the Seri from five trips she made to their land between 1937 and 1945. "Face painting is the most outstanding adornment of the Seri, and in its highly stylized and beautifully executed patterns it approaches a true art...The basis of the style is a horizontal bar straight across the nose and cheeks, with design elements pendant from the latter. The forehead and chin are never painted." She disputes McGee's insistence that face painting indicated belonging to a certain clan. Instead, Xavier found that the designs were mostly used for artistic creation and beautification among women, with distinctions between married and unmarried women. And while the men indicated they used to wear face paint for war in "the old days," the practice was rare now among them, and was used for adornment than any other purpose.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917142200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917142200d" style="display: inline-block; width: 468px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917142200d-pi"><img alt="Unidentified Seri man. Undated photo by Edward H. Davis." border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917142200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917142200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Unidentified Seri man. Undated photo by Edward H. Davis." /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917142200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917142200d">Unidentified Seri man. Undated photo by Edward H. Davis.</div>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">There was also no distinction between the designs for married and unmarried men. "The women paint frequently (not just for special occasions), deriving from it interest and personal satisfaction...The Seri themselves made a very clear distinction between designs used by married and unmarried women. The girl's designs were often designated as 'just to look pretty," or 'a painting, nothing more' or 'just making herself pretty to show she is looking for a husband'. Flowery designs and leaves, they all agreed, were used only by the unmarried girls, while married women alone were the sole users of designs varying about other elements, such as the one they called 'the manta' or giant ray." Beautification via makeup to try to attract a man? The sentiment is not too far off from most mid-century <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/300615343858923434/">makeup</a> <a href="https://www.pinterest.com/pin/13088655140267690/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">advertising</a>.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917565200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917565200d" style="display: inline-block; width: 502px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917565200d-pi"><img alt="Three unidentified Seri women. Photo by Edward H. Davis, 1936." border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917565200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917565200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Three unidentified Seri women. Photo by Edward H. Davis, 1936." /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917565200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917565200d">Three Seri women. Photo by Edward H. Davis, 1936.</div>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Additionally, Xavier argues that some of the designs were in fact intended for curative or protective purposes. One example was men wearing paintings of knives to protect against cuts. Curative designs were dictated by the shaman and were meant to treat mental as well as physical ailments. "A distinction was also made and clearly expressed between designs made simply for adornment, and those termed protective designs. The latter are painted to protect against certain definite dangers, either tangible, such as knives or snakes, or intangible, such as bad dreams, or the 'little people' who live in the mountains and whose invisible arrows cause illness and pain. Curative designs were also used, in which case the shaman told them what to paint on their faces. I saw two curative paintings made on the advice of the shaman, one a whirling design for a disturbed mind, and  the other, on a child, a squared design on the cheeks explained as the doors of the sacred cave on Tiburón. The child had been suffering from nightmares and cried much at night."<sup>6</sup> The crosses shown on this boy were appropriated from Jesuit missionaries, who indicated that the crosses fought off evil.<sup>7</sup></span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c43b200b photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c43b200b" style="display: inline-block; width: 313px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c43b200b-pi"><img alt="Unidentifed Seri boy. Undated photo by Edward H. Davis." border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c43b200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c43b200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Unidentifed Seri boy. Undated photo by Edward H. Davis." /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c43b200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a7c43b200b">Seri boy. Undated photo by Edward H. Davis</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(images via the <a href="https://sandiegohistory.org/collection/davis/201050166-t/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">San Diego History Center</a>)<br /></span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Some 50 years later, photographer David Burckhalter summarized the occasions for which the Seri traditionally applied face paint along with application methods. "In traditional Seri life, face painting was vigorously practiced during all festive tribal events. During the four days of a sea turtle fiesta, at a girl's puberty ceremony, or even as Charles Sheldon reported, during nightly dancing and singing, Seri women, children, and men appeared ornamented with painted faces."<sup>8</sup> In her excellent and thorough 2016 paper on the subject, Diana Teresa Hernández Morales expands on Burckhalter's findings by identifying two more specific events in addition to the turtle celebration and the puberty ceremony for girls. These are the basket festival, another 4-day festival in which an elder woman weaves a large basket and acts as the host of the party, providing food and games for the celebration; and the New Year, which is based on the lunar calendar. Since this differs each year, the Council of Elders declared June 30 and July 1 to be the official Seri New Year celebration in conjunction with the funding they receive from the Mexican government. Morales echoes Xavier's findings regarding face paint as social marker, but clarifies that the painting denotes four main groups: girls, young women, adult women and men - i.e., while the designs still point to gender, they are rooted more in age than marital status.<sup>9</sup><br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In terms of application, historically the pigments were mixed on stones and transferred to seashells as a palette, and paint was applied with twigs or small bundles of human hair. Seashells filled with water and held in the sun served as mirrors.<sup>10</sup> While store-bought pigments and brushes are the norm today, seashells are still used as containers or sometimes a surface on which to practice designs.<sup>11</sup></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> <a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c941dd2200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Shells used to hold pigment" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c941dd2200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c941dd2200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Shells used to hold pigment" /></a><br /></span><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/nuevomundo/optika/11/pages/serisesp.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">journals.openedition.org</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Getting back to the meaning of the designs, given the 50-year gap between McGee and Xavier's expeditions, it could be the case that McGee's theory about the designs corresponding to clans was correct, and that the Seri had simply adopted different practices between his visit in the late 1800s and Xavier in the 1940s. However, Alfred L. Kroeber, who visited in 1930 and published his findings a year later, also disputes McGee's idea that the designs were representative of clan designations. "My conviction is that the Seri paint primarily for adornment, and that further significance is either secondary or absent...face painting in fact seems to be the chief if not only purely aesthetic expression of Seri culture, their mode of life and psycho-physiological habits being such as almost to prohibit any other form of art. In this painting, on the other hand, they have achieved a high degree of stylizication and taste."