Links, plus a bonus pic of some autumn decor.
– XO Vain digs into the complex beauty regiment of a 19th century empress.
– Apparently beard transplants are a thing.
– I've been wondering about the controversy over Lime Crime for years. Fortunately Arabelle gives the full scoop at Racked.
– I have a lot of hope for this new laser razor – seems so much easier than traditional shaving.
– This vlogger paints her nails better after a bottle of wine than I do completely sober.
– Another beauty YouTuber experiments with a Coke "shampoo".
– Aha! I had long suspected it was only a matter of time before Pat McGrath developed her own makeup product. Only 1,000 of her new multi-use Gold 001 will be sold so I probably won't get it, but I'm curious to see how it performs.
– Must buy these new edible polishes for my niece (and maybe for me.)
– Speaking of non-toxic nail polishes, here's another reason to steer clear of acrylics (or at least, don't keep your nail glue near your eye drops!)
– No. Just no.
The random:
– A delicious panel with the Holy Trinity…could there be another album on the way?!
– I'm embarrassed to admit that I cried at this Nike commercial. It just got me for a lot of reasons.
– In '90s nostalgia, I'm still plowing my way through the original X-Files (why didn't I watch it when it was on?) and am very excited for the new episodes, given this info. I love that the credits are the same. Meanwhile, the Hairpin reminisces about the bizarre hit single "Pepper" from the Butthole Surfers and links to an oral history of the band.
– I want this Vogue coloring book!
– Finally, as you know, it's decorative gourd season, so here is my contribution to fall. BLAMMO!
Do you not love these tiny pumpkins? The husband spotted them at the farmer's market. They're called Jack Be Littles – too cute!
Have you been doing any seasonal decorating/baking? I have scheduled Pumpkin Fest for October 24th and am trying to narrow down what I'll be making.
Links for the week.
– Given that snail slime, bee venom and bird poop are used in skincare, beef fat products seem pretty tame.
– Colorful eyebrows are way more fun than colorful armpit hair.
– Makeup companies continue to try to stay ahead of social media trends, as evidenced by Cover Girl's testing of new foundations using iPhones.
– Stowaway Cosmetics can take its stupid survey and stick it where the sun don't shine. I will continue to happily hoard makeup and use expired products because I love having tons of options when it comes to makeup. Can you imagine having only, like, five eye shadows or lipsticks to choose from?
– Whoa. This new contraption mixes small batches of fresh face creams and other treatments customized from your selection of over 1,000 ingredients.
– Guys, if you're worried about your man bun making you bald, there are other style options. Try the man-braid or the merman.
– It says a lot that a NY heiress left more money to her manicurist and hair stylist than to her housekeeper. A clean house is nothing compared to perfect nails and a great blowout, right?
– Move over, grills – teeth tattoos are where it's at.
– Aerin Lauder is creating another limited-edition lipstick for the Neue Galerie (a.k.a. the museum founded by her father Ronald Lauder). This one is called Berlin Nights, in honor of the upcoming exhibition "Berlin Metropolis: 1918-1933". I'm dying to see what the color looks like.
The random:
– This seems like an interesting, albeit scary, read. Maybe I should write one for makeup and beauty treatments.
– In art crimes this week, I'm mortified at this politician who used a Thomas Hart Benton mural in the Missouri statehouse to take notes. I am not surprised, however, that she's a Republican.
– In '90s nostalgia, Good Burger was briefly revived on Jimmy Fallon, while science officially proved that Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" is the most iconic song of all time.
– It was sex positivity week over at Bitch Flicks, and they had some great analyses of both Bob's Burgers and Broad City.
– Already excited for Amy Schumer's book.
– Have you tried the new Starbucks Toasted Graham Latte? I tried it last week and I don't know why they don't just call it a S'mores latte because that's exactly what it tastes like. Either way it's pretty good though.
– Finally, you know I can't not have a Curator's Corner in the fall without linking to one of the greatest seasonal odes ever written.
Are you enjoying fall thus far?
Links and more links.
– On the one hand, it's great that there are more products made for women of color. On the other hand, it's 2015 – I feel like this is something that should have existed years ago.
– Given that contouring moved from the face to the body, it's no surprise strobing followed suit.
