Fun Archives - Page 2 of 2 - The Makeup Museum: Where Cosmetics & Art Intersect

I posted a while back about Paul & Joe collaborating with Disney to create a 4-piece Japan-exclusive collection last spring. While I did manage to get 3 of the 4 items, I was a little bummed about not being able to get my paws on the Lady hand cream. Apparently the company has seen the light and realized how well the collection would sell stateside, so they re-released it!! The collection is available at Bergdorf Goodman in NYC and beautyhabit.com. I placed my order at Bergdorf because I've been loyal to their Paul & Joe counter for years (at least since the company pulled out of Sephora, anyway) and received the missing piece of my collection. So without further adieu, here is Lady:

And the salespeople at Bergdorf threw in an adorable notebook with the kitten pattern that appeared on the makeup pouch from this season's holiday collection (as well as the previously released "Flea Market in Paris" collection.") It was such a nice surprise when I opened the box. They take good care of you at that counter!

I'm really thrilled this collection is available in the U.S. so that everyone can enjoy the cuteness, and as a Curator I'm pleased to have filled a gap in the Museum's collection. :)

Sephora, possibly my favorite store on Earth, turned ten years old this fall. To celebrate the company came out with several limited-edition items, including this lovely Stila can filled with goodies.

Some alternate views of the can:

I thought the paint can was a great way to celebrate Stila at Sephora. For those of you unfamiliar with Stila history, shortly after the brand was created, paint cans with Stila girls on them were placed at department store counters to hold Q-tips, brushes, cotton balls, etc. These cans proved to be cult items, as customers started walking off with them when the salespeople weren't looking – apparently they were too cute to resist! The company finally started understanding the popularity of these cans and began working them into their lineup as promotional, limited-edition items. While some may say it's predictable that Stila came out with another paint can to celebrate Sephora's 10-year anniversary, since Stila has been with Sephora almost since its inception, I think it's highly appropriate for them to create a special paint can for Sephora. Another can to add to my collection!

I was browsing Sephora online (one of the Curator's favorite activities, of course) and discovered that Cargo has created an entire line of PlantLove products. The extensive lineup includes blush, highlighter, mineral foundation, lip gloss and eye shadow, all of which are paraben- and phalate-free and are housed in biodegradable (not to mention adorable) packaging. According to Sephora, the plastic cases are "100% compostable" and is made from plant-based plastic that is "green house gas neutral and doesn't contribute to global warming."

I've posted about the cute and environmentally sound PlantLove lipstick packaging before, and I'm so glad Cargo expanded the line – not just because it's eco-friendly and contains natural ingredients , but because these new items feature slightly different packaging than the original lipsticks. ;) I definitely need to get my hands on some of these!

(photo from Sephora.com)

In late 2007 Shu Uemura teamed up with Toy2R to sell Qee figures as a gift-with-purchase – buy a cleansing oil and get a free Qee! Each one is color-coordinated to a particular cleansing oil (the green is for the premium oil, pink for the fresh oil, orange for the enriched and yellow for the regular oil.)

But what exactly ARE Qees, you ask? They're usually small (2.5 inch) vinyl figures that can be displayed or put on key chains, taking the form of bears, dogs, cats, monkeys or bunnies. According to the Toy2R website, the company is "breaking down the boundaries between product design, art and graphics" and "instilling contemporary designer art into the vinyl toy market." Qees first debuted in 2001 and are sold in series based on a particular artist's design scheme. The company also deals with other businesses – Qees have been produced for Adidas, Benetton, Starbucks and Target.

The Shu Uemura Quees perfectly represent the oils in that they match the color to each one, and also the swirly pattern seen on all parts of the figure is reminiscent of how these somewhat viscous oils move and flow in their bottles. As with Shu's collaboration with Genius Party (which I posted about earlier), it's a puzzle as to why the company decided to use toys to promote their most iconic beauty product. Most cosmetic companies include a small makeup pouch and/or other beauty items, but Shu chose…designer toys. It's a strange but ingenious way to break the beauty industry mold.

Graphic artist and creator of Tokidoki, Simone Legno, collaborated with Smashbox in the spring of 2007 and came up with a whimsical, playful collection for the company. All of the limited-edition items featured Tokidoki's signature illustrations as well as Italian names such as Bella (the cream blush stick), Stellina (the mirror outfitted with small silver stars) and Modella (one of the eye shadow palettes.) In this way it fuses Japanese and Italian cultures.

Here's the Modella eye shadow quad:

Here's the compact opened – a nice little surprise awaits on the lower-left corner of the mirror:

Tokidoki means "sometimes" or "from time to time" in Japanese. But what is exactly is Legno's artistic vision? I went to the tokidoki website to find out. Simply put, the art is Legno's "unique interpretation of Japan". He chose the word that means sometimes because "everyone waits for moments that change one's destiny…tokidoki is the hope, the hidden energy everyone has inside that gives us the strength to face a new day and dream something positive, that something magical will happen to us." How does this artist's statement get translated into his illustrations? I'd say that the overall feeling of his work truly is "positive" and "magical" – although his portfolio includes traditionally foreboding images such as a skull and crossbones, they're not threatening in the slightest, and there are some "magical" characters like angels and smiling stars. His work also represents a difference from some other forms of Japanese design. In one interview, he noted, "People tell me I draw
anime or manga, but I don't think I do. I identify with the kawai culture of
Japan. My girls are different from the manga girls with their big eyes and big
breasts."¹ Indeed, if we look at the girls on the Smashbox items, they're not overtly sexy like some Japanese characters. The girls also tend to include tattoos of koi fish and other Japanese iconography which makes them seem a bit edgier than some female anime figures. If you look closely, you can see the full sleeve tattoo of koi fish on the girl on the eyeshadow compact. Kudos to Legno for producing purely fun, non-sexual images of women.

The little angels and stars on the Smashbox collection, along with the rest of the Tokidoki brood, clearly represents Legno's desire to present happy, friendly images to the world.

¹"Designs Reveal Artist's Personality", Nadine Kam, January 11, 2007. https://starbulletin.com/2007/01/11/features/story02.html. To watch an interview with Legno, click here.

I've decided that a couple days a week posts will have a certain theme. This blog could use just a tiny bit of structure! Therefore, Fridays will be devoted to retro/kitschy/just plain fun packaging. Mondays will feature makeup by the big fashion houses (Chanel, Dior, YSL, etc). The rest of the time I'll have a more freeform approach.

For the first installment of Friday Fun, I'm looking at some fall items from a few seasons ago: Benefit's Roadside Attractions palettes. Released in the fall of 2005, these kits feature either eye shadow or lip gloss and have retro images for the outer packaging, complete with cheeky phrases like "Exes Make Great Speed Bumps". The interior cleverly features a mirror in the shape of a rear-view car mirror.

(photo from benefitcosmetics.com)

These palettes definitely stay true to Benefit's mantra: "Who says makeup has to be serious to be good?" Indeed, the concept of a road trip and visiting places ("roadside attractions") along the way is fun, and the idea was perfectly executed in these palettes.