<sup>12</sup></span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c2200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c2200d" style="display: inline-block; width: 423px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c2200d-pi"><img alt="Unidentified Seri woman, 1924" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c2200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c2200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Unidentified Seri woman, 1924" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c2200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c2200d">Unidentified Seri woman, 1924</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image via <a href="https://www.pinterest.com.mx/pin/405816616417195212/?mt=login" rel="noopener" target="_blank">pinterest</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Additionally, students Dane and Mary Roberts Coolidge further corroborated these findings after their trip in 1939, noting that the girls painted "designs in color out of their own imagination. [They] may get ideas from flowers and seed pods, baskets, birds and snakes, the sun and moon."<sup>13</sup> Finally, Xavier confirms both Kroeber's and the Coolidges' accounts. "McGee insisted the designs were totemic clan symbols. So far, I have found no trace of this. The old shaman, Santo Blanco, talked a little of the 'great families' of the past, but did not relate face painting to class symbols at all. He agreed with several other Seri that each family had its own  'class' of paintings, but this may mean no more than favorite family designs, or a feeling of ownership of certain designs." Xavier concludes: "The most definite and interesting classifications made by the Seri were those of the married and unmarried women, men's and children's designs, and those used purely for ornament, in contra-distinction to the protective designs and curing designs...In view of the number explained as protective and curing designs, and the importance apparently attached to them in the minds of the Seri, I must assume them to be of at least equal significance with the painting for adornment."<sup>14</sup></span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917598200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917598200d" style="display: inline-block; width: 295px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917598200d-pi"><img alt="Andrea Ramona, photo by Edward H. Davis, 1923" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917598200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917598200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Andrea Ramona, photo by Edward H. Davis, 1923" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917598200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c917598200d">Andrea Ramona, photo by Edward H. Davis, 1923</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image via the <a href="https://sandiegohistory.org/collection/davis/201050166-t/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">San Diego History Center</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In the 1950s Mexican evangelist missionaries attempted to discourage the Seri from adorning their faces in the traditional manner.<sup>15</sup> By the early 1960s commercially produced makeup had arrived to the Seri. Despite the efforts of the missionaries and the Seri's enjoyment of certain modern products, they maintained their customary face painting.<sup>16</sup></span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c8200d" id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c8200d" style="display: inline-block; width: 502px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c8200d-pi"><img alt=""Pintura Facial - La Mujer Seri", by Maria Antonieta Castilla, 1964" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c8200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c8200d-500wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title=""Pintura Facial - La Mujer Seri", by Maria Antonieta Castilla, 1964" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c8200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c9233c8200d">"Pintura Facial - La Mujer Seri" by Maria Antonieta Castilla, 1964. Collection of the Museo Nacional de Antropologia, Mexico.</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://lugares.inah.gob.mx/es/museos-inah/museo/museo-piezas/14068-14068-pintura-facial-la-mujer-seri.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">lugares.inah.gob.mx</a>)</span></em> <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://lugares.inah.gob.mx/es/museos-inah/museo/museo-piezas/14068-14068-pintura-facial-la-mujer-seri.html" id="LPNoLPOWALinkPreview_7"></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">During this decade, anthropologist Mary Beth Moser published a thorough description of how the Seri created the blue pigment they used. She found that it was not the mineral dumortierite, as written by McGee and Kroeber, but a pigment made from root bark, sap and clay. Interestingly, none of these is blue in their natural state. Moser noted that the pigment can only be prepared by older women and the process only observed by girls who have reached menstruation. Men, boys and younger girls are prohibited from observing, as the Seri believe the pigment will not turn blue otherwise.<sup>17</sup> (It should be noted that McGee was correct about the red and white pigments, which were harvested from ocher and gypsum, respectively, and mixed with water or grease.<sup>18</sup>)</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">As the century wore on, the general flavor of racism towards the Seri turned from hostility and disdain to exotification. Rather than declaring them to be uncivilized cannibals, some descriptions romanticized the face painting practices of the women. This 1958 passage from journalist José Luis Contreras implies that the Seri's cosmetic application enhances their natural features. Normally this wouldn't be a negative observation, but the way he describes them suggests that all Seri have the same facial structure in a way that smacks of fetishization. "Women paint their faces with brightly colored chalk, leaving the flat surfaces of their faces bare and concentrating on the salient cheekbones, in order to make their almond eyes stand out. Red, of course, carefully covers their beautifully molded lips."<sup>19</sup>  Art historian Deborah Dorotinsky explains the exoticization inherent in Contreras' account: "As with 'Seri Belle', photographed for McGee some 60 years earlier, Seri women and their faces are once again framed by the text in relation to a non-Indian masculine gaze. [Contreras's] photo essay thus communicates that Seri Indians adapt to civilized life, but are exploited and decimated by the evils of civilization. The persistence of facial decoration, appears, then, possibly as a form of resistance to their disappearance as a differentiated ethnicity, even as this exoticization masks their terrible living conditions and serves as an ambivalent way to symbolically distance and attract non-Seri Indians."<sup>20</sup></span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f21c200c photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f21c200c" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f21c200c-pi"><img alt="Unidentified Seri woman, ca. 1952-1960. Photo by Ed Moser." border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f21c200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f21c200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Unidentified Seri woman, ca. 1952-1960. Photo by Ed Moser." /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f21c200c" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f21c200c">Unidentified Seri woman, ca. 1952-1960. Photo by Ed Moser.</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image via <a href="https://mexico.sil.org/resources/archives/80495" rel="noopener" target="_blank">mexico.sil.org</a>) </span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">At this point, the Seri were dealing with even more external forces destroying their way of life. While colonization had started in the 1600s with the Spanish, by the last quarter of the 20th century and continuing into the 21st, the Seri have had to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/16/travel/comcaac-seri-people-mexico.html">contend with threats</a> such as mining companies, overfishing, drug trafficking and lack of fresh water. However, face painting traditions, along with other aspects of their culture and their land more generally, are being preserved by the Seri themselves as well as artists and nonprofit organizations via art projects, <a href="https://www.jornada.com.mx/2007/01/28/index.php?section=cultura&article=a03n1cul" rel="noopener" target="_blank">festivals</a> and exhibitions. In 1979 photographer Graciela Iturbide traveled to Sonora and, along with anthropologist Luis Barjau, lived among the Seri for two months. Iturbide published a book of her photos, <em>Those Who Live in the Sand</em> (<em>Los que viven en la arena</em>). Two of the most striking photos feature Seri face paint, one on a Seri woman and the other a self-portrait of Iturbide. According to the <a href="https://nmwa.org/blog/nmwa-exhibitions/beyond-documentation-graciela-iturbide-and-the-seri/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">National Museum of Women in the Arts blog</a>, "This was a sign of Iturbide’s acceptance into the community, as the Seri women asked to paint her face as they did their own. Iturbide does not exoticize or mimic the practice. Instead, this self-portrait represents her own self-interrogation and integration with her role as a photographer in the indigenous community."</span></p>