– I'll have to ask the husband whether he'd be interested in trying this new caffeinated shaving line. Caffeine as a skincare ingredient can actually be quite effective – I've tried cellulite creams with caffeine and it definitely helps temporarily reduce the appearance of my hail damage. (I don't know why but that particular phrase always cracks me up.)
– Documenting Fashion has a nice piece on the Elizabeth Arden "trilogy".
– Despite the aggravation with traveling to and from NY recently, I desperately want to head back up there so I can check out the new & Other Stories makeup line in person.
– I have to admit I wasn't paying much attention to NYFW spring 2016 beauty trends because I figured I'd catch up when it's, you know, actually spring, but this mermaid eye at Diane von Furstenberg was truly stunning!
– Can't wait for the MAC/Guo Pei collection…hopefully I'll get my hands on some of it before it sells out.
– We've seen classic paintings recreated on eyelids, but not on lips – until now.
– Here's a good, albeit short, read on no-makeup campaigns.
– With all the wacky hair trends out there, this new hand-pressed hair coloring technique seems to be the most wearable.
– LOL.
The random:
– Love this new blog.
– Appealing for both eyes and stomach: cookie pits and candy pyramids. Not so appealing, despite my love of both of these foods: pizza-flavored ice cream.
– This couple made an 11-foot bed to fit their pets. I'm thinking the husband and I need to do the same to accommodate our plushie family.
– So much '90s nostalgia and I am LOVING it. Verve Pipe's lead singer karaokes their 1997 hit "The Freshmen", while the Hairpin investigates the meaning behind Cornershop's "Brimful of Asha" and White Town's "Your Woman", both of which were also huge in '97. Not a fan of Empire Records but I enjoyed this round-up of facts about the film regardless. But I am a fan of Mr. Show, and as luck would have it Bob and David will be back to sketch comedy in November. Finally, Quentin Tarantino's cast wish list for Pulp Fiction was leaked. Michael Madsen as Vincent Vega? No way!!
– I still have not been able to track down the Pumpkin Spice Latte M & Ms but I did enjoy my first Starbucks PSL of the season last week.
How about you? Are you ready for fall? Do you love the PSL as much as I do?
If you're in the U.S. I hope you are not laboring on this Labor Day. Happy Monday to everyone else. Much to catch up on!
– LA Splash is making quite a splash (sorry, couldn't resist) with their Harry Potter and Disney princess-themed lipsticks.
– I'd be the perfect person to work for Scouted by Sephora.
– I'd also love to contact this doctoral student to get a copy of her dissertation. Yes, it's on beauty! See, I told you it belongs in academia.
– Glamour Daze shares some very interesting advice from a 1920s makeup artist, while Racked provides a brief history of red lipstick.
– I can't tell whether this new store is taking social media too far or if it's totally genius.
– Makeup is basically my raison d'etre, but some mornings I definitely feel more like this about it.
– So many hair trends! Opal hair, hair contouring, and the "hun". If you're a guy doing that last one, make sure it's tight enough to support your mini fedora. If that's not weird enough for you put a sprout in your hair.
– There were also lots of important reminders about cosmetic product safety: sketchy brand Lime Crime was issued a warning letter from the FDA about ingredients in one of its products, while there have been customer complaints about the serious effects of Mentality nail polish and the Honest Company's sunscreen. And remember: authorized retailers good, authorized resellers bad – at least in this case.
– Speaking of product safety, remember that Crayola pencils are not for your eyes.
The random:
– No lie, I read about Carrie Brownstein's book tour for her upcoming memoir and last night I had a dream that I went to one of the events in which I waited in line for hours to get my copy of the book signed. When I got up there she looked at me and asked my name and I just started bawling. That's probably exactly how it would play out in real life. The closest event to me is in Philly, but there won't be a signing so I don't think I'll be going. Then again, it would be another chance to see one of my idols and you do get a pre-signed copy of the book with your tickets…oh, to own something she touched!!
– Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) has just unveiled their new fashion museum. Hey SCAD, might I suggest the addition of a beauty wing? Or maybe just a special beauty exhibition? I think that would be way better than this stupid toilet museum in Japan. There was already a toilet exhibition last July, which, as you might recall, I was not happy about, and now this. Granted, I own a Toto (admittedly, it's a darn good toilet) but I don't think the world needs a whole museum of them.
