beauty exhibition Archives - Makeup Museum: Where Cosmetics & Art Intersect

I know it seems rather tone-deaf or even callous to launch an exhibition in the midst of a pandemic, especially an exhibition that projects optimism and celebrates a new spring season. But I honestly feel like it's carrying out the Makeup Museum's mission to do so. Both art and makeup have a positive effect on mental health, and I believe that the Museum's content can contribute to our collective well-being. I'm not going to pretend that the Museum can prevent people from getting sick or that it can save jobs. Nor would I be so pompous to believe that it can effect any sort of real change in the beauty industry or society in general; it simply doesn't have the power or influence (yet…world domination is on my bucket list.) But I do think it can help in some small way and provide a bit of comfort. At the very least, an exhibition won't cause any harm. I think you can be incredibly concerned about the current situation but also able to take a quick break from reality and soak in something positive and/or pretty to look at. And that's where the Museum comes in. I'm hoping the exhibition will be nice to browse, but I also wanted to give the option of participation as an added distraction, since we seem to need those now more than ever. For a while I've been enamored of the idea of the participatory museum, and while the efforts for audience engagement weren't quite successful for the Stila girls exhibition, perhaps the topic of the spring 2020 exhibition will yield a more lively conversation. The exhibition is scheduled to go up this week, but in the meantime you can ruminate on the following ways to get involved if you so choose.

An oldie but goodie method of audience engagement: After the exhibition goes up, tell me what your favorite objects/looks were. (I've been doing this for years and I'm always interested to see what the favorites are.)
Submit your favorite butterfly-inspired makeup looks. They can be your own creations or made by others, just make sure you provide the proper credit. I know there are tons of editorial and runway looks inspired by butterflies, but at the moment I'm only able to access what's freely available online, so I'm interested for others to uncover butterfly looks lurking below the surface.
Submit your favorite butterfly makeup ads or objects that weren't covered in the exhibition. Again, I just need photo credits.
Share your thoughts on makeup as metamorphosis. Do you think makeup is transformational on a level other than physical appearance? Why or why not? Do you have any moments where you felt transformed by makeup?
Share any and all thoughts on butterflies as they relate to makeup.

The Museum will welcome entries from April 10 until May 15. You can email me, leave a comment here, or message me on Twitter or Instagram. I will set up a second blog post as a sort of crowd-sourced exhibition, and add all your contributions there as they come in. I'll be tweeting them and putting them in my stories on Instagram along the way as well. Of course, if you don't want to do any of the above and just sit back and view the exhibition, that's fine too. 🙂

Thank you and I hope your enjoy! Butterflies are a longstanding symbol of the soul, so consider the Museum's exhibition a little butterfly sanctuary for both makeup and spirit.

I understand that the summer 2018 exhibition themes are, once again, not original or thought-provoking, but they definitely got me dreaming of lazing in a hammock under some palm trees on a tropical island filled with exotic colorful birds. Flamingos and palm trees as well as a pink and green color scheme appear to be everywhere this year, even more so than in past seasons, and I wanted to celebrate these trends with some of the most summery makeup we've ever seen. Consider 2018 an updated version of the Museum's 2015 jungle/safari themed exhibition, that, astonishingly enough, does not contain a single mermaid! I'll be sharing all the images that inspired me in a follow-up post, but for now let's feast our eyes on some pretties.

Top row, left to right.

I'm very intrigued by this vintage Bulgarian face powder box and sample packet. And while I'm not a fan of the Kardashian/Jenner clan, I think the April Vogue cover made a perfect modern example of advertising's love affair with pretty birds. (See also these images of Jennifer Lawrence and Liz Taylor, as well as this 1957 Harper's cover.)

I believe this is the first time I've worked in a print by an illustrator in an exhibition. This print by Kendra Dandy pairs well with some of the pieces from the Charlotte Tilbury/Norman Parkinson collection. I've been a fan of Kendra's since I discovered her via an Anthropologie collection a few years ago, and I'm still kicking myself about not getting anything from it (especially the flamingo-printed lip balm, which would have been perfect for this exhibition.) Fortunately she consistently puts out amazing illustrations so I'm at least able to buy those.

Vintage Rex palm tree compact (ca. 1950s) and Woodbury Tropic Tan ad:

These flamingo-themed Violet Voss and Nomad palettes were a total surprise, which is one of the reasons I had to delay the exhibition launch. It was worth it though. :) I know they look very cramped but I really wanted them on the same shelf since they're both new and by indie brands.

Second row, left to right.