<div class="elementToProof">
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f22a200c photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f22a200c" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f22a200c-pi"><img alt="Gabriela Iturbide, Self-Portrait as Seri, 1979" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f22a200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f22a200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Gabriela Iturbide, Self-Portrait as Seri, 1979" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f22a200c" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1486f22a200c">Gabriela Iturbide, Self-Portrait as Seri, 1979</div>
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<div class="elementToProof"><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://nmwa.org/blog/nmwa-exhibitions/beyond-documentation-graciela-iturbide-and-the-seri/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">nmwa.org</a>) </span></em></div>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">1979 was also the year in which a demonstration hosted by the Sonoran Heritage Program at the Tuscon National Library showed participants how to apply traditional face paint designs using minerals and plants found locally. This was a good way to spread knowledge about the Seri face painting practice, but unfortunately did not seem to have any direct involvement of the Seri.<sup>21</sup> In November 1985 a cultural exchange sponsored jointly by the Tuscon Museum of Art and a nearby arts and crafts shop attempted to actually include the Seri people rather than using their designs without their knowledge or consent. The Tuscon Museum brought some Seri community members to showcase and sell their artistry, including woven baskets, carved ironwood, shell necklaces and face painting demonstrations.<sup>22</sup> Hopefully they were paid for their services in addition to whatever goods they sold, but it's not clear. That same year the <a href="http://isc.gob.mx/devel/espacios/museo-comcaac/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Comcáac Museum</a> opened in Sonora.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942062200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Museo Comcáac, Mexico" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942062200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942062200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Museo Comcáac, Mexico" /></a><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="http://isc.gob.mx/isc/museo-comcaac/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">isc.gob.mx</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Burckhalter's 1996 article on Seri face painting in <em>Native People's Magazine</em> demonstrated that while the practice had diminished slightly, it was still customary among women and girls, who were wearing it almost exclusively for artistic purposes. He spoke with Maria Félix, who stated that "sometimes we paint manta rays or flower designs, but there is no special meaning to my painting...I invented my face decoration because it looks pretty." Burckhalter concludes, "Remembering the ease with which the friendly women settled down on their blanket to the pleasure of painting and of being face painted gave me hope that Seri face painting could again become an everyday sight."<sup>23</sup> A year after that, researcher and social worker <a href="https://directorio.sonora.gob.mx/search/4760/detail" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Alejandrina Espinoza Reyna</a> published a <a href="https://books.google.com/books/about/La_Historia_en_el_rostro.html?id=FxiSHAAACAAJ" rel="noopener" target="_blank">book on the history of Seri face painting</a> after having lived in their community for nearly 10 years. The book contained <a href="https://www.jornada.com.mx/2007/01/28/index.php?section=cultura&article=a03n1cul" rel="noopener" target="_blank">over 60 designs</a> and two copies - one in Spanish and one in Comcáac - were given to each member. It proved particularly vital for helping preserve the Seri environment, and in 2007 Espinoza was appointed director of the Comcáac Museum. (Much to my frustration, I cannot seem to get a hold of a copy of her book or the subsequent one released by the <span aria-level="2" class="RES9jf q8U8x" role="heading">Instituto Sonorense de Cultura</span> that contains over 250 designs...if anyone can please let me know!)</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14898c5e200c" id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14898c5e200c" style="display: inline-block; width: 502px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14898c5e200c-pi"><img alt="Seri designs" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14898c5e200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14898c5e200c-500wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Seri designs" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14898c5e200c" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14898c5e200c">Adolfo Burgos presents various face paint designs, 2018. Photo by Fernando Rosales.</div>
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<div class="elementToProof">
<div><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://twitter.com/mimuseoindigena/status/996420110469476352?lang=fi" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Museo Ind<span class="css-901oao css-16my406 r-poiln3 r-bcqeeo r-qvutc0">í</span>gena on Twitter</a>)</span></em></div>
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<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Similar to the festival held in 1985, in 2009 California-based artist <a href="https://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/seri-womens-artisans-cooperative/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Deborah Small hosted the Seri/Comcáac Women's Artisan Cooperative</a> to participate in events and sell their art at various museums and cultural centers. Interestingly, the same woman who was photographed at the 1985 festival, Angelita Torres, participated in the showcase. I like to think of her as the modern day godmother of Seri face painting who is protecting it and making sure it gets passed down to future generations.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1487c16f200c photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1487c16f200c" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1487c16f200c-pi"><img alt="Angelita Torres, 1985 and 2009" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1487c16f200c image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1487c16f200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Angelita Torres, 1985 and 2009" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1487c16f200c" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1487c16f200c">Angelita Torres, 1985 and 2009</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(images from archive.org and <a href="https://deborahsmall.wordpress.com/2009/05/02/seri-womens-artisans-cooperative/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">deborahsmall.wordpress.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">More recently, younger Seri people, especially <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/altlatino/2018/01/17/577643416/two-artists-two-different-paths-in-exploring-the-indigenous-roots-of-latinx-musi" rel="noopener" target="_blank">musicians</a>, are <a href="https://voicesofamerikua.net/the-comcaac-many-crises-only-one-hope/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">actively working</a> to preserve their heritage and <a href="https://indiancountrytoday.com/archive/the-seri-sea-turtles-and-cleavage" rel="noopener" target="_blank">environment</a> and showcase their artistry in the process. Morales highlights the Seri band <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1969979/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Hamac Caziim</a>, who apply paint for shows, along with musician and activist <a href="https://open.spotify.com/artist/3aowb82qA25g96n68zJIIx" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Zara Monrroy</a>. Monrroy wears the traditional face paint, and not just for performances or speaking engagements. Rather, she also incorporates it into her everyday life just as her ancestors did.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a8d009200b photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a8d009200b" style="display: inline-block; width: 502px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a8d009200b-pi"><img alt="Hamac Caziim" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a8d009200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a8d009200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Hamac Caziim" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a8d009200b" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a8d009200b">Seri band Hamac Caziim</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://soundcloud.com/webmaster-43-3/seris" rel="noopener" target="_blank">soundcloud.