As lovely as Clé de Peau's vintage jewelry inspired compacts were, overall I prefer the artist collaborations they've been doing since about 2014 or so. Last year the company worked with Daria Petrilli for a second time on a Swan Lake themed collection. While it was a stunning lineup, there are a great many artists who would jump at the opportunity to create makeup packaging so I was relieved Clé de Peau sought out a different artist for this year's holiday collection. Like the 2018 release which was inspired by Alice in Wonderland, the 2021 collection was loosely based on Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 novel The Secret Garden. (Yet inexplicably the collection is entitled the Garden of Splendor. Go figure. I also wonder if the brand selected both The Secret Garden and Alice in Wonderland just to incorporate a key motif.) Clé de Peau enlisted the talent of Michaël Cailloux, a French artist whose illustrations provided the perfect backdrop for the collection.
A pattern of trailing ivy adorns the outer boxes, which open to reveal a menagerie of squirrels, lambs, foxes and birds frolicking in the garden. It's gorgeous but also thoughtful – the key is a nod to Clé de Peau's brand name, while the ivy and keyhole refer to the book's description of the garden walls covered in the plant and the unlocking of the garden door by the main character, Mary Lennox. As we'll see, Cailloux imbued all of the packaging with beautiful depictions of the central symbols used in the book.
The animals are a reference to the ones charmed by Dickon Sowerby, the "common moor boy" who helps Mary revive the garden.
The robin and roses are also important symbols in The Secret Garden: the bird leads Mary to find the garden and later represents her transformation from unhappy and unloved child to flourishing young girl. Roses, the deceased Mrs. Craven's favorite flower, illustrate the necessity of nurturing children.
Later in the book Dickon cares for a motherless newborn lamb, further reinforcing the parallel between Mary and Colin and demonstrating that anyone can thrive when given love and support.
Other items in the collection included a face serum, cream and an exquisite cushion compact. Though lovely, the skincare items (at $295 and $550, respectively) were priced far above the Museum's budget. And sadly the cushion compact was not available in the U.S…but I am working on tracking it down!
Born and bred Parisian Michaël Cailloux (b. 1975) has loved drawing since he was a child. While he did not come from an artistic family, his mother encouraged his passion for drawing and art in general, allowing him to draw on the walls of their home and regularly taking him to museums. The artist reflects, "I've always loved drawing. Since I was a kid, it was my favorite hobby, I always had pencils or brushes on me. I could spend days by myself drawing in a corner of my room…I grew up alone with my mother in Paris. She wasn’t an artist and had never studied art. Despite that, she was my biggest fan and was always encouraging me to draw and she was constantly complimenting me. It definitely built up my confidence and motivated me to pursue this path even though I still had my doubts and cared a lot about other people’s opinion on the matter. I remember I used to draw on the walls at home and she would let me do it. She would hang my drawings on the walls of our apartment, she would buy me all the material I needed to stay creative and she never opposed me specializing in art during my studies. A lot of parents stop their kids from pursuing an artistic path because they fear for their future. But my mother was really sensitive to art, she would bring me to museums and various exhibitions, she taught me what freedom of thought was and she wouldn’t care too much about what people thought of her." I'm always so happy to see parents who are supportive of their children's dreams!
In 1998 Cailloux graduated from the École Duperré School of Design, writing his senior paper on the use of the fly motif (mouche) in 17th century still-life paintings and as beauty patches (!) in 18th century French culture. Cailloux's research led to what would be a lifelong interest in flies as an artistic symbol and the utilization of the fly as his signature. He explains: "The fly always fascinated me since I was a kid; it’s part of our everyday life, flying around us. Sometimes we chase it away, other times we simply let it be…depending on our mood. We don’t realize it but it’s there, present in our day to day life. My passion for this harmless, yet hated little insect led me to make it the subject of my graduation project, my memoire. I decided to always have it by my side so I made it my symbol and my logo. It’s almost like my lucky charm. If you look carefully, it appears pretty often in my artwork, sometimes visible, other times indistinguishable. Just like in your own life, you either see it and try to make it leave, or it just flies by you unnoticed. I always see them flying around my studio and to me it’s positive sign as they’re essential to biodiversity. [Flies] intrigue me and I find them attractive insofar as they come always disturb the eye." I personally hate flies and most other insects, but Cailloux does manage to make them pretty.