– On the one hand, destruction of priceless works of art isn't funny. On the other hand, this poor kid tripping and punching a hole through a painting is somewhat hilarious. The best response to that (again) comes from When You Work At A Museum. There was also this oopsie from a little girl in Israel.
– In '90s nostalgia, enjoy these facts about the Spice Girls.
– While I'm not thrilled about fall and winter, at least there will be Pumpkin Spice Latte M&Ms and Charlie Brown Christmas stamps to look forward to.
– I'm not into inspirational quotes or mantras – I'm more of a demotivational posters kind of girl – but recently I came across one that I actually liked. I browsed on Etsy to find an aesthetically pleasing print of it but couldn't find any, so the husband made me one. Of course, he cleverly worked in one of my beloved Museum staff members.
It really cheers me up at work. 🙂
What have you been up to? Are you looking forward to fall?
I'm still here…had a terrible headache most of last weekend so I couldn't prep any posts for this past week. :( Hopefully I'll write something this week. In the meantime, here are some links.
– How do I get this job?
– Meet "tontouring," the latest fad within the contouring trend.
– Nouveau Cheap has the scoop on the upcoming Cover Girl/Star Wars makeup collection.
– Japan-based cosmetics retailer Ainz & Tulpe introduced these really cool interactive shop windows in Tokyo.
– Check out this oral history of the accent nail manicure and a more general history of nail art.
– There's also a must-read article on the history of black lipstick. Funny story: Arabelle actually contacted me a little while ago to see if I had any leads on this topic! I was so flattered. Alas, I couldn't help – I explained that in 2013 I started working on a special exhibition with the working title of Black Magic: A History of Black Lipstick and Nail Polish, only to essentially abandon it when I couldn't find much info, at least not online.
– Going further back in history, Two Nerdy History Girls reposts a two-part article on 18th-century hair styles and how they were achieved, while Beautiful with Brains shares a 19th-century guide to growing longer eyelashes.
– I was relieved to see that the new practice of microwaving off your armpit hair, does not, in fact, involve a traditional microwave.
– Oof, Sephora messed up again (epically, you might say) and people are pissed. But there were some nuanced, balanced responses over at Swatch & Learn and Cafe Makeup.
The random:
– Rolling Stone interviewed Kathleen Hanna on the recently reissue of Revolution Girl Style Now. *happy sigh*
– In other '90s news, Garbage's self-titled debut album turned 20, Alanis Morissette is releasing a deluxe edition of Jagged Little Pill to celebrate its 20th anniversary, and there's finally an update on the long-awaited Ab Fab movie.
– The number of visitors to the Met's recent China: Through the Looking Glass exhibition has surpassed the previous visitor record held by the McQueen exhibition. Related: "The bottom line is that however much we love to look at art, everyone gets dressed in the morning."
– More pumpkin spice madness.
How have you been?
Links from the past 2 weeks, plus I'm wishing the Makeup Museum a very happy 7-year blogiversary! (It was Friday, I totally forgot.)
– Jezebel's makeup by decade series continues with the 1950s.
– Read Autumn's brilliant response to a new study claiming beauty ads are bogus.
– The latest bizarre nail trends: the bubble manicure and aquarium nails. Meanwhile, hair tapestries are the new rainbow hair, and body branding may be the new tattoo. More strange trends include hangover makeup and heart-shaped hair.
– As a huge Strangers with Candy fan I was delighted to see Amy Sedaris dish on her favorite beauty products.
– More on the makeup tax.
– On my beauty book radar is this vintage compact collecting guide by Jane Vanroe.
– See, beautifying oneself IS healthy.
– I'm salivating over Louboutin's new lipstick line…is it September yet?
– Racked, please stay away from MUA. You clearly don't get it.
– On the fragrance front, check out this 19th century "perfume launcher", along with this exhibition and book on perfume miniatures.
– Unbelievable.
The random:
– Bikini Kill will be putting out 3 previously unreleased songs from 1991! Plus, here's an eye-opening piece on black girls within the Riot Grrrl movement.
– Only in Japan: a Snoopy museum, this crazy-looking restaurant, and a cafe in Tokyo that provides luxury services to stuffed animals. I don't think I could send our beloved plushies through the mail, but I love the concept.
– The best response to the new Jack the Ripper Museum, right here.
– I liked this overview of Yves Saint Laurent's "love cards" at Documenting Fashion, since one of the designs was used on a palette. They should really do an entire series of palettes based on those.