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c92808a200d" id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c92808a200d" style="display: inline-block; width: 502px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c92808a200d-pi"><img alt="Zara Monrroy" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c92808a200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c92808a200d-500wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Zara Monrroy" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c92808a200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c92808a200d">Zara Monrroy</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zara_Monrroy" rel="noopener" target="_blank">wikipedia.org</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/people/Comunidad-SERI/100076478014911/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Social media</span></a><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"> has also played a role in helping maintain the Seri face painting practice. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=788791601661093" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAWldPI4fWI" rel="noopener" target="_blank">YouTube</a> have proved  valuable tools in preserving the tradition, particularly during the pandemic. In June 2020, the <a href="https://www.mexicodesconocido.com.mx/challengehayeenipaii-es-la-opcion-de-la-juventud-seri-para-celebrar-su-ano-nuevo.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">hashtag #challengehayeenipaii</a> (<em>hayéen ipáii</em> is the Comcáac for "face paint"<sup>24</sup>) was created to encourage Seri members to don face paint for the annual <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j43UHwvy5YU">new year</a> celebration. As large gatherings were prohibited, the challenge allowed virtual participation in the face painting that is customary for Seri new year parties. Additionally, searches for #comcaac and #seris on Instagram yield many examples of face painting.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Naturally, I was wondering what the reaction would be if a non-Seri artist (makeup or otherwise) appropriated the designs without acknowledging their origins, or worse, a makeup brand devised a Seri collection or kit. Because I'm cursed with the ability to envision how a brand will desecrate anything to make a profit, I'm imagining a shell-shaped palette, tiny twig-like brushes and several stencils, even though it looks like the Seri draw their designs freehand. I don't think it would be acceptable even if the collection was directed by a member of the Seri and all proceeds went to their tribe, especially after reading the story of Elizabeth Valdivieso Gurri<span class="caption-text">ó</span>n, a singer who goes by the name <a href="https://thestute.com/2019/04/12/valgur-combining-zapotec-culture-with-psychedelic-pop/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Valgur</a>. Morales concludes her paper by describing the reaction of several Seri members who, upon seeing <a href="https://tucson.com/elizabeth-valdivieso-gurrion-valgur/image_c09262fc-db8c-11e3-901b-001a4bcf887a.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Gurrion's visage adorned with Seri patterns</a> in 2014, suggested trying to copyright various Seri designs to protect them from outsiders.<sup>25</sup> (For the record, it seems <a href="https://www.instagram.com/soyvalgur/?hl=en" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Valgur have completely overhauled their brand</a> since the time of Morales's writing, most likely due to the public outcry regarding Gurri<span class="caption-text">ó</span>n's appropriation of Native cultures that were not her own.)</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1488dd47200c" id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1488dd47200c" style="display: inline-block; width: 502px;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1488dd47200c-pi"><img alt="Elizabeth Valdivieso Gurrión, 2014" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1488dd47200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1488dd47200c-500wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Elizabeth Valdivieso Gurrión, 2014" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1488dd47200c" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1488dd47200c">Elizabeth Valdivieso Gurrión, 2014</div>
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<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><em>(image from <a href="https://tucson.com/elizabeth-valdivieso-gurrion-valgur/image_af8f54ec-db8c-11e3-a97f-001a4bcf887a.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">tuscon.com</a>)</em></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Another example of a prominent non-Seri wearing face paint came in May of this year, when singer Christian Nodal performed at Fiestas del Pitic in his hometown of Sonora. He requested Seri woman Mina Barnett to paint his face before going on stage. <a href="https://www.prensalibre.com/vida/escenario/christian-nodal-y-su-nuevo-tatuaje-que-significa-quien-se-lo-hizo-y-por-que-lo-vinculan-con-la-proteccion-para-los-guerreros/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Barnett explained</a> the designs were historically worn by warriors for protection in battle, but she also interpreted this modern one as a sign of wishing Nodal well in his future endeavors: "La pintura facial que luce, significa protección para los guerreros. La interpretación que le di al realizarle este diseño fue desearle el bien para todos los proyectos de su vida." An elder Seri member, Alberto Mellado, <a href="https://www.elsoldehermosillo.com.mx/local/fiestas-del-pitic-que-significan-los-simbolos-seris-que-tenia-christian-nodal-en-su-rostro-8359147.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">stated</a> that he had no issue with it and said that Seri designs worn by people not from the community were a gesture of "friendship and goodwill."</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942086200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942086200d" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942086200d-pi"><img alt="Mina Barnett and Christian Nodal, May 2022" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942086200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942086200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Mina Barnett and Christian Nodal, May 2022" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942086200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c942086200d">Mina Barnett and Christian Nodal, May 2022</div>
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<p><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(images from <a href="https://www.enelradar.com/chismes/Orgulloso-de-sus-raices-Christian-Nodal-se-tatua-la-pintura-facial-de-la-etnia-seri-20220531-0004.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">enelradar.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Nodal apparently liked the concept of Seri face paint so much he got a tattoo of a more traditional Seri design. The backlash was swift and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0xWvdc6W2k" rel="noopener" target="_blank">brutal</a>, but not primarily because the public felt it was cultural appropriation: the <a href="https://www.infobae.com/america/entretenimiento/2022/06/30/experto-critico-los-tatuajes-de-christian-nodal-se-destroza-la-cara/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">critique</a> was mostly about facial tattoos in general. Of the dozens of articles covering Nodal's Seri-inspired tattoo, only a handful <a href="https://pipolmexico.com/2022/06/02/apropiacion-cultural-nodal-se-hace-tatuaje-seri-en-la-cara-y-desata-memes/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">brought up the issue of cultural appropriation</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">According to some coverage, there were <a href="https://www.sdpnoticias.com/espectaculos/famosos/christian-nodal-hizo-apropiacion-cultural-con-su-nuevo-tatuaje-en-la-cara/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">accusations</a> of appropriation as Nodal revealed the tattoo on Instagram Stories, but he defended it by claiming he had permission from the Seri to get the design permanently on his face.30 Another article made the argument that while Nodal is not part of the Seri, <a href="https://gustavoadolfoinfantetv.com/acusan-a-christian-nodal-de-apropiacion-cultural-tras-nuevo-tatuaje-en-el-rostro/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">he grew up in the same region</a> and the tattoo was a way of honoring the people and their locale. I'm still not really sure what to think about those outside the Seri community using the designs even if they explain the culture responsible for them, as both Gurri<span class="caption-text">ó</span>n and Nodal did. But I don't think I'd feel comfortable getting made up by a Seri person, let alone a tattoo.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In any case, for the Seri, face painting helps connect them to their heritage as well as nature. <a href="https://www.jornada.com.mx/2007/01/28/index.php?section=cultura&article=a03n1cul" rel="noopener" target="_blank">White means good luck</a>, red signifies the blood of their ancestors, and the blue represents both the desert sky and the ocean that comprise the Seris' surroundings. Most importantly, face painting is integral to forming and maintaining a strong ethnic identity. While the Seri engage in face painting for traditional ceremonies and celebrations, they recognize the importance of wearing face paint for occasions outside of their local community to represent their culture. It becomes not just facial decoration or a way to denote their age/gender, but a means of communicating that they belong to a particular ethnic group. From a purely aesthetic perspective, the delicate and <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112067924032&view=1up&seq=493&q1=seri" rel="noopener" target="_blank">ornate</a> patterns combined with the simple color scheme are incredibly striking and beautiful.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">What design is your favorite? Would you like to see more makeup from Indigenous peoples? I'm still not sure whether it's appropriate for me to discuss, but <a href="https://www.notesfromthefrontier.com/post/native-body-painting" rel="noopener" target="_blank">there are</a> so <a href="https://www.rainforestcruises.com/guides/meaning-behind-face-paint-of-amazon-tribes" rel="noopener" target="_blank">many</a> I'd <a href="https://twitter.com/MakeupMuseum/status/1458805053893001219" rel="noopener" target="_blank">love to</a> <a href="https://mediadrumworld.com/2020/03/02/tribesmen-makeup/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">highlight</a>.</span></p>
