This week's links. 

– The Makeup Museum wasn't the only one celebrating a fifth birthday this week.  Lash growth serum Latisse turned five as well.  I love this stuff – my lashes are truly magnificent now.  Worth every penny!

– Beauty sample boxes (which fall under a new business category dubbed "discovery commerce") continue to be a booming trend.  Case in point:  Birchbox, which started out with a test market of 200 women in September 2010, now has over 400,000 subscribers.  The problem for those of us who still haven't caved to a sample service is that there are tons on the market – I love samples and am ready to jump on the bandwagon, but there are so many options now I don't know which one I'd like best.

– Some exciting news about Cargo via WWD (although the link seems to have been deleted) – the brand is relaunching and "will update its look with vacation-inspired packaging by illustrator Bernadette Pascua".  Can't wait to see!

– The latest nail art trend isn't even on the nail but rather the cuticle.  Yes, cuticle tattoos are a thing now. 

– Watch the daughter of Stila founder Jeanine Lobell, Esme, dabble in a bit of makeup herself. 

The random:

– My Vintage Vogue brought this awesome fashion museum to my attention, which just opened a permanent exhibition space in Cambridge, Ontario.  Between this and the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto, I must get myself up to our neighbors to the north ASAP.

– I've been wanting a pair of Converse for ages – am I bold enough to get these Uglydoll-printed ones?  As much as I love Uglydolls, the answer is no.

– In '90s nostalgia, Splitsider talks about the making of HBO sketch comedy Mr. Show, while Rolling Stone updates us on the whereabouts of 1994's biggest pop acts (in case you're wondering, yes, I do remember every single on their list.)

What were you up to this week?  And don't forget to enter the Makeup Museum's giveaway!!

This week's links.

– Nivea launched a website that lets you choose your own cap design for their lip balm.  The sheer amount of themes is staggering, and at the moment you can even buy a balm with a design by Rebecca Minkoff.  (via British Beauty Blogger)

– Here's a fun game – seeing how many of the 50 products Allure names as their top beauty products to "buy before you die" you've actually tried.  I've tested out 20 on that list, which took me by surprise – I thought it would have been more.

– It's early August and yet we are already seeing holiday goodies!  Rouge Deluxe shares a stunning makeup set from Clé de Peau, while Chic Profile has the scoop on an adorable Minnie Mouse-themed collection from Anna Sui.

– Apparently Smurfume is a thing.  Yes, a Smurf perfume.  This is even more ridiculous than the Too-Faced Smurfette highlighting palette from a few years back.

The random:

– Horror movie fiend that I am, I've been waiting to see The Conjuring since I spotted the first trailer back in March, so I made it out to see it today.  Chances of me sleeping this week:  not so good.

– But maybe the newest arrival to our plushie family will console me!  Superman Babo wasn't supposed to reach us till the fall, but he showed up early. 

We have so many Babos now…I think the official count is 14.  One can never have too many though!

What have you been up to this week?

So many great links from this week and last…enjoy. 

– In beauty history:  Beautylish shares an overview of punk makeup, while Glamour Daze brings us the average woman's beauty routine from 1916.  And Beautiful With Brains provides another incredibly fascinating excerpt on skincare from a 19th-century magazine.

 - The Beauty Stop outlines five beauty trends best left to the runways (or, in the case of two-tone highlights and hair poufs, 2002 and the Jersey Shore, respectively).

– Meli at Wild Beauty dishes on her experience at the Bite Beauty lab in Soho.  Given her positive review and my affinity for staying at the Mondrian Soho when I'm in NYC, I think my next jaunt up to the Big Apple will have to involve a trip to the lab for a custom lipstick.

– Olivia at The Unknown Beauty Blog invents a little makeup game involving tarot cards.  I hope she keeps it up because it's tons of fun!

– Temptalia tells us all about the collaboration between OCC and artist Gail Potocki, which debuted at the San Diego Comic Con.  While green lips aren't exactly wearable except maybe on Halloween, I admire the thought that was put into the concept.

– Loved the story behind the old Revlon Fire & Ice campaign, along with the updated 2010 ad at Part Nouveau.

The random:

– I desperately want this beautiful mermaid print by Sam Battersby (bonus – it's got jellyfish too, another one of my favorite sea creatures!), thanks to the Jealous Curator.  Actually, I want, like, all of her mermaid prints.  They're small enough that I could probably fit them all somewhere.

– Speaking of mermaids, Bitch Flicks discusses whether the film Splash, which spurred my mermaid obsession as a child, is feminist or not.

– In other movie news, Clueless turned 18 this week.  I'm totally buggin'!  If you're so inclined, check out the nail art inspired by this classic '90s film.

