Exhibitions and museums Archives - Page 2 of 9 - Makeup Museum: Where Cosmetics & Art Intersect

I'm so very excited to announce the Makeup Museum's special exhibition in honor of Stila's 25th anniversary! I was too overwhelmed to do a full history of the brand, so I decided to just focus on the famous Stila girl illustrations. If you've been following me for a while you know that the Stila girls were sort of the gateway drug for my interest in collecting makeup and seeing cosmetics packaging as art. For such a milestone anniversary I knew I wanted to pay tribute to them, even though the year is almost over (thankfully – it's been miserable for a number of reasons), especially given that I've been itching to put together a special exhibition for them since at least 2016. I also wanted to try something totally new for the Museum in terms of exhibitions. Technically all of them are online, but instead of putting things on shelves and taking photos, I wanted it to have a more "real" online exhibition feel. I've been doing a lot of thinking the past year or so about how to improve the exhibitions even though I'm so limited in what I can do, and I was really inspired by the Kanebo Compact Museum website, and once the husband showed me Squarespace I was sold. Well that, and the fact that he kindly offered to design the entire exhibition site for me. ;) So I set up a domain there which, if this exhibition is well-received, will serve as the space for the Museum's special exhibitions going forward. The seasonal ones will remain here if I decide to keep going with them. Looking ahead, I think I'd rather focus on more specific topics than general seasonal trends. Not that I can delve too deeply into particular themes given the never-ending lack of resources, but I still want to at least try to do slightly more in-depth exhibitions even though they won't be exactly how I want them. I'm looking at them as a starting point for bigger things.

Enough of my blabbing about the basic stuff, I want to give some more details about the exhibition itself. It came together nicely, or at least, it was the one I worked most on with the possible exception of Sweet Tooth (still want to revisit that one!) I really wanted to get interviews with the key people behind the illustrations, so I put my crippling fear of rejection aside and boldly contacted Jeffrey Fulvimari (Stila's original illustrator), Caitlin Dinkins (illustrator during Stila's early aughts heyday) and Naoko Matsunaga (who took over for Dinkins in 2009). While I was disappointed at not hearing back from two of the three, if only one responded, I was glad it was Jeffrey since I've been following him for a while on Instagram and I love his approach to art and his personality. He is quite the character! It ended up giving me so much confidence I reached out to the grand poobah herself and my curatorship namesake, Jeanine Lobell. Yes, I actually DM'ed the founder of Stila on Instagram and asked if she'd be up for an interview. And…and…are you sitting down?? You really need to. Okay, now that you're sitting and won't have far to fall in case you faint, I can tell you that she agreed to do it!!

Not only that, she actually answered all of my interview questions!! You have no idea how ecstatic I was to finally be heard by a major industry figure. Took over a decade but I finally made contact with a big name! So that was most exciting, easily one of the most exciting things to happen in the Museum's 11-year history. And her answers were really good too, I've incorporated them throughout the exhibition so make sure to read through.

As for the items, I didn't take photos of everything in my collection because again, too overwhelming. The Museum has over 130 Stila items, nearly all of which feature the girls. I mean…

The photos I did take have purposely plain backgrounds because I wanted the emphasis to be on the illustrations. I tried to have a good mix of memorabilia and the makeup itself. I even had to iron a few items.

I also included a couple photos of things that I don't actually own but are important in getting a full picture (haha) of the illustrations. I'm pleased with how the sections are arranged, and I must thank my husband for organizing them so perfectly in addition to designing the whole site. I'm thinking of adding a section called Soundbites, a repository of quotes from the both the beauty community and general public telling me why they like the Stila girls or really anything related to the brand, so be sure to email me or comment here. I really wish I could have an app that would "Stila girl-ize" the user, i.e. you upload a picture of yourself and it would automatically generate a Stila girl style illustration of you, just like this. And of course, if the Museum occupied a physical space I'd definitely hire an artist to do live drawings at the exhibition opening – how fun would that be?

So that about wraps it up! Please take a look and tell me what you think of the new exhibition format!

I'm not sure where I was from May through September of 2011, but I totally missed the news about an exhibition on the history of makeup at the Couven Museum in Germany. Sponsored by Babor, the exhibition displayed cosmetic items from antiquity through today, with an emphasis on the late 20th century. From the website: "This exhibition takes a tour through the history of seductive cosmetics from antiquity to the present day. In cooperation with Babor Cosmetics, an internationally operating Aachen family business, a selection of objects and paintings relating to the culture of cosmetics will be on show. Visitors will also get an insight in the fast-moving yet highly characteristic trends of fashionable beauty and cosmetics from the 1950s to the present day."

(image from couven-museum.de)

I tried to translate as much as I could from the brochure. It seems like it was a bit light on the historical aspects and a little heavy on the business/advertising side – there seemed to be a LOT of guest speakers from Babor for the various panels and Babor representatives hosting tours and workshops for an additional fee – but the topics were pretty interesting: body care in ancient Greece, Cleopatra's bathing routine, and an exploration of beauty ideals through the centuries.

I'm not sure whether I would have made the effort to travel internationally to see it, since it does sound more commercial than educational and it seemed to be relatively small-scale (I have the sense it only took up one or two rooms), but it's at least nice to know there was another cosmetics-related museum exhibition.

I'm working away on various exhibitions of my own so I hope to have more in-depth content soon. In the meantime, have you ever been to Germany? I need to go, if only just to experience the Lipstick Museum in Berlin…but that's a post for another time. 😉

As you might have guessed from the lack of activity around these parts, I am sad to report that things have remained quite difficult on the personal front. I don't want to go into details, but let me just say that finding quality, affordable ongoing care for stroke patients is a never-ending quest that eats up every second of spare time and mental energy, not to mention the time spent traveling to another state to visit at least once a week. And being forced to sell your parents' home where they've lived for over 40 years is far more gut-wrenching than I ever expected, despite bracing myself for it for years. :( In spite of all this I was determined to put up a summer exhibition, especially given that I haven't done an exhibition in an entire year! It's more or less a mishmash of themes from previous years: the Greek/Mediterranean feel and bathing beauty are from the 2016 exhibition, fruit and critters are from summer 2017, tropical jungle palms/flowers and birds from 2015 and 2018, respectively, and shells are a nod to the one of the themes from 2013. This doesn't mean I don't have ideas, it's just that I couldn't do the more in-depth theme I wanted this year. As you'll see, I also made up for the total absence of mermaids in last year's summer exhibition.