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<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>1</sup>For the purposes of this post, I am using the phrase "face paint" instead of "makeup" as I believe there is a distinction between the two when discussing the practices of Indigenous peoples and/or makeup produced prior to the modern era. Makeup usually refers to the commercially produced items beginning in the early 20th century intended specifically for painting the face for purposes of beautifying; face paint is more the act of applying paint to one's face using pigments that are not made or reserved solely for cosmetic usage and for a variety of purposes besides beautification. Many Indigenous peoples, including the Seri, use the same paint for self-adornment as they do for painting on other surfaces, and sometimes for religious/spiritual purposes in addition to beautification. Articles written in Spanish about the Seri also seem to make this distinction, using "pintura facial" more often than "maquillaje."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>2</sup>I stumbled across the Seri through Stephen Davies' 2020 book <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/adornment-9781350121010/" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Adornment: What Self-Decoration Tells Us About Who We Are</em></a>, which I found while browsing the Bloomsbury site. For more general resources on the Seri, see this <a href="https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/26308696/a-bibliography-for-the-study-of-seri-history-sil-international" rel="noopener" target="_blank">bibliography</a> and the <a href="https://uapress.arizona.edu/?s=seri" rel="noopener" target="_blank">listings at the University of Arizona Press.</a> For the etymology of Seri and Comcáac, see Stephen A. Marlett, "<a href="https://commons.und.edu/sil-work-papers/vol51/iss1/1" rel="noopener" target="_blank">The Seris and the Comcaac: Sifting fact from fiction about the names and relationships,</a>" Work Papers of the Summer Institute of Linguistics, University of North Dakota Session, Vol. 51 , Article 1: 2011. The Arizona Archives Online provides some <a href="http://www.azarchivesonline.org/xtf/view?docId=ead/uoa/UAMS316.xml" rel="noopener" target="_blank">additional sources</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>3</sup>W. J. McGee, <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/files/49403/49403-h/49403-h.htm" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"The Seri Indians",</a> extract from the Seventeenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1898) 162-169. McGee's opinion of the Seri aesthetic was at least somewhat neutral compared to that of retired army captain J. Lee Humfreville, who wrote in the early 1900s that the Seris' use of face paint was intended to <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=7HxNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA112&dq=seri+facial+decoration&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjMw-OF87D7AhWmFVkFHQ1bA8QQ6AF6BAgJEAI#v=onepage&q=seri%20facial%20decoration&f=false" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"make themselves look as ugly as possible."</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>4</sup>"Low Bids for Hollywood Lovelies Where the Seri Indians Auction Wives," <em>The Times</em> (Shreveport, LA), February 23, 1946, 48.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>5</sup>"Green Faced Woman of Baja (Lower) California: The Married Women of the Seri Tribe Paint their Faces Green," Ripley's Believe it Or Not, August 31, 1947.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>6</sup>Gwyneth Harrington Xavier, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30246903" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"Seri Face Painting,"</a> <em>Kiva</em> 11, no. 2 (Jan. 1946): 15-20.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>7</sup>David Burckhalter, "The Traditional Art of Adornment," <em class="ContentPasted10">Native Peoples Magazine</em> 10, no. 1 (Nov-Dec. 1996): 73.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>8</sup>Ibid.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>9</sup>Diana Theresa Hernández Morales, <a href="https://repositorioslatinoamericanos.uchile.cl/handle/2250/2253177" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"La pintura facial de los comcáac: una creación artística en la dinamica social,"</a> (Tesis de maestría, 2016) El Colegio de San Luis, San Luis Potosí, 60-65.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>10</sup>McGee, "The Seri Indians," 166.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>11</sup>For more on the Seris' use of shells, see <a data-auth="NotApplicable" href="https://shellsonadesertshore.com/" id="LPNoLPOWALinkPreview_11">https://shellsonadesertshore.com/</a></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;">12A.L. Kroeber, <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=osu.32435072693526&view=1up&seq=31&q1=paint" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"The Seri,"</a> <em>Southwest Museum Papers</em>, no. 6 (April 1931): 27.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>13</sup>"Face Painting Is Art to Seri Indian Girls," <em>Science Newsletter</em> 35, no. 20 (May 20, 1939): 317.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>14</sup>Xavier, "Seri Face Painting," 19-20.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>15</sup>William B. Griffen, <a href="https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015019754889&view=1up&seq=19&q1=face%20paint" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"Notes On Seri Indian Culture, Sonora, Mexico,"</a> (Gainesville: University of Florida Press) 1959, 5.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>16</sup>Bernice Johnston, "Formerly Fierce Mexican Tribe Nearing Extinction," <em>Arizona Daily Star</em>, June 14, 1964, 9.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>17</sup>Mary Beck Moser, <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/30247023" rel="noopener" target="_blank">"Seri Blue,"</a> <em>Kiva</em> 30, no. 2 (December 1964): 27-32. By the mid-20th century, Seri were <a href="https://archive.org/details/mexicanindiancos00cord/page/194/mode/2up?q=seri+face+paint" rel="noopener" target="_blank">primarily using commercially available blue pigment</a>. For more on the Seris' use of plants, see Richard Stephen Felger and Mary Beck Moser, <a href="https://uapress.arizona.edu/book/people-of-the-desert-and-sea" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>People of the Desert and Sea: Ethnobotany of the Seri Indians</em></a> (Tucson: University of Arizona Press), 1985.<br /></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>18</sup>McGee, "The Seri Indians," 165-166.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>19</sup>José Luis Contreras, "Congcaac, la tribu que agoniza. La raza de los Seri se apaga el infierno de la isla Tiburón," Mañana no. 787 (October 4, 1958), quoted in Deborah Dorotinsky, "It Is Written in Their Faces: Seri Women and Facial Painting in Photography," in <em>Visual Typologies from the Early Modern to the Contemporary: Local Contexts and Global Practices</em>, ed. Tara Zanardi and Lynda Klich (New York: Routledge, 2018) 176.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>20</sup>Dorotinsky, "It Is Written in Their Faces" 176.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>21</sup>"Seri Indian Cultural Spirit Relived in Painted Faces," <em>Arizona Daily Star</em>, February 19, 1979, 30.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>22</sup>Mike Thompson, "Seri Indian Cultural Exchange in Tuscon," <a href="https://archive.org/details/sim_viltis_1987-03_45_6/page/n7/mode/2up?q=seri+face+paint" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Viltis</em> 45, no. 6</a> (March 1987): 6-8.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>23</sup>Burckhalter, "The Traditional Art of Adornment," 74.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>24</sup>Marlett, Stephen A and Mary Beck Moser, <em><a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=eLIvNhkvUpIC&pg=PA365&dq=comcaac+face+paint&hl=en&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjCh9iz_6b7AhUhGVkFHVgwCxsQ6AF6BAgCEAI#v=onepage&q&f=false" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Comcaac Quih Yaza Quih Hant Ihiip Hac Cmiique Iitom</a> - Cocsar Iitom - Maricaana Iitom = Diccionario Seri-Español-Ingles Con Indices Español-Seri Ingles-Seri Y Con Gramatica</em> 1ª ed. (Sonora: Plaza y Valdes, 2005) 365.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-size: 8pt;"><sup>25</sup>Morales, "La Pintura Facial de Los Comcáac," 100-101.</span></p>Cosmetics historyMM Curator2022-12-17T16:59:53-05:00Unconcerned, but not indifferent: NARS x Man Ray
