Fenty Beauty, the brand founded by musician Rihanna in 2017, had possibly its most adventurous releases in 2022. In August that year the company launched a set of 6 packets containing a mystery substance produced by cheeky Brooklyn art collective MSCHF (which I hope to cover eventually), and in December, a $500 crystal-studded lipstick case to celebrate the brand’s 5th anniversary. While I’ve been using Fenty since its inception – the matte foundation, cheek stix, and lipsticks are excellent – it’s the limited-edition products with special packaging that go into the Makeup Museum. However, having skipped this year’s holiday lineup, a collab with video game-inspired animated series Arcane, today I’m looking back at 2022’s Navy collection. Illustrated by L.A.-based cartoonist Obi, the Navy set is a nod to the nickname for Rihanna’s fan base, which in turn comes from one of her song lyrics, 2009’s “G4L”: “We’re an army / Better yet, a navy / Better yet, crazy”
Before we delve into the set, let’s take a peek at the work of the artist behind it. First generation Nigerian-American Obi Arisukwu was born and raised in Houston, Texas. Strongly influenced by cartoons and superheroes, particularly the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, he began drawing at the age of 3. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in Visual Design and went on to become the lead graphic designer for ConocoPhillips, doing illustration on the side. After 4 years in the corporate world, however, he had enough. “When I was working at ConocoPhillips, I loved it at first. Then slowly and slowly, it became the same mundane pattern of going to work, being in a cubicle, and never being able to express my creativity. My talents weren’t being utilized the way they should have been. For instance, I was the head graphic designer there, but I was doing PowerPoint presentations. After a while it was kind of, “What am I here for? This is not really what I want to do. I really want to get into cartoons.’”
This was also a period of rapid growth for Instagram, where Obi would be inspired by other artists’ work as well as their ability to quickly cultivate large audiences. At the age of 30, he quit his job and moved back in with his parents to pursue illustration full-time. Obi acknowledges the first 6 months were difficult, as he had to learn to set up a business and earn clients, but ultimately his talent and perseverance paid off. “Living with my parents, they’re really great. They’ve always supported me and it’s like a really good Airbnb. It’s definitely tough because when you first quit and go on your own, you’re going to go through that period, that downfall, of where you’re not getting any business or no clientele because you’re still working on your service, still working on getting yourself out there. Then, for me, after like six months, I started getting a lot more projects. I really stopped doing graphic design work to focus more on illustrations. This is one of those things where you don’t give up.” Yay for supportive parents! (Side note: His mother’s only request was for Obi to buy her a Chanel bag after he had achieved success.)
In December 2017 Obi posted a comic strip loosely based on his life as a millennial. This proved enormously popular – it was the most engagement he had ever received on his Instagram posts – and he began posting a new comic each Friday. “The comic strip parodies real life situations like dating, friendships, politics, etc. Even though I’m the main character in the strips, I’ve taken on the role as the ‘every man’ so that the comic strips is relatable to everyone who reads it. [The strips were just the everyday things that we go through [as] millennials…Whatever it is and kind of making it to where people can just resonate,” he explains.
It’s a gentle humor that doesn’t stray into corny “dad joke” territory. I’m not too up to date on my comics and cartoons, but Obi’s work seems to be a breath of fresh air in an age of sarcastic, “edgy” or even offensive animated series (South Park, Family Guy) or the nonsensical (Aqua Teen Hunger Force and other Adult Swim programming). While I’m partial to the likes of Archer and Metalocalypse, I also appreciate Bob’s Burgers and Home Movies, or comics such as the Far Side. A light-hearted, softer type of humor is not a bad thing!
Obi continued with the comic but also drew Black pop cultural icons, athletes and other important figures. “There’s a lot of awesome things happening in the Black community, so I like to showcase that in my art,” he says. In 2018 Obi’s illustration of Childish Gambino from his “This Is America” video went viral, earning over 30,000 likes in 24 hours. Obi followed that up with another viral post featuring Will & Jaden Smith.
While these viral pieces may have led to the collaboration with Fenty and other opportunities, it was Obi’s “every man” comic that landed him his own animated series on HBO. The news was announced in early 2021, but it’s unclear as to when the show will actually debut. It will have the same vibe as his comic – a show about day-to-day life as a Black millennial man. Obi expands on his vision for the show as it pertains to race: “This cartoon is not just about me, it’s about society as a whole. It’s just kind of through the lens of a Black person. But it’s definitely a cartoon that everybody can watch…My biggest thing that I want to do when it comes to bringing diversity, especially with my Obi cartoon, is that I want to show the world that we live in as Black people, that’s not all about us getting shot by the police…we’re more than just victims all the time. I want to have four Black main characters who literally are just living life trying to make it in this world…OBI is the daily experiences we all can relate to, it’s just from the Black perspective. We always see us getting shot. We see slavery and racial injustice all the time. Sometimes we [Black people] need to escape from that. We’re more than the racial shit that happens to us. We have other things going on too. This cartoon will have moments where it does address being Black, but it’ll still have the comedy element to it. We’re more than our racial injustices…This show is about all the day-to-day, societal issues that go through as Black people that other races can relate to as well and laugh at with us.” This is a really important point that I think sometimes gets lost, especially in conversations regarding racial justice. Black people are more than their trauma and while it’s critical to acknowledge racism and work towards dismantling it, highlighting everyday life is also essential. Indeed, Obi rarely explores instances of racism, but when he does, it’s still done with the same humor.
Now, time for the makeup! The Navy set consists of a zipped canvas bag, a refillable lipstick in a limited edition blue case, a navy blue eyeliner and a cute little mirror. The lipstick shade is MVP, a classic red. (As I didn’t want to break the seal on the refill I don’t have pictures of it, but hopefully the stock photo will show you how pretty it is.)
I spent a good hour searching for photos of Rihanna as she is shown on the set – one with her hair down, green patterned sunglasses perched on her forehead, and lots of jewelry – and the other depicting her with Bantu knots, a green fur coat, white tee and blue cargo pants. Then I watched Obi’s Instagram video about the set and realized that, being an artist, he used his imagination to create these images rather than blindly copying her actual outfits. As someone who does not have any sort of creative flair, it didn’t occur to me that this would be his process! Anyway, there are a few images of Rihanna that can be seen in the video.
The collection was generally well-received, and the retail price of $58 for the set was quite reasonable given that it was adorned with original artwork and the practicality of the items included. Everyone can use a makeup bag, mirror, navy eyeliner and red lipstick, no?
However, some Instagrammers took issue with the depiction of Rihanna’s forehead. Between Fenty Beauty’s account and Obi’s, there were roughly 100 comments accusing Obi of making her forehead too large.
Normally I don’t address meritless criticism such as this – I try to “ignore the haters” as they say – but the reason I’m bringing this up is because I am massively confused. I think her forehead appears totally normal-sized. And while marketing teams sometimes slip up and let mistakes happen, even major ones, I would think that if it really was out of proportion the set wouldn’t have been allowed to be sold and Obi would have had to go back to the drawing board, literally. Beauty brands, particularly celebrity lines, fiercely protect the images of their founders and must show their them in the best possible light at all times.
This is just one of many things I’d like to chat with the artist about! I would have emailed Obi for an interview as he seems incredibly down to earth and approachable, but the week between Christmas and New Year’s isn’t really the best time to reach out to people, so in the end I decided not to. I am still wondering how the collab came about, what the process was like working with the company, if he got to meet or interact with Rihanna at all, and why he chose the images he did as inspiration when creating the artwork for the set. I’d also like to hear what’s happening with his HBO show as I am eager to watch it, and, of course, if he ever purchased a Chanel bag for his mom.
What do you think of Obi’s work and the Navy collection? I really enjoyed it and hope to see more collabs with Black artists. As I’ve pointed out, the cosmetics industry is seriously lagging behind in this regard. I do have one regret, which is not entering Obi’s giveaway contest – he provided signed sets to 5 lucky winners. Obviously I’d love to have a set personally signed by the artist. 😊
Today the Museum celebrates Indigenous People’s Day with several beautiful collections from newcomer Prados Beauty. While I would like to examine the traditional cosmetic practices of Native Americans and other Indigenous people around the world1, I’m still debating whether that would do more harm than good, so I thought highlighting a new brand was the way to go.
Prados Beauty was established in 2018 by makeup artist and entrepreneur Cece Meadows, whose background inspired her to create the line. The oldest of four children, Meadows was raised in a small farm town in Arizona. “We didn’t have a lot, but we had each other. School was my safe haven, so I thrived there and ended up being the first in my family to graduate from college,” she says. Meadows excelled at a career in finance in her early ’20s, but suffered a cancer diagnosis at 27. The U.S. healthcare system being what is, insurance only covered a small portion of necessary care, and Meadows found herself broke and homeless shortly after going into remission. But her passion for makeup and drive to create a space for Indigenous people within the beauty sphere led to a cross-country move to cosmetology school in New York City. In 2018 Meadows became the first Native American makeup artist to head a show backstage for New York Fashion Week. She established Prados Beauty the same year and began selling the products online in 2019. “I grew up in a negative environment, but there was always a spark in me that wanted something better. As an adult, that has helped me get myself out of places when I’ve been stuck. I’ve always dreamed of owning my own cosmetics line. My passions are doing makeup and doing philanthropic work, so I figured out a way to make those two things go together.”