Starting at the top row, left to right:

Some vintage shell-themed pretties, along with a fairly bizarre Cutex ad. Oddly enough, this is only one of 5 cosmetics ads from the '50s/60s that feature women's heads underwater. I'm sure there's a lot more to be said about that…

Loved this Bésame Peter Pan Mermaid Lagoon collection! Kind of an odd choice for a holiday release, but when we're talking about vintage-inspired mermaids the seasonal appropriateness doesn't matter. I just wish I could have fit more of the collection on the shelf – the fragrance and lipstick are adorable.

Another brand that turned the tables on traditional holiday motifs in 2018 was Tarte. While the pineapple palette is cute, it quickly became a source of rage for me – you'll see why later.

I cannot believe I haven't featured this 1956 Lancôme ad until now. Equally unbelievable was the fact that sometime last fall I scored this delightful compact featuring a happy bunch of mer-people.

Second row, left to right:

Millions of peaches, peaches for me…how pretty is this Sulwhasoo Peach Blossom Utopia collection?! I wanted to write about it last spring when it was released, but couldn't find a ton of info on the artist so I scrapped it.

This is kind of a sad shelf for me. It looks okay but it was not what I had planned.

During the exhibition's installation, as I was hammering in the Cutex ad over the top left shelf, the Tarte pineapple palette fell and hit almost every object below on its way down. If you've ever seen "The Price is Right", it was sort of like a destructive version of Plinko. I was on the top step of a ladder so I couldn't move quickly enough to catch the palette before it destroyed some items in its path. The end result was the complete breakage of a piece from one of my most beloved collections: the body oil from last summer's Rodin Olio Lusso x Donald Robertson mermaid collection. The powders in the Tarte palette also shattered; fortunately I had intended on always displaying the palette closed, and the rug did not sustain much damage. Plus the oil is still available so I will order another. In the meantime I could at least display the box for it. I'm also grateful the mermaid highlighting powder didn't fall and break as that item is long gone.

I picked up these beauties from Richard Hudnut last year. The discoloration you see towards the bottom of the Sweet Orchid box (right below the Hudnut name) is from the aforementioned oil spill – that area was in pristine condition prior to the disaster.

This was a sneaky but lovely release from Laura Mercier. I haven't purchased anything Museum-worthy from the brand since possibly 2009. As soon as I saw the heavenly blue and gold swirls I was sold. Then I found out an artist was behind the beautiful marbling effect, which made it even better. If I have time I'd like to get a post up about her work because it's really gorgeous. MAC's version is more generic/less artistic, but still pretty.

Third row, left to right:

If you follow me on Instagram you might remember how much I adored this little gal. Now her princess counterpart swam in to keep her company!

Unfortunately she also sustained some injury due to the Tarte palette fall, but at least it's only the side of the holder.

I remember being both excited and dismayed at the release of Too-Faced Tutti Frutti collection last August. While I loved the plethora of pineapples – my favorite fruit and one of my favorite motifs – I was disappointed it was released a year after the Museum's summer 2017 exhibition as it would have been perfect for the fruity theme.

I really didn't think Anna Sui could top the jellyfish-laden aquarium collection from 2017, but here we are. Just precious.

I love the makeup, but the mini fragrance was also insanely cute.

Here are the images I included in the background so you can see the mermaid print better.

(images from modaoperandi.com)

The Volupté seahorse compact was featured in the summer 2014 exhibition. This year, I was able to add Elgin's beautiful ruby and turquoise rhinestone encrusted version, along with an original ad. Someday I hope incorporate a sparkly vintage Ciner compact and Estée Lauder's more recent one.

Bottom row, left to right:

Guerlain truly spoiled us this year with their Terracotta bronzers.

Here are some better versions of the vase and wreath photos. It's a shame the Met didn't have a shot of the top of this vase, which has the most similar pattern to the Guerlain Hestia Island bronzer.

(images from metmuseum.org and getty.edu)

Uh oh, a vintage mermaid lipstick army has invaded the Museum! But I think the bathing beauty by Boots 17 should be able to keep them from misbehaving. (Unless they're vicious killer mermaids who feast on human flesh).

I simply couldn't pass up the pattern and texture of YSL's summer palettes. Clarins, true to form, served up another gorgeous bronzer as well.

Lastly we have LM Ladurée's summer collection, which was stunning inside and out and smells heavenly too.

So that about wraps it up for summer 2019! Thank you for bearing with a regurgitation of previous summer themes. Despite the lack of originality I still think it was visually appealing. What piece was your favorite? Are you looking forward to next year's exhibition, which already has a theme and title? I'm debating whether to put in a few more pieces I couldn't fit this time around even though they're not quite in line with the concept I've chosen…but I guess I have a whole year to think about it. ;)

This will be a short post as I don't have much information on these, but I still feel the need to highlight other cosmetics museums around the globe and online. A couple years back Project Vanity led us on a virtual tour of the Kao Museum in Tokyo and I've been wanting to write about it ever since. Kao, a global company based in Japan, has roots stretching back to 1887 and now distributes many lines including Bioré, Molton Brown, Jergens, and Kanebo. Like other historic Japanese beauty companies such as Shiseido and Pola, Kao has its own museum, which is divided into three sections. The first examines the "culture of cleanliness" from ancient through modern times, i.e. traditional practices related to personal hygiene including bathing, laundry and yes, makeup.