https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2022/11/nars-man-ray.html
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...<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">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 the work of Surrealist artist Man Ray. November 18, 2022 marks the 46th anniversary of the artist's passing, and since NARS's recent collections have been very lackluster I thought this is finally the year I get a post up about the Man Ray collab. </span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379caea200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray collection, holiday 2017" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379caea200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379caea200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray collection, holiday 2017" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Fortunately (or unfortunately) there is a ton of information about the collection and Man Ray's work. I'm not going to delve too much into it because there are literally entire books on Man Ray, but I will highlight the artwork used in the NARS collection and the process behind it, along with some other connections between Man Ray and makeup outside of the collaboration.  As with <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2016/12/sarah-moon-for-nars-holiday-2016.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Sarah Moon</a> and <a href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/home/2012/12/mm-pre-holidaywinter-exhibition.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Andy Warhol</a>, Francois Nars chose an artist that has inspired him for years. "You know it’s almost always the same the process [with these collaborations]. They’re always with people that inspire me either since I was a kid or for many, many years. I really pick them randomly, it’s pure attraction. I just think, 'Why don’t we do a collaboration with Man Ray?' It’s really people that have been influencing me a lot in my work, in my photography, in whatever I do. And people who I really love what they do. It’s very pure and simple." He approached the Man Ray Trust about using the artist's work for a makeup line, and was thrilled when they agreed.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb0a200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray face palette" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb0a200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb0a200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray face palette" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb11200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray face palette" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb11200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb11200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray face palette" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Nars discovered the work of Man Ray as a teenager. The <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2017/10/franois-nars-instagram-makeup-man-ray-holiday-interview.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">modernity</a> of Man Ray's oeuvre as well as the range of subjects he captured for his portraits immediately caught Nars' eye. "I read that every time Man Ray received a visitor in his studio, he'd photograph them," <a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/d3ydky/from-orgasm-blush-to-a-man-ray-inspired-collection-francois-nars-knows-how-to-please-women" rel="noopener" target="_blank">he explains</a>. "He couldn't help it. It could be a friend, his lover, the postman, his housekeeper. He loved taking photographs of anyone he ever met, which is something I can relate to. He was a great inspiration for me when I was starting out as a photographer...<a href="https://coveteur.com/2017/09/22/francois-nars-man-ray-holiday-2017-collection/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">I always loved his portraits</a>. That was something I kept in mind. My photography background influence is quite wide, but he had a very distinctive eye on photography and the way you photograph people. The lighting, the abstract feeling in his photographs, sometimes it became more like a painting—there was so much poetry. The poetic aspect in his photos is so interesting." Nars, a self-declared <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/weather/francois-nars-there-are-no-rules-to-makeup-053029979.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">rule-breaker</a> when it comes to makeup, also <a href="https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/d3ydky/from-orgasm-blush-to-a-man-ray-inspired-collection-francois-nars-knows-how-to-please-women" rel="noopener" target="_blank">admires</a> Man Ray's selection of unusual models, favoring those who did not possess conventional beauty but who were remarkable in their own way. "[I] remember the women in Man Ray's photographs were so dramatic in their looks and their choice of make-up. Man Ray was very daring in his casting, he was always searching for that type of unique beauty. I can relate to that, I don't tend to go for simple, pretty faces." </span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8d96200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray, holiday 2017" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8d96200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8d96200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray, holiday 2017" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The use of makeup in Man Ray's photos strengthened their compositions despite (or maybe even due to) the absence of color. <a href="https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/express-the-unexpected-man-ray-for-nars-holiday-2017-collection-launches/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Nars points out</a> that the makeup in Man Ray's work encourages the viewer to consider shadows, angles, contrast and the overall significance of the image rather than being distracted by vivid hues. The same principles can be applied to the face, i.e. color is not necessarily required to make an impact when the focus is on texture, placement, shapes, etc. "To me, something brilliantly coloured can look great represented in black and white. The lack of colour forces you to see something deeper in the object, but often just as beautiful. Make-up is similar. It’s not always about colour on the face. A very graphic, lined eye or defined lip creates a look that isn’t about colour at all. And, of course, some make-up – black eyeliner or a very dark red lip against pale skin – can appear almost black and white...As a make-up artist, I studied Man Ray’s models very carefully: the shape of a lip, the graphic eyeliner, the placement of the rouge on the cheek. The incredible thing about Man Ray is how his style still seems new, fresh, sharp, even today."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff07c200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray Noir et Blanche lipstick set" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff07c200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff07c200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray Noir et Blanche lipstick set" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;"><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendyagrossman" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dr. Wendy Grossman</a>, an art historian and Man Ray expert who advised Nars on the collection, echoes his sentiments. <a href="https://www.femalemag.com.sg/beauty/art-beauty-junkies-nars/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">She says</a>, "Man Ray himself paid close attention to the way in which his models were made up. His radical cropping aesthetic led to dramatic images of lips, eyes, and hands, all of which draw the viewer’s attention to the components of the body most enhanced through the use of makeup. Man Ray was very precise and involved with the way his models were made up and staged for his photographs. Man Ray’s special talent was to bring out the unique beauty in each of them and find ways to add a 'surreal appeal' in the way he used lighting, shadows, camera angles to infuse his compositions with mystery and intrigue."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Indeed, Nars himself notes that trying the process of figuring out appropriate colors for the collection was an enjoyable one. "For me, part of the fun of looking at old black and white photographs is imagining what makeup colours and textures were used. Of course the models are wearing colour-probably black eyeliner, powder, dark lip colour-only we can't see it. I also like to imagine what colours Man Ray might have been drawn to if he was working today. And, almost as important, is the aesthetic and vision of beauty that Man Ray represented - it is bold and moody, and a little irreverent and edgy. That's what we have tried to capture in the shades of this collection." However, various shades of red as seen in the set below don't seem that daring; a deep eggplant shade or even black may have been more adventurous and representative of Man Ray's spirit.<br /></span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8d9c200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray Noir et Blanche lipstick set" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8d9c200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8d9c200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray Noir et Blanche lipstick set" /></a></p>