– The Oatmeal provides some amusing commentary on distance running.

– Did someone say Pizza Olympics? 

– Must get to the Charmery, Baltimore's newest ice cream store, pronto.  In the meantime though, last week I made a delicious vanilla-honey ice cream to go on top of my very first pie!  I bake a lot but pie has always intimidated me.  Then I found these excellent posts by Smitten Kitchen and decided to go for it.  It came out pretty well, I think. The crust was a little overdone even though I used a pie crust shield, and I didn't realize I should put the crumbly topping on UNDER the lattice top instead of over it, but it was very tasty (sorry for the crappy cell phone pic):

– Finally, please say hello to the Makeup Museum's newest staff member, Mathlete Babo!  This was a total surprise from Uglydoll.

Mathlete Babo will be the Museum's senior accontant.  😉

What's been up with you this week? 

This week's links.

– UK chain Marks & Spencer introduces a Downton Abbey-themed makeup and bath and body range.  I'm  greatly amused as most middle/upper-class women wouldn't have painted their faces in that time period – at least, not until about 1925 or so, and I think the series' start took place in 1912. At least Marks & Spencer kept it relatively restrained by including lip glosses and balms in somewhat subdued colors, and the packaging is nice. 

– I would have loved to have sat in on "Beauty in a Digital World", presented by graduates of FIT's Master's degree program in Cosmetics and Fragrance Marketing and Management.  Wait, WHAT?!!  There's a whole Master's degree program for that?!  While I'm not sure I necessarily want another Master's, and despite the fact that I have no business background, I'm greatly intrigued by this program.

– People are very fond of reminding me that makeup doesn't last forever.  Vintage makeup expert Captain Spaceburger provides proof.  However, I don't think this is actually THAT bad, and I also think unused cream products can last for decades.  

– Lipstick Queen founder Poppy King will be launching new lipsticks for fall.  That's not earth-shattering news, but what I am interested in is the packaging:  "The Velvet Rope collection will include five lipsticks encased in retro
gold tubes and blue velvet packaging, which is all a nod to the
Hollywood glamour of the '40s."  Oooh!

The random:

– See, my '90s nostalgia isn't a bad thing!

– These pizza portraits are great, but I'd still probably want to destroy them by gobbling up every last slice.

– The Baltimore Fishbowl gives us the inside scoop on the favorite hangouts of the cast and crew of The Wire.

– While I don't think The Julie Ruin is quite as amazing as Bikini Kill or Le Tigre (so far, anyway), Kathleen Hanna seriously can do wrong in my eyes.  Love her so much!  Check out the video for "Oh Come On".  

– I'm trying to cut down on my Lululemon consumption since I just have so much stuff, but I spotted these new shopping bags at Lulumum and promptly went to buy something, anything, just to get one.  (I limited myself to some socks).  The sales woman went to put them into a regular shopping bag and I was like "No!!  I must have the Sea Wheeze bag!"  She was a little taken aback.

Yes, that is a mermaid perched on the logo and doing the mermaid version of Warrior pose.  MERMAIDS!!

How was your week?

Things that were catching my eye this week. 

 - My favorite intellectual beauty blog, The Beheld, has been nominated for Marie Claire's Most Wanted Beauty Blogger award!!  Vote for Autumn and her excellent blog here.

– XO Vain shows how you can get that Big Lebowski look.  Love it. 

– More '90s beauty chatter – apparently tooth gems are back.

– Deborah Lippmann is hitting all the Curator's obsessions as of late.  This summer it was a mermaid collection, and I just discovered that for fall there is a punk-themed collection!

– Finally, someone made a Barbie with the average American woman's measurements.

– I am scheming on how to get my hands on this gorgeous Selfridge's exclusive Bourjois candle.

Art/fashion/the random:

– This is a little creepy, no?  

– Lots of artist inspiration for fall:  L'wren Scott's fall line borrows elements of works by Gustav Klimt, while Warhol's early sketches made their way onto Dior's fall accessories.

– The Jealous Curator brought the work of Christine Zona to my attention.  Of her latest series of photographs of the Jersey Shore, Zona says, "I created this series to reclaim the innocence of the Jersey Shore.
 The shore that I remember as a child.  This shore still exists, but
recently it’s been overshadowed by the 'Snookis' and the 'Situations' of
the world.  So I headed out to Seaside Heights, Asbury Park, Point
Pleasant, Belmar, and Atlantic City with my Polaroid Spectra Camera and a
backpack full of expired film to capture it as I once saw it."  As someone who had childhood vacations at the Jersey Shore this series is especially poignant for me.

