Here we go again! I was not nearly as productive on blog posts and exhibitions as I had hoped in 2021, but that was due to some behind-the-scenes things going on – namely, making the Museum a nonprofit organization, writing a land acknowledgment and developing a diversity report card (which is coming soon!) I must preface the following exhibition and blog topics by stating that there will be more behind-the-scenes things going on in 2022, so it will be even quieter than in 2021.
I won't bore you with the details, but I've made decisions about two major initiatives that have been rattling about for years: collections management software and overhauling the website. Since I can't hire a professional to help with either of these massive tasks, they will be very slow going and will require cutting back on blog posts and exhibitions (and honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if the website is exactly the same 12 months from now.) My goal is to curate one exhibition and however many blog posts I can manage – I'm hoping for 20-30, but even that seems very ambitious. So with that, let's take a peek at the topics I have brewing.
In an effort to narrow down the amount of exhibition ideas I have, last year I came up with a priority list of topics that might be doable in 1-5 years (if the Museum is still in existence) and a secondary list for ones that are not quite as high priority. The descriptions are basically the same as last year and I hope to think of better titles. Once again the husband came up with handy graphics. The first four are new ideas I came up with in the past few months, so feedback is greatly appreciated in terms of how they rank in relation to the others. Also, while I plan having people assist in specific parts of exhibitions, i.e. writing the introduction or an essay on one aspect of the topic, there are four exhibitions I absolutely can't take on mostly by myself. Whether they're a group effort or involve just one other person, co-curation is necessary. It will be difficult to get co-curators, however, given that it would be a volunteer (i.e. unpaid) effort. So while these exhibitions are included in the priority list, none of them will be the 2022 exhibition as it will take time to find funding or someone who will co-curate for free.
Priority:
"Indies and Influencers: The Changing Makeup Landscape" – I am so fascinated by the number of indie brands on the market as well as their creativity. Influencers are another fairly recent development and I think it would be interesting to see how these two major developments interact and also how they're shaping makeup history.
"Age Before Beauty: Teens and Makeup" – This is pretty straightforward. It would be a history of makeup marketed to teens, makeup advice for teens, and how past and current generations of teens view makeup. The segment on '90s prom makeup is already set. 😉
"Vanity Projects: Celebrity Makeup Brands" – Again, self-explanatory. You would be shocked how long celebrity endorsements and lines have been around.
I don't have a title for this one, but it would be similar to the big art x makeup exhibition/book. I think a deep dive into all the various connections between fashion and makeup is in order – from fashion brands launching makeup lines, designer collaborations and runway makeup to makeup as jewelry and a history of makeup/clothing color coordination, I'm aiming for a comprehensive look at the relationship between fashion and makeup.
"Aliengelic: Pat McGrath Retrospective" – I'd strongly prefer having a makeup artist co-curate with me. Alternate title instead of Aliengelic: "The Mother of Modern Makeup".
"Black and Blue: A History of Punk Makeup"
"Catch the Light: Glitter in Cosmetics from Ancient Times Through Today" – this one is just so enormous I still don't know where to start even though it's been on my radar for a couple years now.
"Color History Through Cosmetics: Blue" – I decided to scrap the gold-themed exhibition in exchange for blue. I discovered so many interesting things about blue makeup while pulling together some trivia on Instagram, there's definitely enough there for an exhibition. I'd also love to cover other colors.
"Ancient Allure: Egypt-Inspired Makeup and Beauty" – This one is still proving popular when I've polled on social media. My big issue is how to handle the cultural appropriation/racist aspects of it.
"Queens: A History of Drag Makeup" – Great topic but overwhelming. Need much help.
"Just Desserts: Sweet Tooth Revisited" – If the Museum is still around next year, Sweet Tooth will definitely make a triumphant return on its 10-year anniversary. I would also add a section on savory food themed makeup and possibly booze…some of the things I've seen are just bonkers and have to be included.
"Beauty Marked in Your Eyes: A History of '90s Makeup" – If you've been following this for a while you can see I tweaked the title from "She's All That". I was in the shower and listening to "Now They'll Sleep" by Belly, and the new exhibition title just hit me like lightning! You know I've been wanting to do a comprehensive exhibition and book since at least 2014, but just never seem to have the time. We'll see if I make any progress this year.
"Pandemic: Makeup in the Age of COVID-19" – Depressing but historically significant. I'll need to wait until (if) the pandemic is safely behind us, but I am gathering bits of what will surely become history now.
"Ugly Makeup: A Revolution in Aesthetics" – I still love Makeup Brutalism and her other effort Ugly Makeup Revolution. It would be amazing to have her curate with me. The exhibition would be a deep dive into how makeup is going beyond basic artistry and self-expression.
"Nothing to Hide: Makeup as Mask" – This was the other choice I included in the Twitter and Instagram polls. While respondents chose Egyptian-themed makeup over this one, the mask theme in makeup goes back centuries and would certainly make a rich topic, plus I could do a subsection on mask wearing's effects on makeup in the pandemic.
"From Male Polish to Guyliner: A History of Men's Makeup" – Would love for the author of Pretty Boys to co-curate!
Secondary list/things I'm not sure about:
"From Mods and Hippies to Supervixens and Grrrls: '60s and '90s Makeup in Dialogue" – In my opinion, cultural developments in both the late '60s and mid-1990s radically changed the beauty industry and gave birth to new ideas about how people view and wear makeup; there are many parallels between the two eras. I feel, however, that I'd need to do the '90s exhibition and book first so this would have to wait.
"Gilded Splendor: A History of Gold Makeup" – This is nice but the more I thought about it the more I didn't think it would be a priority.
"Design is a Good Idea: Innovations in Cosmetics Design and Packaging" – Another that I still like but not so much as to make it immediate. I do love the notion of including a huge section on novelty packaging.
"The Medium is the Message: Makeup as Art" – This will trace how makeup is marketed and conceived of as traditional fine art mediums, i.e painting and sculpture, artist collaborations for packaging (naturally) and also how art history is incorporated into makeup advertising and collections. Consider it a comprehensive discussion of this post while working in canonical artists whose work has appeared on makeup packaging. While the idea of makeup as fine art was the Museum's original raison d'etre, the expression of this has been overwhelmingly white. The artists used in vintage ads such Lancome's are white and even collections today don't collaborate with many BIPOC artists, especially Black ones.
"Wanderlust: Travel-Inspired Beauty" – honestly, this topic is sort of boring me now. But I figured I'd still keep it on the back burner.
"By Any Other Name: The Rose in Makeup and Beauty" – I pitched this idea to the FIT Museum as a small add-on to their "Ravishing" exhibition. They weren't interested and now that the exhibition has passed I'm tabling it for now.
And here are the blog posts.
MM Musings (1-2): Really want to write about museum accessibility and how museums can be agents of social change. Those topics are huge so it'll probably have to be one or the other.
MM Mailbag (2-3): The MM mailbag overflowed yet again in 2021 and they took a considerable amount of time to research and respond. We'll see what I can get around to sharing.
Vintage/brief histories (4-5): I still want to go ahead with histories of powder applicators, setting sprays and maybe colored mascara, color-changing cosmetics and how makeup language has evolved (for example, why we typically say "blush" now instead of "rouge" for cheek color.) The author of Cosmetics and Skin kindly suggested an article on copycats, i.e. how companies clearly ripped each other off and continue to do so today in terms of packaging, ad campaigns, etc. which is a great topic. I'm also interested in a history of Day of the Dead makeup, and the Museum's Revlon Futurama post got me thinking more about the idea of makeup as jewelry. I still need to finish the series of Dorothy Gray ads featuring portraits of well-to-do "society" ladies, and I'd like to pursue wear-to-work makeup from the 1970s-90s, histories of defunct brands (a bunch of celebrity lines, Diane von Furstenberg, Halston, Ralph Lauren, Benetton, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Nina Ricci and Inoui ID, and revisit Stephane Marais), especially Black-owned brands like Naomi Sims and Rose Morgan. I still want to write something about Black salespeople and customers in direct sales companies, i.e. Avon, Mary King by Watkins, Fuller, Artistry by Amway, etc. but given that it could be an entire book I'm not sure how much I'll be able to do on it. Finally, in 2021 I became quite fascinated with paper mache lipstick holders so hope to work up a history of those and other doll-inspired lipsticks in general, along with profiles of some more obscure makeup artists from the '60s through the '90s, and a feature on makeup ad illustrators. Whew!
Trends (1): Makeup brand merchandise and swag – another I STILL didn't cover in 2021 as planned. I'm also very interested in the video game trend in makeup, but I'm hoping this amazing person writes about it instead!
Artist collabs (5): Yes, still trying to catch up on some of 2020's holiday releases, including Fee Greening for Mikimoto and Cecilia Carlstedt for Bobbi Brown. There was also a beautiful surprise Japan-exclusive holiday collection from Clé de Peau, who teamed up with Charlotte Gastaut. There are tons of other collabs from previous years that I'm still thinking about, such as El Seed for MAC, Connor Tingley for NARS, the Shiseido Gallery compacts and lip balms, and a series on the artists whose work appears on Pat McGrath's packaging. There will a few surprises too. 😉
Book reviews (2-5): So. Many. Books. The speed reviews I did last year were fine, but I want to do more of these and also maybe return to more in-depth reviews.
Dream Teams (1-2): I really thought I would do at least one more of these in 2021, but I did exactly zero. I especially want to focus on BIPOC artists and flesh out the idea I had back in 2016 for a Rrose Sélavy-themed collection.