The second section pays homage to Kao's history and includes products and advertisements dating from the launch of the company's soap (their first product) in 1890 till today.

The third section is a "communication plaza" which honestly just sounds like a glorified store. "Peruse exhibits of the latest products that represent Kao product lines, use devices that assess the state of your skin and hair, and experience first-hand the workings of key features of Kao products." Eh.

Most of the Kao Museum would grab my attention, but what I'd give my eye teeth to see is their display of all the Kanebo Milano compacts! If I ever visit Japan you know I'll have to take a tour.

(images from kao.com)

Also, while I was trying to find more information and photos for the Kao Museum, I stumbled onto Kanebo's online museum of vintage compacts. I have many questions about this which I will get to later, but according to the website, the Kanebo company started a collection of vintage compacts in 1990 and now has 1,074 items in its collection. I was really wowed at the variety and quality of the objects, which date from the 1850s-1950s and span 22 countries of origin. Everything is arranged chronologically so I thought I'd share some of my favorite pieces from each era. First up is this beautiful late 19th century wristlet from Russia, which was most likely owned by a member of the Tzar's family.

These two items are extremely unique: a bracelet and matching necklace from Nepal. These are from about 1900 and belonged to Nepalese royalty. Apparently these pieces served as the catalyst for starting the Kanebo collection. I believe only the bracelet stores powder.

I adore this exquisite blue enamel butterfly compact from Austria.

A three-tiered compact like this is something I've only seen in collector's guides.

This red, blue and black compact is a stunning example of Art Deco design.

This is another great example of a famous design. Fan-shaped compacts had a moment in the 1940s thanks to Wadsworth, and this one is by the Pink Lady company (which, as you may remember, I wasn't able to turn up much information on.)

You know I have a weakness for novelty compacts, and this blue starry Kigu is one of my favorites.

Naturally I have many questions for Kanebo regarding this collection. First, where are these compacts physically located and stored? As far as I know they're not displayed anywhere except online. A museum space for their parent company already exists, so it would make sense to perhaps house them somewhere in the Kao Museum. Second, who at Kanebo decided to start a vintage compact collection and why? The website vaguely states that the compacts' "historical background and the culture of women’s makeup are being researched together with the era, materials, and country of manufacture…While valuing the history and culture of 'beauty,' Kanebo Cosmetics Inc. will continue to research beauty and offer further proposals for the future. Through this collection, we hope you feel a sense of 'women and beauty' and 'the pleasure of applying makeup." So no real answers there. Finally, who is doing the research on these items and where are they getting their information? I'm assuming it's a Kanebo staff member or group, but I also wonder if they've used an outside consultant or researcher. And while most of the information seems correct, some of it doesn't seem to have any evidence to back it up. For example, they claim this Scottie dog compact depicts FDR's beloved terrier Fala. I mean it's plausible since Fala popularized the Scottie motif, but is it actually the famous dog? Plus Fala's birth year was 1940 so that means the Scottie craze didn't fully hit until that decade, and this compact is listed as being from the early '30s. If the compact does indeed use Fala as a model, Kanebo has its date wrong.

(images from kanebo-compact.com)

Also, the "flying saucer" Kigu compact above is incorrectly listed as coming from the USA – Kigu is a British brand. So I'm not sure how reliable all of the information is. In any case, it was great to see another fabulous online collection of vintage pieces, and I admire the more "museum" feel of it versus, say, the blog format of the Makeup Museum.

Would you visit the Kao Museum? And what do you think about the Makeup Museum blog adopting a more formal virtual museum design?

As a quick followup to the summer 2018 exhibition, I wanted to share the images that inspired it. Obviously this will be a very photo-heavy post without much substance, but what better time to take off our thinking caps and indulge in some tropical eye candy than summer?

In looking back at the planning process, I have determined that Smashbox's Pinks and Palms palette was the item that planted the seeds for the exhibition. It was released all the way back in early April, but after I laid eyes on it I couldn't get the vibrant pink and green color scheme out of my head.

From there I started seeing palm trees and flamingos as well as pink and green basically everywhere. In addition to this gorgeous jewelry branding and an amazing photo for a beautiful spread in Harpers Bazaar Thailand, here are a few "moodboards" of sorts composed of images that popped up on my Instagram feed over the past few months. (Sorry, Pinterest, but with Instagram's "save to collections" feature, I'm afraid I don't need you much anymore.) In addition to palm trees, monstera leaves are so ubiquitous there was even a whole article about why the motif is everywhere right now.

Top row: crikirsten, franzi.fri, marinedequenetain
2nd row: caroline_south, labelsforlunch, violettinder
3rd row: artdeco, benefit, clarinsusa
Bottom row: beautyhabit, nailsinc, makeupforeverofficial

Top row: marcbeauty, marinedequenetain, smashboxcosmetics
2nd row: theebouffants (Kendra Dandy), ringconcierge, rodartekaren (co-founder of PaiPai)
3rd row: atomicbooks, lipstickqueen, nailsinc
Bottom row: kikomilano, willnichols, paulandjoe_beaute

Top row: audreyestok, diormakeup, thebalm
2nd row: winky_lux, capitalofficial, clarinsusa

Other exotic birds besides flamingos are trending too – parrots, toucans, cockatoos all seem to be popular. Perhaps it's partially the influence of the New York Historical Society's "Feathers: Fashion and the Fight for Wildlife" exhibition. In any case, as I was browsing my usual shopping sites, I came across tons of palm trees and birds.