Sephora lipstick case and Paul & Joe Face and Eye Colors:

I adore the packaging for this new Japanese line (look at the little flamingo tracks!), but the story behind its creation is interesting too.

I love the palm tree pattern of the By Terry palette, it's so elegant. The ArtDeco items are actually from last fall, but they read more summer to me. I ordered the Beauty Box Trio and the Blush Couture so the embossing on the blush and design on the outer cases are visible at the same time, but unfortunately they screwed up my order so I'm still waiting for the Beauty Box Trio.

I'm so pleased that Collecting Vintage Compacts and "Cap'n Rexall" (the author of this blog) had the full story on Jonteel. And when I say full story, I mean they were somehow able to track down every bit of information on this vintage line. As always, I weep at the fact that I will never come close to this level of research.

Third row, left to right.

Another print by Kendra Dandy, I just couldn't resist! Looks right at home next to these Pai Pai and Etude House lipstick cases.

LM Ladurée blush container:

Here's the palm-tastic Urban Decay Beached collection…well, not the whole lineup since there is a bronzer with palm trees on it as well, but I didn't want to invest any more in this collection.

How cute is this Dorothy Gray ad?! The Stratton compact is lovely but I also really appreciate the kitschy vibe of the hand-painted souvenir compact. If I were a tourist in the golden age of compacts I definitely would have gotten one from every destination I visited.

Bottom row, left to right.

Wet 'n' Wild Flights of Fancy items and Morphe Babe in Paradise palette:

Another vintage powder box which admittedly I bought before trying to come up with information on it. Alas, I wasn't able to find much save for a couple of newspaper ads. But the design is just too exquisite to pass up.

Clarins 2017 and 2018 bronzers:

Why Paul & Joe is recycling a print from their 2016 spring collection I don't know, but it was a good fit for this year's summer exhibition.

And that concludes the summer 2018 exhibition! Any favorite items?

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Thanks to PJ at A Touch of Blusher, I was alerted to these events at the Japan Foundation in London. "Beneath the Surface: A Culture of Cosmetics in Japan" will feature two talks by Noriyo Tsuda, Chief Curator of the POLA Research
Institute of Beauty and Culture (how do I get that job?!)

(image from jpf.org.uk)

The first presentation is "Haniwa Beauty to Snow White – Japanese Cosmetic Culture from Ancient Times to Now" and will take place tomorrow at 6:30pm. The description: "From ancient customs to current trends, Tsuda will look at Japanese
cosmetic practices over the course of history and discuss how Japanese
cosmetics have developed through the centuries. Giving an overview of
the aesthetic ideals and reasons for the use of these cosmetics, this
talk will provide examples of how lifestyle and social circumstances
have influenced the culture of cosmetics in the past and affected
contemporary standards of beauty in Japan."

The second talk is "Beauty Icons – Primping and Preening in Edo and Meiji Japan," which will take place on November 8 at 6:30pm. "In this talk, Tsuda will compare and contrast two of the most
distinguishing periods of cosmetic culture in Japan, namely the Edo
(1603 – 1867) and Meiji (1868 – 1912) eras. Exploring the
characteristics of Japanese cosmetics in the Edo period, when
traditional cosmetics are thought to have matured, she will elaborate on
what cosmetics were used and who the trendsetters were. Moving on to
the Meiji period, Tsuda will discuss how grooming standards and notions
of 'beautiful women' were impacted by drastic social reform after the
opening of Japan to the West."

I did a little more digging and I found an event poster with these two pictures, the objects in which I'm assuming Tsuda will discuss.

(image from zo.uni-heidelberg.de)

I was greatly intrigued by this POLA Research Institute of Beauty and Culture so I gathered some basic information on it. The POLA Research
Institute of Beauty and Culture was founded in 1976 under the son of the founder of cosmetics company POLA Orbis Group, Suzuki Tsuneshi. It's now part of the POLA Museum of Art in Hakone, Japan, which displays Tsuneshi's personal art collection consisting of over 9,500 objects. While the museum boasts roughly 400 paintings by Western artists (Cezanne, Gauguin, Monet, Renoir, Picasso, Chagall), there is a section of the museum devoted to the beauty objects he collected as well. Some of these treasures include:

A silver dressing set with an iris pattern from the early 1900s:

A bride's wedding kit from the Edo period:

And a mid-19th century dressing case.

(images from polamuseum.or.jp)

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to hop on the next plane to London to catch both talks, then off to Japan to see the POLA collection! I really wish they had a museum catalogue for their beauty items available for purchase online…maybe Tsuda will spearhead the release of one eventually and/or a book based on the talks he's giving in London.