Color Connections (1-2): I returned to Color Connections last year with a vengeance, and made good on the idea to create an entire Instagram account for them. So expect a few here from time to time. 🙂
Miscellanous: a feature on new Chinese beauty brands and some kawaii collections like Kakao Friends and others. And of course, keep plugging away on individual bits and pieces for the '90s book.
Speaking of which, the book ideas are the same as last year. The first and second ones are the accompanying catalogs to their respective exhibitions. The last one is the coffee table book, which I'm tinkering with to make it more diverse.
So it looks like the Museum has its work cut out for it! What exhibitions and post topics are you most excited about?
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.
I'm always so grateful when someone agrees to an interview with the Museum, and the one I'm featuring today is very special! You might remember the AstroLips lipstick line that was mentioned in the Museum's history of zodiac-themed makeup and how I was puzzled over not being able to find any information about it or its creator, makeup artist Scotty Ferrell. Well, as luck would have it, Scotty found the Museum's article and introduced himself and offered more information on the line. Naturally I wanted to hear as much as possible about it, along with Scotty himself! He kindly granted me an interview. Please read on to discover his work, his experience working with some of the biggest brands in the '90s and early 2000s, and his latest venture: an (actually useful!) beauty app.
MM: How did you get into makeup? What interested you about it?
SF: My fascination for cosmetics began when I got into trouble playing in my Mom’s makeup and opening all the small perfume bottles she had from Avon. I would get so excited when the Avon lady came over to visit and brought her big case of colors and potions. I was hooked. The mystery of all the pretty colors and glass containers captured my spirit.
MM: What was your experience working in makeup in the '90s? And what were the big trends/products? SF: The 1990’s really were amazing years for makeup. People were so excited to sit and learn about their makeup wanting to know how to apply eyeliner themselves and experiment with color. Quality makeup brushes and how to use them was so rewarding to work with people ready to discover and develop their own personal style. I had so much fun painting faces because the trends were really strong and each seasonal look was trying to top the next. I think the light lid and strong crease was all the rage because finally single eyeshadows were available in the artistry brands allowing for more experimentation. I loved when I started applying to my clients two different color liners top and bottom lash lines. Jewel tones in combination were really big during late 90’s.
The true smokey eye also came from this time period. The smokey eye really is buffing out the eyeliner on the lower lid and layering it with a dark shadow. But now today, anyone wearing eyeshadow says it’s a smokey eye when it’s not. I am not a big fan of the influencers because too much misinformation and lack of experience working with real people seems to be most popular. Influencers are pushing wrong information because they lack the makeup artistry experience applying makeup on people other than themselves. Too many influencers are promoting low quality products and wiz-bang techniques that do not wear or look professional. The legacy brands still have the some of the best tried and true products like Lancome’s Effacernes and Aquatique eye concealer/base, Elizabeth Arden Flawless finish cream foundation these products cannot be beat. Influencers are pushing the industry against quality products that cannot withstand a real photoshoots, catwalks under hot lights or outdoor weddings.
MM: Tell us about your alter ego, Gigi Romero, and how she inspired you to create the AstroLips line! SF: Say GiGi Romero to me and I light up and am romanced dreaming about the silver screen stars like Bette Davis, Ava Gardner, Sophia Loren just to name a few. GiGi Romero is my muse/ alter ego that channels the larger than life confidence and on-stage personality that celebrates their fans with great entertainment. Makeup delivers the fantasy to a tangible reality, a way to feel special because it’s fun to play dress-up. So when the brainstorm came over me about AstroLips with Lovespell, I thought of GiGi Romero conjuring up the colors and speaking directly with the cosmos to create the shades and stories belonging to each sun sign. AstroLips with Lovespell may still have a come back yet when GiGi Romero connects with the stars once again!
AstroLips shades, 2000. Images provided by Scotty Ferrell.
AstroLipLiners, 2001. Image provided by Scotty Ferrell.
MM: You had mentioned [in a previous correspondence] you had some stories about Smashbox, Trish McEvoy planners, etc. Can you expand on those? SF: Bill Parks, rest his loving soul, does not get the credit he deserves creating the Smashbox brand from scratch let alone me helping him launch the brand coast to coast. I consider the absence of acknowledging his contribution to Smashbox beyond shameful on the part of Estee Lauder and the great grandsons of Max Factor, Dean and Davis. The origin story begins with Bill Parks and me working for Trish McEvoy. Trish McEvoy held a big, big meeting with Nordstrom west coast to bring a next-level strategy for her Nordstrom counters putting Bill Parks in charge and me as at-counter National Artist to produce at the events. After this meeting show casing Bill Parks as a business superstar that he was, Nordstrom secretly invited just Bill to a clandestine behind the curtain meeting for Smashbox. Nordstrom was initially investing in the launch of Smashbox the artistry brand for Dean and Davis Factor, but knew it needed someone who actually understood selling color cosmetics. Bill agreed to their offer and left to be the creative head of Smashbox to create products, sell the products and be the personal face launching the line coast to coast. I stayed with Trish McEvoy for a couple more years seeing Bill grow the brand all on his own.
Smashbox postcard, ca. 1996
Bill actually worked to formulate the first cream eyeliner for that time because he knew the pitfalls from Trish’s eyeshadow liners and brush #11. How did Smashbox get on QVC? Well, let me tell you a story. Michael diCesare haircare and hair brushes were in several Nordstrom stores where he also met Bill Parks. They hit it off and whenever I saw Michael he would always ask me where’s Bill? Michael was already on QVC selling his products and asked Bill to do the makeup for his models. The rest is history once QVC met Bill Parks he began selling Smashbox to record heights on their channel. I joined Bill Parks in 1998 launching Smashbox into other retailers in addition to more Nordstrom doors. I trained Holly Mordini who later took Bill’s place on QVC after Bill passed away suddenly. I have many cherished memories and stories about my time with Trish and learning directly from her extremely talented hands and eye for color. Trish gave me the freedom, encouragement and confidence to become the best showman and artist I could be. Trish demanded us to all have a Franklin Planner and follow its system to set goals and exceed them. So after a big, big event in Dallas Neimans Northpark we all piled in this van we thought to go back to the hotel or wherever we were staying that night, but instead Trish had other plans. Somehow she kept telling the driver to continue to drive around, drive around while we all talked and Trish was in the groove to with her vision to send us her elite team back across the country opening counters, raising up important stores that needed an open to buy and who would stay in Dallas making sure we prevented any event returns or sold more than might come back to counter. A bunch of us, her elite team were frantically turning the pages to our Franklin Planners trying to make sure we got every word and detail correct coming from Trish. Suddenly, we all start talking about how organizing our makeup just like our Franklin Planners! I was already putting Face Essential shadows on palette boards to make it easier to paint at events. We all were competing for an edge to sell better and did our best with our brush rolls and our go-to favorites. It was decided that night that Trish had to go to Italy to get this new idea off the ground. The first set of pages were that same kind of plastic used for potted plants you get from the store. The brush bag of course had to be like Trish’s black Chanel bag that I did get to hold for her on one of our trips. The story about how Trish’s Planner came in to existence has changed over the years. Trish tells the story now moving up the timeline to when she was in Italy with her husband ordering the first version. The beginning year of the Planner was very exciting but took a lot of effort before we got better and better versions of the pages which had to be switched out several times for customers.
There is a very, very important story that I still to this day want to remind Trish personally. I am certain Trish does remember that Saks 5th Avenue almost sabotaged the Planner’s first Christmas. The part that Trish may have forgotten, and I would like to definitely remind her that I am the very person who sounded the alarm. I know exactly where I was and how I found out Saks 5th Ave was ready to go to the floor with their knock-off Planner. I was painting local models for a Saks 5th Ave Fashion show at the Intercontinental Hotel Miami. A Saks 5th Ave big-wig who flew down for the event also came back stage and was showing off what he knew that Saks “had a knock-off Planner in their warehouse ready to go on the Holiday Sales floor to under-cut Trish’s Planner 1 st Christmas.” I ran outside, on my very first cell, all the way outside and called the office demanding to speak with Trish directly. I said it was extremely urgent and that she had better get her lawyers on the phone to save the Planner! I called more than once even on a pay-phone in the lobby with every chance I could get until I was sure the message got through. Trish, if you're listening, my cell number is still the same!
MM: How would you say the cosmetics marketing landscape has changed since the late '90s? (e.g. the impact of the Internet/e-commerce/social media, etc.) And what stayed the same? Do you find it more or less difficult to sell makeup now? SF: After the 90’s, companies did change dramatically not wanting to support events. Not wanting to pay artists who knew the brand intimately and loved teaching customers how to wear new looks, how to apply their makeup providing live- action customer service. The focus became and still is selling one hit-product at a time. Click-bait selling beauty over the internet breaks down the expertise of professionals that know how to design personalized beauty regimens for individual customers. Brands and social beauty stars are ignoring that beauty products must work together to be successful helping people. It is a must to talk to customers and listen to their needs so their lifestyles fit the products that do work together and deliver the results people are after.