Gap pajamas (I totally bought these and I love them!)
Flamingo Tangle Teezer
Palm tree and flamingo garland (see also these napkins)
Nails Inc. Flock You nail polish duo (bought these too, they're so pretty!)
Anthropologie parrot dress
Kate Spade flamingo tote
Anthropologie toucan clutch
J. Crew flamingo tee
Palm tree and flamingo mug
Old Navy pajamas (if the Gap ones weren't doing it for you…they also have palm tree and flamingo prints by themselves)

In terms of what items to include in the exhibition, I was somewhat overwhelmed with the number of pieces – both new and ones the Museum already has – that fit the exhibition theme. However, I didn't want to repeat too many items from previous summer exhibitions, so off I went in search of new and exciting things. Below are some items I was mulling over but that didn't make the cut for various reasons (i.e., not available, too expensive, or I just didn't think the design was that special). I was so sad the Guerlain Sous Les Palmiers bronzer wasn't released in the U.S. in time for the exhibition launch, as I had been planning for that to be one of the stand-out items. Oh well. Perhaps I can tuck it away for next year's summer exhibition. ;)

I had also considered printing out the ad for MAC's Flamingo Park collection and putting them with Felicia the Flamingo, but given how I felt about the latter I decided not to include it. As for MAC, I much prefer original ads to reproductions.

So those were all the things rattling about in my head that inspired the summer exhibition. Do you like exotic birds and tropical plants as design motifs? I like them, but not as much as my beloved mermaids – I still can't believe I managed to do a whole summer exhibition without one!

I understand that the summer 2018 exhibition themes are, once again, not original or thought-provoking, but they definitely got me dreaming of lazing in a hammock under some palm trees on a tropical island filled with exotic colorful birds. Flamingos and palm trees as well as a pink and green color scheme appear to be everywhere this year, even more so than in past seasons, and I wanted to celebrate these trends with some of the most summery makeup we've ever seen. Consider 2018 an updated version of the Museum's 2015 jungle/safari themed exhibition, that, astonishingly enough, does not contain a single mermaid! I'll be sharing all the images that inspired me in a follow-up post, but for now let's feast our eyes on some pretties.

Top row, left to right.

I'm very intrigued by this vintage Bulgarian face powder box and sample packet. And while I'm not a fan of the Kardashian/Jenner clan, I think the April Vogue cover made a perfect modern example of advertising's love affair with pretty birds. (See also these images of Jennifer Lawrence and Liz Taylor, as well as this 1957 Harper's cover.)

I believe this is the first time I've worked in a print by an illustrator in an exhibition. This print by Kendra Dandy pairs well with some of the pieces from the Charlotte Tilbury/Norman Parkinson collection. I've been a fan of Kendra's since I discovered her via an Anthropologie collection a few years ago, and I'm still kicking myself about not getting anything from it (especially the flamingo-printed lip balm, which would have been perfect for this exhibition.) Fortunately she consistently puts out amazing illustrations so I'm at least able to buy those.

Vintage Rex palm tree compact (ca. 1950s) and Woodbury Tropic Tan ad:

These flamingo-themed Violet Voss and Nomad palettes were a total surprise, which is one of the reasons I had to delay the exhibition launch. It was worth it though. :) I know they look very cramped but I really wanted them on the same shelf since they're both new and by indie brands.

Second row, left to right.

Sephora lipstick case and Paul & Joe Face and Eye Colors:

I adore the packaging for this new Japanese line (look at the little flamingo tracks!), but the story behind its creation is interesting too.

I love the palm tree pattern of the By Terry palette, it's so elegant. The ArtDeco items are actually from last fall, but they read more summer to me. I ordered the Beauty Box Trio and the Blush Couture so the embossing on the blush and design on the outer cases are visible at the same time, but unfortunately they screwed up my order so I'm still waiting for the Beauty Box Trio.

I'm so pleased that Collecting Vintage Compacts and "Cap'n Rexall" (the author of this blog) had the full story on Jonteel. And when I say full story, I mean they were somehow able to track down every bit of information on this vintage line. As always, I weep at the fact that I will never come close to this level of research.

Third row, left to right.

Another print by Kendra Dandy, I just couldn't resist! Looks right at home next to these Pai Pai and Etude House lipstick cases.

LM Ladurée blush container:

Here's the palm-tastic Urban Decay Beached collection…well, not the whole lineup since there is a bronzer with palm trees on it as well, but I didn't want to invest any more in this collection.

How cute is this Dorothy Gray ad?! The Stratton compact is lovely but I also really appreciate the kitschy vibe of the hand-painted souvenir compact. If I were a tourist in the golden age of compacts I definitely would have gotten one from every destination I visited.

Bottom row, left to right.

Wet 'n' Wild Flights of Fancy items and Morphe Babe in Paradise palette:

Another vintage powder box which admittedly I bought before trying to come up with information on it. Alas, I wasn't able to find much save for a couple of newspaper ads. But the design is just too exquisite to pass up.

Clarins 2017 and 2018 bronzers:

Why Paul & Joe is recycling a print from their 2016 spring collection I don't know, but it was a good fit for this year's summer exhibition.

And that concludes the summer 2018 exhibition! Any favorite items?

Save

This will not be a full review of MoMA's Items: Is Fashion Modern? since, as we know, my reviews are less than stellar. But since the exhibition showcases several makeup items, I thought I'd share my perspective on their inclusion. As the "curator" of an online cosmetics museum I imagine I looked at these objects differently than someone who has an extensive background in fashion or design would. There have been tons of reviews for the show – some good, some not as positive – and honestly, I've done my best to tune out most of them since I wanted to form my own opinions. I thought this art magazine had the best summary of the show's theme. "On 1 October, The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York will host its first exhibition dedicated to fashion since 1944. Items: Is Fashion Modern? will consist of 111 garments and accessories that have had a profound effect on the world over the last century. Filling the entire sixth floor of the museum, the exhibition explores fashion thematically through items which are all powerful and enduring manifestations of the ways in which fashion – a crucial field of design – touches everyone, everywhere. Items is organised by Paola Antonelli, senior curator alongside curatorial assistant Michelle Fisher. The exhibition is something Paola Antonelli has wanted to do for over six years. Historically, fashion has not been part of the Museum’s remit, in great part because of previous curators in the architecture and design department explains Antonelli '[they] perceived the seasonality of fashion as antithetical to a history of modern design that, traditionally, is based on a set of principles that also include timelessness.' The impetus for the exhibition essentially comes from Antonelli’s belief that, in reality, it is quite the opposite: 'there is not a complete history of design without fashion, a very important subset of the design field as a whole. This exhibition is long overdue!'"

