I've been eying this palette since it came out about a month or two ago. Looks like Too-Faced released another Quickie Chronicle palette after a long hiatus, and this one is bigger and lights up! I wonder if there's a story on the back like the other Quickies. I'll guess I'll just have to buy it and find out. ;)
(image from toofaced.com)
Right after the release of the Rendez-vous a Paris collection came two limited-edition sets of eye shadows from Bourjois. They feature designs taken from actual vintage Bourjois ads. Unfortunately I was unable to locate any images of these original ads, but the design on these can still be appreciated.
Here is the brown set:
The grey set – there are 3 of these but one is the same white pot as the brown set so I didn't take pics of it. These two are inspired by perfumes Bourjois introduced in the early 20th century.
Cute, no? I just wish they weren't so hard to purchase here! Bourjois is available at Ulta but these limited-edition pieces seem to be available only in the UK.
I placed a Sephora order for some spring goodies last week and couldn't resist picking up a few of these lip balms. I posted about on10 before and sadly it seems that Sephora is doing away with them. It's unfortunate given that the brand was sold exclusively at Sephora. The up side is, they were on massive sale so I treated myself to four of them!
Here's Schweppes and Dr. Pepper:
Tootsie Pop and Tootsie Roll:
I love that a couple of these images were taken from real vintage ads. Here's a poster from the '50s for Schweppes:
(image from lisacollinsflickr at flickr.com)
Another one from the '50s for Tootsie Rolls:
(image from ajaxallpurpose.blogspot.com)
There isn't any information at the on10 website as to where they got the images for their products – all it says is that the packaging is "retro-inspired". I'm assuming though that they have to have permission to use them, at least the ones that are direct copies of real ads like the Schweppes one. In any case, I do hope they're not out of business on account of Sephora dropping them. Otherwise I'll have to stock up before they're completely gone!
p.s. Speaking of sweets, I learned via City Girl Lifestyle that today is World Nutella Day. Awesome.
I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! I headed up to see my family and then off to the Big Apple for a few days in the hopes of finding this treasure from Cle de Peau. Simply named the Holiday Vintage palette, it was inspired by antique jewelry. Sadly this was not available at either the Saks or Barney's Cle de Peau counters in NYC, and it doesn't appear to be sold online anywhere (except for E-bay, where it's going for $160 – $35 more than the already whopping retail price of $125.) This would have been a very nice addition to the Museum's collection, but it's a wee bit out of the budget. I guess it's good in a way, as the spring 2010 collections are looking quite delectable!
(image from temptalia.com)
BellaSugar posted pictures of some truly amazing vintage compacts today, dating from the 1920s through the '50s. The detail on some of them was astonishing, and the materials they were made out of – Bakelite, sterling silver, to name a few – are definitely something you don't see nowadays. I just wish the authors had specified where they found these beauties and roughly how much they cost!
(image from bellasugar.com)
Britishbeautyblogger posted this last week and I definitely had to post about it here as well! Luxe-pack Monaco, an annual showcase of new and innovative packaging, is featuring an exhibit curated by perfume and cosmetics historian Jean Marie Martin-Hattemberg. (Note to Jean-Marie: I'm a cosmetics historian/curator too – can you please explain to me how to parlay this into a real, paying job?!)
Anyway, the Luxe Pack site reads, "Discover how lipsticks and their packaging have been manufactured
over the time. Nowadays seen as a must-have seduction weapon, the
lipstick appeared in self-confident and open-minded women's daily life
in the 20th century… Re-discover the daring and creative power of
brands over time!" Sounds fantastic, no? And according to Premium Beauty News, there will be a book released — not just showcasing the pieces in the exhibtion, but an entire history of lipstick. I for one will be waiting with bated breath for the book to come out, not just because this is something a curator of a makeup museum should by all means have on hand in her library, but to get ideas for my own makeup book. 😉
Here's a pic of the "Couturines" lipsticks that will be on display, which Revlon manufactured between 1961 and 1963. They represent Shirley MacLaine, Marilyn Monroe, and Bette Davis.
image from premiumbeautynews.com
And here's a closeup of Shirley – look at the intricate work on the case as well as the gold detailing towards the base of the lipstick itself. They sure don't make anything like this anymore!
image from luxepack.com
I'd give my eye teeth to fly to Monaco and see this in person, but I guess the book will have to do for now.
The fall makeup collections are everywhere and the thick September magazine issues bursting with fall fashion are weighing down my mailbox, but it's still sweltering here so I wanted to look at some fun summer-themed items from The Balm. I like to think of this line as a cross between Too-Faced and Benefit – kitschy, retro and girly. Created by Marissa Shipman, the brand has a "beauty in five minutes" philosophy, which explains why so many of their products are multi-use, and is meant to be "fun and nostalgic."