MM: You've explained about your new app, but please elaborate on it and what inspired you to create it. SF: This is the great segueway to my app. Face My Makeup app is reality based and is a digital version of how millions upon millions of makeup and skincare products were sold for years. Face My Makeup app is a digital face-chart but actually its true potential is personalized beauty’s next generation Face-cart that provides customer service and supports sales. I created Face My Makeup app directly from my experience selling on the road for Trish and BABOR. My customers would carry with them for years and tape to their mirrors the Face-charts I made for them with all the tips, tricks, colors, shades and multiple products that we chose together. Countless times a woman I helped years prior would find me again bringing her Face-chart and wanted a fresh new look. This love for the Face-chart and service it provides is so valuable and necessary for personalized beauty to be meaningful to make sense. Face My Makeup app has been received with open arms having over 5000 downloads from Google Play and the same amounts for iPhone app store. The elevator pitch that grabs people’s attention, “If you lost your makeup bag with all your favs, how many eClicks would it take for you to replace all your makeup? Would you remember all the names, shades and brands? Is there an eCommerce site that knows your Day Look products from your Night Look routine?” eCommerce, Mobile sales are obviously here to stay but what I know is must have companion is the Face-cart service from Face My Makeup app. (Disclaimer: The Makeup Museum is not endorsing/advertising the Face My Makeup app and has not been compensated in any way for mentioning it; its inclusion in this interview is merely for information-sharing purposes.)
Face My Makeup app overview. Image provided by Scotty Ferrell.
MM: What are some of your favorite makeup trends or looks? (Can be current, can be historical, whatever you want!) SF: Deep violet and emerald jewel tones playing off each other in the outer corner is to die for. I love an extended eyeliner that isn’t a cat eye but more Egyptian straight across with a softer edge. I think I still have a similar color story that I created for BABOR. A look I did paint on Jennifer Lopez on South Beach right after she made Selena. It was this beautiful tangerine and lime combination with shadows from Shu Uemura so super hot even though Jenny was less than nice.
MM: Anything else you'd like to add? SF: I just want to get back on the team and do the work in beauty that I continue to see is still so necessary to produce results. Talking, listening to customers providing them service with the skills and experience to back it up; I’m there. Customers are demanding these conversations but those in charge have never painted a single face, ran an event with 100s of people making sure everyone leaves happy. Anticipating people’s needs and following up with a menu of choices is what it takes to grow a business. Translating this process digitally is doable but only from professionals that have touched faces with honest and real experiences. I mean why is Bobbi Brown now on Jones Road? Huge shout outs to forgotten greats, Alexander De Markoff, Stagelight, Germaine Monteil, Stendahl, PAYOT, Shu Uemura, and my ultimate favorite closest to my heart, Fernand Aubry!
The highly coveted Shu Uemura ME 945 eyeshadow
Thank you so much, Scotty, for this wonderful history you've provided! It's incredibly illuminating to get a first-hand account of how the makeup industry and trends change (or don't), and I'm so pleased to hear more about my favorite era. The Face My Makeup app sounds great, but I hope we see more of Gigi's creations in the future too. 😉 MM'ers: any thoughts?
You might remember I became obsessed with finding information on the Baby Doll makeup range back in the spring of 2017, when I came across their fabulously psychedelic and colorful ads from the late ’60s. While I managed to acquire several of the original ads, I still couldn’t find much on brand itself, other than it was exclusive to Woolworth’s in the UK and obviously geared towards younger women/teenagers. Fortunately, UK-based Makeup Museum volunteer Emma Berger stepped in to do some research! In addition to what she uncovered on her own, she also had the brilliant idea to email the curator of the Woolworth’s Museum, Paul Seaton, who provided additional information. Here’s what Emma and Paul had to say about the brand. (Images in this post are the Museum’s unless otherwise noted.)
Baby Doll was launched in May of 1967 at all 1,100 Woolworth’s locations in the UK. The supplier of the line was a company named E.R. Holloway, a family-owned business. Based in Lavenham, Suffolk, Holloway was a principle supplier of affordable cosmetics following WWII. The ‘Evette’ brand was one of the market leaders in the 1950s, coinciding with shoppers having more spending money and cosmetics becoming more socially acceptable. Later, the company realized there was a vast, largely untapped teenage market that wanted to emulate actresses and models like Twiggy. Holloway conducted some market research by assembling a panel of teenage girls, who indicated that they would like inexpensive, fun makeup with bright colors, especially for nail polish and lip gloss. They found the Woolworth’s current makeup offerings to be boring and old-fashioned, and they also didn’t want to be “stuck waiting behind older ladies” so they also wanted their own counters.
Judging by the ads, E.R. Holloway delivered. I don’t know about the quality of the makeup, but the prices appeared to be a pittance for the incredibly colorful and fun product line. According to the Sharon Kane, author of the Sweet Jane blog, the eye-catching ads appeared in UK magazines like Jackie, RAVE and Photoplay magazines. It’s unclear as to what prompted the choice to use illustrated girls vs. photographs of models, but I think the decision was appropriate, as it aligned with the Baby Doll brand vision – supplying plenty of colors to choose from and encouraging “playtime” with makeup – and also helped them stand out from their competitors.
The use of illustration was fairly unique for the time as by the late 1960s illustrations had become scarce in cosmetic ads. By that point, most companies had shifted towards using photos for the bulk of their marketing – gone were the days of hiring artists and fashion illustrators who ruled advertising from the 1920s through the ’40s. The ads can also be considered a precursor of sorts to the Stila girl illustrations some 30 years later.
The ads are also representative of their time in their mentions of sun, moon and stars as in the ad below, or numerology as in their Lucky Numbers ad. Remember that flower children were pretty fascinated with astrology and other pseudo-science, so it makes sense to incorporate these aspects as they appealed to the hippie demographic.
Obviously I’m smitten with the print ads, but the radio commercials were a hoot. The spots aired on Radio Luxenbourg and used Woolworth’s Embassy Records commercials as a template, given their success with a younger crowd. I tried to put together a little video using the clip that Paul so kindly shared. I couldn’t get Typepad to upload it so I had to (shudder) put it on YouTube and link to it. Ugh.
Paul mentioned that Holloway took a “shared risk” approach with Baby Doll by financing the counters and product development in exchange for Woolworth selling the products in all their stores for at least two years and for continuing to carry the Evette line. Consumers were pleased with Baby Doll, at least according to one anecdote shared by Brenda Hendley for Yours magazine. “When working as a Saturday Girl in Woolworths in the late 1960s I was lucky enough to be on the make-up counter when they launched Baby Doll Cosmetics. As a 15-year-old girl, this range was so exciting. It had lilac, green and blue nail varnish, brown eyeshadow and pale pink, lilac and peach lipsticks, instead of the usual red and orange nail colours worn by our mothers. Even the posters were exciting with illustrated dolly girls in the arms of handsome men. To my mother’s horror, I went out that weekend sporting lilac nail polish and lilac lipstick to match my lilac mini dress. I can still remember how excited and glamorous I felt.”
Paul confirmed Baby Doll was a successful line, but Holloway may have ended up competing against it by launching Tu, another youth-oriented range, in the 1970s. Tu was popular in both the UK and Canada and was “less fashionable” meaning that perhaps Baby Doll’s only flaw was that it was too niche. Rainbow colors are great but if that’s all a makeup line offers, only a certain demographic – mostly teenagers, and adventurous ones at that – would have purchased it back then. From the look and sound of it, Tu was an affordable line for younger clientele, but sold more versatile (read: safe) color and products that would be suitable for daily use. Baby Doll, by contrast, had very few neutral shades and textures; unfortunately I don’t think yellow lipstick and pink mascara would be considered everyday wear even among younger women. In any case, you can see displays from both the Tu and Evette lines over at Karen Waddy’s blog, Made in Lavenham.
Some brief additional thoughts: first, I would give my eye teeth to know who illustrated these ads! I’ve pored over the ads to see if there was any artist signatures but no luck. Sharon Kane suggested that Caroline Smith may have been responsible for at least some of the ads and I think that’s as a good a guess as any. (You can see more of her work here.) I actually contacted Smith through her website and am hoping for a reply. Update: I heard back from the artist and she confirmed the Baby Doll ads are her work! How very exciting to finally have this makeup mystery solved!
I also wish I could locate some of the makeup itself, but I’ve literally never seen any actual photos of it except for this one.
You can sort of see them in this ad which dates to 1969 and does not use the amazing illustrations, instead opting for the typical close-up photo. I think the line definitely loses a bit of its appeal. As noted earlier, without the unique ads, Baby Doll resembles a pretty run-of-the-mill makeup line that doesn’t really stand out from other youth-oriented UK brands (although “she didn’t tell her ugly sisters either” cracks me up.)
This brings me to my last point: it’s strange that you can still buy objects from what I believe were Baby Doll’s UK-based competitors at the time, Yardley, Mary Quant, Boots 17, Miner’s and Rimmel, but not a single relic from Baby Doll besides the ads still exists that I’ve seen. I’m very curious about Baby Doll’s sales compared to other brands, as they had a very similar outlook in terms of a more playful approach to makeup and were primarily intended for the youth market. Why these brands had longevity while Baby Doll, despite its distinctive ads, did not is interesting. Perhaps the facts that Mary Quant already had significant name recognition as a modern fashion brand and that Yardley hired some of the biggest models of the time for their makeup campaigns had something to do with it. Additionally, while Holloway was an established company, it didn’t have quite the pedigree of Rimmel (established in 1834) or the reach of Miner’s and Boots 17. It’s a shame, honestly, as I believe Baby Doll was the most creative and fun line out of all of these. Okay, I have a weakness for Quant’s crayons and basically all of Yardley’s packaging (especially their paint boxes and novelty items), but I think Baby Doll is my favorite for the ads, colors and overall vibe. If I had been around back then I would have bought the whole line.
