I’m pleased to see that the topic of beauty is slowly becoming a legitimate field of study.   It hasn’t been looked at as critically or academically yet the way fashion has, but we’re getting there.  Recently I came across several things that I found to be very encouraging.

Musingonbeauty posted about this book.  While I’m a bit chagrined someone else came out with a coffee table book on makeup, I’m not completely beat down – there’s plenty of room for more makeup books! 

Then I read in the June issue of Lucky magazine that there’s an exhibition called Beauty Culture that’s going on at the Annenberg Space for Photography.  The exhibition “examines both traditional and unconventional definitions of beauty, challenging stereotypes of gender, race and age.  It explores the links between beauty and violence, glamour and sexuality and the cost (in its multiple meanings) of beauty” and “encourages a social discussion about the allure and mystique of the pursuit of female beauty, as well as its cult-like glorification and the multi-billion dollar industries that surround it.”  A little different than what I’m trying to do, but it’s exciting to see a dialogue being started about the impact of the beauty industry.

Finally, I stumbled on the coolest blog on vintage compacts while researching an inquiry I received.  It is so incredibly detailed and gives a thorough history of early cosmetic companies, many of which don’t exist anymore.  

So, yay!  It’s nice to see that makeup is finally being recognized as something more than to paint your face with – there truly is history and art involved, which is one of the things I strive to point out through the Museum.