Below is Hot Mama (pinky peach blush), Bahama Mama (bronzer) and Cabana Boy (eye shadow/blush):
U.K.-based Andrea Garland has created a lovely line of natural skin care and lip balms. It's great that the products themselves are natural, but the packaging is the real showstopper here – not only is it adorable, it's also recycled! Garland takes used pill boxes and fills them with her balms (after sterilizing the boxes, of course!) And you can send the boxes back to her for a refill when you've used up the balm. The designs range from retro to glamourous to downright cutesy:
(all photos from andreagarland.co.uk)
The retro ones in particular remind of on10's cute lip balm tins featuring Hershey's chocolate, 7UP or Schweppes, which I've posted about before. But Garland's are even better since they're refillable and recycled!
Long overdue, but today I'm looking at the Quickie Chronicle palettes by Too-Faced. According to Sephora, company founder Jerrod Blandino was inspired by a documentary on 1950's "pin-up" magazines. Each of these limited-edition palettes (only 7,000 of each are made), has a different story written by Blandino on the back to express the personality of the woman on the front, and by extension, the makeup look the palette colors will provide. But every palette has the same text at the top: "She had always been a good girl. She played by the rules, never kissed
on the first date, and agreed Daddy always new best. But then the
innocent girl picked up the Quickie Chronicles, and honey, she was
never the same."
Almost of the images are from PC Designs, while some, like the Miss Sixty palette (which was done in conjunction with the women's fashion line), seem to be original artwork. To the best of my knowledge I am missing only one of these – the "Rent" palette, which does not feature a pin-up girl but images of the actors in the play/movie Rent. Seeing as how I'm not into musicals I never bothered to buy it, but maybe I should to make the collection complete.
The feminist in me doesn't think a series of 50's-style pin-up girls is the best representation of women, and the copy for some centers on women using their looks to snag a man and his money. For example, take this text from the Bathing Beauty palette:
"The Bathing Beauty knew she needed a man to bankroll her leisurely,
luxurious lifestyle, but she couldn't decide what sort. He, of course,
had to be willing to buy her diamonds for absolutely no reason at all,
and she positively had to have beach houses in Malibu, Maui, St.
Barths, The Rivera, and Monaco so she could work on her beautifully
bronzed glow year round – and this kit was always at her side to help
her lure in the bait."
Yikes. That aside, I do think the creator meant all of the copy to be tongue-in-cheek and not serious, and I love that he actually writes for each one to make them unique and represent the feel of each palette. As a consumer I think it's great to be able to pick up one of these and know that the makeup inside directly relates to the image on the outside. Looks like you can judge a book by its cover!
Too-Faced is well known for their Quickie Chronicles palettes, but this past January they came out with a something in a different direction: a collection based on the '80s animated series The Smurfs. (For those of you who remember watching them on TV, the show was actually an outgrowth of the Smurf cartoons, which made their debut in 1958 in a Belgian newspaper.)
As part of the So Smurfy collection, this palette features a highlighting powder with the first female Smurf printed on it.
The collection also included an eye shadow palette, eye liner, and lip gloss (which Sephora no longer seems to have up on its site):
I was never a big fan of the Smurfs when I was little, but I thought this collection was just plain fun. Then I did a bit of poking around online and discovered the story behind Smurfette. BellaSugar sums it up nicely:
"Even as a kid, I thought the story of Smurfette's genesis is as sexist
as they come: Gargamel creates Smurfette to seduce and destroy the
all-male Smurf clan. Alas, her dark hair, 'big nose' and simple smock
are not pretty enough to do so. Papa Smurf comes along, works his
magic, and poof! Smurfette is, as Papa says, 'new and improved' with
long blond hair, a smaller nose, a shorter dress, and high heels. So,
while it's just a cartoon and the Too Faced collaboration is meant to
be fun, it's safe to say that Smurfette and I have some baggage to work
through."
Make that three of us. I had absolutely no idea that's how Smurfette was created and was a bit dismayed Too-Faced chose to resurrect this particular cartoon when the company could have chosen from a dozen other '80s shows. I did some more digging and was amazed at the analyses that have been written about the intersection of this cartoon character and feminism (or lack of it), including a wonderful piece by Katha Pollitt on the "Smurfette Principle" in children's TV shows. Still, when examining the Too-Faced concept, it makes sense that creators Jerrod Blandino and ? would choose Smurfette to star in a collection. Their logo is a supermodel named Envy: "She's the 'It girl' every girl wants to be and all the boys have to have!…always remember Envy's mantra, 'why be pretty when you can be gorgeous?'" These statements directly correspond to the copy Sephora came up with to describe the Illuminating Powder: "Smurfette's signature color-correcting shades blend
together for the prettiest perfection—you're sure to be the hottest
girl on your Smurf turf." Like Smurfette's transformation and Envy's mantra, the idea is that one can use this powder to go from "pretty" to "gorgeous". Hmmph. Obviously this is a harmless collection, but it still irks me a little. I think Too-Faced should stick with their tried-and-true Quickie Chronicles pin-ups (which can also be considered anti-feminist to some degree, but that's another post.)