<p class="clay-paragraph" data-editable="text" data-uri="www.thecut.com/components/clay-paragraph/instances/cj8uhlptl00003b5wkf0n2q94@published" data-word-count="49"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Nars states his choice of Man Ray images for the collection were driven by "pure instinct, love and attraction." He was drawn to Man Ray's still life photos, but ultimately ended up selecting those that emphasized the face or certain body parts since they were more relevant to makeup. He also wanted to include Man Ray's most famous and iconic works, such as 1932's Glass Tears: "[While] many people might recognize the image, they may not know that it was Man Ray who created it, and also because as beauty images go, it's perfection." Appropriately enough, Glass Tears was used for a mascara ad.</span></p>
<div class="photo-wrap photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302a2eecbe3ec200d photo-full " id="photo-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302a2eecbe3ec200d" style="display: inline-block;"><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302a2eecbe3ec200d-pi"><img alt="Cosmecil d'Arlette Bernard mascara ad using Man Ray's Glass Tears, ca. 1934-1935" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302a2eecbe3ec200d image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302a2eecbe3ec200d-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Cosmecil d'Arlette Bernard mascara ad using Man Ray's Glass Tears, ca. 1934-1935" /></a>
<div class="photo-caption caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302a2eecbe3ec200d" id="caption-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302a2eecbe3ec200d">Cosmecil d'Arlette Bernard mascara ad using Man Ray's Glass Tears, ca. 1934-1935<br /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://www.elmundo.es/cultura/2020/10/03/5f759f4ffdddff3e138b45b1.html" rel="noopener" target="_blank">elmundo.es</a>)</span></em></div>
</div>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff085200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray Glass Tears palette" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff085200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff085200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray Glass Tears palette" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cafa200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray Glass Tears palette" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cafa200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cafa200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray Glass Tears palette" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The gold lip motif throughout the collection packaging was <a href="https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/express-the-unexpected-man-ray-for-nars-holiday-2017-collection-launches/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">devised by longtime NARS art director Fabien Barron</a> and a reference to the <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/139766533" rel="noopener" target="_blank">golden sculpture of the lips</a> of his former lover Lee Miller.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb26200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray highlighter" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb26200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb26200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray highlighter" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8db2200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray highlighter" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8db2200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8db2200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray highlighter" /></a></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Dr. Grossman <a href="https://www.femalemag.com.sg/beauty/art-beauty-junkies-nars/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">explains</a> how Man Ray became preoccupied with Miller's lips and how he incorporated them into much of his work after their split in 1932. "The lip motif began with Lee Miller, Man Ray’s model, muse and lover from 1929 to 1932. She had beautiful lips, which were featured in many of his photographs. She left him after a tumultuous affair, and he expressed his anger </span><span class="s1"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">and hurt through an obsessive focus on her lips."</span> <br /></span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cafe200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray lipstick set" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cafe200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cafe200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray lipstick set" /></a></p>
<p><span class="s1" style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">One of Man Ray's most famous images besides Glass Tears, The Lovers: Observatory Time (1936) was also used to sell makeup. It was exhibited at the end of 1936 in MoMA's "Fantastic Art, Dada, Surrealism" show. When the show closed the artist received a telegram from Helena Rubinstein requesting the painting. Man Ray states in his autobiography that he was "overjoyed" to let Madame borrow it for one of her stores in Manhattan.  "[With] this windfall I’d be able to devote more time to painting in the future. After awhile, the painting carefully crated was returned to me followed by a letter of thanks from Madame Rubinstein. She had displayed it in her magnificent new beauty emporium on Fifth Avenue, featuring a new lipstick or some other beauty product. This I was told by some outraged friends. However, I wasn’t too upset; I was glad to have the painting back and showed it again in the Paris Surrealist show the next year."<sup>1</sup></span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff08b200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray lipstick set" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff08b200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad39ff08b200d-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray lipstick set" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">One of the more intriguing images chosen by Nars for the collection was a photo of his muse and model Adrienne "Ady" Fidelin. Ady was a dancer from Guadalupe and became the subject of nearly 400 of Man Ray's photos after they met in 1936. Dr. Grossman, whose upcoming book "Seeing '<em>Ady</em>': Adrienne Fidelin, Man Ray, and the Recovery of a Black Surrealist Muse," presents an in-depth look at Ady and her relationship with the artist. <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/viva/beauty/the-new-makeup-collection-featuring-the-work-of-man-ray/PGSDUIVH37TU3SH3V7NEKMVE3U/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">She notes</a>, "As with Man Ray’s other muses, Adrienne inspired him to create innovative images that drew on her engaging personality and unique attractive qualities. He found cause on more than one occasion to use her 'café au lait' skin tone as a compositional feature to play on the theme of black and white that permeated his photographic work."