Meadows, who identifies as half Chicana, half Native American (Yaqui and Comanche), explains that the lack of representation in the beauty industry was a key factor in starting her own brand. “Growing up as a Xicana and Indigenous girl, I never saw representation of my people in an accurate light,” she says. “When I became a professional makeup artist and would show up in some of my traditional regalia to NYFW or professional photoshoot, I was shocked at the lack of education and awareness from models and designers of Indigenous people…It wasn’t until I was 30 years old that I saw an Indigenous woman in the public spotlight without being oversexualized. It was in 2015 when a First Nations Cree woman, Ashley Callingbull, was crowned Miss Universe in 2015. It was an emotional, yet exciting moment for me. I remember watching the crowning while holding my young son and thinking, ‘we not only have been robbed of our lands, our culture, our beauty, our stories and our people but now we have to compete for a crown that we have always worn.'”
For Meadows, starting her own beauty brand was a way to reclaim Native culture and make it visible within the industry. “I have watched companies and clothing brands appropriate our culture and designs for years and I wanted to take that back. I wanted to create a brand that was 100% inclusive, but highlighted the beauty and story of who we are today. Our brand is about being really proud of who we are and telling our story through makeup. In public schools, you, unfortunately, aren’t really taught the truth about the events that truly unfolded in the United States against Native Peoples. So when my people don’t see ourselves in the mainstream, we make our own way. We support our own, we hype up our own, we become this secret society of creativity and artistic talent that the world fails to see. But we see, we know, and the acknowledgment of our own becomes enough. Because I mean what else are we going to do? Disappear? Never. Our generation has become a fierce generation, filled with hunger and audacity to believe and know that we are worthy of conquering spaces we have been told for hundreds of years we didn’t belong in. This is why I created Prados.”
Accessibility and education of non-Native people were also priorities for Meadows. Individual products are priced around $40 and under. “It is always important for me to have affordable price points. One thing I remember growing up as a kid was not being able to afford things that I felt I needed to have as a budding makeup artist,” she says. Additionally, being an inclusive brand with an outward focus on Native American pride encourages customers to learn about Native people’s heritage, or at least be more mindful of it. Says Meadows, “Every time we gain a new follower, I get excited because it’s one more person who learns about our beautiful culture and our stories. [Prados] has inspired consumers to learn about Indigenous culture. They know that we’re not just a false Pocahontas story, and we can remind people that we’re more than a genocide in a history book. We’re still here.”
Meadows’ goals are identical to those of Steven Paul Judd, the Kiowa-Choctaw artist responsible for the designs on several Prados Beauty collections. Like Meadows, Judd noticed a dearth of authentic Native American figures across all areas of pop culture and understood the necessity in carving out a space for Native representation through art. “[I] make things that I want to see. So I like cool pop stuff, right? And I like movies and music, and I’m also Native American. I grew up on a reservation when I was a kid, went to an all-Native college. I like my Native stuff, obviously, but I still like things that other people like. I live in the same world that other people live in, and I just found that there wasn’t what I felt was cool, pop culture stuff made for me—stickers, toys, action figures—I didn’t feel like they were necessarily speaking to things that I saw or that my family saw, so I decided to do my best to try to make my own…Imagine growing up and in every movie, television show and ad featuring people who looked like you and your family, they were only shown in historical context. It would be like white people were only portrayed as Pilgrims. [The] only Native Americans I was able to see on TV were Iron Eyes Cody—he did those trash commercials, and he wasn’t even Native, he was Italian—and Ponch on Chips, but he wasn’t Native American, and we had Tonto, Jay Silverheels, on old reruns, but besides historical Westerns, I didn’t see any Natives anywhere in popular culture at all.”
Judd is a prolific filmmaker and writer, but he is perhaps best known for his witty mashups of pop culture icons with Native American imagery. Everything from comics and toys to TV and movies are re-envisioned with Native historical figures and traditions. Ultimately, says Judd, “I wanted to make the stuff I never got to see as a kid.”
By giving cultural mainstays like Superman and The Incredible Hulk a Native American spin, Judd deftly upends the dominant narrative. The juxtaposition of Native Americans with easily recognizable cultural references, or the entire replacement of these figures with images of Native Americans and symbols results in an amusing yet profound commentary on the erasure of Native populations and offers a way for them to reclaim their space.
While most of Judd’s work appears lighthearted on the surface, there’s an underlying poignancy in some of his projects that makes the viewer think on a deeper level. Take, for example, his Star Wars series, which recast some of the characters as Native American, thereby creating a new narrative that represents the struggle for freedom among tribes. Judd also makes a point of showing the appropriation of Princess Leia’s iconic bun hairstyle, which most likely originated from photos of women from the Hopi tribe.
Judd’s take on the popular “Space Invaders” video game that was developed with graphic designer Elizabeth LaPensée, in which the players are Native Americans using bows and arrows to ward off an alien invasion, is also a bit weightier than the likes of the artist’s PowWow Rangers and Mindions. “You can read into it,” he explains, “someone is trying to invade where you are living, you know, peacefully. I tell people it’s the only time you’re allowed to play Indian and not get in trouble.” As this article neatly summarizes, the game “is archetypal of Judd’s work, which provocatively combines the ongoing history of subjugation of Native Americans (especially the violation of land treaties) with the mundanity and ephemera of day-to-day life. Judd’s work challenges stereotypes about Native Americans and dehistoricizes the atrocities of the past.”
What’s especially interesting about his love of pop culture is that Judd grew up in a home that was less than well-off financially, with no access to television until late childhood. His first encounter with TV was during a hospital stay. Judd’s work is also extraordinary considering he is entirely self-taught. For photographic imagery in particular, he quickly realized he would have to get acquainted with the proper techniques and software in order to make his ideas come to fruition. “Any of the graphic design stuff I’ve done, I learned how to do it on Photoshop…learning Photoshop is tedious, but I wanted to learn because I couldn’t get these ideas in my head. I couldn’t make them unless I learned. No one’s going to make a vintage boxing poster with Sitting Bull and Custer unless you make it yourself,” he states. And he’s right: I can think of zero Indigenous artists who are remixing cultural touchstones in this manner.
Judd’s unique re-imagining of pop culture references has drawn apt comparisons to Andy Warhol. Like the legendary pop artist, Judd cleverly skewers mainstream American culture, except instead of mindless consumerism Judd’s critique mostly focuses on the overwhelming lack of Native American figures and traditions. Judd is flattered by the comparison, calling himself “Andy Warrior-hol”, while simultaneously acknowledging that the American pop art tradition – including the deification of artists like Warhol – is largely devoid of Native voices. Case in point: a cheeky remix of Warhol’s famous cow wallpaper.
Judd’s emphasis on accessibility and education through art also parallel Meadows’ prioritization of these areas. While a recent painting of Judd’s sold for nearly $20,000, variouswebsites offer stickers, t-shirts and other items showcasing his work at affordable prices. And like Prados Beauty, much of Judd’s oeuvre provides an approachable means of educating non-Native viewers. By framing it as “cool stuff” that the average 12 year-old would be interested in, Judd makes his history more palatable to non-Native Americans. “[I] want people to see the images and realize on their own that they had something to learn…Honestly, I’m creating art for my 12-year-old self. I wanted cool stuff, too – skateboards with Native imagery, action figures, sneakers – what 12-year old doesn’t? [But I want to] educate people on some things without talking down to them or yelling at them. They can laugh at it, like ‘Oh wait, did that really happen?’ and they can learn from it, starting from a humorous point,” he says. This is not to suggest that the atrocities committed against Indigenous populations should be made easily digestible for white people, but humor is one of many useful tools in learning difficult subject matter. Plus, as Meadows noted earlier, it demonstrates that the histories of marginalized groups are so much more than genocide and stereotypes.
Given how the perspectives and missions of Judd and Meadows align so closely, an ongoing collaboration is no surprise. As Meadows remarks, “I feel like his art is a perfect fit for our brand because he takes everyday things like cartoons, television shows and movies we grew up watching, and indigenizes it. My boys love that poster I have hanging in their room because they identify with it. I feel like he always tries to create art that we can associate with and see ourselves in.” Prados Beauty approached Judd to create artwork for the packaging of a new eyeshadow palette in 2020. As Judd wanted the image to look modern and reflect the shades in the palette, he came up brightly colored, mosaic-like portraits of Pretty Nose and Stampede. I don’t know about you, but as soon as I laid eyes on them I had to look into their histories. Educating people through makeup and art absolutely works!
Pretty Nose was an Arapaho (some sources say Cheyenne) warrior chief who fought in the Battle of Little Bighorn in 1876. The Stampede portrait is based on a photo of a Dakota chief taken around 1900. Sadly there was not much more readily available information on either.
The style is reminiscent of a work he created a little later for a display outside the Arthur Ashe Stadium at the 2021 U.S. Open. Judd explains the inspiration for the piece. “When most people think of Native Americans, they think of them as a monolith. But there are over 500 different tribes in the US alone. Each with their own unique culture. From their music and food to their songs and language. I wanted to do a mosaic, each beautiful color representing the many different tribes across the land.”