HUGE thanks to Emma and Paul for researching and gathering this history and permitting me to post it here! And if anyone has additional information or memories they’d like to share about Baby Doll I’m all ears.
In case you were wondering why the blog has been so quiet the past 6 weeks or so, it's because I've been working feverishly on the latest exhibition. And I'm pleased to announce it's finally here! Well, you'll have to click over to get the full online version, but there will be more here soon. 😉 If you've followed the Museum for a while you know I've been obsessed with mermaids since I was little, and with all the wonderful mermaid makeup I've added to the collection over the years, I simply couldn't wait any longer to dive into an exhibition fully dedicated to these creatures (rather than incorporating them piecemeal into summer exhibitions as I had been doing). Plus, the only good thing about the pandemic was that I was able to dye my hair beautiful mermaid colors as a result of working from home where my boss can't see me and claim that my magical streaks are "unprofessional", so I figured now was the right time.
You can check out the exhibition at the Museum's special exhibition website. I was having so much fun though I wanted to display it in the Museum's physical space (a.k.a. my bedroom). Keep your eyes peeled as I will be updating this post with the in-person exhibition. UPDATE, March 29, 2022: I have finally gotten around to installing an abbreviated version of the exhibition at Museum headquarters! Just in time for International Mermaid Day.
Top row, left to right.
This is obviously a print-out of the original Coets ad – I didn't want to remove it from the 1955 copy of Vogue that I purchased and it was too large to fit anyway.
Second row, left to right.
Third row, left to right.
Bottom row, left to right.
Naturally, Research Assistant Mer-Babo was on hand to inspect everything and make sure it was in order.
All in all, I was really inspired and now I want to do either an entire water-themed exhibition or a mythological creatures exhibition.
As always, if you have any thoughts about mermaid makeup or would like to submit photos of your favorite mermaid looks or products, please comment below or email me! I'd love to have a little community gallery at the exhibition site.
Tooting my own horn again, apologies. But I was so excited to be interviewed for an article on the history of blush and its current resurgence (and in which I was referred to as an "expert"!) In case you haven't noticed, blush is back with a vengeance. You can click over to Hypebae for the article, but given how much time I spent answering the journalist's questions I thought I'd post my full answers here. Plus, more Museum photos! Enjoy…and please let me know any and all thoughts on blush in the comments. 🙂
Blush has been used in ancient cultures across Egypt, Greece and more. Can you walk us through the origins of blush and explain how it was used in different areas of the world? (Please feel free to include as much detail as possible.) The ancient Egyptians were most likely the first to use blush as a cosmetic aid. A fresco in Santorini from the Bronze Age depicts women with red cheeks, the rest of their faces unadorned. In China, blush was used as early as the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE). Later, during the Tang Dynasty reign, imperial concubine Yang Guifei (719-746 AD) regularly wore heavy blush at court. In Greece and Rome, blush was primarily used by upper class women and applied in a subtle way; noticeable check color was frowned upon. Blush also crossed gender lines throughout some early civilizations and up through the 18th Over time, as white supremacy grew ever more powerful, blush became part of an “ideal” complexion that signified wealth and high status – blush was used in part as a way to make pale skin stand out more, which was desirable as white skin represented a life free from toiling outside. At the same time, for the most part blush was supposed to be undetectable. It wasn’t until the 20th century that blush became socially acceptable.
A selection of the Makeup Museum's vintage blushes, ca. 1920s-30s
Why do you think blush has endured as a widely used makeup product? Blush has endured primarily because it’s a critical element of meeting two long-standing beauty ideals: health and youth. Cheek color signifies vitality; while I don’t think any live person not wearing blush would be mistaken for a corpse, blush heightens one’s natural color, further emphasizing a healthy flow of oxygenated blood (i.e., a literal life force) to the face. Cheek color became associated with markers of health such as physical fitness, good nutrition and rest. Cheek color is also associated with youth, which has been a pillar in beauty standards for millennia and one that persists today. (Note: I can expand on the link between health, youth and beauty but it would take forever as there are quite complex psychological and scientific explanations).
Princess Pat rouge ad, 1940
Some historians claim that blush’s universal appeal, much like lip color, is due to its mimicking of sexual arousal or a post-coital flush. While I personally find that theory dubious – I’m just not a fan of the sexualization of makeup – it’s important to remember that the most famous and possibly best-selling blush in modern times is NARS’ Orgasm. Additionally, for centuries in the Western world, with a few exceptions here and there (such as mid-late 18th century France), excessive makeup, including noticeable rouge, was considered the domain of prostitutes, so that’s another connection between blush and sexuality. Along those lines, one could even argue that the traditional virgin-whore dichotomy is a factor in blush’s longevity. Looking flushed could point to embarrassment at the notion of intimate relations, signaling a dainty, demure and virtuous woman, or it could be overtly sexual. Either way, blush’s sexual connotations helped solidify its status as an essential cosmetic. Finally, a simplistic reason for blush enduring through the years was that it was as easy to obtain ingredient-wise as lip color. There were readily available materials across the world. Whether it was the ochre of ancient Egyptians, poisonous cinnabar of the Romans, safflower used in parts of Asia or a basic mixture of berries and water, raw ingredients could be found virtually anywhere.
Blush sales are increasing. In your opinion, what could be contributing to that rise? First, I believe there’s a psychological component involved. Most of us have been privileged enough to work from home, see friends and family via video conference, and were able to adjust our routines, but that all of that has taken a toll on our mental health. Being trapped behind a screen far more than we’re used to, with little in-person contact, struggling to work and interact and essentially function in a completely different way for over a year can lead to feeling drab and lifeless, despite being physically healthy. As noted earlier, cheek color represents vigor and liveliness. This is why every spring fashion and beauty magazines have features on banishing the “winter blahs”, with the number one tip inevitably being the purchase of a new shade of blush to look and feel rejuvenated. Thus, with its promise of restoring a youthful, rested glow, blush may help combat the dullness experienced as a result of having to curtail so many activities that are essential to one’s well-being as well as general pandemic-related exhaustion. As one beauty writer notes, she applied “a generous helping of blush to help me look alive even though on most days I felt dead inside.” I also think that now since the pandemic is on the verge of ending, we are collectively dreaming about fresh starts and enjoying life more fully again. More so than other makeup categories, on a spiritual level the application of blush may help us awaken from the trauma and upheaval unleashed by the pandemic, a way to feel more vibrant and a reminder that our health is relatively intact. On related note, a healthy flush is associated with being outdoors, which many of us haven’t been able to do. If you can’t enjoy a reinvigorating jaunt through nature, you can at least pretend you got the blood flowing with some blush.
Secondly, even though we are optimistically looking towards the end of the age of COVID-19, life has not returned to how it was pre-pandemic for most. Many people are still reconsidering and adjusting all of their makeup, including blush, in light of continuing Zoom calls. Depending on one’s camera and lighting, a person may need to increase the amount of color so as to not appear washed out; in other cases, they’re finding that their regular application is too heavy-handed. Thus, in addition to adapting their current products, they’re seeking either new shades or new formulas that are effortless and “goof-proof” for video.
Finally, I think at the moment the market is so saturated with every other form of makeup – highlighters, (especially!) eye products, lip colors, even base makeup, companies figured it was time to swing the pendulum back to blush. It’s a product category that’s been relatively neglected due to the popularity of contouring and the no-makeup look. But these two trends were already waning, with consumers wanting a simpler approach to cheek color than the skill and time required by contouring as well as a look that was more than the bare minimum of the no-makeup face. Another trend that’s been gaining traction the past few years is the notion of wellness. Consumers are increasingly interested in cosmetic options that might also have benefits for their physical and mental well-being. The pandemic engendered a renewed focus on health, making wellness and self-care more important to consumers than before. It follows that blush, and its long-standing association with health, would be more in demand. In short, a return to blush was brewing for a while and was accelerated by the pandemic, hence the rise in sales now.
During the 19th century, symptoms of tuberculosis including pale skin and red, feverish cheeks became fashionable, leading women to recreate a sickly appearance using makeup. Can you explain the link between beauty and illness, as well as how that relationship might manifest into the age of coronavirus? The mimicking of TB wasn’t a widespread or long-lasting trend because historically there is a much stronger link between beauty and health than illness. Having said that, what the recreation of tuberculosis did was simply exaggerate the already entrenched notions of beauty – pallid skin and flushed cheeks. No one was feigning smallpox, for example, because the effects of that disease were viewed as ugly and disfiguring. (And as soon as TB began to be associated with the lower classes, it quickly became unfashionable to fake it…but that’s a whole other story.) Today there are some trends such as Igari (the “hangover” look) and Byojaku (“sickly”), but they are intended to achieve a distinct kawaii aesthetic. Again, no one is doing a tutorial on getting the coronavirus look using makeup because the symptoms are viewed as unappealing (plus I’d like to think with so many lives lost people would be a little more sensitive than to pull a stunt like that.) There is a link between beauty and illness, but only so far as the illness’s effects align with current beauty standards. Overall, blush is primarily used to look healthy. For every one “hangover” or other similar trend piece, there are at least 10 articles emphasizing the importance of wearing blush while ill to counteract the symptoms that are perceived as unattractive. Sometimes a warm-toned blush or even bronzer is recommended to distract from redness or other discoloration around the nose and eyes, as that symptom is viewed as aesthetically undesirable.