– My latest form of relaxation is coloring books. Yes, they make coloring books for adults! My mom told me it was the "hot new trend" and she was totally right. I celebrated National Coloring Book day last week by stealing her coloring book and pencils (sorry Mom, I'll replace them.)
– In '90s news, here's another exhibition on the art of the '90s and some Clueless-inspired decor.
– Greatly amused by this Tumblr.
– It's August, which means Pumpkin Spice Lattes are just around the corner…along with pumpkin spice Peeps!
What have you been digging lately?
Links for the week.
– Jezebel covers the current state of animal testing in cosmetics.
- Get silky smooth tresses with the new hair condom!
– Contouring has clearly jumped the shark.
– Major beauty crime alert. Glad she got caught.
– Beautiful with Brains shares some very old recipes for literal face paint, while History Today provides some perfume recipes from the early 17th century.
– Speaking of scent, do you let anyone else know what perfume you wear? I think it's weird when a woman won't share the name of her preferred fragrance.
– So excited that we Americans can now buy Kiko online! I will be stocking up on the Vibrant Eye Pencils…seriously the best pencil liner I've tried.
The random:
– More accolades for and history of Clueless, plus some little-known facts about another '90s classic, There's Something About Mary.
– These two new exhibitions sound great to me – one is on contemporary toy design (we own some of these!) and the other is a history of internet cats.
– The Flaming Lips' Wayne Coyne will be debuting an art installation right here in Baltimore!
Finally, a blog note: I will be having some quality mother-daughter time at the Jersey Shore later this week so will not be posting much…I should be resuming at some point after I return, but, as you know, I can never guarantee consistency.
Do you have any fun summer travel plans?
Links for the week.
– Into the Gloss investigates Philip Johnson's lipstick building.
- Can't say I'm understanding the clown contouring thing. But multimasking actually makes sense.
– Here's the latest scoop in bioprinting.
– This guy is taking sunburn art to a whole new level.
– MAC will be releasing a collection in honor of the late singer Selena in 2016. Very exciting!
– Also exciting is this new guide to Korean beauty, which I sorely need.
– Can you believe it? Clueless turns 20 today!! Here are the best beauty moments and tips from the classic film.
The random:
– Clueless odes and history continued here, here, here and here. Whew! There's also this newly released oral history of the movie, which I must order ASAP.
– If that wasn't enough '90s for you check out this massive 90s playlist. I dare say it's even better than mine.
- The ladies of Sleater-Kinney prove yet again why they are the most awesome.
– On the local front, the husband and I have been greatly enjoying the fruit at the farmer's market. Yesterday I made a peach pie and blackberry ice cream. They were both very tasty if I do say so myself, although you couldn't taste the blackberry so much in the ice cream…I should maybe double the purée to get a stronger flavor.
What's new with you?
Links from the past 2 weeks.
– I suppose this is as good a use for fake nails as any.
– "You’d look so much prettier without all that douchebag." Yeah, it's a must-read. I also loved this very truthful piece on beauty writing.
– R.I.P., Burt Shavitz.
– Yahoo Beauty had a plethora of brief beauty history articles, including one on brow trends, cold cream in the U.S., and the evolution of temporary tattoos.
– OPI's Avojuice line gets a lovely packaging makeover.
– Contouring your face is so January 2015. Try butt and boob contouring instead. Actually, forget contouring altogether. Baking and strobing are where it's at. (Is the latter really any different than highlighting?)
– Another trend apparently is burning off your hair's split ends with a candle. Rather than risk setting both my head and my house on fire I think I'd try a trim and a good deep conditioner first.
– Tanning in the name of beauty is bad, but what's even worse is getting a sunburn in the name of art.
– MAC is opening their very own makeup salon. I'm curious to see how this will be different than getting makeup application at a regular store.
– Seriously?
The random:
– Your '90s roundup: an interesting take on Fiona Apple's "Criminal", a crash course in '90s trends, a list of what we were afraid of during the decade, and an article on the Beanie Babies craze. Also check out this Kickstarter.
– The fall 2015 couture collections debuted this week, with Viktor & Rolf taking the "fashion as art" theme rather literally.
– We're sending art to the moon!
– Some good exhibitions are out now, including "Fashioning the Body: An Intimate History of the Silhouette" at Bard Graduate Center in NYC and a great retrospective of Yves Saint Laurent at the Bowes Museum.