Once again, Judd’s vision lines up with that of Prados Beauty. A colorful mosaic is a way of bringing all the tribes together while recognizing their individuality. Says Meadows, “When I think of Indigenous beauty, I think of amplifying the voices of not just one particular tribe but all of us together. Using vibrant seeds of color like turquoise and yellow and orange helps accomplish that.”
Just last week, Prados released their new collection entitled Matriarch. According to the website: “For this collection we wanted to put together something beautiful, colorful and powerful! We wanted to honor all the matriarchs in our lives by showing up and showing out!” It’s a great theme as many Native American tribes were matriarchal and matrilineal.
I must disclose that I received the entire Matriarch PR box by mistake. It was meant to go a media contact, but somehow ended up at Museum headquarters. I was really looking forward to receiving what I had actually ordered, which was the Steven Paul Judd 2.0 palette, highlighter and collector’s box, so you can imagine my shock when I opened the package to see roughly triple the products I had ordered, with beautiful images on the packaging I didn’t recognize. I emailed customer service and offered to send it back (even though I didn’t want to, LOL), and within a few hours I received a reply from Cece Meadows herself! She generously allowed me to hang onto the whole box of goodies and, per the included instructions, requested that I not reveal anything until the collection officially dropped. It was all very exciting, for a second I felt like an influencer! I was absolutely flabbergasted that the Museum could keep everything. Plus, my original order arrived a day or two later.
The collection includes an eyeshadow palette, three face palettes, 5 lipsticks, an eyeliner and eyelash glue, two sets of false eyelashes, and a cute little LED mirror.
The imagery Judd created for the packaging for the Matriarch lineup is more varied than the previous collection. As a collector, I appreciate that different images were used on different products.
Aren’t these lipsticks delicious looking? Love the hot pink cases too. Another great thing about Prados is that a whopping 50% (yes, you read that correctly) of profits go to Indigenous communities and people in need, including veterans, single parents, and children with special needs. “Both personally and professionally, I remember every disappointment when I just needed support to get me through tough situations. So I always promised myself during my prayer times that if I ever found myself in a position where I could live comfortably and my family was taken care of, I was going to help people — especially right now during the pandemic. I have raised over $20K to purchase PPE for Native American communities all over the US, Mexico and Canada…In addition, we buy kids shoes for back-to-school season, clothes, jackets and school supplies. We pay rent for single moms, college tuition and living expenses. We even threw a baby shower last year,” says Meadows. She also recently launched the Prados Life Foundation to help facilitate donations.
Prados Beauty lipsticks from the Matriarch collection. Left to right: Jingle Dancer, Chola Vibez, Mirabella, Guerrera, Taos
I’m really enjoying Prados, and I’m not just saying that because they accidentally sent me an amazing PR box and allowed the Museum to hang onto it. After reading more about Meadows and her mission, this is definitely a company you can feel good about buying from, with gorgeous and inspired packaging to boot. I also love Judd’s work as it provides food for thought without being preachy, and well, you know how I much I adore fresh takes on traditional pop culture. If he referenced some ’90s TV shows or movies I would lose my mind. Finally, I can’t think of a better collaboration between a brand and an artist – these two were a match made in heaven. As someone who researches makeup and grew up on a steady diet of mainstream American TV/movies/etc., I can think of only a handful of Indigenous makeup brands, makeup artists, influencers and models, and the scarce portrayals of Indigenous people in pop culture were largely either stereotypes or downright racist.2 There is a dire need to make space for and raise the visibility of Native American and other Indigenous cultures, and both Meadows and Judd are doing a tremendous job helping to fill that void through their respective crafts.
What do you think?
1 While sometimes used this way, Indigenous is not totally interchangeable with Native American. Indigenous refers to those populations living together prior to European colonization. These populations exist outside the United States and on every continent, therefore, while Native Americans are Indigenous, not all Indigenous people are Native American. Check out this site for more information.
2A personal anecdote. The district in Pennsyltucky (excuse me, Pennsylvania) where I attended junior high and high school was named for a local Native American tribe that presumably white people had wiped out. The school’s mascot shares its name with a certain Washington football team. As a teenager it finally dawned on me just how awful it was, but any time I brought it up I was told that it wasn’t offensive in the slightest and that I was being “oversensitive”. As far as I know my former high school STILL thinks it’s okay to use it. Thank goodness for Meadows, Judd and shows like Reservation Dogs. It’s from the same brilliant people who brought us the hilarious What We Do in the Shadows, so definitely check it out.
“My work always aims to grow through an honest contact with people. I love feeling emotions and being able to create something that can touch people’s hearts. My work is about the symbolic things we put into our daily lives, and I’m always curious to see how everyone sees the world. As I mentioned before, I see art as a parallel, innocent language that leads me to different opportunities and challenges to keep growing as a person.” – Jon Jacobsen
Last fall, I remember being very excited to see the launch of a set of Lisa Eldridge lip products in a beautiful velvet pouch. When I saw that the pouch was the work of multimedia artist Jon Jacobsen I knew I had to have it for the Museum. In case you need a refresher, Lisa Eldridge is one of the top makeup artists in the world and launched her own line in 2018. She is also a makeup historian, having written the excellent Face Paint, and she also possesses what is widely considered to be the best collection of vintage makeup in the world. I can only dream that the Museum’s collection will compare to hers someday!
As for Jon Jacobsen, he is a 32 year old Chile-born, Portugal-based photographer, filmmaker and all-around master of digital art. He designed the gorgeous floral pattern for the pouch. The rich shades of the flowers against a black background are dramatic and moody, perfect for a fall release.
The bag is obviously velvet to coordinate with Eldridge’s splendid Velvet lipstick line. Look at that texture! I’m still flabbergasted every time I see it. (And I really need to order some of these to actually use.)
The partnership is not a surprise. I’m guessing it came about as a result of the pair having worked previously on the Sunday Times’ Style beauty feature back in May of 2020. As the world was in lockdown, makeup artists, fashion designers and photographers found themselves unable to work in the flesh, thereby forcing their processes to go virtual. (See also Harris Reed’s 2020 graduate collection.) While “digital makeup” is not new, the pandemic forced a higher level of creativity.
Jacobsen was a natural choice to handle the project, given his unique approach to digital art. (And no, digital art is not just making silly filters for social media apps.) For Jacobsen, digitally altering images isn’t about simply enhancing what’s already there but adding an element of fantasy to produce surreal effects that challenge viewers’ perception of the physical realm. In the case of the Sunday Times feature, Jacobsen deftly “applied” makeup designs created by Lisa Eldridge onto their model’s face. The resemblance to real makeup is shocking. When combined, Eldridge’s and Jacobsen’s techniques yield an incredibly true-to-life effect that is nearly indistinguishable from physically applied makeup, yet still appears magical.
In an Instagram post, Jacobsen explained the role of each artist working on the feature. “The process behind each look was very unique and fascinating: With Lisa Eldridge in London, our lovely model Yumi Lambert in Maui and myself in Porto, we had to come up with an idea to bring all places together having technology on our side. With this in mind, Lisa designed and applied a variety of textures and colours onto her own skin which I later ‘brushed’, twisted and blended using a variety of digital techniques over the portraits that Yumi provided from a shoot that I directed from home. This was new territory for all of us – including for our lovely editors who trusted in us 100% (thank you) – so for several days Lisa and I connected over zoom meetings, experimenting and finding the right harmony, light and combination of textures to achieve something realistic with a hint of fantasy. This was a very meticulous process and I enjoyed every second of it! I might be quiet about this but I do love make up, not only from the fact that you can build endless characters and emotions, but also from how its composition changes through history.” Every single texture and placement – from individual blush powder particles, the sheen of gloss with color concentrated in the center of the lips and shimmery eyeshadows in variety of shades – perfectly mimic makeup applied in the flesh. As Jacobsen notes, “real textures [were] translated to pixels.”
The Sunday Times Style magazine, May 2020. Makeup: Lisa Eldridge. Photography and digital art: Jon Jacobsen. Model: Yumi Lambert. Beauty director: Sarah Jossel. Creative producer: Leila Hartley. Photography assistance: Guillaume Rasquier
His appreciation for makeup is abundantly clear, most likely stemming from his interest in the concept of transformation and questioning the boundaries of the human body, along with his passion for portrait and still life genres. All of these themes are inseparable from makeup. “Beauty shoots are definitely my favourite ones, it literally feels like eating dessert. My team and I always shoot knowing that I might add something on post-edition. Once the photos are taken, I lock myself in the studio to analyse the images and find the right universe of shapes. This a very experimental part of the process that I enjoy doing alone. There I imagine myself as a scientist, a musician, or a cook trying to find the right flavour, the right sound – it’s hard to explain, but it is a blissful moment. Once they are done, I share it with my team and we celebrate…creating feels like making a puzzle that has no shape, but with the help of instinct, a good team and honesty, I can sense once it’s finished.”
FX 2019 masterclass. Makeup: Marcelo Bhanu. Photography: Jon Jacobsen. Model: Javiera Chandia. FX makeup: Carla Gasic.