Clairol blush ad, 1967
Over the past year, have you noticed a shift at all in how people are wearing blush? What I’ve been observing in beauty publications and on social media is that people are perceiving blush as more than an afterthought or a basic necessity in tying a look together. Blush is becoming exciting in its own right again; cheeks are no longer playing third fiddle to eyes and lips or serving just as a canvas for contour and highlight. On a basic level, unlike the lips, at least part of the cheeks is still visible while wearing a mask. Some have adapted the ‘80s trend of taking blush up past the temples, closer to the eyes, so that it’s more noticeable behind a mask – as with eye makeup, the emphasis is on what can still be seen in a mask.
More significantly, how people are wearing blush is just one part of the pandemic’s larger impact on makeup routines more generally. People found their normal beauty routine disrupted, and they’ve been questioning it: why am I wearing makeup, who am I wearing it for, and do I really want to be wearing a full face every day? From my perspective, people seem to have gone in several directions or a combination thereof: some kept up with their usual makeup routine to retain a sense of normalcy, others began experimenting with makeup in ways they wouldn’t normally otherwise, and still others greatly pared down their routine. It’s this last path, I think, that has caused the biggest shift in how people are wearing blush. Many are finding they don’t want or feel the need to do a full face for virtual meetings and staying at home, so they’re embracing a more relaxed approach that includes a quick swipe of blush rather than combining it with contour and highlight. Sculpted cheekbones are being pushed aside in favor of a less “done”, more carefree look that is easily achieved with blush. Whether or not low-maintenance makeup sticks around as quarantine life fades away is anybody’s guess; I think it might, but I also think in some instances people will be piling on the makeup as a way to celebrate the end of the pandemic – now that our faces aren’t obscured we can wear as much as we like without a mask rubbing it off. In fact, while the average makeup wearer may be rediscovering the joys of basic blush application, over the top blush is already trending on the editorial side. If the usual amount of cheek color signifies physical well-being, in the age of COVID-19, perhaps an excessive application will reinforce the notion of health. The super flushed look may end up as an exuberant symbol of survival.
In an effort to condense a few posts I'm doing some quick reviews of recent additions to the Museum's library. Hopefully they'll be of use…I mean, they can't be any worse than my usual long-form reviews, right?
Up first is historian Cheryl Woodruff-Brooks's biography of Sara Spencer Washington, who established the Apex News and Hair Company in 1919. Over the years the company expanded to include 11 Apex Beauty Colleges in the U.S. (including one right here in Baltimore – more on that later!) and abroad, Apex Laboratories to manufacture hair care, cosmetics and even household goods, and Apex News, which produced publications for her estheticians and sales agents. The Apex empire, as it came to be known, employed roughly 45,000 sales agents at its peak. Madame Washington wasn’t just a savvy entrepreneur; she regularly gave back to the Black community by offering scholarships to Apex schools, establishing a golf course that welcomed people of all races and economic status, and even founded a nursing home, Apex Rest. Golden Beauty Boss: The Story of Madame Sara Spencer-Washington and the Apex Empire is relatively short but incredibly informative. I can only imagine how many hours the author spent digging through various archives.
Quality research and an intriguing story about one of the most successful Black entrepreneurs in history is a must-have for well, anyone! You can buy it here.
Next we have Howard Melton's and Michael Mont's American Compacts of the Art Deco Era: The Art of Elgin American, J.M. Fisher, and Others. This isn't a collector's guide; it's more along the lines of Jean-Marie Martin Hattemberg's tomes on powder boxes and lipsticks in that there are many images of beautiful objects to drool over with some wonderful history along the way. It also includes a good amount of ads, which are very helpful in identifying compacts – of course, you can also see some Elgin compact catalogs over at the Elgin History Museum archives.
What I love about American Compacts is that it focuses on the compacts of a particular era and country so it's not overwhelming, yet still provides useful information throughout. The story of Elgin's Bird in Hand compact is a particularly great highlight. Overall, American Compacts is a necessity for the vintage makeup collector or anyone with an interest in Art Deco design. As for purchasing, you remember my interview with Andra of Lady-A Antiques, right? Well, she's offering this book at a reduced price at her store, so be sure to buy it there!
Moving along, I read Color Stories: Behind the Scenes of America's Billion Dollar Beauty Industry by journalist Mary Lisa Gavenas. It's a bit dated at this point since it was published in 2002, but still a good read as it provides a very fascinating behind-the-scenes, soup-to-nuts description of how makeup color stories were selected and marketed each season during the 1990s and early 2000s – essentially a full, unbiased story of the process.
It's very useful for anyone looking for cosmetic marketing history as well as '90s makeup history (ahem), but I think it would also be interesting for fashion or business historians more generally. I would dearly love to see an update for the age of social media, Millennials/Gen Z'ers and the increased demand for diversity and inclusion among beauty consumers. So much has changed in 20 years!
Next up is another drool-worthy book I found on ebay. It's in Japanese so I can't actually read any of the text, but the photos are more than worth it. You'll find lots of vintage Shiseido and other Japanese brands along with a sprinkling of Western lines such as L.T. Piver packaged for the Japanese market. While powder boxes, skincare and perfume comprise most of the objects, there's also personal hygiene products like deodorant and tooth powder.
If you love vintage powder boxes, vintage design and typography, or Japanese culture in general, this belongs on your book shelf. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for an English version so I can read the history behind some of the brands that are covered.
Finally, there's Lucky Lips: Stories About Lipstick, written by René Koch (a.k.a. the founder of the Lipstick Museum.) When I purchased the book I mistakenly thought it had English text alongside the German. Oops. Still, it's a nice supplement to Jean-Marie Martin-Hattemberg's Lips of Luxury as it contains different vintage lipsticks, some of which I hadn't seen before.
I wish I could compare the information offered in both books, but at the very least I can tell that Lucky Lips has some tips on lipstick application and 20th century lipstick history organized by decade. Overall, it's good to have on hand and a quality addition to the vintage makeup collector's library, especially if you can read German. (I've said this before, but if I could have any superpower it would be fluency in all languages within a matter of minutes.) If you had to choose between this one and Lips of Luxury, however, I'd go with the latter as it's a bit more extensive.
Are you interested in any of these? What books, beauty-related or otherwise, have you finished recently?
Makeup Museum (MM) Musings is a series that examines a broad range of museum topics as they relate to the preservation, research and exhibition of cosmetics, along with my vision for a physical Makeup Museum. These posts help me think through how I'd run things if the Museum occupied a physical public space, as well as examine the ways it's currently functioning. I also hope that these posts make everyone see that just because the Makeup Museum does not have a physical space or official nonprofit designation, it is as valid as other museums, and more legitimate than many other profit-driven entities calling themselves "museums".
Let me just say up front that the timing of this post has nothing to do with the Capitol insurrection that took place a few weeks ago, or the fact that Black History Month starts in two days. This is something that's been in the works for over a year, as it's extremely important to the Museum's mission and to me personally. After giving myself a crash course in diversity and inclusion, I feel as though I'm finally ready to write something a little more in-depth than the thoughts I jotted down back in June 2020. One of the Museum's primary goals is to present makeup and its history differently than what currently exists, and a big part of that is sharing previously undiscovered or underrepresented stories. So many of them concern BIPOC and LGBTQ+ histories, and it's important to tell them not just for diversity's sake but for history more generally.
This post will not go into detail regarding the obvious facts that 1. Despite good intentions, all museums are rooted in colonialism; 2. U.S. museums have a critical diversityproblem; and 3. Diverse and inclusive museums are better in every way than non-inclusive spaces. Instead, it seeks to answer the following question: How can the Makeup Museum, in its current state, be as diverse and inclusive as possible? I don't have all the answers, but MM Musings are an exercise to think through the heavier issues and ponder how the Museum can be better – more of a journey than an endpoint. To help guide this installment of MM Musings I relied on these two books, along with the anti-racism books I purchased last year. I also looked at all the articles and other resourcesI could access for free online.
As I noted previously, there are unique challenges for a cosmetics museum to become a diverse and inclusive space. But that doesn't mean there's not room for improvement. If the Museum occupied a physical space and had paid employees (well-paid and with full benefits, of course, and while I hope they would not have a need for a union, they would absolutely be encouraged to form one if they want), it would no doubt have a diverse boardand staff at all levels that would be treated as integral to the organization and not tokens, along with the other essentials such as diversity training for docents and consultants to continually evaluate the Museum's efforts and provide recommendations. In its current form, however, the primary focus in terms of diversity and inclusion is on the Museum's content and collection. Since there are no blueprints as to how to run an online cosmetics museum/blog whose existence and finances depend entirely on one person who is also not technically a museum professional, it's tricky to come up with a concrete plan of action for diversity and inclusion. But here's a start.
Diversify the collection.
Collecting Chinese, Japanese and Korean brands are not an issue, nor are ones founded or owned by LGBTQ+ people – there are plenty of those as well as artist/fashion collaborations – but Latinx and Indigenous brands and collabs remain somewhat elusive. I can write about my beloved Pai Pai but they no longer ship to the U.S., and I know of only a handful of other Latinx or Indigenous-owned brands. Contemporary Black-owned brands are easier to find than ever now so I will continue purchasing more from them, but it's still difficult to find many vintage pieces simply because there were so few compared to the big mainstream brands, none of which catered to BIPOC's needs until the 1960s or so (and even then their efforts continued to miss the mark.) I will continue to keep my eyes peeled and buy from BIPOC and LGBTQ+ brands as much as possible.
Diversify blog, IG and exhibition content.