– I love miniatures and was so tempted to buy, oh, ALL of the miniatures for sale in this catalogue. (via Art Daily)

– Finally, some important Uglydoll news.  I have pre-ordered Superman Babo, but it looks like there will be yet another Babster for fall!!  Uglydoll partnered with Universal Partnerships and Licensing to create some "universal monsters".  I spy a mummy Babo, which will be added to our plushie family come Halloween!

(image from plasticandplush.com)

What's been going on with you?   Any fall releases, makeup or otherwise, that you're particularly excited for?

Links from the very busy past few weeks. 

– Proctor and Gamble created a beauty "time capsule" of the products and trends from the last 100 years. 

– So this is exciting – Jill Tomandl, the woman behind the design and packaging of some of Stila's recent creations, is following me on Twitter!  Maybe now I can talk to her about writing a book together on the brand's famous Stila girls.  😉

– The summer solstice was just this past Friday, but we're already getting glimpses of more fall collections.  Two that have caught my eye are Dior's Mystic Metallics and Lancome's L'Absolu Desir.

– Bellasugar had a nice roundup of summery vintage beauty ads.

– Desperately want to read this article on the fashion and beauty collaborations so popular nowadays…unfortunately I lack a subscription to WWD.  Sigh.

The random:

– Finally, a dose of honesty in Disney movies.

– Two conflicting articles on sleep:  one saying what I've been saying for years – you really DO need 7-8 hours a night for optimal functioning, and another saying that the occasional all-nighter is actually great for creativity and problem-solving.  Eh.  While I would like to be more creative, I'll stick with my 8 (okay, 9-12) hours of sleep a night.

– Speaking of sleep, did you stay up to see the "supermoon"?  So cool.

Hope everyone enjoyed the solstice!!

Hope everyone (in the U.S., anyway) enjoyed a day off!  This week's links. 

– XO Vain gives us a step-by-step guide on how to get the alluring beauty of Twin Peaks' Audrey Horne.

– Love the concept of Bite Beauty's new Lipstick Lab, where you can create your very own custom shade.

– New beauty book alert:  The Power of Glamour:  Longing and the Art of Visual Persuasion is now available for pre-order!

– Rouge Deluxe shows us a sneak peek of Ladurée's fall collection (already!).  I have my sights set on the cream blush, which has a beautiful fan imprint and gorgeously illustrated outer case.

The random:

– Baltimore Fishbowl brings us a timely interview with John Waters.  I say "timely" because I finally saw the man in the flesh this week!  I was getting lunch after some sessions at the AAM conference and almost walked smack into him.  After nearly 7 years of living here, I feel like a true Baltimorean (or Baltimoron, your choice).

– Well, that's a relief.  World Nutella Day will continue after all.

– Finally here:  new episodes of Arrested Development!  But in case you want to re-watch all the previous episodes to refresh your memory before digging into the new stuff, Splitsider provides 53 more jokes you might have missed.

– In mermaid news, please donate to the Kickstarter campaign to save the Coney Island Mermaid Parade.  And if you still don't think mermaids exist, check out yet another special on Animal Planet with new "evidence".  (Okay, it's still all fake like last year's "documentary" but I can't help wistfully believing!)

How was your week?

First some links, then a little recap of my 48 hours in NYC.  🙂

– I love LUSH and I love mermaids, so I was super excited to see this mermaid-shaped bath bomb.  While I prefer the bubble bars to bath bombs (a bath just isn't a bath without bubbles!), I do think I'll pick some of these up anyway – proceeds go to to The Sea Shepherd, an ocean conservation organization.

– An old-timer like me was pleased to see that some of my makeup habits are in line with those of milennial women.  Of those who answered Lab 42's survey, 58% say they buy different products for winter and summer months (yup), and 61% started wearing makeup between the ages of 13 and 15 (also describes me). 

– I wholeheartedly agree with this Jezebel article on why "real beauty" campaigns are crap.

The random:

– Trailer for new Arrested Development!  Can't wait!

– This list of 43 things that make you feel old is spot on.  Sadly, I've been experiencing most of these since I was a teenager.  (My sister calls me an "old soul" – I think I've always been an elderly person trapped in a younger person's body.)

– Cool exhibition on 19th-century fashion plates at the Art Institute of Chicago.

– Interesting commentary on the lack of non-white girls within the Riot Grrrl movement.  While I acknowledge this was an issue within the movement (see pages 64-68 of my thesis), I agree with this comment, which provides an excellent counterpoint to the article and points out that while the movement was nowhere near perfect, it was still important and valuable from both feminist and cultural standpoints. I have a few other arguments to make on the author's other points but they're too long to go into here.

