CC logoLinks for the week.

– I can't say I was an avid fan of Bowie, but I definitely admired him – he was a strange guy but not for the sake of being strange.  He was authentically weird, and I loved that. Here's a look back at some of his most memorable makeup ensembles.

– Less pop, more fizz:  Korea's latest trend is carbonated face masks

– Speaking of trends, hair fads this week include snowlights and watercolor hair.  Also, I thought we were leaving the contouring craze back in 2015, but XO Vain walks us through yet another permutation of the trend.

– In addition to enjoying an arsenal of privileges, a new study shows that pretty girls also receive better grades. Er, did we really need a study for that?  While the news is completely unsurprising and also depressing, I take comfort in the fact that as a non-pretty person, I can conclude that my excellent academic record was earned purely on merit.

– Why this guy stole over $1,600 worth of Essie nail polish is beyond me, but we do know it's not the first nail polish heist

– In beauty history, did you know there was once a competition in which women were measured to see who most resembled a famous ancient sculpture?  Yikes.  I suppose that's better than these fad diets, however.  Anyway, I liked how the Glamourologist looked at lipstick in a 1931 film.

– I can't believe this ad exists in 2016.  As a corollary, while searching for vintage compacts I stumbled across hard evidence that blackface was a real thing that white people really did.  I mean, I knew that already but seeing the actual product was mind-blowing.

– Just a reminder that lip balm shouldn't cause your lips to bleed

The random:

– MoMA highlights the work of one of the Curator's favorite artists.

– Fashionista takes a look at two intriguing fashion exhibitions: one on the history of plus-sized fashion and the other on fairy tale style.

– In '90s nostalgia, one author explains why 1995 was the best year for movies.  I'm not sure I agree since Pulp Fiction was released in 1994, but it's a good argument nevertheless. 

– I don't know how one could possibly leave a beloved plushie behind, but if it does happen to you, hopefully people will take excellent care of him/her like this hotel staff did for one little girl's stuffed rabbit.  Too cute.

How was your week?

CC logoLinks for the week.

– I don't want to be any part of a beauty pageant, especially one judged by robots

– Not sure how I feel about Eyeko's and Birchbox's new makeup designed for working out.

– In hair news, icicle hair is perfect for these chilly months, and this stylist gives new meaning to the phrase "hat head".  Also, meet your newest hair-related time-waster.

– Guys, if you're over man buns and glitter beards, you can now have your back hair styled

– Speaking of glitter, maybe don't try the glitter eyebrow trend.

Fashionista summarizes the kerfuffle surrounding Slate's piece on K-beauty as a feminist act.

– Loved this story

The random:

– Here's what fashion looked like a century ago

– Ah, the Onion.  According to them, Baltimore has the best quality of pigeon life.  Well played.  (Although I think this one is funnier.)

– In '90s nostalgia, this past Friday marked the 24th anniversary of George H. W. Bush barfing all over the Prime Minister of Japan.  Meanwhile, a George Costanza-themed bar opened in Melbourne, Australia.

Woot!

CC logoIf you celebrate Christmas, I hope Santa was good to you!  If not, I hope you had a great week.  I had a nice time visiting my parents and made out like a bandit present-wise, which I'll be posting about shortly.  :)  Without further ado, here's the last link gathering for the year! 

– Check out the top beauty trends of 2015 (and the ones we'd like to leave behind), along with what's in store for 2016

– Autumn at The Beheld shares her beauty regrets.  Do you have any?

– Glamour Daze presents a fascinating history of the beehive hairdo.

– "I know spending $30 on a black eyeliner just because I like the packaging or the brand is absurd, but I can’t stop doing it anyway, and I have no plans to."  Obviously I'm in full agreement with this defense of buying expensive beauty products.

– We've heard of brow bars, but I believe Eyeko may offer the first mascara bar

The random:

– RIP, Ellsworth Kelly.

– If your Christmas wasn't the best, at least you're not these folks

– In '90s nosalgia, behold: the real meaning of the Spice Girls' "Wannabe".

– Did you know one can actually be afraid of buttons?

– Added this book to my wishlist…and now I want to write my own book on artist/beauty collabs. 

How have you been?

CC logoLinks for the week, plus some holiday decor pics  🙂

– Did you buy a fancy candle for someone on your Christmas list?  No?  That's surprising, given that the sale of luxury candles has apparently skyrocketed recently.

– We already knew lipstick is sexy, but this series of photos takes it to the next level.

– Despite this article, I still wonder whether men's makeup will really take off in the States.

– For you Star Wars fans, here's a YSL Star Wars collection from 1999 (that I totally don't remember!) and the 10 best Star Wars beauty products

– Speaking of YSL, their latest serum has gone on display at a science museum in Berlin.