The Museum's collection may not be diverse enough right now, but that doesn't mean I can't write about objects or other pieces of makeup history related to BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities, along with topics centered on ageism within the industry and people with disabilities. There are so many that are either have not been fully explored or not mentioned at all. One stumbling block remains: namely, I'm still not sure they're stories appropriate for a white, able-bodied, cis-het woman to tell. This is particularly important when discussing makeup used by Indigenous people, as in some cases it has a spiritual or religious purpose rather than beautification or self-expression. I'm afraid I don't have a solution other than to forge ahead and write about topics that may not be 100% appropriate but that are important. I think as long as I'm treating them in a sensitive manner and open to feedback and constructive criticism, it's better to share these histories even if they're from a non-BIPOC/LGBTQ+ person. One thing I eventually learned last summer was that being totally silent and not even attempting to diversify content is worse than trying and getting it wrong. I only hope I don't inflict any harm, but if I do, then I can always remove the post and do better the next time.
Search for more BIPOC and LGBTQ+ artists and brands to feature on Instagram and in Color Connections.
Exhibitions: How are BIPOC and LGBTQ+ represented in exhibitions? If they're not adequately represented, why? The solutions to this would normally be to have an exhibition that thoroughly incorporates diverse objects and voices, or have one focused on BIPOC and LGBTQ+ themes and ensure appropriate curation and oversight, e.g. not hiring someone who doesn't belong to those groups or has little to no knowledge about the topic at hand. This is a hurdle for the Makeup Museum as the founder and sole curator is not from an underrepresented group. The only thing I can do at the moment is choose exhibition topics in which marginalized people have adequate representation and make sure they see themselves in the exhibitions. It must be obvious that they're not niche visitors and that they are essential to the story the exhibition is telling. Theoretically I could explore whether anyone would be interested in co-curating or guest curating an exhibition focused on BIPOC or LGBTQ+, but as the Museum is entirely a labor of love and I'm unable to provide compensation, I'm sure as hell not asking someone from a marginalized group to curate or write for free. That brings me to my next point.
Identify fees for guest writers, curators and consultants and see if they are feasible without drastically cutting the budget for new acquisitions.
Like most of the initiatives I would love to pursue such as overhauling the website ($10-20k), purchasing archival storage containers ($1-2k), establishing a nonprofit (about $2-4k), getting a degree in museum or curatorial studies ($50k minimum) and purchasing and maintaining proper collections management software ($2k per year), I fear I would never be able to afford to hire professionals to work on the Museum with me even if I never bought another object, but it can't hurt to at least ask what their fees are. And who knows, perhaps I could even work out a plan whereby payments are due in installments rather than the full sum up front.
Further develop a community-focused, collaborative mindset.
Since its inception the Museum has operated in a mostly isolated environment. I'm not only a hardcore introvert and lifelong loner, but I always wanted to have my own space, something that I had full control over and without the involvement of anyone else. And that impulse is still quite strong. But I've also always wanted to educate, and though I'm not comfortable with it, being a resource means inviting people to help create it: by the public, for the public. Community for the Museum largely means either makeup aficionados/professionals or the local geographic area. I've always asked blog visitors to respond to my posts, and starting with the Stila girls exhibition in 2019, I began asking visitors to submit memories, photos or anything else they'd like to share to be incorporated into the exhibition. Lately I started investigating how the Museum might be able to collaborate with local museums, schools and historical centers – obviously I've considered pitching a pop-up exhibition at their spaces for over a decade now, but I realized I have to be more mindful of the approach. There's no way an organization is going to agree to host or be involved with an outside museum offering a pop-up exhibition if it has nothing to do with their mission or at least their collections. The goal, it seems, is to match interests. For example, the Maryland Center for History and Culture would be more interested in an exhibition on a history of Baltimore beauty parlors than, say, a display of rose-themed makeup, because their mission and collection have nothing to do with botany or natural history but is focused on the state of MD. I think there are ways in which the Museum can engage with both the makeup and local communities, and become more diverse and inclusive in doing so.
Establish metrics for the Museum's collection and content and share them publicly.
To keep any organization accountable in their diversity and inclusion efforts, it's necessary to track measurable outcomes of said efforts. Museums and Race's report card gave me the idea to develop one for the Museum based on the steps listed above. It would be updated annually each January and indicate the progress or maintenance of goals, which are as follows:
Increase the number of posts that focus on or incorporate BIPOC and LGBTQ+ makeup and related topics (for example, the "multicultural" makeup of the '90s). Originally I wanted to follow U.S. demographics and keep a strict 60/40 split in which 40% of posts would be BIPOC-focused, with 18% Latinx topics/artists/brands, 15% Black, 6% Asian and 1% Indigenous. Alas, after crunching some numbers I realized that it would be impossible unless I both greatly scaled back the number of Asian-focused posts and hired or collaborated with BIPOC/LGBTQ+, and there's no telling if I will be able to achieve the latter. So for now, I'm going to take stock of what was written in 2020 and plan on more diverse posts in 2021. In terms of Instagram, taking a cue from the 15% pledge, my goal is to ensure at least 15% of IG posts feature Black makeup history, artists, models or Black-owned brands. I've been doing 11% since June (or 1 out of every 9 posts) and it has proved challenging. It's difficult because I don't want to repeat the same brands, models or artists ad nauseam and also want to provide meaningful and unique content, i.e. I don't want to toss up some ad that people have seen a thousand times before, especially without offering any new insight, just because I need to fill a quota that I set. Representation is critical, but can easily veer into tokenism. Having said that, I'd still like for 1 post out of every 6 (or 17%) to have Black-focused content and I'm working on how I can do that without blindly regurgitating things that are readily available and well-known. I'm also going to count other topics towards this goal even if they don't show a Black model or brand. For example, I have a bottle of Revlon's Touch and Glow foundation from the early 1950s in the deepest shade they made up until about 1957. As you may have guessed, it's medium toned at best. This is an example of how mainstream brands simply did not care about the needs of BIPOC customers, especially Black ones. I'm still not sure how to handle other demographics, however; as noted above, Latinx and Indigenous brands, artists and topics are somehow more difficult to find than Black ones. Nevertheless, Instagram makes it easy to track so I will take stock of 2020's posts and work on at least increasing the number of posts involving these groups.
Increase the number of Museum objects from BIPOC-owned brands. I will keep track of what was acquired each year and work out the proportion of objects that came from BIPOC-owned brands. Then monitor those numbers each year to ensure they increase. For example, I purchased 22 makeup ads in 2020 and 6 of them were from Black-owned brands or featured Black models. So this year, let's say I purchase 22 ads again, 7 or more of them should be from BIPOC-owned brands or feature BIPOC models. The acquisition of objects from white-owned brands will still soundly outpace BIPOC-owned ones, especially for vintage pieces, but the goal is to increase that number and work towards a bigger percentage of BIPOC-owned objects in the collection.
Track the number of BIPOC and LGBTQ+ people or organizations I reached out or donated to, along with community organizations. While nothing may come of these attempts on my part to collaborate with them, I feel it's important to at least get in touch. And there are plenty of BIPOC and LGBTQ individuals and organizations that can use donations.
Ensure all exhibitions meaningfully represent BIPOC and LGBTQ+ individuals and brands, and if not, discuss why.
I think this sort of report card is more valuable than some bland diversity statement. Most of the statements I found lacked substance – they were just a bunch of jargon with no actionable steps outlined.
The Museum's diversity efforts are ongoing, of course. And I plan on tackling the related topics of social change and accessibility as future installments of MM Musings. But this is a beginning of a shift towards meaningful action. Thoughts? I'm off to create a report card for 2020 so I will have something to compare 2021 to.
Despite my art history background and general love of art, I am less than eloquent when writing about it. Nevertheless I will continue soldiering forward with the Museum's Makeup as Muse series, the latest installment of which focuses on the work of Gina Beavers in honor of her recent show at Marianne Boesky Gallery. Beavers' practice encompasses a variety of themes, but it's her paintings of makeup tutorials that I'll be exploring. Since I'm both tired and lazy this will be more of a summary of her work rather than offering any fresh insight and I'll be quoting the artist extensively along with some writers who have covered her art, so most of this will not be my own words.
Born in Athens and raised in Europe, Beavers is fascinated by the excess and consumerism of both American culture and social media. "I don't know how to talk about this existence without talking about consumption, and so I think that's the element in consuming other people's images. That's where that's embedded. We have to start with consumption if we're going to talk about who we are. That's the bedrock—especially as an American," she says. The purchase of a smart phone in 2010 is when Beavers' work began focusing on social media. "[Pre-smart phone] I would see things in the world and paint them! Post-smartphone my attention and observation seemed to go into my phone, into looking at and participating in social media apps, and all of the things that would arise there…Historically, painters have drawn inspiration from their world, for me it's just that a lot of my world is virtual [now]."