</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1484809d200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Ady Fidelin" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1484809d200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1484809d200c-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="Ady Fidelin" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image from <a href="https://mubi.com/cast/ady-fidelin" rel="noopener" target="_blank">mubi.com</a>)</span></em></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">The image that appears on the eyeshadow palette originally appeared in the September 15, 1937 issue of <em>Harper's Bazaar</em>. It was part of a larger collection of roughly 30 photos entitled "Mode au Congo" in which models wore an array of Congolese headdresses borrowed from a Paris gallery. In "Unmasking Adrienne Fidelin: Picasso, Man Ray, and the (In)Visibility of Racial Difference," Dr. Grossman explains the significance of Ady's <em>Harper's Bazaar</em> portrait. <a href="https://modernismmodernity.org/articles/grossman-unmasking-fidelin" rel="noopener" target="_blank">She points out</a> that in a strange paradox, the exotification and racialization of Ady permitted her to be the first Black model in a leading American fashion publication. "The only model of color among those the artist posed sporting one of these headdresses, Fidelin is represented in all nine compositions in which she features in a manner that draws attention to her racial difference: bare shouldered (and bare breasted in several), outfitted with a tiger’s tooth necklace and ivory bangle, and seductively posed...This treatment is exploited in a spread in the September 15, 1937 issue of <em>Harper’s Bazaar</em> where selected images from this series frame an essay by the French surrealist poet Paul Éluard. In the full-page reproduction taking up one half of the spread, the Guadeloupean model is staged to evoke the fashionable 'African native' extoled in the article’s headline, 'The Bushongo of Africa sends his hats to Paris.' This fanciful projection of difference and the assimilation of Fidelin’s identity into a homogenizing notion of blackness literally and figuratively sets her apart from the white European models similarly crowned in Man Ray’s [other] photographs...Ironically, it is arguably this paradoxical treatment of Fidelin that led to the publication of the image even in the face of intransigent racial barriers in the fashion industry. This Guadeloupean woman in the guise of an African thus unceremoniously became the first black model to be featured on the pages of a major American fashion magazine." On the one hand, Nars' inclusion of Ady can be viewed as positive, since even former art history majors and Surrealism enthusiasts such as myself were not aware of her or the fact that she broke significant ground in the fashion world. On the other hand, it may have been more appropriate to use a less exotified image of Ady, iconic though it may be. Plus, if it was really an inclusive gesture meant to familiarize the public with Ady, the company would not have made the decision to sell the palette in a very limited market - to my knowledge, Love Game was only available in the U.K.</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb1b200c-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray Love Game eyeshadow palette" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb1b200c img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad379cb1b200c-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray Love Game eyeshadow palette" /></a></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8dac200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray Love Game eyeshadow palette" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8dac200b img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a8833022ad3bf8dac200b-800wi" style="border: 2px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray Love Game eyeshadow palette" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">In any case, another interesting cosmetics connection to consider is that Man Ray himself dabbled in makeup, frequently painting the face of Kiki de Montparnasse, his lover from 1921-1929. According to biographer Neil Baldwin, "[Man Ray] designed Kiki’s face and painted on it with his own hand. First Man Ray shaved her eyebrows completely, and then he applied others in their place, varying the color, thickness, and angle according to his mood. Her heavy eyelids, next, might be done in copper one day and royal blue another, or else in silver or jade."<sup>2</sup> Scholar Susan Keller notes that by applying her makeup in this way, Man Ray was helping to develop a public persona for Kiki rather than portraying a likeness of her. "Instead of representing her, Man Ray was producing her, creating a public mask that was impossible to view separate from her, unlike a portrait on canvas, where the original and the copy (the woman and the portrait) are easily distinguished."<sup>3</sup></span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Man Ray also applied Kiki's eye makeup for his short 1926 film <em>Emak Batia</em>. The artist explains: "[Kiki's] penchant for excessive makeup gave me the idea. On her closed eyelids I painted a pair of artificial eyes which I filmed, having her open her own eyes, gradually disclosing them. Her lips broke into a smile showing her even teeth. Finis - I added in dissolving letters."<sup>4</sup></span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c901143200d-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="Kiki emak gif" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c901143200d img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af1c901143200d-800wi" title="Kiki emak gif" /></a></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Keller explains how Man Ray elevated makeup to a true art form. "[Man Ray’s] cosmetic games were hardly unique; countless women have used and still do use makeup to reinvent or to stabilize their appearances every day. Man Ray’s status as an artist, however, and his Surreal play with the conventions of makeup, serve to expose by making marvelous women's everyday behavior usually seen as too trivial or mundane to be contemplated in any depth...In keeping with the Surrealist themes of dreams and the unconscious, Kiki’s fantastic makeup shows her both literally awakening and what might be seen as a metaphoric awakening from the deadening world of everyday assumptions, moving from the world of the real to the more-than-real or <em>sur</em>real, just as the film itself was supposed to shock audiences out of their mundane lives into a receptivity for more utopian possibilities."<sup>5</sup> This makes sense; however, I still think the idea of makeup as art in this case would not have happened if a Surrealist woman artist, such as Méret Oppenheim or Leonora Carrington, had painted Kiki for the film. The popular perception at the time was that makeup is art only if a man does it. It's akin to food preparation in that <a href="https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2009/05/19/women-cook-men-are-chefs/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">women are cooks but men are chefs</a>.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">As with all artist collabs, there was speculation about what Man Ray would have thought of his work appearing on a makeup collection. Personally I agree with <a href="https://www.moodiedavittreport.com/express-the-unexpected-man-ray-for-nars-holiday-2017-collection-launches/" rel="noopener" target="_blank">Dr. Grossman</a> that he would have been flattered, especially given his positive endorsement of Helena Rubinstein putting his art in a store window. "I think Man Ray would appreciate seeing his photographs embraced in this fashion. It would probably not surprise him that the invitation came from a Frenchman; he always felt that the French had a much greater appreciation of his vision and creative practice than did people in his native United States."</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">Now for a special treat. Via one of the Museum's board members, I had the incredible honor of talking with Dr. Grossman herself about this collection! She was also kind enough to share a photo of the PR box she received from NARS. Truly museum-worthy!</span></p>
<p><a class="asset-img-link" href="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a65daa200b-pi" style="display: inline;"><img alt="NARS x Man Ray collection box" border="0" class="asset asset-image at-xid-6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a65daa200b image-full img-responsive" src="https://www.makeupmuseum.org/.a/6a00e553d45a2a883302af14a65daa200b-800wi" style="border: 1px solid #000000;" title="NARS x Man Ray collection box" /></a><br /><em><span style="font-size: 8pt;">(image courtesy of Dr. Wendy Grossman)</span></em></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino;">What do you think of this collab and Man Ray? Would you like to see a deep dive into Surrealism and makeup?<br /></span></p>
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<p class="p2"> </p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;"><sup>1</sup>Man Ray, <em>Self-Portrait</em> (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1963), 257-258. For more on Rubinstein's usage of Man Ray's work, see Marie Clifford, "Brand Name Modernism: Helena Rubinstein’s Art Collection, Femininity, and the Marketing of Modern Style, 1925-1940," (PhD diss. University of California, Los Angeles, 1999).</span></p>
<p class="p2"><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;"><sup>2</sup>Neil Baldwin, <em>Man Ray, American Artist</em> (New York: C.N. Potter, 1988), 107.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;"><sup>3</sup>Susan Lynn Keller, "Making Up Modernity: Fashioning the Feminine in Early -Twentieth -Century U.S. Culture" (PhD diss., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2008), 238, ProQuest (<span class="titleAuthorETC dissertpub"><span class="">3330475</span></span>). By contrast, Lee Miller did not allow Man Ray to "create" her by allowing him to apply makeup: "Some said that Man had 'created' Kiki by designing bizarre makeup and painting it on her - even shaving off her eyebrows and replacing them with new ones at odd angles. Lee needed no embellishment, nor would she submit to being redesigned." From <em>Lee Miller: A Life</em> by Carolyn Burke, (New York: Knopf, 2005), 81.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;"><sup>4</sup>Man Ray, 272.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: georgia, palatino; font-size: 8pt;"><sup>5</sup>Keller, 238.</span></p>Art historyNARSMM Curator2022-11-18T14:01:00-05:00