Makeup/Hair: Nico Ampuero. Photography: Jon Jacobsen. Styling: Santiago Herrera. Model: Erlande Augustin
FX 2019 masterclass. Makeup: Marcelo Bhanu. Photography: Jon Jacobsen. Model: Lauren Skye. FX makeup: Carla Gasic. Assistant, FX makeup: Gaby Paz Olivo Pozo. Photography assistant: Javiera Allende. Styling: Esteban Pomar.
His photos are even more impressive when you discover that Jacobsen is entirely self-taught, citing the Internet as his primary teacher. At the age of 15 he took his first photo. After graduating college with a degree in graphic design, Jacobsen vowed to pursue art full-time. In an interview with Retouching Academy, he describes his journey to becoming an artist. “I started creating images at the age of 15, experimenting with any kind of camera that I could borrow. At that time technology was slowly becoming more accessible and I was curious to know how far I could get with it. I became obsessed with the idea that I was able to create infinite, surreal artworks from the comfort of my own room. My artistic journey began when my art teacher from school, Andrea Reyes, saw some of the images I had posted on social media. She pushed me to keep honing my skills by assigning me extracurricular activities such as additional homework, PowerPoint presentations and giving me quick art history classes during the school breaks. This was a key moment in my development as an artist as it was my first professional encounter with Art. I slowly became obsessed with creating visual metaphors with my images. The Internet also played a very important role in my development as an artist: It was (and still is) my main school. I watch tutorials every day and learn more and more about art. I keep sharing my work on social media, such as Instagram and Facebook, to maintain a close relationship with my audience and to learn from other talents. It wasn’t until I moved to Santiago (at the age of 21) when I decided to turn this ‘hobby’ into a full-time job. I graduated from university as a graphic designer but decided to present myself as an Image-maker, in order to be more flexible and work in all my fields of my interest: from being an artist who exhibits his work, to creating fashion editorials and films for magazines, and working as a high-end retoucher.I became interested in mixed media as a way to find an organic result through digital art. I am constantly creating textures, collecting images from my daily life and working with different kinds of materials depending on the requirements of each artwork…Last but not least, being able to sustain myself by doing this job feels like a big achievement. I come from a middle-low class family, with no art background. Choosing a life as an artist was a huge decision which I don’t regret. It has opened many doors and presented me with great opportunities so far.”
Much of his oeuvre entails futuristic visions of the human body that combine realism with fantasy elements. The artist has been fascinated by photography’s creative potential since childhood. “Since I was a kid I always wanted to add an extra layer of fantasy to things, and photography wasn’t an exception,” he says in an interview. “I loved the idea of bringing something I registered to a computer, a flower for example, and twist it enough to create a completely different result. As much as I appreciate photography as the closest way to capture reality, I find there are many voids to be filled, especially in terms of the emotional aspects. Conventional photography registers light and shows a result based on the norms behind the human eye, but what about the emotions myself and my subject feel at that moment? How can these be shown? Digital art brings endless questions, and I get obsessed with the vast amount of answers I can find. There, I found a space of free will that I can link with my daily life, connecting the real with fantasy.”
He often works with other artists from a variety of fields for his projects, citing the importance of familiarity with other disciplines for one’s own artistic practice. “Working on digital is really fun because it’s pretty versatile, but it can also be daunting when you’re spending days in front of a screen. As a digital artist I crave for tangibility and the desire to use my hands/body to explore other media to keep evolving as an artist. Even if your plan is not becoming a sculptor, try doing it at least once and see what happens, or try out a new cooking recipe… a little bit of the unknown is enough to find a HUGE amount of answers. That’s how I got into dancing, swimming, contemporary jewelry and music. Even if I’m not an expert in those disciplines, I learn a lot and include this new knowledge into my creative process, for example, while tracing the composition before starting a piece, or by creating models/small sculptures, textures and volumes to be used in future projects. Exploring new media also expands your knowledge and brings new contacts to your life: Win-win situation!”
Indeed, Jacobsen’s endeavors are amplified through collaboration. For 2015’s “Ínsula”, for example, he worked with Columbian sculptor Daniel Ramos Obgregón and dancer José Tomás Torres. Jacobsen photographed Torres in different stances and sent the images to Obgregón, who supplied photos of his surreal series of ceramic body accessories and prosthetics. Jacobsen edited the images so that the ceramic pieces became technological-based appendages rather than human. Digitally slicing the dancer’s body to reveal veins coursing with electric currents and smoke-like swirls in place of blood and muscle, Jacobsen presents his vision of the digital age’s impact on human evolution. The official project description: “The digital era is no longer the futuristic set of a sci-movie. It has become our present reality where all digital platforms, computers, mobile phones, and tablets are now prosthetic elements of our daily lives, which work as extensions of our bodies and minds. We invest so much of our time into these objects that we have started to detach from our physical bodies making us now mind-based digital beings – androids in the becoming. Internet and social networks have created a complex social fabric where it is possible, through avatars and alter egos, to interact with the rest of the world – erasing any geographic border that might exist. By questioning this reality and how it affects our body limits ‘Ínsula’ starts as an observation of this behaviors to explore and interpret the evolution from a human into a digital Homo Sapiens.”
While the distorted, grey-skinned figure appears grotesque, Jacobsen maintains his conception of virtual humanity is not dystopian; he’s merely exploring what our digital selves might look like. The lack of normal human skin tone and organs expresses Jacobsen’s notion of our online bodies. “I call it a projection, what we do on Facebook or Instagram, or the Internet in general. A part of ourselves is not physical anymore,” he tells Wired. For Jacobsen, the digitization of the human body, with a smartphone as an additional appendage of sorts, means having access to unlimited knowledge that wasn’t as readily available to previous generations. “You also have your phone attached to your body all day. It can become a vessel of eternal knowledge if you use it wisely. It makes me happy to observe these new generations having technology so intrinsic to their bodies. They grow up playing with apps since day zero and there is so much to reinvent.” I can’t say I fully agree; while I acknowledge the Internet provides a tremendous wealth of information and allows me to connect with people I otherwise would never “meet”, I resent being tethered to my phone 24/7 (which, by the way, I refer to as the “nightmare rectangle”.) I certainly would never want it to physically take over any part of me. Jacobsen’s vision may not be dystopian, but for older generations it certainly can be interpreted as unsettling.
Still, the animation makes a huge difference – the images become less sinister when viewed as fluid motions. Additionally, “Ínsula” is notable in that it was created with the artists situated in different countries. Nowadays that’s not surprising, but 5 years before the pandemic necessitated remote work, it seems even more ahead of its time.
Similar ideas are explored in “The Great Barrier”, a 2018 series of photos that simultaneously recalls the beauty and destruction of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. The centering of a human body – this time fused with marine flora and fauna instead of tech gadgets and electrical signals – depicts “an abstract vessel interacting with the environment,” mirroring either the vibrancy or decay of its surroundings and perhaps serving as a commentary on humanity’s role in saving or destroying the planet. “The Great Barrier” was also the result of a remote collaboration between Jacobsen and Australian performer/movement director Paul Zivkovich.
In my opinion, Jacobsen’s most refined examination of the body and its boundaries is “Digital Flesh”, which incorporates the style and subjects (flowers, fruit, etc.) found in traditional still life painting and combines them with tendons, muscles and internal organs. “These still lifes focus in finding human shapes in the everyday objects, for they carry the symbolic meaning through our senses and time. Either in their natural state or digitally manipulated selves, these forms float in harmony,” notes the project description.
The one titled “Uncertainty” is my favorite of the series, as there’s something vaguely aquatic about it. The large pink flower towards the left seems to be emanating light, illuminating its surroundings like a bioluminescent creature of the deep ocean.
I also like “Digital Flesh” because it’s the most stylistically similar of Jacobsen’s works to the Floral Fantasy pouch. The artist created a short video that alludes to makeup’s tactile properties. The flowers appear to represent makeup colors and the pollen is reminiscent of delicate powder particles.
Overall, I enjoyed this collaboration. I do think Jacobsen tamped down the weirdness too much; I would have liked to see something more surreal or at least something that spoke more literally to the theme of evolution as in his 2017 film Die Verwandlung (“The Metamorphosis”, based on Kafka’s work), since makeup can be such a powerful agent of transformation. And while I enjoyed the video he created for the collection, it may have been interesting to do a makeup version of “Ínsula” or “Digital Flesh” since the same themes apply to makeup, i.e. showing how cosmetics can become one with, or an extension of, the human body. (Think about all the tips for “melding” a product with the skin rather than having it sit on top of it.) Alas, something really bizarre probably would not have been as marketable. Of course, for me, the stranger the better!
What do you think about Jacobsen’s work and the design he made for Lisa Eldridge?
Here’s a bit of luxury to start off your week! (Yes, I backdated this post.) Hermès, historic French purveyor of fine leather goods and other accessories since 1837, debuted a lipstick line back in March. Once I saw the modern color-blocked tubes I knew some of them had to make their way into the Museum’s collection, so I picked up a few of the limited-edition ones and one from the permanent line. I’m not going to spend any time discussing the merits of the Birkin bag vs. the Kelly or anything else related to Hermès fashion and history, as there are any number of resources out there. Instead, I’ll talk about the house of Hermès in passing only as it relates to the lipstick.