And now for my little jaunt up to the Big Apple!! This pic basically sums up the trip:  eating, shopping and museum-going (our usual M.O.).

I was positively chomping at the bit to see the punk-themed Chaos to Couture show at the Met, and seeing as how another exhibition, Impressionism, Fashion and Modernity was closing soon, I figured now was the best time to head up there. 

I thought the show was great.  It's been getting a huge amount of criticism, but I'm not sure what people are complaining about.  The main thing I keep hearing is that it's not "authentic" punk.  This critique at Bust Magazine, I think, gets it all wrong – the author says, "The Met values history,
but in this exhibit, the history of punk was swept under the rug,
almost an after thought."  Well, yes, the exhibit wasn't about the history of punk, it was how punk's gritty fashion roots were translated into high-end clothing over the years.  She also remarks, "Because poor people making up their own aesthetic on the cheap is not good enough for the Met.  I'd pay a lot to see one of the DIY leather
jackets, from a gutter punk back in the day, displayed next to a Comme
des Garcons design. Punk is all about authenticity people! The roots of
the subculture are displayed in photo form and in the multi-media
installations, but the real uniform is not included as 'fashion.'"  Actually, it was – there were original t-shirts worn by Johnny Rotten and other punk icons.  And I don't think the Met left out pieces by "real" punks due to snobbishness.  It's probably pretty hard to find those authentic items.  What are curators supposed to do, hit up garage sales?  In any case, I'm glad someone else liked it. I picked up the catalogue and couldn't resist a shirt as well.

We also stopped at Ladurée – a delicious splurge.  But what I liked even more than the cookies were these Ladurée tees at Uniqlo!  I went beserk and got four of them.

They all have the little Ladurée logo on the back:

Also got this adorable Lulu Guinness for Uniqlo top – I bought this one because I love how her eyes are closed.  Reminds me of my beloved naps.

Some other deets:  we stayed at the lovely Mondrian Soho.  We stayed there when we were in NYC last year and stayed at the one in L.A. when we went in October.  Very nice.  We ate at Cafe Habana for dinner (yes, you really must get the roasted corn, and the mojitos were delish as well), and one night we had drinks at Raines Law Room near Union Square.  I must admit the vibe of the place scared me a bit (eveything, from the old-timey decor to the ghostly-looking, soft-spoken man who answered the door in a vintage tux, reminded me of the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick's The Shining) but the drinks were amazing.  Later that night we went to a burger place that shall remain nameless because I had to file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau – that's how unreasonable the management was.  I generally like to avoid conflict at all costs and keep my mouth shut even if service is not quite up to snuff.  This incident, however, made me livid (as well it should – an informal poll of people I've told the story to were all shocked at the situation).  Besides that, overall I had a wonderful time.  NYC is intimidating and I could never live there, but it's great in small doses.

What did you do this week?  If you've been, what are your favorite places to go in NYC?

Some very exciting things this week!

– First, I'm deliriously happy with the news that Uglydoll will be unveiling a beauty line!  How crazy is that?  Fortunately since I employ so many Uglydolls here at the Museum they are very experienced with beauty products.   I wonder, actually, if the little scamps were the ones who came up with the idea to have a beauty line.  🙂

– Other amazing news:  Remember last year when I declared a beauty emergency upon discovering my favorite perfume was discontinued and launched a worldwide search for the last few remaining bottles?  Well, L'Artisan must have heard my pleas because they are re-releasing it!!  Just for a limited time though, so I'm stocking up.

– Chanel is selling mascara via vending machine. 

– This Jezebel article about the lack of BB creams for darker skin tones is an important reminder for the beauty industry.  In this day and age there's no excuse for companies not to offer shades for non-white skin tones.  However, this article about a woman suing Lancome for their Teint Idole Ultra not lasting a full day is a ridiculous beauty complaint.  Yeah, it may be false advertising but would you really believe any foundation would stay on your skin for 24 hours without budging, especially if you slept in it? 

The random:

– Almost died laughing at this Beyonce/art history mashup Tumblr (via Cave to Canvas).

– Check out this archive of women in punk.  Very inspiring!

– Speaking of which, online retailer Moda Operandi has introduced a punk-inspired capsule collection celebrating the Met's "Chaos to Couture" exhibition (which I'm going to see in the next 2 weeks!) 

– I liked this brief article on Bart Simpson getting in touch with his feminine side.

– As much as I love lattes, I don't think I could drink these – the intricate foam decorations are too cool to mess up!

– In other culinary news, the L.A. Times has an article on the history of sriacha sauce. 

What's been catching your eye this week?