I was too tired and sad to do a 2020 version of Curator's Picks and Pans, so I'm skipping straight to Curator's Corner for December.
– Mother has become a Dame! Huge congratulations are in order for Pat McGrath, who became the first makeup artist to receive damehood from the queen. I remember when she got the MBE in late 2013, so I was thrilled to see this.
– I was also really pleased to see Allure's digital feature on accessible beauty. Just wish it was in their print version.
– I was not, however, happy to see that the president of Japanese brand DHC is under fire for some racist remarks. The really sad part is that instead of making an attempt at any sort of apology he just shrugged it off, but I guess that's to be expected as he has a history of doing this.
– Interesting piece on beauty and makeup as instruments of political power over at Teen Vogue, the author of which will be releasing a whole book on the subject. I only hope the fable about Elizabeth Arden handing out lipsticks to suffragettes doesn't make it in there, as no one has been able to produce solid proof.
– Wallpaper had an article about the new marketing and branding for Shiseido. How nice that the company they hired gets access to their archives for "guidance" and "inspiration" but researchers like me are repeatedly shut out.
– While I'm being a cranky old lady, I must confess that new tech advances like digital makeup printing and Google's virtual makeup try-on service seem rather stupid. There's also Moi lipstick, which I grudgingly admit sounds somewhat interesting in terms of being able to match basically any color in the world, and I understand the need for reducing makeup packaging waste…but it also reeks of a futuristic dystopia.
– Sad news from happi.com (the irony): Benefit co-founder Jane Ford passed away. I imagine it was tough to go on without her co-founder and twin sister Jean, who died in January 2019. Flori Roberts, founder of her eponymous line that catered to Black women as well as Dermablend, also passed away. More to come on Roberts as I have mixed feelings about her.
– And because I'm lazy and various news outlets have covered them already, I'm linking to some articles on beauty in 2020 and what's in store for 2021. In 2020, the biggest trends I saw were the rise of TikTok, a slew of celebrity lines, an emphasis on skincare, experimental and "ugly" makeup, and video game/makeup and beauty crossovers, whether that meant a collaboration with a video game or beauty brands making an appearance in Animal Crossing and the like. Of course, the impact of Black Lives Matter and other calls for diversity and inclusion in the industry cannot be ignored; however, I refuse to see it as a passing trend that was unique to 2020. Both companies and consumers need to keep up the momentum.
The random:
– I love grey and yellow together, as evidenced by my wedding colors and some beloved Museum staff members, so I'm very in favor of Pantone's picks for 2021.
– "A virtual experience of high quality is not just second prize to being there in person, it may offer fresh revelations." Great piece on why digital museum exhibitions should become standard accompaniments to real-life ones.
– If Reservation Dogs is half as funny as What We Do in the Shadows, it will be hilarious.
– Memes were one of the few things that helped keep me somewhat sane in 2020.
Are you looking forward to the new year? I have to admit I'm not feeling optimistic, not just about the pandemic nightmare but the Museum and my family. It was more of a slow burn of trauma and grief in 2020 rather than the sudden, unexpected events that took place in 2019…and I'm not sure which was worse. I hope 2021 will be better but based on these past two years the outlook is bleak. :(