I'm a bit tardy with the Museum's summer exhibition – the makeup counters are already getting in their fall collections – but it's still hot here and summer needs to be celebrated! Here are some of my favorite summery pieces.
Main exhibition:
Here are some close-ups.
Shu Tokyo Kamon Girls Premium cleansing oil:
Too-Faced Bathing Beauty Quickie Chronicle and Chantecaille Coral palette (unfortunately I can't keep the Chantecaille palettes open, as they don't have a piece of clear plastic covering the actual product):
Stila Convertible Color paint can and Shu Boutique Birthday palette:
Guerlain Exotic Paradise palette and Stila Apres Beach trio:
Now for the auxiliary exhibition in the office:
Some closeups.
Another Shu Tokyo Kamon Girl cleansing oil:
Stila June Bride palette and MAC Style Warrior lipstick:
Too-Faced Beach Bunny Quickie Chronicle and Chantecaille La Baleine face powder:
I did put up some summer items in the other auxiliary exhibition space in the hallway, but alas, no matter what I can't seem to get a clear picture of them. If I do I will certainly post some pictures. But for right now I think this exhibit is pretty well-stocked. :)
I found this site via New Curator a few weeks ago, and I was massively impressed with the concept. "Public Collectors is founded upon the concern that there are many types of cultural
artifacts that public libraries, museums and other institutions and
archives either do not collect or do not make freely accessible. Public
Collectors asks individuals that have had the luxury to amass,
organize, and inventory these materials to help reverse this lack by
making their collections public." In other words, it's a great opportunity for collectors to exhibit and share their items with the world, objects that might be overlooked by museums and galleries. You can access inventories and selected photos from the collections, and if geography allows and the collector is willing, you can meet them in person to see their some or all of their collection firsthand.
I spoke to Marc Fischer, who runs the site, and he kindly agreed to put the Makeup Museum up! Check out the complete MM inventory and select photos. A big thanks to Marc!
There have been a couple of makeup brands doing India-themed collections, including Lancome's fall 2008 lineup and the more recent Givenchy spring/summer collection. Stila has hopped on the bandwagon for their summer offerings. Unfortunately, I'm finding the packaging to be pretty mediocre.
(photo from stilacosmetics.com)
The gold and little jewel details do bring to mind Indian-style dress and makeup, but it doesn't express Stila as a brand. It would have worked much better on other brands – say, Sephora or Laura Mercier. Without a Stila girl or some other interesting detail, the packaging becomes very generic and not very Stila-esque. Perhaps the company's designers could take a quick online gander at this new exhibition at the British Museum for some inspiration and re-release the collection with better packaging. ;)
It just goes to show I'm not totally crazy – here is a bona fide exhibition about beauty and cosmetics! Via Art History Newsletter, I learned that the Musée National de la Renaissance in Ecouen, France, presents Le Bain et le Miroir: Soins du corps et cosmétiques à la Renaissance. Alas, I cannot understand French and the website doesn't have an English option, but I'm pretty sure it has something to do with beauty and cosmetics. From what I can gather (did you know Google has a translation function?), included are combs, perfumes, mirrors and I believe even some makeup. There are also paintings and sculptures depicting ideal Renaissance beauty to put these objects in context. The exhibition is in conjunction with another exhibit focusing on beauty in from antiquity to the Middle Ages at the Cluny Museum. What's really amazing about that one is that L'Oreal analyzed the cosmetics to understand their composition. How cool would it be to research what people used back then for makeup?
L'Oreal is also partially funding the exhibition..I'm thinking I should get in touch with them to see if they want to have a contemporary beauty exhibit stateside. 🙂
Spring has sprung here! So I've chosen my most springy, hopeful pieces to display. I was inspired by this lovely work by Botticelli:
Sandro Botticelli, Primavera, c. 1482 (photo from historylink101.com)
So here's my own version of Primavera. :)
Main exhibition:
Some detail shots:
Shu birthday palette and YSL Palette Pop:
Stila hankerchief palette with some friends:
Here's the auxillary exhibition in the hallway.
Bottom shelf:
Part of the top shelf:
Finally, here's the other auxiliary exhibition in the office:
And some details:
I think this is my favorite shelf – MAC Culturebloom postcard, Chanel Faeries quad and a Chantecaille Papillon eye shadow.
Happy spring!
It's that time of year and the Curator has just finished the holiday installation at the physical Makeup Museum (a.k.a. the apartment.) Here is the main exhibition:
Close-ups of some of the shelves:
Armani Black Gem palette with a friend:
Stila girls all decked out for holiday parties, hanging out with some more friends:
MAC Antiquitease postcard and Guerlain gold meteorites:
Auxillary exhibition in the office:
Armani's latest palette with a holiday Stila can:
I didn't do a second auxillary exhibition in the hallway as I did for the fall installation - still need more holiday/wintery-looking items to do that! But I do think that what I've done is undeniably festive. 🙂
You might be wondering what I do with all of the lovely makeup items I've collected over the years. Believe it or not, I actually have a real Makeup Museum in my apartment, spread across 3 rooms, where I display some of my collection on shelves and change the items with each season. I've just put the finishing touches on the fall installation, so here's a chance to see my fall-themed beauties and memorabilia on display. (Note: the other items shown are from my fiance's toy collection – I think it makes a nice contrast!)
This is the main exhibition, located in the bedroom:
Here are some detailed shots.
Armani's Fall 2008 python palette and Dior's Impression Cuir eyeshadow, along with some friends:
Clinique Fall 2007 promo ad and Shu Fall 2008 palette, along with MAC Cult of Cherry postcard, Shu Qee figure, and YSL Fauve palette:
Here is one of the auxiliary exhibitions, located in the hallway leading to my makeup room (where I keep the entire collection and where my vanity lives):
And the other auxiliary exhibition in the office:
Who knows, maybe someday I'll have these installations in a real public space rather than my apartment. A curator can dream…