Around 2009 Cailloux began experimenting with cutting and engraving copper to make what he terms "wall jewelry". Inspired by René Lalique, Cailloux was intrigued by the idea of hanging jewelry on walls purely as decor. While they're not actual fashion accessories that could be worn as necklaces, bracelets, etc. – it seems "jewelry" here refers more to the materials used – the intricate shapes and sculptural lines, coupled with a metallic sheen, certainly appear jewelry-like.
In addition to metalwork, Cailloux is both experienced and gifted at translating his illustrations to whatever surface catches his fancy. "At school we were taught to work on different material: wood, metal, paper, linoleum, etc… It definitely allows me to apply my drawing on any surface I want. Despite all that, when I was contacted by Lenôtre, a famous French pastry shop, to work on a Yule log and Epiphany cake, it quite challenging! Currently, I’m working on a porcelain dinnerware collection with Bernardaud and once again, I have to adapt my drawings to fit the material. It’s not unsettling at this point anymore; it’s just another challenge. As well as for my collection Lemon Insect for Les Émaux de Longwy, I had to draw directly on the vases and jewelry boxes. All my past experiences prepared me for this and enabled me to adapt so easily!" It's true: in addition to makeup packaging, Cailloux's work can be modified to suit everything from playing cards and puzzles to cakes and advent calendars.
How stunning is this cake? Also, the wrapping paper doubles as a coloring sheet. I would dearly love to see an entire line of coloring books from Cailloux, especially ones devoted to sea creatures. 🙂
Stylistically, Cailloux cites William Morris, 17th century still-life paintings and the Art Nouveau movement as inspiration. Take, for example, his strawberry and sun print next to Morris's famous Strawberry Thief print.
Cailloux has not mentioned Ernst Haeckel, but I'd also argue that his work is a touch reminiscent of the 19th century zoologist and draughtsman. Compare Cailloux's ocean-themed print with those of Haeckel. It's definitely modernized and more whimsical rather than meticulously grounded in biological reality, but I think there's a similar vibe.
More generally, Cailloux enjoys playing with color and looks to nature for his primary subject matter. "Colour and all the different possible combinations are one of my favourite things to play with. Colour is at the heart of my work. It continues to spark my creativity," he says, adding: "Nature is my main source of inspiration; I love observing and drawing everything about it. That’s why I travel so much and bring my sketchbooks and pens with me; it allows me to draw new things all the time. But then I have certain phases: sometimes I focus on insects that I adore, or on birds and fish I find extraordinary, or simply flowers that never cease to amaze me with their intricate details." Indeed, Cailloux captures the complexity and vibrant colors of various flora and fauna but his style is never overly busy or garish.
And while Cailloux deftly applies his designs to a number of different mediums, drawing is his principal form, i.e. the starting point from which his work flows. "My artistic process always starts with hand-drawn illustrations with fine tip pens or India ink. I can’t see myself doing anything else but drawing…Drawing relaxes me; it clears my mind and helps me to focus my energy. I don’t think about it too much—I just draw everything I see around me…Everything starts from the observation of nature in general, and I also am inspired by old illustrations by redesigning my way. I have a sketchbook and I felt drawn to anything that inspires me: plants, insects, frogs and dragonfly. I can spend days drawing, and even nights."
I'm enjoying Cailloux's aesthetic, but there is something that gives me pause. When asked in an interview whether there's a contemporary equivalent to the 18th century mouche, the artist surprisingly says that makeup generally is not used to indicate one's mood. "In the 18th century, women used to wear an artificial beauty mark (also called une mouche meaning a fly in French) on their faces to show what mood they were in that day: coquette, discreet, generous, etc. This doesn’t really exist anymore today. Women can adapt their makeup for an event but there’s not much more meaning to it than that. However, I think social media is now where we show how we feel or share our daily thoughts. It’s kind of like the 'fly of the day'." I can only hope something got lost in translation. So many people, myself included, select makeup specifically based on the mood they're in on a given day – in fact, my mood, more so than any other factor (weather, plans for the day/night, outfit) is the key determiner in the makeup I choose. While it's not true for everyone, my makeup look is a direct expression of how I'm feeling that day. To say that makeup doesn't have much significance other than being conventionally appropriate for certain events is rather misguided.