I was pretty excited to see the show based on this description, but my interest goes back way further: in December 2016 the curatorial assistant mentioned above emailed me asking for resources on the history of red lipstick. My eyes almost popped out of my head when I got the email as I was so flattered, but of course I was my usual useless self – I gave her everything I knew, but there was nothing I could provide that she couldn't have found on her own. Nevertheless she was very nice and followed up with some questions about the particular lipstick that would be on display and also sent me an invitation to the exhibition preview (which I couldn't attend due to stupid work).

Now that we understand the exhibition's general premise and an explanation of my own selfish interest, I can discuss the two makeup objects that were included*: YSL's Touche Éclat highlighting/concealing pen, and an original tube of Revlon's Fire and Ice lipstick with the 582 Futurama case. I didn't know that the Touche Éclat would be on display, so I was happy to see another beauty item had made the cut. Finally I got to see makeup in a real museum, and one that's accessible to me geographically!

But when I got to the actual display for the Touche Éclat, which was in the first room upon entering the exhibition, my heart dropped. Well, first I noticed the other items – the Touche Éclat was placed so far away from them I didn't even see it. Then when I did notice a small thin strip of gold on the wall I thought it was a handle of some kind…then realized it was the precious Touche Éclat.

It was possibly the saddest installation of a makeup item I've ever seen, and this is coming from someone who displays makeup on crooked shelves with leftover tape still clinging to them in her bedroom. It had barely any light on it and the label was on the floor. No accompanying ad, no covering to protect it, nothing.

Touche Éclat deserved much better, yes? And while initially I was pleased to see another makeup item as part of the illustrious 111, the display left me scratching my head as to why it was included. Red lipstick I get – arguably that could be considered a pretty big part of modern fashion – but Touche Éclat, as famous as it is, just seemed like an odd choice. Fashionista explains that it was part of the exhibition's "Body and Silhouette" section, which focused on "size and image". The Touche Éclat was displayed next to a Wonderbra, Spanx and nylon stockings so I guess it was fitting the concept of underthings or "next to nothing" attire as well as the idea of using artificial, easily concealed aids to appear "naturally" beautiful, but I still saw no reason to include it, especially given its shabby treatment.

I walked around the rest of the exhibition, brushing off the disappointing installation and focusing on enjoying the garments. It did serve the purpose of bringing together various modern fashion archetypes, most of which were immediately recognizable as ones you have in your own closet. The New York Times and the Cut explain the appeal better than I can: "With a Chanel gown here; two saris there; espadrilles and two beautiful Chinese cheongsam dresses elsewhere, Items mediates between high and low, East and West, couture and common. But it stays fairly low, creating an air of familiarity that is then enriched by the labels and catalog, which pinpoint origins, regional variations and technological advances…As a whole, the exhibit reads as a listicle for a senseless world; a catalogue of the things we carry. It helps us understand why we are the way we are and buy the things we buy; and then what those choices can mean."

Finally, I got to the Revlon Fire and Ice display. How MoMA found this lipstick I don't know, as I've been searching for a vintage tube of Fire and Ice for years. I'm assuming the magazine was borrowed from an archive. (Funny side note: The staff wanted to confirm the shade was an authentic vintage Fire and Ice and not a contemporary refill, but to see the label on the bottom of the tube they'd have to "click out" the lipstick from the Futurama case, a mechanism with which they were unfamiliar. They expressed their concern to me that it might break, but I assured them they'd be fine taking the lipstick out and encouraged them to watch the vintage commercials demonstrating how the case works. I also mentioned that to my knowledge, Revlon hasn't manufactured refills for the Futurama cases for decades, so whatever they had was most certainly from the 1950s-60s.)

Items: Is Fashion Modern - Revlon Fire and Ice

Unfortunately this installation, for me, was only marginally better than the Touche Éclat. The vitrine was far too big for the lipstick and ad, making them look rather lonesome. Fire and Ice is probably the most iconic red lipstick and the most representative of everything associated with red lips in modern times, so they chose wisely; however, showing a couple other versions, such as MAC Ruby Woo or Chanel Pirate may not have hurt. After all, there was a whole case of platform shoes instead of just one pair. Even the Swatch got 3 different versions on display.

Placement was an issue once again, as the case was shoved unceremoniously in the corner by an emergency exit. I understand not everything can be front and center – that's just the nature of gallery space and lord knows I have my frustrations setting things up at home – but I think there were any number of items that could have gone there instead. Or perhaps leave that space empty, as they had the entire 6th floor of the museum to spread out everything.

The unfortunate display of both of these items made me question why they were included in the first place, as their placement made them seem more of an afterthought. I'm wondering if it made more sense to stick to actual clothing and shoes rather than try to include beauty items. I'm assuming this is just my makeup-obsessed brain talking here, but as someone who firmly believes makeup is a rich enough field to have its own museum and exhibitions separate from fashion items, I think it might have been better to leave it out in this case. I mean, I can absolutely see a fashion or design museum housing a gallery/exhibition devoted to cosmetics - if there can't be a fully separate cosmetics museum I think it makes sense for makeup to fall under those umbrellas since there are such close connections between makeup and fashion and makeup and design – but for this particular exhibition, I feel as though beauty items should have been excluded since they encompass so much history and cultural significance on their own. If you're not going to do a full exploration of red lipstick or, heck, even a group of iconic makeup items like Fire and Ice and Touche Éclat, don't bother having them tag along in a fashion/design exhibition. One could argue that I shouldn't think this way, since every other item there is so important that it could easily have had its own exhibition (indeed, some pieces already have), not just the makeup. Plus the whole point of the show was to bring together the most influential fashion items in modern history rather than focus exclusively on any one item. And I'm not a fashion or design curator so clearly they had their reasons for including beauty items, and obviously, they are professionals and know exactly what they're doing. But even though I don't have their credentials, I still feel entitled to my very humble opinion that sticking to clothing, bags and shoes might have made a more powerful statement about modern fashion. I'm also wondering how perfume aficionados feel about the inclusion of Chanel No. 5. I believe that fragrance, like makeup, is owed separate attention (and this museum and exhibition demonstrate that at least some people agree with me).