– Remember, you don't have to live with ugly art in your city! (I'm thinking of starting a similar campaign here to take down the abomination by Penn Station – I don't care how much love that thing gets, it's still hideous.)
– In keeping with this year's summer exhibition theme, here's a video of glowing coral deep in the Red Sea.
How have you been?
As you can tell from the lack of posts for nearly all of June I've been busy. I don't even know with what, I just know work always leaves me too drained to do anything in the evenings and I've had other stuff keeping me occupied for the past few weekends, so the Makeup Museum fell by the wayside. Anyway, I can't promise that things will pick up around here, but I do know that I plan on getting the summer exhibition up next week, so there's that. Now who's ready to catch up on lots of beauty news and other cool stuff?
– Heathrow Airport compiled a chart of the most-purchased lipstick shades in 50 cities around the globe. Interestingly, the results are pretty varied.
– Here's a must-read article on Helena Rubinstein that explores whether her beauty business was empowering for women. I know the "makeup as empowerment" is a topic worth exploring and I really enjoyed this article. But I'm basically over the debate at this point, especially after seeing this #ThePowerOfMakeup campaign on Instagram. Why does makeup have to be empowering? Why can't we just enjoy wearing (or not wearing) makeup? Hmmph.
– Olivia at The Unknown Beauty Blog traces the history of the Westmore family, who were responsible for establishing the art of cinema makeup, while Gio at Beautiful with Brains lets us in on the beauty secrets of Marie Antoinette. Need more beauty history? Check out the latest installment of Jezebel's makeup by decade series, which covers the '40s.
– Speaking of beauty history, here's the parody you've been waiting for. Finally!
– Into the Gloss explores the relationships between several female artists and makeup. Spoiler alert: Georgia O'Keeffe would have none of it.
– I'm curious to know which would have a lower price tag for a day of beauty treatments, the new Chanel spa in Paris or this nail salon that offers a $25,000 manicure.
– Glamour tells us about more weird beauty jobs.
– Apparently the "belly button challenge" is the new thigh gap. *eyeroll*
– This vlogger offered an unusual way to keep track of what you did during the week.
– I liked this 25-second trippy film for Lipstick Queen's new Frog Prince lipstick.
– Ain't no party like a NARS launch party.
– The latest colorful hair trends: hair inspired by sand art and "merman" beard dyeing for the guys.
– When kids get into makeup.
The random:
– Abbi Jacobson is keeping herself busy between Broad City seasons by illustrating two coloring books. If you need more Broad City-related goodness, check out this interview with Mike Perry, the artist behind the show's animated intro.
– We got a sneak peek of the cover of Carrie Brownstein's memoir (can't wait till it's out!)
– In '90s news and revivals, Crystal Pepsi may be returning (fingers crossed!) and the A.V. Club had a whole week's worth of essays devoted to 1995 pop culture. Meanwhile, a pop-up installation of the Seinfeld apartment opened, Clueless is becoming a musical, and photos from the new X-Files episodes are out. (I've been plowing my way through the original run via Netflix since I didn't watch it when it was on – gotta have my '90s fix!)
– In addition to X-Files, I've become addicted to American Pickers. Also, I checked out the first episode of Another Period and it was pretty enjoyable, especially due to a massively funny joke at Baltimore's expense.
– Mmm…I am intrigued by this pizzeria located in the ocean near Fiji. If I were a mermaid I could swim to it!
– Speaking of mermaids and Fiji, these these sculptures aren't the traditional "pretty" mermaids we know, focusing instead on the history of the Fiji mermaid (a.k.a. a monkey's head sewn to a fish's body that originated in the late 1800s).
– Cornell University has digitized issues of Harper's Bazaar from 1867-1900. So cool! (via Two Nerdy History Girls)
– New fashion exhibitions I want to see but won't be able to: "Shoes: Pleasure and Pain" at the V & A, "500 Years of Dress Historiography" at the Courtauld, and "New for Now: The Origin of Fashion Magazines" at the Rijksmuseum.
– Here's a reminder to please be more careful when visiting museums. And for the love of God, don't use drones to take pictures. (And I thought selfie sticks were bad.)
– I knew there was a reason why I follow over a thousand blogs.
Whew! That was a lot of links. If you've made it this far, how have you been?