Getting back to the Clé de Peau collection, it seems to lean more towards spring than fall or winter. The company specifically notes that Garden of Splendor "draws inspiration from nature’s ability to transform, heal and give a new perspective." Given the themes of rebirth, growth, healing, etc. expressed in the collection description and in The Secret Garden as well as Cailloux's colorful, cheerful illustrations, it would be more fitting for warmer weather (and I'm not the only one who thinks so). Plus, the makeup shades themselves – lots of pastels, delicate pinks and peaches – and the soft looks shown at the website are far better suited to spring.
I wish I knew who was in charge of this collection. It doesn't seem like Lucia Pieroni, the brand's former (?) global makeup artist is involved and hasn't been with the company for several years now, but I also saw no mention of Clé de Peau's current global color director, Benjamin Puckey, in connection with it either. Having said that, I do think the company made an excellent choice on all counts in selecting Cailloux for a Secret Garden inspired collection – his subject matter, mood and style align perfectly with the spirit and theme of the Clé de Peau collection. Even though it more appropriate for spring, the festive colors, feeling of hopefulness and renewal match what Clé de Peau was trying to do. As Cailloux says, "Above all what I’m trying to communicate is a smile and joy. I really want to pass on positive energy." Those are things the world could definitely use more of these days, and the sentiment very clearly came through in this collection.
What do you think of the Garden of Splendor and Cailloux's work?
Color coordination is just one of many facets of the vast and complex makeup-fashion relationship. This post will attempt to outline the trajectory of this concept from the 1920s through the early 1960s and examine how it was being marketed, with particular attention being paid to the notion of a lipstick wardrobe. The usual disclaimer applies: it won't be as thorough as I'd like given the limited access I have to certain resources, but hopefully will give a cohesive picture.
In the nascent cosmetics industry, color harmony usually referred to coordinating makeup shades to one's skin tone, hair and eye color. (It must be noted that women of color, particularly Black women, were completely left out of the "types" developed by Max Factor and others.) But as makeup became more acceptable and even expected, outfits began to take on importance in terms of coordinating makeup. The rise of ready-to-wear fashion and designers releasing seasonal collections also played a significant role. By the late 1920s beauty columns were advising women to select their makeup with the color of their "costumes" in mind in addition to the original three pillars of color harmony.1
Beauty columnists also advised a bit of color correcting through the use of mauve or green-tinted powders (which, you may recall, was pioneered by Shiseido), as this would enhance the complexion depending on lighting and the color of dress. The racist/colorist goal of "heighten[ing] the effect of whiteness" via makeup persisted throughout the 20th century. While most articles weren't quite as blatant about achieving whiteness to coordinate with various clothing colors, the sentiment was implicit in many color coordination guides.
While makeup shade selection was still sparse, cosmetic companies began using dress colors as a marketing opportunity. Elizabeth Arden led the way, declaring in 1931 that "any woman can wear any color". Cosmetics and Skin explains, "Unlike clothing fashion colours, that changed from season to season and year to year, lipsticks, rouges, face powders and nail polishes were sold in the same shades over long periods of time. Although limited, the colour ranges available in the 1920s and 1930s generally included vivid colours for evening wear and enough shades to enable women to make some allowances for different outfits and/or accessories like brightly-coloured jewellery. In the 1930s, recognising that make-up, like hair dyes, could change a woman’s ‘natural’ colouring, Elizabeth Arden and others went further, suggesting that make-up could enable women to wear a greater range of fashionable colours than her natural colouring might otherwise suggest." By the end of the '30s, "Women began buying new make-up items simply because of a change in colour, thereby increasing sales."