Did any of this stop me from buying the exhibition catalogue? Of course not, as catalogues are my favorite museum souvenirs. Plus I figured any sliver of cosmetics history would be helpful in terms of building the Museum's library, and the catalogue does feature several nicely researched pages on red lipstick and Touche Éclat. Even after I read the section on the latter object, I still couldn't figure out why it was included, but…it's something.

MoMA - Items: Is Fashion Modern catalogue

Overall, Items was a thoughtful and inspired show, and I enjoyed the democratic nature of it, i.e. how most of the pieces were everyday ones owned by average folks. The fact that it wasn't focused on couture or historic items made it approachable and relatable. Mind you, I love seeing rare historical clothing and high fashion garments, but this was a nice change of pace that looked at fashion in a more universal way and made viewers ponder the items they wear (a white t-shirt) or covet (in the case of the Birkin bag) on a deeper level. I also was impressed by how cohesively the curators were able to select and organize over 100 greatly significant fashion items from across all cultures and classes without getting them jumbled in a haphazard mess. Having said that, I maintain that beauty products should have been left out. What's funny about this is that MoMA offers the opportunity for us non-curators to pretend we're in charge and weigh in on what should have been included that wasn't. Looks like I went in the opposite direction and thought about what should have been excluded. Oh, and in terms of "networking", I've long lost hope that anyone at MoMA will contact me again or inquire about my possible involvement in a makeup exhibition should they ever do one, given that I kinda blew it in terms of providing useful information about red lipstick's history, but I guess it's good they at least contacted me in the first place. I suppose I could always reach out with a really good pitch for an exhibition if I could get it together somehow, as I still have all their contact info! *evil laugh*

Thoughts? Did you see the show? It's only open till January 28th so if you're thinking about it, hop to it!

*There was also a case featuring different nail art designs. I didn't even know where to start with that so I left it out of this post entirely.

Save

There were so many great artist collaborations this holiday season – some of which I'm still hoping to write about before January 1st – but ultimately, magpie that I am, the sparkly stuff won out as this year's holiday/winter exhibition theme. I'm lured by glittery, blingy makeup packaging year-round but the holidays seem to intensify my weakness for shiny things. And 2017's offerings did not disappoint! There were so many to choose from, but ultimately I went with the ones I thought were prettiest (and easiest to obtain, truthfully – there were many international releases that were too difficult/expensive to get a hold of). There was also an emphasis on light. Whether from twinkly holiday strands, reflections off of fresh snow, or fireworks and bright stars illuminating a night sky, makeup companies seemed to gravitate towards the play of light in many different forms as the concept for their holiday items. Even the names (Striking Night Lights, Symphony of Light, Dazzling Lights) demonstrate the fascination with light this season.

A note about the labels: I couldn't print them on glittery rose gold paper as I would have liked, so I felt they needed a little extra something. Fortunately I was feeling crafty and added a little sparkle to them with nail polish. 🙂

I hope the exhibition leaves you feeling festive for the holidays and brightens the dark dreary days of winter for you. Let's get to it!

Top row, left to right.

For such a popular design, there was a lot of conflicting information on these Evans "sunburst" compacts. The ad I included for the exhibition is from 1949, but according to one of my collector's guides the sunburst design had been introduced in 1948.

Meanwhile, in the Evans collector guide I purchased in hopes of finding more information, there are ads that refer to the design both as sunburst and as the "Adonna". Unfortunately there were no dates listed for either ad so once again, I'm not sure of the date range for this design.

I would have included this ad in the exhibition but it was literally so small there was no point – this is not an entire page of the book, just a tiny ad on one page full of other ads. I figured it wouldn't scan well either.

While I don't have concrete information on this particular design, there's always the trusty Collecting Vintage Compacts for a complete history of the Evans company if you're interested. 🙂

Givenchy's holiday collection was so sparkly!

Chanel Signe du Lion highlighters:

Maquillage Snow Beauty compact is once again stunning. I just wish I had the 2014 version.

Second row, left to right.

MAC's Snowball collection was seriously gorgeous inside and out.

Shiseido Symphony of Light:

These kind of presents are my favorite. 😉

I originally thought these Germaine Monteil pieces were from the '50s, but they're actually later – from the '70s according to several newspaper ads I found. I didn't include them in the exhibition since I thought the magazine ad was visually more impactful, but here are the clippings if you're so inclined.

Third row, left to right.

Love the glitter gradient effect on Lancôme's holiday collection. The cushion compact, of course, was not available in the U.S. so I had to get it from Ebay. I don't know why they do that but it drives me nuts. Americans like cushions! I don't know why Lancôme thinks there's not a market in the States, especially since they sell other cushion products here.

How adorable are these vintage Revlon mini lipstick sets?! One of the trios is missing a lipstick, but 2 out of 3 ain't bad. And while I couldn't locate a magazine ad, I was happy to find newspaper clippings so I could at least get dates for them (1954 and 1953).

Someone went a little crazy for all the shiny cushion cases that Korean beauty brands offered this season. I know they don't look great crammed on the shelf, but I was overwhelmed with the sparkly goodness and felt the need to include them all.

The lovely Bellyhead at Wondegondigo called my attention to this subtly shimmering Suqqu case. And I was so pleased to add another sequined beauty to the Museum's collection, courtesy of Chantecaille.

Bottom row, left to right.

Happy 10 years to the Armani Black Gem palette!