This is so festive, but I'd be afraid the bulbs would overheat and set my head on fire.  Maybe play it a little safer with tie dye hair.

– Collecting Vintage Compacts is back with another great post, this time on the invention of metal lipstick tubes.

– Here's an in-depth look at how social media is changing the beauty industry.

– I enjoyed this piece on the re-reading of Naomi Wolf's The Beauty Myth.

– What cosmetic ads would look like if the models wore only the product being sold.

The random:

– Behind the scenes at S-K's recent show in Brooklyn. How I love them so.

– I curse on occasion in my posts but I try to keep it to a minimum, and I really rein in my foul mouth at work and around children, but generally speaking I swear like a sailor.  Interestingly, a new study shows that swearing is a sign of high intelligence.  Damn fucking right it is!

– While I anxiously await the return of Broad City, in the meantime I'm greatly amused by Going Deep with David Rees.  We own and love both My New Filing System Is Unstoppable and Get Your War On, and it turns out that Mr. Rees is just as funny on TV as he is with clip art comics.

– The new ice hotel in Sweden has been unveiled and as usual, it's awesome.  I'm not sure, however, that it's quite as awesome as this Pee Wee Herman Christmas tree.

– Now for some holiday decor pics!  The husband got this lovely bouquet:

Holiday flowers

And I got these silly kitchen towels:

Holiday-decor-towels

Here's a mini tree and a Pillsbury Dough Boy-themed Christmas house.  When I was little I had a serious obsession with the Pillsbury Dough Boy and my dad got me this for Christmas one year.

Mini tree

Mini house

And here's our tree! 

Christmas-tree

I'll spare you yet more pictures of the faux fur blanket, but, again, I encourage you to treat yourself and get one.

How have you been?  If you celebrate, are you ready for Christmas?  I just need a couple stocking stuffers, but other than that I think I'm set.

CC logoLinks for the week, plus some bonus pics of my Holiday Heap haul. 

– Estée Lauder allowed Yahoo Beauty an exclusive peek inside their compact archive.  I wish they'd release a coffee table book of all their limited-edition compacts.

– Easily one of the strangest fragrances ever invented.

– This truck brings a fancy nail salon experience directly to clients.

– Hooray!  We are one step closer to banning microbeads.

– Hair news for the week includes two new trends (aurora borealis hair and beard braids), plus a look at the history of hair color.  I also admired this Chinese barber who uses hair cuttings to create celebrity portraits.  And even cooler was this (Baltimore-based!) stylist who recreates ancient Roman hair styles…I hope she got a chance to see this exhibition that I mentioned a while back. 

– Beauty dreams do come true:  Essie is re-releasing their cult favorite Starry Starry Night, which I've been coveting for years.

– Sit down and shut up, IBM.

– What is it with adults forcibly scrubbing off kids' makeup lately?  This woman actually used steel wool to scrape eyeliner off her son *shudder*.

The random:

– S-K covers both the B-52s and a holiday-appropriate Ramones song.

This is exciting!

– In '90s nostalgia, Crystal Pepsi will be returning, and Green Day fans should check out this 1990 video.  Aww, they were just babies!

Now for some pictures of what I got from the Charm City Craft Mafia's Holiday Heap show.  First up is this mermaid paper cut print.  I had to get it because, duh, mermaids. 

Mermaid print

We went a little crazy with the adorable stuff that Cedar and Fawn had.  They primarily do ceramics but they also had this set of 10 tiny houses.  We have no idea where we're going to put them but they were too cute to pass up.

Cedar & Fawn

Cedar & Fawn

Cedar & Fawn

Cedar & Fawn

As a funny (or not so funny) side note, a few minutes before I took pictures of these I managed to completely fall and land very hard on my right shoulder and upper back.  I was very pleased with what we got at the craft show and arranging everything all nice and pretty on the kitchen island for pictures and then BAM!  Down I went.  I now have several huge bruises and can't move my arm much, but I'm grateful that 1. I didn't wipe out in public, only in front of the husband (who laughed hysterically once I confirmed nothing was broken/dislocated); 2. I was still in the staging phase of the photos and not holding my camera, otherwise it would have gone flying out of my hand; and 3. I hurt only my upper body and not my legs/knees/feet – my lower half can't sustain any more injuries!  I still have no idea how I fell either, all of the sudden I just lost my balance and came crashing to the floor.  The husband says I was so excited about our haul that I simply couldn't remain upright…I guess that's plausible.  More likely is that I'm just super clumsy.

How was your week? 

 

 

CC logoLinks for the week.

– Move over, dyed armpit hair – the newest underarm trend is glitter pits.  (Who comes up with this stuff, anyway?!)