Cosmetic companies and beauty columnists seized on the idea of choice that color coordinated makeup supposedly allowed. Women no longer had to fear certain dress colors; they could wear them with confidence provided their makeup was aligned. With a change of outfits and harmony between makeup and clothing shades, women could also express various moods and personalities. The ad copy for Elizabeth Arden's lipstick ensemble claims one could be the "The same woman…but with infinite variety" and equipped with "the power to change your personality to suit your mood – or your gown." Columnist Antoinette Donnelly expanded on the concept, suggesting that by frequently switching up makeup and clothing combinations and breaking free from their set type, the average woman could become whoever they wanted. "[Witness] the manner in which makeup is worked out so that the woman can change her dress color to one that will put her in an entirely different category than that she is occupied in the somber shades, let's say. Or, with the help of certain makeup colors, she can be a stunning black-frocked siren, pale-cheeked and red-lipped, whereas before she may have been only a negative personality…these are frequently the type, who, rebelling, finds in an entirely new makeup scheme just that transforming note that lifts them out of the nondescript class…our interesting beauties are getting away from type classification. They're going in chiefly for being that something different which is always welcome, and particularly welcome in a world now filled with good-looking women. Makeup is the avenue over which you travel to get that difference and the crowning achievement will be reached when you know your makeup colors and what dress colors they should be associated with…the point is that this new makeup occupation of playing color successfully against dress colors is going to permit you a more dress-color latitude and will supply your audience with a woman about whom it can't be said: 'She always looks the same.'"2
Still, there was a lot less flexibility than beauty columnists and ads cared to admit. Any woman can wear any color, perhaps, but only by following the prescribed advice and buying particular colors. Couched in the language of freedom and excitement, a variety of makeup shades may have offered new possibilities in terms of dress, but there were rules dictated by self-appointed experts and businesses who overwhelmingly encouraged women to wear what was "becoming", not necessarily whatever color combination one desired.
Nevertheless, the industry wanted to make it easy for women to buy multiple shades and the notion of sticking to one color or ensemble seem antiquated. As one 1933 article encourages, "Don't say, 'I can't wear grey'- or blue, or green as the case may be. It's hopelessly old-fashioned. Smart women these days merely change their complexions to suit their costumes, and find that there are no longer any forbidden shades…when you know your makeup story, it's all so simple."3 In addition to this sort of rhetoric that emphasized simplicity and modernity, cosmetic companies boosted sales by creating ensembles that made choosing colors less daunting for customers. The assumption was that by eliminating confusion regarding what beauty products went with what fashion color, pre-made sets detailing appropriate shades would appeal to shoppers who would otherwise be intimidated by makeup-dress color coordination (or those who merely didn't want to be bothered spending time picking out the "right" shades), normalize the idea that women should own more than one color, and introduce shades customers may not have considered otherwise. Matched makeup products and sets existed – most notably by Max Factor and Richard Hudnut – but without the fashion component, instead focusing on the original three tenets of color harmony (complexion, hair and eye color). Elizabeth Arden's lipstick ensemble and color harmony boxes may have been the first official sets designed to take the guesswork out of makeup-clothing color coordination.
General guidelines on color coordination proliferated and more companies began releasing pre-made sets.
Elizabeth Arden may have also been the first to collaborate with department stores on showcasing new colors that went with the latest fashions. In 1931, a fashion show held at Lord & Taylor demonstrated not only new dresses, but the Arden products that went along with them. "How the new striking colors of the season may be worn by all women if the proper makeup is utilized was illustrated by various feminine types wearing the proper cosmetics with the colorful gowns chosen for them."4 Five years later, makeup companies were advertising their seasonal shades alongside the latest fashion colors in department store windows. Primrose House, Helena Rubinstein and Charles of the Ritz displayed their new tawny shades in next to white sportswear collections.5
Elizabeth Arden continued to lead the way by introducing "color capes" at counters and salons where customers could try on little capes in the season's latest fabrics and decide what makeup went best with them.