I love the canvas pouch and signature orange box each are housed in. The tubes were created by Pierre Hardy, creative director of Hermès jewelry and shoes.
The caps are engraved with the ex-libris emblem chosen by Émile Maurice Hermès for his personal library in 1923. “The top curves inward a bit like a fingerprint, giving it a little softness…an anticipation of the gesture to come,” Hardy explains to Wallpaper magazine.
I adore the color combinations and the material is equally impressive. Though the tubes may resemble some sort of plastic, they are entirely free of it and are also refillable. The brushed metal on the tubes used for the permanent shades is a nod to Hermes’s “perma-brass” fixtures on their bags. I’ll let Wallpaper expand on the design: “Each lipstick tube is made of 15 different elements by partner workshops in France and Italy. Refillable, they are meant to be kept as precious objects, like jewels. The modern graphic design of the tubes contrasts with the classic ex-libris on the cap. The top half of the tube is white, or what Hardy calls ‘the image of purity and simplicity’. Hardy will play around more freely with the colour blocks of these tubes, finding ‘harmonies’ with each individual shade. For the first edition, an intense purple lipstick comes in a tube with bands of red and cornflower blue, while a coral shade is offset by emerald green. The overall effect is very Memphis Group…Prior to this, Hardy had no experience with beauty products, and neither, really, did Hermès. He says there were advantages in approaching the design with a blank slate. ‘I thought, let’s act as though nothing else existed. I will try to create the quintessence of an object that is feminine, pure, simple. One that is immediately desirable but will stand the test of time, and that can convey the Hermès style: luxury and sobriety.'”
A couple of points here: first, the very old idea of makeup containers as jewelry or art objects is obviously still going strong in 21st century. Second, I had to google the Memphis Group (they’re a design collective from the ’80s, FYI) but the resemblance in terms of color-blocking is striking.
Third, the article says that Hardy had not designed makeup before. This is not exactly true, as he collaborated with NARS on a collection back in 2013. Do you remember the adorable little shoe duster bags for the nail polish duos? I’m almost positive this charming design touch was Hardy’s idea.
In addition to makeup as jewelry, Hardy brings up another age-old idea: makeup as art, specifically painting. Regarding the lip pencil and brush he designed for Hermès in addition to the tubes, he remarks, “I studied visual arts, and these materials – brushes, pencils – resemble what we used back then. It is interesting to approach the question of femininity like a painter: what can we offer a woman so she can be an artist of her own beauty?”
Now let’s talk about the lipsticks themselves. Jérôme Touron, formerly of Dior and Chanel, was hired as the creative director of Rouge Hermès specifically to oversee the shade selection and textures. Each of the 24 colors (the number based on the house’s address at 24 Rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré) is inspired by the roughly 900 leather colors and over 75,000 silk swatches from the company’s archives. While it was difficult to narrow down the initial lineup, Touron enjoyed the “pure freedom” of digging through the archives. “It’s like a carré [square]; there is a profusion, an infinity of possibilities, and at the same time, a frame, that is clear and precise. Make-up works exactly the same way; there is an infinity of options in terms of colours, textures and types of application and at the same time it has to meet a certain function.” The matte Orange Boîte, shown below, is a direct reference to Hermès’s orange boxes, while Rouge H is from a color released in 1925 that I may have to buy. As Touron explains, “[Emile] introduced at the International Exhibition of Modern Decorative and Industrial Arts in Paris, with a truly pioneering spirit: he was the first to ask his tanners to create an exclusive ‘signature’ shade for leather. This colour immediately became a signature colour for Hermès because of its unique and singular hue: different (darker) from the Art Deco bright red of the time.”
The lipsticks are allegedly scented with a custom fragrance concocted by the brand’s perfumer Christine Nagel with notes of sandalwood, arnica and angelica, but I couldn’t detect any scent. (Hopefully I’m not developing COVID.) There are 10 with matte finishes and 14 with satin, representing the various finishes of leathers, Doblis suede for the mattes and calfskin for the satins. However, Elle magazine reports that the satin texture is inspired by the company’s silk scarves, so who knows.
Hermès lipsticks in Orange Boite, Rose Inoui, Violet Insensé and Corail Fou
Hermès plans on releasing limited edition shades every 6 months, so I purchased the three fall 2020 colors. I really will try not to buy all three each and every season because it might not be the best use of the Museum’s budget, but the color-blocking is just so irresistible (even if we have seen it on lipstick before). And as a collector there’s a compulsion to have them all.
Also, all of the shades of the limited-edition lipsticks are inspired by an 1855 book Touron refers to when creating colors: The Principles of Harmony and Contrast of Colours and Their Applications to the Arts by Michel-Eugène Chevreul (that’s a mouthful!)
Hermès fall 2020 lipsticks in Rose Ombré, Rose Nuit and Rose Pommette
I’m still scratching my head over what exactly Touron does. I thought for sure he was a makeup artist since most lines have a makeup artist involved, but apparently he is a “product developer” according to the Wall Street Journal. The article reports that the decision not to hire a makeup artist or celebrity face was intentional. “‘The idea of one makeup artist giving all the rules was not ours,’ says [President and CEO of Hermès Parfums] Agnes de Villers. Touron is a product developer. He used makeup artists to help him test and develop products, but no one is signing a product group or telling anyone how to wear anything. For [artistic director Pierre Alexis] Dumas, that approach infantilizes customers. ‘We’ve always relied on the good sense and intelligence of our clients,’ he says. There will be no Hermès ‘face of the season’ or step-by-step inserts with line drawings. As Dumas puts it: ‘Lipstick is not a status symbol, nor a sign of submission to an order, but an affirmation of the self.'” It’s certainly a unique approach and only time will tell whether it pays off.
I have to say I wasn’t impressed with Touron’s reasoning for starting with a lipstick or its meaning. “I think the lipstick is special because it has the ability to reveal personality in a few seconds, in a single gesture, in just one application. Instantly, it reveals the colour of the personality. In a way, it exemplifies our conception of beauty: to reveal, not to transform. Hence the desire to start the Hermès Beauty with a lipstick collection. Also, perhaps because a lipstick concentrates in a very small size, our whole approach to the object, the colour, the material and the gesture in other words, some of the great fundamentals of Hermès.” Eh. I wish he had been honest rather than trying to spin it into something more profound than what it is: good business sense. Nearly all major cosmetic lines start with one product and it’s usually lipstick because it’s the most profitable makeup item and a good way to test the waters. Lipstick is really a barometer to see how the line is received and whether there’s interest in a full collection. As for the “gesture” nonsense it’s really just the brand’s tagline of “beauty is a gesture”, and I also think makeup can absolutely be transformative, even as it’s “revealing” one’s true colors. I did, however, enjoy the beautiful boxed set he came up with for the holiday season and his description of the relationship between color and music. The Piano Box set contains all 24 permanent shades. “Laid out in a line with their black and white lacquering, the lipsticks looked just like piano keys…for me, colors are like musical notes; they can be combined to create harmonies and resonance. More fundamentally, color, like music, is at the same time a precise system—like a frame, and something free, artistic, and deeply emotional.” That could explain why there are so many music-themed makeup objects!
Anyway, what’s especially interesting is that nearly every article claims this is the first time Hermès released lipstick. That is not true and I have the photos to prove it. A very kind Museum supporter on Instagram sent me images of a previous lipstick by Hermès. She’s not sure exactly when they came out, but according to newspaper articles it debuted in early 2001 in the U.S., selling for $25. The Wall Street Journal cited earlier reports that artistic director Pierre Alexis Dumas had suggested lipstick back in 2000 but that the company turned out not to be ready for a full line. “‘I think I was the one who suggested to my father [Jean-Louis Dumas, the late chairman and creative director of the house] that we should register the name for lipstick.’ They didn’t do it then—instead just once making a single shade of red lipstick in limited edition. They needed to think it through some more.” However, this photo shows a number on the lipstick which implies there were more shades. Perhaps in Europe, where this online friend of mine is based, offered more colors and in the U.S. we only got one.
In looking at the older lipstick and comparing it to the 2020 version, I must say the new line is far superior design-wise than Hermès’s previous attempt at makeup. It makes sense, since Touron, Hardy, Nagel, Dumas, along with Bali Barret, director of Hermès Women, spent 3 years bringing the cosmetics line to fruition. There wasn’t nearly as much fanfare or press for the earlier release, which leads me to believe it was more of a quick money grab led primarily by their marketing department without any real thought put into it – one can tell top executives and designers were not too hands-on. I’m all for minimal style, but the slim, plain packaging reads as very uninspired and not at all distinct from other brands, nor does it really capture Hermès’s vision. This could also be the reason why the line failed within a year – I saw no mention of it after March 2002 – and why nearly all the coverage for the new line omits any reference to their earlier foray into cosmetics. In hindsight, the company may see it as a mistake and prefer that it stays buried in newspaper archives…unfortunately for them, beauty aficionados don’t forget!