But why makeup, and specifically, makeup tutorials? There seem to be two main themes running through the artist's focus on these online instructions, the first being the relationship between painting and makeup. Beavers explains: "When I started with these paintings I was really thinking that this painting is looking at you while it is painting itself. It’s drawing and painting: it has pencils, it has brushes, and it’s trying to make itself appealing to the viewer. It’s about that parallel between a painting and what you expect from it as well as desire and attraction. It’s also interesting because the terms that makeup artists use on social media are painting terms. The way they talk about brushes or pigments sounds like painters talking shop." Makeup application as traditional painting is a theme that goes back centuries, but Beavers's work represents a fresh take on it. As Ellen Blumenstein wrote in an essay for Wall Street International: "Elements such as brushes, lipsticks or fingers, which are intended to reassure the viewers of the videos of the imitability of the make-up procedures, here allude to the active role of the painting – which does not just stare or make eyes at the viewer, but rather seems to paint itself with the accessories depicted – literally building a bridge extending out from the image…Beavers divests [the image] of its natural quality and uses painting as an analytical tool. The viewer is no longer looking at photographic tableaus composed of freeze-frames taken from make-up tutorials, but rather paintings about make-up tutorials, which present the aesthetic and formal parameters of this particular class of images, which exist exclusively on the net." The conflation of makeup and painting can also be perceived as a rumination on authorship and original sources. Beavers is remaking tutorials, but the tutorials themselves originated with individual bloggers and YouTubers. And given the viral, democratic nature of the Internet, it's nearly impossible to tell who did a particular tutorial first and whether tutorials covering the same material – say, lip art depicting Van Gogh's "Starry Night" – are direct copies of one artist's work or merely the phenomenon of many people having the same idea and sharing it online. Sometimes the online audience cannot distinguish between authentic content and advertising; Beavers's "Burger Eye" (2015), for example, is actually not recreated from a tutorial at all but an Instagram ad for Burger King (and the makeup artist who was hired to create it remains, as far as I know, uncredited).
Another theme is fashioning one's self through makeup, and how that self is projected online in multiple ways. Beavers explains: "I am interested in the ways existing online is performative, and the tremendous lengths people go to in constructing their online selves. Meme-makers, face-painters, people who make their hair into sculptures, are really a frontier of a new creative world…It’s interesting, as make-up has gotten bigger and bigger, I’ve realized what an important role it plays in helping people construct a self, particularly in trans and drag communities. I don’t normally wear a lot of make-up myself, but I like the idea of the process of applying make-up standing in for the process of self-determination, the idea of ‘making yourself’."
As for the artist's process, it's a laborious one. Beavers regularly combs Instagram, YouTube and other online sources and saves thousands of images on her phone. She then narrows down to a few based on both composition and the story they're trying to tell. "I'm arrested by images that have interesting formal qualities, color, composition but also a compelling narrative. I really like when an image is saying something that leaves me unsure of how it will translate to painting, like whether the meaning will change in the context of the history of painting," she says. "I always felt drawn to photos that had an interesting composition, whether for its color or depth or organization. But in order for me to want to paint it, it also had to have interesting content, like the image was communicating some reality beyond its composition that I related to in my life or that I thought spoke in some interesting way about culture." The act of painting for Beavers is physically demanding as well: she needs to start several series at the same time and go back and forth between paintings to allow the layers to dry. They have to lay flat to dry so she often ends up painting on the floor, and her recent switch to an even heavier acrylic caused a bout of carpal tunnel syndrome.
But it's precisely the thick quality of the paint that return some of the tactile nature of makeup application. This is not accidental; Beavers intentionally uses this technique as way to remind us of makeup's various textures and to ensure her paintings resemble paintings rather than a photorealistic recreation of the digital screen. "The depth of certain elements in the background of images has taught me a lot about seeing. I think I have learned that I enjoy setting up problems to solve, that it isn't enough for me to simply render a photo realistically, that I have to build up the acrylic deeply in order to interfere with the rendering of something too realistically," she explains. Sharon Mizota, writing for the LA Times, says it best: "Skin, lashes and lips are textured with rough, caked-on brushstrokes that mimic and exaggerate wrinkles and gloppy mascara. This treatment gives the subjects back some of the clunky physicality that the camera and the digital screen strip away. Beavers’ paintings, in some measure, undo the gloss of the photographic image."
Beavers also uses foam to further build up certain sections so that they bulge out towards the viewer, representing the desire to connect to others online. "Much of what people do online is to try to create connection, to reach out and meet people or talk to people. That is what the surfaces of my painting do in a really literal way, they are reaching off the linen into the viewer’s space," she says. This sculptural quality also points to the reality of the online world – it's not quite "real life" but it's not imaginary either, occupying a space in between. Beavers expands on her painting style representing the online space: "It’s interesting because flatness often comes up with screens, and I think historically the screen might have been read like that, reflecting a more passive relationship. That has changed with the advent of engagement and social media. What’s behind our screen is a whole living, breathing world, one that gives as much as it takes. I mean it is certainly as 'real' as anything else. I see the dimension as a way to reflect that world and the ways that world is reaching out to make a connection. Another aspect is that once these works are finished, they end up circulating back in the same online world and now have this heightened dimensionality – they cast their own shadow. They’re not a real person, or burger, or whatever, but they’re not a photo of it either, they’re something in between."
Let's dig a little more into what all this means in terms of makeup, the beauty industry and social media. Beavers' work can be viewed as a simultaneous critique and celebration of all three. Sharon Mizota again: "[The tutorial paintings] also pointedly mimic the act of putting on makeup, reminding us that it is something like sedimentation, built up layer by layer. There is no effortless glamour here, only sticky accretion. That quality itself feels like an indictment — of the beauty industry, of restrictive gender roles. But an element of playfulness and admiration lives in Beavers’ work. They speak of makeup as a site of creativity and self-transformation, and Instagram and other social media sites as democratizing forces in the spread of culture. To be sure, social media may be the spur for increasingly outré acts, which are often a form of bragging, but why shouldn’t a hamburger eye be as popular as a smoky eye? In translating these photographs into something more physical, Beavers asks us to consider these questions and exposes the duality of the makeup industry: The same business that strives to make us insecure also enables us to reinvent ourselves, not just in the image of the beautiful as it’s already defined, but in images of our own devising."
This ambiguity is particularly apparent in Beavers's 2015 exhibition, entitled Ambitchous, which incorporated beauty Instagrammers and YouTubers' makeup renditions of Disney villains alongside "good" characters. Blumenstein explains: "So it isn’t protagonists with positive connotations which are favoured by the artist, but unmistakably ambivalent characters who could undoubtedly lay claim to the neologism ambitchous, which is the name given to the exhibition. Like the original image material, this portmanteau of ‘ambitious’ and ‘bitchy’ is taken from social media and its creative vernacular, and is used, depending on the context, either in a derogatory fashion – for example for women who will do absolutely anything to get what they want – or positively re-interpreted as an expression of female self-affirmation. Beavers also applies this playful and strategic complication of seemingly unambiguous contexts of meaning to the statements contained in her paintings. It remains utterly impossible to determine whether they are critically exaggerating the conformist and consumerist beauty ideals of neo-capitalism, or ascribing emancipatory potential to the conscious and confident use of make-up."
More recently, Beavers has been using her own face as a canvas and making her own photos of them her source material, furthering her exploration of the self. "Staring at yourself or your lips for hours is pretty jarring. But I like it, because it creates this whole other level of self,” she says.
This shift also points to another dichotomy in Beavers's work: in recreating famous works of art on her face, she is both critiquing art history's traditional canon and appreciating it, referring to them as a sort of fan art. "I think a lot of the works that I have made that reference art history—like whether it's Van Gogh or whoever it is—have a duality where I really respect the artist and I'm influenced by them, and at the same time I'm making it my own and poking a little fun. And so, a lot of these pieces originated with the idea of fan art. You'll find all sorts of Starry Night images online that people have painted or sculpted or painted on their body. It comes out of that. And I just started to reach a point where I was searching things like 'Franz Kline body art,' and I wasn’t finding that, so I had to make my own. Then it started to get a little bit geekier. I have a piece in the show where I am painting a Lee Bontecou on my cheek, that's a kind of art world geeky thing—you have to really love art to get it."
Ultimately, Beavers perceives the intersection of makeup and social media as a force for good. While the specter of misinformation is always lurking, YouTube tutorials and the like allow anyone with internet access to learn how to do a smoky eye or a flawlessly lined lip. "I think for a lot of people social media is kind of like the weather. We don't have a lot of control of it, it just is. It gives and it takes away. There's no doubt that it has connected people in ways that are great and productive, allowing people to find communities and organize activism, it can also be a huge distraction…I approach looking at images there pretty distantly, more as a neutral documentarian, and I come down on the side of seeing social media as an incredibly useful, democratic tool in a lot of ways," she concludes.
On the other side of social media, Beavers is interested on how content creators help disseminate the idea of makeup as representing something larger and more meaningful than traditional notions of beauty. "I was super fascinated with makeup and all of the kinds of costume makeup and things you can find online that go away from a traditional beauty makeup and go towards something really wild and cool…I also had certain paintings in [a 2016] show that were much more about costume makeup, that were going away from beauty. That’s the thing that gives me hope. When I go through makeup hashtags on Instagram, there will be ten or twenty beauty eye makeup images and then one that’s painted with horror makeup. There are women out there doing completely weird things, right next to alluring ones." In the pandemic age, as people's relationships with makeup are changing, "weird" makeup is actually becoming less strange. Beavers' emphasis on experimental makeup is more timely than ever. I also think she's documenting the gradual way makeup is breaking free of the gender binary. She says: "I mean with makeup, and the whole conversation around femininity and makeup—I think for a long time when I was making makeup images, there were people that just thought, 'Oh, that's not for me,' because it's about makeup, it's feminine. But it’s interesting, the culture is shifting. I just saw the other day that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did a whole Instagram live where she was putting on her makeup and talking about how empowering makeup is for trans communities…some people see make-up as restrictive or frivolous, but drag performers show how it can be liberating and life-saving." Another point to consider in terms of gender is the close-up aspect of Beavers's paintings. With individual features (eyes, lips, nails) separated from the rest of the face and body and removed from their original context, they're neither masculine nor feminine, thereby reiterating that makeup is for any (or no) gender.