– Here's a hair trend Makeup Museum staff was very interested in.  Secret Mission Babo was also intrigued by this "hair ninja".  Finally, I love my hair stylist but as someone who hates making small talk I wouldn't mind having a quiet chair.

– The notion of "Da Vinci lips" is kind of stupid…I would hope any doctor administering lip injections would take the patient's facial proportions into consideration rather than indiscriminately puffing up their lips.  It's just something they should be doing already.

– A good article on the nail salon ethical conundrum.

– Look, there's almost nothing I love more than mermaid-inspired makeup, but wearing dead fish on your face is NOT the way to get the look.

– Yay for MAC's Viva Glam campaign milestone ($400 million raised in the fight against AIDS and counting!), but nay on these teachers who forcibly removed students' makeup.  If I were the parent of one of those girls I'd be LIVID.

The random:

– In '90s nostalgia, enjoy this oral history of the hilarious "Bohemian Rhapsody" scene in Wayne's World, and take this '90s movie test (I only got 86%!)  There was some sad '90s-related news as well:  former Stone Temple Pilots frontman Scott Weiland died this week at the age of 48.

– Just in time for the start of the holiday, Adam Sandler updates his famous Hanukkah song.

– When I was little I used to sit on the floor under a blanket and fan it out so that it made a mermaid tail…I must have known there was a market for this!

How have you been this week?  And don't forget to enter the Museum's giveaway!!

 

CC logoLotsa links this week!

– Hair trends for the week include glitter roots, secret rainbow hair, and for the guys, clip-in man buns.  Refinery29 also offered a history of blue hair.  While it was interesting, I have to admit I was disappointed there was no mention of Marge Simpson.

– As a long-time Allure fan, I was saddened to read of founding editor Linda Wells' departure from the publicationAllure has been my favorite magazine for years, and I'm sure it's due in no small part to Wells' talent.  Hopefully former Nylon editor Michelle Lee will continue the quality content.

– Here's a nice little history of contouring.

– Apparently Victoria's Secret Bombshell perfume makes an excellent mosquito repellent.  I can't say I'm surprised.

– I guess I should be grateful that I get any sort of discount for being a Sephora VIB Rouge, but I was peeved that our annual 20% discount was only valid for 3 days.  I don't like that they changed the VIB Rouge/VIB sale to have separately timed tiers this year, and I wasn't the only one.

– In crazy beauty treatments this week we've got a facial mist that contains catnip, lip microneedling (ouch!) and yet another facial that involves bodily fluids. Yuck.

– One thing I didn't cover in my history of fake freckles was the idea of temporary freckle tattoos – I had no idea these existed.

– As for real tattoos, I'm currently researching where to get one (finally going to take the plunge after 15 years of wanting one but not getting it because of everyone telling me not to), and I can safely say that using your own personal tattoo machine is NOT the way to go.  Leave tats to the professionals, kids.  Speaking of which, I came across this awesome blog (run by the same person who writes ExhibiTricks) – I hope I can submit my tattoo shortly.

– I saved the best for last!  You might remember last week I linked to the new song "Eating Makeup" featuring my idol Kathleen Hanna, and this week the video was released.  Bust described it as "Pee-Wee's Playhouse meets John Waters", and that is dead on.

 

The random:

– In '90s nostalgia, the sweater Kurt Cobain wore on a 1993 performance on MTV's Unplugged fetched $137,500 at a recent auction in LA. #worthit

– Cracked up at this.

– To the people freaking out about the Starbucks holiday cups:  you should be offended by these sweaters instead, courtesy of Nordstrom and Target.  Also, enjoy these alternative cups.

– I knew it was coming to an end, but I'm so sad nevertheless.  One of my all-time favorite TV shows started its final season this week. Fortunately there was this oral history to ease the pain.

What's been up with you?

 

CC logoLinks from the week.

– Jezebel continues its makeup by decade series with the '60s

– "What kind of makeup am I gonna get to taste…" Here's a catchy, funny new song featuring the excellent Kathleen Hanna. (If you're a Le Tigre fan I think you'll like this.)

– One of my favorite blogs turns 9!

– In dubious beauty inventions this week we have spray-on nail polish and the threading face-lift.

– Enjoy this profile of Dick Page.

-  A new article points out that luxury brand makeup is overpriced.  In other news, water is wet.

– I really wish it would be acceptable for me to go to work with rainbow roots – what a fun way to cover up my greys.

– Here's a tutorial on the makeup of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.), via Two Nerdy History Girls.

– For God's sake, don't try this "trick", a.k.a. a fiery disaster waiting to happen.  Just heat up your eyelash curler with a hairdryer, which I do every morning.  Trust me, it's effective and much less dangerous.