Dior Precious Rocks are precious indeed. Dior was late in releasing the beautiful lipstick case so it arrived a day after I photographed the exhibition…I'll be adding it to the shelf shortly.

And that concludes the holiday/winter exhibition! Which items were your favorites?

Save

Hopefully you're not forest-ed out since I have many more woodsy things I'd like to share as a follow up to the fall exhibition. This was a very rich theme and I had so much fun exploring it. Here are a few more things that were running through my head while planning the exhibition.

I. Inspiration

Between Jennifer Lawrence's amazing flower-filled updo at the Mother! premiere to my long-standing infatuation with The Blair Witch Project (I watch it every fall and it still scares the hell out of me!), there was plenty of pop culture inspiration. But since I follow so many blogs, I also came across photos, paintings and other art that helped shape my vision for the exhibition. In addition to the fabulous illustrations by Alexandra Dvornikova and the beautiful forest paintings of Tyrus Wong, here are a few more I had rattling around in my brain.

I so wish I had any photography skills, because these images by Dave Pluimer and Kilian Schönberger blew me away. I found both of these photographers via Abduzeedo, an excellent design and art blog.

I loved this little leaf lady created by Nele Maas for the #FacetheFoliage project.

These posters by Andy Kehoe could not be more aptly titled: "Forest Sentinel". I love the idea of the animals literally overseeing the forest and guarding it…and possibly protecting any humans that wander in.

Finally, I can't believe these oil paintings by Janek Sedlar – I thought they were photos! Hauntingly pretty.

II. Other Items

There were tons of vintage and contemporary items I debated putting into the exhibition, but decided not to include due to their lack of seasonal appropriateness, or they weren't actually available for sale. Still, I wanted to show some of the other things I was mulling over.

Leaves

You might remember the Museums' fall 2015 smackdown featuring some very pretty leafy makeup items. Even though they're not that old, I had too hard of a time tracking down Catrice's Fallosophy collection and Laura Geller's Italian Garden set – some of the Catrice items were for sale on Ebay but the exact shades I wanted, plus it would have taken weeks to get here, and I searched for the Laura Geller set but had no luck finding it until well after I had finalized all the exhibition items. There was also Essence's 2014 Hello Autumn collection, but I couldn't find any pieces from that either. Fortunately there were plenty of vintage leaf-adorned items that I came across. These are the ones that I was going to buy but they either were too pricey, not in the best shape or not available for sale so I ended up skipping them.

(images from ebay)

This one had such a unique design – too bad it sold long before I could pounce.

(image from ebay)

This one from Volupté was a contender, but I decided it was looking too Canadian flag to me. Not that there's anything wrong with their flag, but I wanted cascading leaves rather than a single one.

(image from ebay)

Very nearly bought this since the ad is also available. However, once I looked closer at the ad I realized it was a holiday one, so I figured it would be too Christmas-y for a fall exhibition.

The ad shows many other pretty compacts in addition to the leaf one. The "Whimsey" one would have been so cute for the fall exhibition – love that the little lady has a bird's nest for hair! And obviously I'd give my eye teeth for the pineapple-adorned "Tropicana" compact.

(image from ebay)

Deer

The other super popular woodland/forest motif for vintage items was deer. So many fawns and bucks and does! But I ended up skipping most of them as they were more gazelle-like, such as this compact by Evans.

(image from ebay)

And these looked like reindeer, which, again, I felt was too holiday-ish.

(images from ebay)

Elgin offered a slew of deer compacts in addition to the ones featured in the exhibition. But I was partial to the "Woodland Fawn" design since the others were really gazelles and simply not forest-y enough for what I had envisioned. Still, they're pretty cute and also plentiful.

(image from rubylane.com)

This design also came in white or red enamel. It's very striking but looked more like the jungle than forest.

(image from ebay)

This Elgin design was by far the most popular of all the deer…or at least, the company advertised it a ton starting around 1947. The last mention I saw was in 1951.

(image from periodpaper.com)

(image from ebay)

What's interesting about all these is that even though they're post-war, they resemble Art Deco designs. I wasn't alone in this observation either. As Laura Mueller, author of The Collector's Encyclopedia of Compacts, Carryalls and Face Powder Boxes notes, "The 'Leaping Gazelles,' competing in the thirties with the Borzoi and Scotty dog animal motifs, for some reason became a very popular motif again after WWII. The Post Deco flavor of these cases is obvious. The sharp angles are softer and the fauna is more realistic. However, art deco in feeling, these later cases must not be confused nor valued with true Art Deco. A leaping gazelle does not always an Art Deco case make" (p. 149).

Anyway, these last two were so cute, but the Kigu one on the left was nowhere to be found for sale, while the Honeywell on the right was available but pretty scratched. I've been wanting a Honeywell in the Museum's collection ever since I saw their adorable mermaid compact, but the scuff marks on this one almost make it look like the poor deer have been shot through the head with arrows. Maybe that's just me though. In any case, it didn't make the exhibition cut.

(images from pinterest and ebay)

Other critters and general forest scenes

Now for some of the harder-t0-find forest residents and other woodland goodness. In terms of contemporary items, the animals in the holiday 2013 Cosme Decorte set would have been a great addition to a woodland-themed exhibition if it wasn't for the red and white color scheme and unmistakable Christmas tree. Another Cosme Decorte item, the Wandering Grace compact by Marcel Wanders, was another possibility I mulled over, but ultimately decided against including it since it just didn't look forest-like enough to me.

This fox compact by Estee Lauder was gorgeous, but also expensive.

Bunnies were a bit easier to find, but so many of them screamed Easter to me, so I really had to dig for ones that were either more fall-like (such as the Folklore design) or basically season-less (the Shiseido figurine). I think this vintage powder box would have been perfect though – definitely more forest rabbit than Easter bunny.

(image from pinterest)

These squirrel compacts definitely would have made it into the exhibition, if they didn't cost a whopping $876 and $1,436, respectively.