Anyway, as with other luxury makeup, many people will want to know whether Hermès lipstick is worth shelling out a significant amount of money for. On the surface, $67-$72 is an absurd price for a single lipstick. But as I noted with Louboutin nail polish, you’re not just paying for the product; you’re paying for the Hermès name along with all of the thoughtful details outlined above, not to mention that they are more affordable than nearly any other Hermès item (the leather cases for the lipsticks start at $340). Having said that, there are plenty of other quality lipsticks to choose from if you’re not into forking over some 70 bucks for the name or packaging. Most reviews have indicated that Hermès performs well although not necessarily better than other high-end brands, so splurging on one (or several) because of the luxurious feel makes sense. But I don’t believe any of the ingredients or technology in the product by itself warrant the price tag – beeswax, shea butter and mulberry extract are not that special, after all. Bottom line: if you’re wondering whether it’s worth it to buy these, yes, but only if you’re really into all the luxurious bells and whistles, a collector or if you love the brand. Again, if you just want a lipstick that performs well and don’t care about the label, pretty orange boxes and colorful tubes, there are many comparable lipsticks out there.
To conclude, I’m really enjoying Rouge Hermès despite the fact that I haven’t swatched any of the lipsticks I purchased (although it is very tempting!) You know I admire attention to detail when it comes to makeup packaging and design, and these tick every box. I also think these tie into the company’s aristocratic history but look much more approachable than I was expecting. I always perceived Hermès as a sort of blue-blood, old-money type brand – I mean, they started as a company that made fancy leather horse saddles and harnesses for people wealthy enough to consider equestrianism a hobby – but the modern and colorful design of the lipsticks proves they may not be as stuffy as I thought. Still, I’d like to see more adventurous shades and textures, i.e. their Malachite green or a glitter finish. And obviously they need more diversity in their advertising. I can’t say I’ve seen any, ahem, mature-looking models or anyone resembling a gender besides cis women, so hopefully they’ll branch out a bit while still keeping true to the brand’s heritage. A full makeup line is planned to be in place by 2023, so fingers crossed we’ll see some other interesting limited edition items…maybe a Birkin-embossed highlighter or one of their scarf patterns printed on the outer cases. 😉
What do you think of Rouge Hermès? Would you or have you tried them?
Apologies for the back to back artist collaboration posts. I was hoping to have a February recap in between but work has been sapping my spirit even more so than usual, so I ended up abandoning Curator's Corner last month. I don't think you'll mind too much though, once you see the positively amazing porcine-themed brush from Chikuhodo, who teamed up with illustrator/graphic designer Mochichito (a.k.a. Steph Fung) to celebrate the Chinese New Year. You might remember how smitten I was with Chikuhodo's Moon Rabbit brush, so as soon as I saw this one I knew I had to add it to the menagerie. If I remember I'll try to update this post with comparison shots to that brush so that those of you who actually intend on using it can see how the size and shape compare. I will say that as with the Moon Rabbit brush, the quality of the bristles of the Mochichito one appears impeccable – super soft and fluffy.
The detailing and craftsmanship are simply stunning. The handle has a scene depicting two piglets resting on fluffy silver clouds and a gold crescent moon, while silver and pink cherry blossoms bloom behind them.
Naturally I had to take tons of close-up shots so you can appreciate the beauty, but I'm not sure if they do it justice…it's much more charming than my pictures were able to capture.
As with the Moon Rabbit brush, there's a touch of iridescence on the silver portion.
Just when you think they couldn't possibly get any cuter, Mochichito ratchets up the adorable factor by giving the piggies tiny silver dimples.
So who is the woman behind all this preciousness? Fortunately I didn't have to do much digging, as Beautylish has a brief but informative interview with the artist posted online. Mochichito is the brainchild of Steph Fung, a graphic designer who began focusing more on her illustrative pursuits several years ago. Fung earned her BFA in Digital Media from Otis College of Art and Design in 2011. While she is an accomplished designer, the Mochichito project allows her to indulge her love of anything kawaii and handmade crafts. A lifetime doodler – "I loved drawing in notebooks when I should have been taking notes," she says – the Mochichito brand is a natural progression of Fung's passion for illustration. Interestingly, Fung is primarily a digital artist, i.e. what you see is not made by hand on paper and then translated into a digital format – her illustrations are originally drawn on a screen. Adobe Illustrator is her favorite tool, as she claims she's "never been very good at traditional mediums." I find this fascinating since I believed it would actually be much more difficult to be creative with digital illustration techniques given their limitations, but the ingenuity displayed in Mochichito shows that if you're a true artist, the medium doesn't matter – you'll find a way to uniquely express your vision.
Fung's subject matter consists largely of animals and flowers, with some playful critters that don't actually exist in nature. Yes, there are mermaids! She explains: "I would probably describe my style as kawaii cute! I always try to have fun with word play or convey a fun idea or concept in my art. I love bright colors (but also pastel), animals, and cute faces (is that weird?)". Nope, not at all!
Fung finds inspiration in a variety of places. "I’m very much influenced by anime, stationery and lovely packaging, fashion, music, and other people’s art—there is so much to see at your fingertips these days." Indeed, Fung is mindful of what her fellow artists are up to, and seems to enjoy participating in 100 day Instagram challenges with them. My favorite are these cheeky illustrations she completed for #100daysoflittledudes, which also show her aforementioned love of word play.
The Mochichito store offers an array of stickers, pins, and more recently, acrylic toys based on the illustrations Fung created for the "100 days of tiny terrariums" Instagram challenge. I hope to see stationery or even stuffed animals some day!
Speaking of which, I think another reason Mochichito's work resonates with me so much is the fact that she has a stuffed teddy named Little Bear that accompanies her on her travels.
As for the Beautylish collab, previously Mochichito was responsible for designing the store's Lucky Bags, which are essentially Japanese fukubukuro – a custom for the new year where bags are filled with mystery contents offered at a much lower price than if you purchased them individually. For example, a $75 Beautylish Lucky Bag typically has full size items worth $150 or or more. In 2018 Fung took inspiration from the Japanese legend of the Seven Lucky Gods who are said to grant good luck (shown top to bottom, left to right in the illustration below): Bishamonten, Daikokoten, Hotei, Benzaiten, Ebisu, Jurojin, and Fukurokuju.
This year, Beautylish tapped Fung again to come up with an illustration for a Chikuhodo brush to celebrate the lunar new year. Fung shares the creative process behind the adorable end result: "Since the design was for the Lunar New Year, I knew I wanted to include a moon. 2019 is the Year of the Pig, so I thought making a large, gleaming moon as the pigs' playground would be so cute. Incorporating some floral elements into the design would add some soft, delicate touches to frame the scene. The story behind the design is really up to the viewer! I wanted to keep it kind of open-ended. You could think of the pigs as two lovers, a mama or papa pig and their piglet, or just two frolicking friends."
It was Fung's first time designing a brush handle, and I think she translated the design to suit the handle beautifully. "It was definitely different from anything I’ve worked on in the past. I had to keep in mind the shape and curvature of the brush and make sure all of the important parts of the artwork would be seen from the front of the brush, but also how I might continue the artwork around the sides and back of the brush, while also keeping in mind how it would photograph." I agree that you have to think differently about how an illustration would work in 3D versus on a flat surface, and Fung executed it perfectly.
Overall, obviously I'm in love with this brush and all of Mochichito's work. Art with a more serious style or message is great, but sometimes your eyes and brain just need cute things. And it could be because I've just discovered it and have been watching it nonstop, but Mochichito's characters remind me so much of those from Adventure Time, a truly whimsical kids' cartoon that I can't seem to get enough of lately. There's just something so comforting about cuteness! As for Chikuhodo, the designs on their brush handles tend to be more elegant and sophisticated, so going the kawaii route was a refreshing change of pace.
What do you think of this brush and Mochichito?
I blinked a few times when I first laid eyes on this set by indie brand Sugarpill, thinking it was odd that Mark Ryden had collaborated with them. But then I saw that the company had teamed up with Brandi Milne, another Pop Surrealist whose work, upon closer inspection, is markedly different than Ryden's.
I won't make any excuses as to why I didn't get to posting about this before now even though it was originally released for Valentine's Day; the reason is that I'm simply disorganized. The set got buried under a bunch of other makeup items in the office, and it wasn't until I recently started seeing mentions on various art blogs of Milne's new solo exhibition, which opened last week, that I remembered I had it.
I love that one of the little teeth from the outside of the palette made its way to the interior of the box.
There was a truly overwhelming amount of information and interviews with Milne, so I hope by whittling it down somewhat I can still do her art justice. Get ready for a lot of quotes since I believe the artist's own words are the most useful in understanding their work.
Milne, a self-taught artist, drew and colored throughout her childhood in Anaheim, California (and in a strict Christian household) and began showing her work in various galleries in the early aughts. By January 2008 she was able to make painting her full-time career. Let's explore the various themes in her work and how her style has evolved over the years, shall we?
Early on, Milne's style was more illustrative, most likely due to the fact that she hadn't been exposed to much contemporary art. She explains, "I grew up completely unaware of contemporary artists. In the 90s when I was drawing in my room ('developing my style' at that time), I didn’t know of Mark Ryden and Camille Rose Garcia, or anyone painting wild things the way they were. So I had only my own world of things that influenced me – the children’s books I had as a kid, Bugs Bunny cartoons, coloring books, Woody Woodpecker and Heckle and Jeckle, Disney’s Alice in Wonderland and Pinocchio, vintage Halloween and Christmas decorations, music that had inspired me – and the way my imagination interpreted all of it."