All I can say is, I love these paintings. Stylistically, they're right up my alley – big, colorful and mimicking makeup's tactile nature so much that I have a similar reaction to them as I do when seeing makeup testers in a store: I just want to dip my hands in them and smear them everywhere! I also enjoy the multiple themes and levels in her work. Beavers isn't commenting just on makeup in the digital age, but also self-representation online, shifting attitudes towards makeup's meaning, the relationship between painting and makeup, and Western art history.
What do you think of Beavers's paintings? If you like it I would highly recommend the monograph, which is lovely and fairly affordable at $40.
I’m doing the #Museum30 challenge on Twitter, and one of the recent prompts was “origin”. It got me thinking about the very first makeup museum. While I have no definitive answers, it seems the first cosmetics museum, at least in the U.S., dates back to the 1950s. And there were several others after that but before the Makeup Museum was established. So let’s take a quick peek into the origin of the makeup museum and the other spaces that have gone before (along with a a couple that came after).
In October of 1956 it was reported that the House of Cosmetics, a “cosmetics museum and gallery of fame as a historical repository and a tribute to the cosmetics industry”, would opening at the former Reed Company on Harrison Street in Newark, NY. It was financed and operated by Pitkin, a cosmetics manufacturer that distributed the Linda Lee line of cosmetics. Among other features, the museum would boast special sections for perfume, lipstick (“Lipstick Lane”) and powder (“Powder Puff Parade) , along with gigantic sculptures of a perfume bottle, lipstick and powder box on the roof that would light up at night. The collection consisted of objects donated from the public along with memorabilia from the Pitkin company archives. A perfume fountain at the entrance spouted a brand-new fragrance called Three Coins, created especially for the museum. Visitors would receive samples of the perfume.
House of Cosmetics Museum, Newark NY, December 1956
The odd thing about the House of Cosmetics is that it allegedly opened in December of 1956, but there is literally no mention of it after that. I could not for the life of me find any information on it following its grand opening, so I can only assume it wasn’t successful and quietly closed, perhaps because it was too commercial and focused mostly on Pitkin. The House of Cosmetics was not the vision of a passionate private collector, but that of the current president of Pitkin as a way to raise the company’s profile nationwide and celebrate the brand’s upcoming 50th anniversary in 1958. The space prominently featured current Pitkin products and it didn’t seem as though there were outside curators or historians involved, plus, only Pitkin employees served as tour guides. I know many argue that museums should be run like businesses, and it’s a conversation for another time, but I really do think that generally entrepreneurs should not be opening museums.
Fast forward to 1979* when the Pacific Cosmetics Museum, also known as the Museum of Cosmetics History, opened in Korea. While it was established by Pacific Chemicals founder Suh Seong Hwan as part of the company’s factory in Seoul, the collection reflects the passion and respect Hwan had for Korean cosmetics history.
With the help of museum director/curator Chun Wan-gil (Cheon Wan-kil), Hwan continued researching and building the collection, all the while becoming more interested in the cultural aspects of makeup rather than seeing them merely as a way to make money. Not only did Hwan support the museum, he funded research and publications related to Korean cosmetics history. According to AmorePacific biographer Han Mi-Ja, “Chun Wan-gil seemed truly to enjoy working for the museum. He poured all his energy and passion into helping Jangwon [Hwan] with it. As for Jangwon, he was amazed and thrilled to watch how the historic relics seemed to come to life after the hands of Chun Wan-gil touched them. With his guide, Jangwon was able to build his knowledge and awareness of the historic relics, and grew more committed to the cultural activities…Jangwon thought, learned, and discovered a lot while collecting historic relics, building a museum, and presenting the results of his devotion to the world. He was filled with a joy and sense of achievement, which were not the same as he had ever felt from his business.”
In 2009 the museum changed its name to Amorepacific Museum of Art (APMA) and showcases modern and contemporary art rather than cosmetics, although the website states that “it is an institution dedicated to the antiques and artifacts of cosmetics culture in Korea, as well as making a meaningful contribution to local community and education.” I really can’t tell whether makeup is actually on display there. Ditto for the Pola Museum – while it was established by a cosmetics company president in 1976 and has some makeup on display for specialexhibitions, I believe the museum focuses mostly on the founder’s personal art collection. So I don’t know if either of those really qualify as makeup museums now, but they were at least started that way.
Going back to the U.S., in 1984 the Max Factor Makeup Museum opened in Max Factor’s former studio at 1666 N. Highland Avenue in Hollywood, CA. Overseen by Bob Salvatore, a 23-year employee of Max Factor, the museum offered a veritable treasure trove of Max Factor objects and memorabilia. From then it’s not clear what exactly happened. Some articles state that the museum closed in 1992, some say 1996; I’m leaning towards 1996 as there are articles from 1995 advertising the museum at that location. In any case, a portion of the collection ended up at the Hollywood Entertainment Museum, which opened in October 1996 and was located at 7021 Hollywood Blvd. The collection remained there until 2004, when it landed at its original location, the old Max Factor studio. The famed Art Deco building had been turned into the Hollywood Museum in the summer of 2003. The Max Factor collection is still there so you can visit (well, maybe if the pandemic ever ends!)
During this time, Shiseido opened their corporate museum in Japan as a way to celebrate the company’s 120th anniversary in 1992. I’ve written about this one before so I won’t rehash it, but you can check out my post. A decade later, in 2002, an Alabama paper reported on the Avon Fan Club House of one Mira Dawson. Ms. Dawson was a top seller and avid collector of Avon memorabilia, even dressing like one of the company’s co-founders to greet visitors. She charged $2 for admission to her home, which functioned as the museum. Here’s to home-based museums!!
A year later, in November 2003 the Coreana Cosmetics Museum opened in Seoul. This was another one started by the company president; however, like the Pacific Cosmetics Museum, it seems to be far less profit-driven than the House of Cosmetics. The Coreana Cosmetics Museum showcases over 5,300 objects from all eras and seems to have curators and historians working there rather than relying on company salespeople. This tour from @travmagnet is fantastic!
Just a few years later, in 2006 the Beni Museum was established in Tokyo. I’ve posted about that previously too so I won’t go into it again, but you should really check it out as it’s fabulous. So that takes us to late 2007, when I registered the domain for the Makeup Museum. Interestingly, on Instagram I got to chatting with the previous owner of the domain! Oldschoolcosmetics had the idea of a makeup museum all the way back in the ’70s and registered the domain around 1995, but realized how difficult it was and ended up walking away from makeup entirely. Here’s what she had to say: “I first had the idea for a cosmetics museum in the 70s when I became really aware of makeup, brands and how quickly things disappeared from shelves. My dad had a museum background and my parents took me to museums on every vacation. I started to think seriously about it in the 90s and registered the domain then. There were no odd or new domains then, just .com, .org and .net. I don’t recall if I registered .com or .org or both, but definitely not .net. At the time there was a Max Factor exhibit in the LA area, and at least two active makeup schools there which specialized in special effects and Hollywood film work. I wasn’t as interested in that, but it became obvious that the industry was based in NY and LA, rent would be prohibitive, the industry giants could set up a museum faster than I could, would definitely do so after I started up, anything on display could be permanently ruined if there was a blackout or A/C malfunction, and the bulk of the work would be grant writing, networking and managerial. I abandoned the idea fairly quickly. Ignoring all other beauty like wigs, nails, skincare, fragrance, there was still too much for one building if you showed stage makeup, drag history, failed brands, etc. Back then there were less collabs, less brands, less releases a year, the world wide web was just starting and everything was still paper catalogs, in store displays, etc. Now a museum would have to cover cancel culture, influencers, indie brands, brand owners, many more foreign brands, etc. I used the domain for a private message board about makeup. I wanted to call it makeup mavens but someone had that name and a brand that used it. This was circa 1995? Eventually I got bored with the industry, the sheeple customers, products that disappointed, etc.”
So it was kind of a downer to hear, but that sort of brutal honesty is needed at times, plus it shows I’m not a total failure – it’s basically impossible to open a cosmetics museum without any investors or industry connections, or unless you’re independently wealthy. In any case, this person is enthusiastic about makeup again and supports the Makeup Museum. She has been extremely kind in talking with me about the challenges of opening a physical space and digitizing the collection, particularly as they relate to funding sources. She has given me quite a few excellent suggestions so hopefully I’ll be able to pursue them. Anyway, in August of 2008 I wrote my first blog post, so I usually consider that to be the Museum’s official birthday.
A little bit after the Makeup Museum was established, makeup artist René Koch opened his private collection of lipstick in Berlin to the public in 2009, naturally called the Lipstick Museum. This is still on my must-see list! Known as “Mr. Lipstick”, Koch was the head makeup artist for YSL for over 20 years and has amassed a spectacular collection of lipsticks and related memorabilia.
Finally, we have the London Cosmetics Museum, founded by makeup artist Xabier Celaya in 2015. Like the Makeup Museum, it’s an online-only pursuit for now. However, Xabier exhibits his collection at local universities, stores and cosmetology schools, and I’d be very surprised if he doesn’t have a public physical space shortly.
All of this goes to show there’s been an interest for many years in exhibiting and preserving makeup history and beauty culture. I certainly was not the first one to have the idea of a cosmetics museum, nor will I be the last – I know of several makeup artists who are actively trying to open their own spaces. However, if they follow in the footsteps of a certain other entity and claim to be the first, well, you know it’s a lie. 😉