(images from ebay)

I also looked for trees and general forest scenes. I didn't turn up much that reminded me of a forest in autumn – most of what I was seeing looked like tropical landscapes – but this vintage compact definitely would have made the cut if it hadn't already sold. It's pretty unique.

(image from vanitytreasures.com)

And that about sums it up! I hope you're not sick of the forest now! Any favorite pieces here?

Save

Welcome to the fall exhibition, finally! I know you're probably more excited about holiday releases at this point, but I still wanted to do a proper fall exhibition, late though it is. I had originally planned a very different exhibition – a retrospective devoted to an extremely talented and successful makeup artist who has become my obsession over the past few years – but ultimately decided that, much like my failed '90s makeup exhibition, I just couldn't do it the way I envisioned. I was also concerned that in the unlikely event of "Mother" herself catching wind of it, she might be a bit peeved that I staged an exhibition dedicated to her work in my bedroom, as I think it would be rather insulting to someone of her renown. I'm not letting go of the concept, of course, but it will have to wait until I can use a proper gallery or museum space for it*. So in lieu of that, I thought this fall I'd do another exhibition I've been wanting to do for a couple years now. Every autumn I seem to be more entranced by the magic and mystery of the forest. Perhaps it's my 11 year long status as a city dweller, or my love of woodland critters, but lately I've been loving the idea of relaxing in front of a roaring fire in a beautiful rustic cabin somewhere in the forest…or since I'm not really the outdoors/camping type, maybe a short evening hike in the woods surrounded by moonlight and the sounds of the animals would be more my speed. In any case, the vibe I was going for was about 20% enchanted, 1% scary (hey, the forest at night can be a little unnerving), but 79% peaceful and calm.

I thought this wonderful illustration by Alexandra Dvornikova perfectly represented the particular forest mood I was trying to capture. It's even better in its original animated version.

I'll be doing a follow-up post on why I chose the objects I did, the ones that didn't make it in and some other things that inspired me. In the meantime, welcome to fall 2017 at the Museum!

(Click to enlarge.)

Top row, left to right.

You would not believe (or be-leaf? haha!) how many vintage compacts I found with leaf patterns.

Okay, okay, I KNOW the Moschino seems out of place as it's technically a teddy bear and not one you'd find in the forest. But a certain little Museum intern begged me to include it, since there are so few bear-shaped makeup items. The Lamis King lipstick case is the only other one I can think of and that one is definitely more of a wild forest mama bear, what with being perched on a tree stump cuddling her cub.

Oils from Shu x OB and Mika Ninagawa collections:

I was positively elated to find not only these two compacts but also the original ad, as it contains the name and date of the design. I have no idea why that little dude is standing next to it though. I mean obviously it's part of an article, but it's just…weird. I'm guessing he was a jockey?

Second row, left to right.

Remember these?

This little sparrow is actually from the fall 2015 collection and not 2014, which means the label is wrong. Whoops.

So pleased to come across this compact and in such good condition. I was determined to find an ad for it and I did! Not a magazine ad but there was a newspaper one, so I "clipped" it online and printed it out.

Isa x Bambi:

I realize the ad is for a completely different product than the compact, but they're both full of appley goodness. 🙂

Third row, left to right.

I feel like indie companies are really leading the way in terms of creating some new and innovative brush designs. These flower-filled ones seemed a little spring to me at first, but then I read they're filled with seasonal dried flowers so I figured they were appropriate for fall. And the deep green of the pouch is very autumnal as well.

These items were also quite a find! I literally typed "fox lip balm" into Google and landed on this site, which sells a line called Folklore. And fortunately they ship to the U.S. I was also so happy to see this vintage squirrel compact – felt like I just had to buy it since it's the husband's spirit animal. It's not in quite as good shape as this one, but all the marcasite was still intact so I went for it.

So sad that the label for this is basically blank, but I still never uncovered any more information about these mysterious Shiseido Chinese zodiac figurines.

Last but not least in this row, the owl shelf. This one's for my mom since she loves owls. 🙂

The eyeshadow on the left is another piece from Paul & Joe's fall 2015 collection and the highlighting powder is from the holiday 2014 collection. The eyeshadow with the two owls is from fall 2005, and I remember being dismayed that I couldn't find their fall 2005 runway collection anywhere online so I could see if it had the owls. Then a few years ago I was flipping through an issue of Lucky magazine (I still miss it) and lo and behold, spotted the owls in action – not on clothing but on a pillow in some rich hipster chick's living room. How serendipitous! Of course I tore it out and saved it in case I ever exhibited the eyeshadow (and also because I'm a hoarder.)

Bottom row, left to right.

Laneige x Lucky Chouette:

Chantecaille Save the Forest and Protect the Wolves palettes:

This one is another mystery. I've seen this shape of Helena Rubinstein compact before and the date was listed as 1962, but have been unable to find it in any ads. I'm wondering if these were only distributed in countries outside the U.S. since they're relatively hard to find and don't appear in any American newspapers. Obviously the Heaven Sent compacts with the angel date sometime after 1941 since that's when the fragrance was released, but this one with the deer on it is strange – I have no idea why it would be connected to the Heaven Sent fragrance. My hunch is that it's actually related to their Moonlight Mist scent. Still, the compact's shape and style look way earlier than 1962 or even 1956 when Moonlight Mist was released.

Speaking of Helena Rubinstein, an exhibition devoted to her just opened at the Jewish Museum in Vienna, so if you're able I highly suggest visiting. 🙂

And finally, Stila fall 2006 blush and eyeshadow trios:

And that concludes the fall 2017 exhibition! Did you feel as though you were deep in an enchanted forest, hearing squirrels romping and leaves crunching under your feet? I hope so! And let me know what your favorite item in the exhibition was. :)

*I missed the deadline for MICA's call for proposals for their annual Curator's Incubator show, but I plan on submitting one next year.

Save