Her passion for art grew, and now Milne cites Mucha, Erte, Maxfield Parrish, Norman Rockwell, along with the aforementioned Garcia, as her chief influences. She gradually switched to painting, which allowed her to be a little less precise than drawing neat, contained lines. "I used to work on paper/illustration board with watercolors, pencil and ink in order to keep things REAL tight and clean. I used to hold my breath whenever I worked, and my poor hand would cramp up because I was so pressed for perfection. Over time, I couldn’t stand feeling like a mistake would set me back the entire piece – I wanted to be free. Painting on wood was my ticket out of that stress filled bind I was putting myself in, and I took the leap a few years back, scared as hell! But since then, that freedom is the rabbit I’ve been chasing!" Interestingly, Milne's husband custom makes all of the wood panels she uses as her canvas. I always love a supportive spouse. :)
Other stylistic shifts include Milne's choice of colors. Earlier work presents a fairly neutral palette, but more recently Milne has favored a brighter, arguably more feminine palette that's heavy on red, pink and white. In reference to her latest exhibition, shesays, "In this new body of work, my palette went from really bright brights—fluorescents paired with really dark contrasts. I wanted to illustrate life blossoming from darkness. That so much beauty and life can spark from or grow from a place that seems frightening or lifeless…I love red and hyper pinks and whites. There was a year within the process of making this body of work where all I wanted to paint was reds and pinks and whites." This is most likely the influence of a new florescent shade of red she stumbled across at an art supplies store a few years ago. In any case, red, pink and white is the dominant color scheme for Milne these days, and this is reflected in the Sugarpill palette as well.
Shenotes that this feature came naturally: "I enjoy bending scale in my work…it wasn’t as important to bend the scale as it was to make the characters feel as if they were at home in their environment. These things are not intentional – they come [instinctively]…Maybe the exaggerated limbs represent a feeling of being larger than life. A feeling of being able to reach and grow beyond what one might feel their capabilities limit. " So not only do these long arms and legs make for a more cohesive composition, they also represent the emotional "stretching" required to handle life's challenges.
Thematically speaking, Milne's portrayals of female characters are highly autobiographical. The title work from her 2009 show "Run Rabbit, Run", for example, represents the emotional strife faced by Milne after the passing of her mother. "The idea and feeling behind this body of work is strongly related to my mother’s passing in March ’08. My work is emotionally narrative (not by choice), and because I’m struggling through this huge loss, it’s reflected in my new works. I’ve tied in the show’s theme ‘Run Rabbit, Run’ – a lyric from Pink Floyd that hit hard for me one day while I was listening to Dark Side of the Moon, and really feeling my mom’s absence. It struck a note with me, and opened up this idea in my mind. This was the inspiration for my new show, and in turn, extremely helpful in my heart…My girls are an endless narrative for me. She’s my way of voicing an emotion in a piece, sad, innocent, scared."
And for I Never Dreamed of Such a Place, she explains, "She's kind of broken. Her body is broken, she’s giving up and hitting bottom. And then myself – I feel like the way that I grew up was in kind of a religious bubble. So in that aspect, I feel like I’m really innocent, you know? As a lamb, being slaughtered. That’s me…It looks cheery, but it’s bloody. She’s broken and I’ve been going through a lot – trying to help myself. So it’s all coming out in the work.”
As for other themes, Milne's work weaves together the many influences from her childhood mentioned previously: Fisher Price toys, holiday decorations, and, of course, proximity to Disneyland. "Pinocchio, Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Dumbo, etc. Having loved all those cartoons, going to Disneyland was surreal. The Tea Cup ride with all the lanterns in the shady trees and twinkly lights above. Flying over that lit-up city in the Peter Pan ride, Frog and Toad, the Matterhorn? Being at Disneyland as a kid, is really unparalleled to anything else. It was hugely influential," she says. Additionally, her mother's religious outlook, coupled with the darker side of fairy tales and Disney movies, inspired the concept of duality that permeates so many of her paintings. While they seem to be cheerful and innocent upon first glance, something sinister lurks beneath the candy-coated surface. One example is Be Good for Goodness Sake, in which two happy snowmen naively enjoy some frosty cold milk…that's actually laced with opium, given the labels on the bottle. (Yes, "milk of the poppy" is indeed a Game of Thrones reference.)
Or Soothe Yourself, which shows an innocent little bunny surrounded by brightly colored sweets munching on a gingerbread man. It's an adorable scene until you notice the gingerbread man is (understandably) frowning, while equally sad-looking teeth look on. A piece of taffy (?) on the left cradles what appears to be a dead tooth, and the cherry cordial on the lower right has broken and spilled onto the snow.
Milne says, "I love duality. It was so confusing to me growing up, I really couldn’t wrap my head around it and I fought it for so long. I believed that things should be black or white; that you were either a good person or a bad person. You were either happy or you were sad. In Disney movies, particularly, I was absolutely astonished to see that Disney chose to include such horrifically sad moments in his storytelling. We were watching a CARTOON and suddenly there was death and heartbreak and I was FEELING it!! I wanted to reject it, fast forward to the fun cute happy parts. I was disturbed by it. But as I was exploring my own work as an adult, I realized that it was that duality I was feeling and that I wanted to talk about. I love beauty and I love happiness, but I wouldn’t have either if I didn’t have the opposites and everything in between…This new body of work was inspired by the notion of good vs. evil, and the fairytale-like memories of being a kid. I painted what it felt like to be happy and innocent and naive and then to discover certain truths about the world and reality." This idea of yin/yang forces is expressed in several paintings from her latest exhibition. Lynrose depicts a bright pink gingerbread house set among a forest filled with candy canes and ice cream. While it looks positively charming at first, several ominous-looking skeletons are creeping up onto the house, and a closer look reveals that even the tree and shrub next to it have skull-like faces.
The title piece also seems utterly harmless initially: it shows a group of jolly, red-cheeked snowmen enjoying some frozen treats. But then you notice the trees in the background are dead, and the ice cream container has a faded skull and crossbones.
Despite the darker imagery in these paintings and others, by and large snowmen represent feelings of happy nostalgia for Milne. She explains, "The snowman is the jolliest fellow! My mom LOVED Christmas – she would transform the house with tinsel and knick knacks and vintage decor, Christmas music would be playing on the big family stereo and it was such happiness for me as a kid. It was a wonderland!! All these years later, I find myself trying to illustrate that feeling – trying to recreate it in my work. The snowman tchotchke was a rare find in the house (there were plenty or reindeer and angels and Santa’s to be found), but I remember specifically adoring what snowmen figures we had, and probably hoarding them from my siblings. The snowman best represents that spirit for me...I wanted that Christmas wonderland to last all year round!" (Interesting side note: Milne also enjoys drawing snowmen since she her favorite shape is a circle – "it has no harsh corners". I suspect this is also the reason for so many paintings featuring Humpty Dumpty, her love/hate relationship with his character notwithstanding.)
While many of Milne's paintings represent the concept of duality, sometimes they're simply whimsical and joyful, with nary a menacing skeleton or dead tree to be found – just unbridled sweetness. "Wide-eyed and maniacal, I try to capture the feeling of pure happiness and bliss as a kid." I couldn't find anything dark or upsetting in the Sugarpill palette or in these paintings.
I'm particularly struck by the maraschino cherries scattered about in this one. They just look so succulent and juicy. Milne greatly enjoys painting these too: "I can't stop painting cherries and all I want is for everything to be translucent!"
I love these since they remind me of characters from children's books, which makes sense given that Milne has illustrated one, not to mention all the delicious treats. You know I'm all about sweets as well as childhood nostalgia since my own was so happy. Milne's reminiscing about her mother's holiday decorations, coupled with the imagery in the paintings, instantly transport me back to celebrating various holidays with my family. (In particular I'm remembering this adorable ceramic ghost with a red face my mom put out for Halloween, and a beautiful ceramic Christmas tree with multi-colored lights…if it wasn't out of my price range I'd commission Milne to paint a couple pieces featuring these items).
Anyway, while there was an enormous amount of information online, I still have a couple unsolved mysteries surrounding Milne's work. First, I'm curious to know about the German references.
This little lamb seems to be wearing a traditional Alpine hat.
There are German words on the script in Strutter.
And this poor little snowman is saying "ouch" in German, while in Long After This a sad pumpkin begs "love me".
Milne herself was also recently photographed wearing what appears to be a dirndl.
I suppose it could be related to fairy tales, since the most famous ones in the Western world come from the Brothers Grimm. Or perhaps Milne has a German background or just appreciates German culture. Whatever it is, I'm surprised I didn't come across any explanations for it.
The second item that left me scratching my head was how the collaboration with Sugarpill came about. I'm assuming Sugarpill reached out to Milne first and they went from there, but it would have been nice to hear more about the process, the inspiration for the palette (who thought of a cat theme?) and how the artwork was created to reflect it. I watched this video of a studio visit and read about Milne's artisticprocess, so I know a bit about how she operates, but I imagine things might be a little different when a commission for a makeup company is involved. At least we know the artwork was an original piece made just for Sugarpill.