– I don't even know what to make of this 12-year-old boy discussing women and makeup

LOL. I just hope they gave these women real makeovers afterwards.

– To those 1-minute videos showing various beauty trends throughout history:  check and mate.

The random:

– Ooooh, another interview with Carrie.  Also, I loved our wedding officiant but I'm dying of jealousy after seeing this.

I can't get enough lattes and cookie butter, so I nearly fell out of my chair when I saw the latest offering from the Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (too bad there are no locations here).  Your move, Starbucks.

– Speaking of coffee, I think this is one of the greatest ideas ever, naysayers be damned.  I love the taste of coffee but I can't handle the caffeine, so this is right up my alley.

– Behold, Pulp Muppet.

Bwahaha!!

How have you been this week?

CC logoClickety-click.

– If you're in the Fairfield, CT area I beg you to check out the Hair in the Classical World exhibition going on through December 18th.  (It was curated by, ahem, two art history professors.) 

– Remember that laser razor I was fairly excited about a few weeks ago?  Turns out, it doesn't exist.

– Jezebel shares some beauty advice from the '80s

– "We need to get rid of this assumption that women who like wearing makeup are insecure."  LOVED Project Vanity's response to a Philippines men's magazine article singing the praises of women who don't wear much makeup.

– We've seen art history-inspired lids and lips, but what about the whole face?  This time a makeup artist transforms her entire face into famous paintings

– Speaking of paintings, take a gander at this portrait of Madame de Pompadour at her vanity – I'd kill to have that rouge box!

SMH.  Also at this.

The random:

Carrie Brownstein's memoir is out, woot!!  And in this Rolling Stone interview she hints at more S-K albums. *gasp*

– I know Halloween was yesterday, but here's a round up of the U.S.'s creepiest museums.

– See, it's not my fault I'm a pizza addict.

– Cracked up at this.  I hope I wasn't too obnoxious about training for mine. 

How was your Halloween?  Are you ready for the onslaught of holiday madness?

CC logoLinks, plus some pics of pumpkin fest 2015!

– I'll be getting to a review of Lisa Eldridge's new book in a hot second, but in the meantime, check out her compilation of the best and worst beauty moments throughout history.

– Can't tell whether this new line from Ellis Faas is cool or creepy.

– The latest trends for your tresses include galaxy hair, pumpkin spice hair, and hair tattoos.  In nail trends, say hello to glass nail art.

– Love these makeup bags!

– Beaute.ie shares some great new Shiseido commercials, one demonstrating the truly transformational power of makeup and the others featuring Lady Gaga (who, by the way, is killing it on American Horror Story.)

– Why doll make-unders can be problematic.

– This perfume exhibition in Berlin is very exciting (via WWD).

– This is a product that exists in the world.

The random:

– In '90s nostalgia, Tommy Hilfiger is re-releasing some best-selling pieces from the decade, while the oh-so-cheesy 1999 movie Cruel Intentions is getting the TV treatment.

– Here's a round-up of 10 strange museums around the world.  I had heard of most of them, but not the Barbed Wire Museum or the Bunny Museum.

– Brace yourself:  Sociological Images shares their annual compilation of the worst "sexy" Halloween costumes.

– More spooky fun includes the ghost of Claude Monet roaming the Cleveland Museum of Art (courtesy of clever marketing staff, methinks), and the hotel where The Shining was filmed may be turned into a horror museum.

Now onto Pumpkinfest 2015!  If you're not familiar, I started this tradition in 2011 when I went on a pumpkin baking spree on a whim.  It's basically a one-woman baking marathon centered on pumpkin desserts that occurs sometime in October.  I like to think of it as a warmup to all the Thanksgiving and holiday baking I do.  Anyway, Museum staff members were most excited. 

Anxiously waiting for the butter to soften

I made 5 desserts, 4 of which turned out pretty well and the 5th was a total fail.  Well, not a complete loss – it tasted good – but I really messed up the construction.  I made pumpkin spice latte ice cream, pumpkin cookies with PSL M & Ms, brownies with Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pie Spice Cookie Butter (which, if you can believe it, is more addictive than their regular cookie butter), pumpkin muffins, and a pumpkin roll with cream cheese filling.  The pumpkin muffins look burned but they're not – it's a delicious cinnamon sugar topping.

Pumpkinfest 2015

You'll notice the pumpkin roll is not included in the photo because that was the dessert I mangled.  In my defense, it was my first time making a rolled cake and I got confused with the relatively complicated instructions, so I somehow ended up rolling the entire cake with parchment paper.  Oops.  What we managed to salvage was yummy but it was one sad-looking cake.  But all in all, a good effort. 

How are you?  Are you doing anything fun for Halloween?