That was pretty long despite my best effort to condense everything I found while also trying not to leave out any major points regarding Milne's work. So if you're still reading, thank you! Overall, the Sugarpill palette is a wonderful addition to the Museum's artist collaboration collection and also helps make up for the fact that I failed to nab the Trinket lip gloss from 2016. I enjoy Milne's work so much I may have to ask Santa for a book of her work. ;) I feel as though I gravitate towards it since we're about the same age – we grew up with the same toys, Disney movies, cartoons (and even had similar holiday decorations!) and also because we had happy childhoods. And obviously I love any artwork featuring delectable-looking sweets.
What do you think?
As soon as I saw this adorable lip balm at various blogs I ordered it immediately from Sephora. It doesn't really get any cuter than this – a sparkly pink strawberry-scented lip balm in the shape of a flamingo pool float, plus a reference to one of the greatest films of the '90s?! Yes please.
Another precious detail is the flamingo-shaped "F" in Felicia.
Our mini Babo loved it and asked if I could fill the bathtub so he could take it for a proper spin.
That seems okay, until you realize that the "Bye Felicia" meme Taste Beauty is referencing with their lip balm may actually be a form of cultural appropriation in and of itself. Let's take a look at the original clip, which, if I'm being honest, still makes me laugh. (I also love Smokey's "remember it, write it down, take a picture, I don't give a fuck!" Classic.)
Impeccably delivered, it's a funny line that wasn't even in the script (apparently Ice Cube's son came up with it)…but as it turns out, Felisha is a crackhead. To a clueless white person such as myself, I thought she was simply an annoying, mooching neighbor. For "bye Felisha" to take off as a meme, I guess there were other people who accidentally (or perhaps intentionally) overlooked that aspect of Felisha's character. Or worse, many people using the meme were totally oblivious to the original source. As this article on white people's inappropriate use of black slang notes, "What’s amazing though is that over the last year [2015] or so, so many white people and non-black people have used [Bye Felicia] (as a sassy dismissal) without actually knowing where it’s from." Also, the spelling of Felisha's name morphed into "Felicia", I'm assuming to make it more palatable to white people. As Fayola Perry writes in XPress Magazine, "Cultural appropriation sanitizes and spreads lies about people's culture. It takes away the story of Felisha, the addict who represents and symbolizes so many black and brown women's struggle with drug addiction in that era and makes her a passing internet trend. This lack of attention to detail can perpetuate racist stereotypes. Someone may think they are paying homage to someone's culture and the person whose culture they're paying homage to is completely offended at the misrepresentation. Fear not, you can enjoy a great burrito if you are not Latino and do yoga if you're not Indian, but be thoughtful, check your privilege and be considerate of context and history. Everyone has some type of privilege, people of colour appropriate each other's cultures as well. We must all be mindful of our lens, other people's perspectives, the legacy of oppression and try our best to make sure that we are not continuing it. At the very least, know where the appropriated element came from and at the very, very least, spell her name right. It's Felisha, not Felicia."
So while I was overjoyed to see the phrase take off as a meme given how much I love Friday, turns out I should have been aware that it was a form of whitewashing, since it seems that the vast majority of people using it don't know where it originated. Or in my case, had no clue about the more serious implications of Felisha's character and her dismissal. In reading more about the history of the film and that scene in particular, I don't think anyone involved with Friday intended the phrase to be perceived as anything other than comic relief, but now I can see how it can be viewed as a microcosm of the bigger issue of black women's needs continually being ignored.
In turn, if we're arguing that the meme itself is a form of cultural appropriation, then the lip balm is as well, since it's directly referencing the meme and obviously not the original source. I mean, Felisha didn't wear makeup1, and flamingo-shaped pool floats didn't make an appearance in the film as far as I know – this lip balm really has nothing to do with Friday. A succinct reaction comes from this Twitter user: "It's time for black brands to start monetizing our shit. But we're not corny enough to slap bye Felicia on some lip balm all outta context." Blogger Aprill Colemanexplains further: "Felisha was an accurate representation of black culture in the early 90s on the heels of the crack epidemic. Taste Beauty’s use is completely out of context. Felisha is an African American, crack-addicted character that did not wear makeup, whereas Felicia is a brightly colored flamingo shaped like a pool float. A tiny part of my black American culture was appropriated, reinvented, and packaged into a strawberry scented balm for profit." Coleman also astutely points out that two of the three Taste Beauty founders are white men, so it's possible that the company, like so many others, wasn't fully aware of the phrase's origins; they just saw the meme and thought an alliterative novelty lip balm with the same name would be marketable. And if Taste Beauty did know where it came from and still wanted to go ahead with the product despite the potential for offensiveness, perhaps they could have donated a portion of the sales to Angie's Kids. This is a nonprofit founded by Angela Means, the actress who played Felisha, that focuses on health and early childhood development. (Side note: I would seriously love to get her thoughts on this. She seems okay with the phrase's popularity but I'm not sure about the lip balm.)
So where does that leave us? Well, on a personal level I feel like a jerk for buying it and also for not understanding, quite literally for the past 3 years, that the "Bye Felicia" meme was actually white people appropriating yet another piece of black culture – I honestly thought it was a widespread, '90s-nostalgia-fueled, long-overdue tribute to Ice Cube's legendary diss. As someone who sees herself as a feminist, which means being aware of the struggles of WOC, my ignorance is rather troubling.2 As for the item's inclusion in the Museum's collection, I will likely not display it unless I'm doing a more educational exhibition on cultural appropriation in cosmetics. In addition to the ads explored in my 2013 post on the topic, sadly there are tons more examplessince then that could be provided.
What do you think about all this? Have you seen Friday and if so, do you find the "bye Felisha" scene funny?
1 Interestingly, the actress who played Felisha cites the makeup artist on set as the one responsible for helping her fully inhabit Felisha's character. The somewhat haggard look was entirely intentional. She notes in an interview: "What was funny was when I got on set the makeup artist looked at me and she was like, ‘O.K.,’ and she kind of went with my look and when we got to the set (“Friday” director) F. Gary Gray looked at me and was like, ‘Whoa, whoa, wait, wait. She’s not a beauty queen.’ I give the makeup artist so much credit for helping me create Felisha…So when I got in the makeup artist’s chair, once Gary said, 'No, she’s a hoodrat,' we went back to the drawing board and I fell asleep. But when I woke up and saw myself, it clicked. It helped me go there."
2 Equally problematic is that I've been rewatching the clip and still think it's hilarious – proof that white privilege is real. I'm able to ignore the broader issue of dismissing black women and perceive "bye Felisha" as comedy. Save
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This pretty little palette from Lise Watier nearly slipped through my curating radar (curadar?) when it was released about a month or so ago with their Jardin de Givre collection. I guess technically it's a holiday piece, but the silver glitter embellishments and wintry white of the case makes me think of freshly fallen snow, so I deem it suitable for the post-holiday winter season as well. While I love the beautiful feather pattern on the inside, it was the simplicity and purity of the case's color combination that spurred me to buy it. As far as I can tell, "jardin de givre" translates roughly to "frost garden", and I think the case captures the idea of an icy garden quite nicely. While the pattern is clearly peacock feathers, the placement of the silver glitter within the billowing feathers is reminiscent of frost atop delicate winter blooms.
The Oscars are over, but that's not going to stop me from taking another look at movie tie-in beauty products. I first covered these in 2010 so it's high time for a refresher.
Which is your fave? I'm always partial to Stila, but I do love the envelope design on the Lancôme palette – very simple and elegant.
I first laid eyes on these limited-edition compacts from Korean luxury brand Sulwhasoo in the November 2012 issue of Elle magazine. Since 2003, the company has been releasing their "Shine Classic" compacts featuring a new design (much like the Kanebo Milano compacts) that is "inspired by various elements that symbolize Korean beauty". When Neiman Marcus had them on sale for half price a few weeks ago, I pounced and bought two for the Museum – the 2010 and 2005 editions.
According to Neiman Marcus, "Sulwhasoo took inspiration
from a classic Korean motif in creating this compact, weaving the iconic
six-petal plum blossom into its design. Found on the flower-patterned
doors of Buddhist temples, the plum blossom evokes the infinite beauty
of curves and straight lines. The color within reflects the
apricot color of plum blossom coming into bloom after winter, while plum
blossom extracts offer skin the same protective benefits that shield
the delicate flower from the elements."
Indeed, compare the flower's shape and hexagonal design they form to these doors on Korean Buddhist temples.
And here's the compact from 2005. "The traditional Korean quilt is made by connecting colorful pieces of
fabric to pray for good fortune. Since the old times, quilts conveyed
the belief that endeavors bring good luck. The beauty of liberal,
yet moderate patterns created by small pieces is part of the Shine
classic design in the spirit of 'gathering little for a fortune.' Also,
the technique of Seven Jewels has been applied to uphold the Korean
aesthetic of seven jewels in beautiful and rare colors."
The pearly clasp is a nice little detail.
I couldn't find anything on the "seven jewels" technique, but I did find a traditional Korean quilt. The compact's design is spot-on with its bold colors and piecemeal application.
There are several other Sulwhasoo Shine Classic compacts (and Colorpacts) that I would dearly love to get my hands on, but I will post about those as I hoard collect them. 😉