Generally speaking, color coordination guidelines were to stick to either warm or cool tones (i.e. don't mix a warm-toned brown dress with a blue-red lipstick) but still wear colors that allowed for maximum contrast between skin and dress. While dress and accessory shades needed consideration, one's own coloring was the most important in terms of picking out makeup. If your outfit had two or more contrasting shades, the makeup should be matched to the dominant color or the one closest to your face. One should own at least three lipsticks: a "clear" or true red (what I suspect has neutral undertones), a blue red (cool-toned) and an orange red (warm-toned). Finally, coordinating lip color was more critical than face powder for a harmonious look, if one had to choose between the two. Some rather harsh color coordination advice from the decade6:
"There are shades of rouge and lipstick and powder that are unequivocally antagonistic to other colors in close juxtaposition. This is seen in makeup colors themselves. Such as a bright orange face rouge and a purplish or deep raspberry lipstick. This combination is really ugly. Extend the idea to apparel. Take a blue eyeshadow with a red or flame colored dress. Just wrong, that's what it is."
"You must change the lipstick and rouge cases that you carry in your pocketbook as regularly as you change your frock, if you want a pleasing ensemble."
"Remember always that your lips supply the most outstanding color to your face. If they are wrong, your whole face might as well give up."
In terms of individual colors, the prescriptions were as follows. It's very interesting to see the roots of makeup color theory, especially considering how advanced it is today. Some of the advice is debatable, most likely due to the fact that there simply weren't many shades back then. And once again, these sorts of color-specific tips were intended for white women only. While some of the principles could theoretically be applied to BIPOC skin tones, it's obvious that the industry was focused on a white audience. Racism and colorism were on full display, particularly in the advice given for black dresses.
Red:
"Keep rouge and lipstick in the tone of the costume color – red geranium for an orange red or vermillion dress, red raspberry for the purple-reds, the rich wine shades and fuchsias."
"When wearing red, violet or blue-violet, it is very important to have the same basic tones in rouge, lipstick, and costume – no clash of orange with blue-red. That's bad!"
"If your dress is red, your lipstick leans toward purple and your rouge is borrowing its tones from orange, you will look as flamboyant as a circus poster."
"Red is a danger color in makeup. If the costume color is a bright shade of red, it should be matched as closely as possible with lipstick and rouge. The smartest crimson frock could be ruined by proximity to orange rouge and mandarin lipstick."
"If you wear red, particularly the bright, slightly off shades, the lipstick must match your costume exactly. Your rouge must be properly toned with your lipstick."
Beige and brown:
"Rouge and powder should have a touch of yellow. Green eyeshadow is stunning with beige."
"For wheatstalk and other beiges, use a vivid note: peach makeup base and peach powder, red geranium lipstick, rouge and nail polish. Green eyeshadow and blue-green mascara."
"If you are wearing browns that let orange supply their gaiety, you will want a touch of orange in your makeup."
"A warm terra cotta or russet makeup base, terra cotta or russet rouge and lipstick and a faintly mauve shade of face powder. Use bronze shadow and brown mascara."
Grey:
"All shades of grey needed a decided contrast."
"It is advisable to accentuate lip and eye makeup and subdue grayish pallor by using a deep peach rachel powder. When cheek rouge is used, it should be of a dark red or true blood tone, never a light orange shade."
"For grey, a vivid makeup is recommended for contrast: peach makeup base, a light shade of pinkish tan powder, red coral rouge and lipstick and matching nail polish. Blue eyeshadow and blue-green mascara."
"If you emphasize the pinkish tones in your skin and use a warm, bright rouge and lipstick the color will be more becoming."
Purple:
"The new purple shades are difficult colors to wear, so be sure to use a double application of pale peach foundation to give the skin an extra smooth texture and even coloring. Red coral rouge and lipstick have the clear quality that you need with difficult costume shades. Use blue eyeshadow if your eyes are blue, blue-green if they are brown."
"If you're in purple, lipstick and rouge ought to have bluish tones under the red."
"For lilac, mauve and violet, makeup base with a brownish undertone, a light shade of pinkish tan powder, red raspberry rouge, lipstick and nail polish. Black mascara and blue eyeshadow."
Green:
"For costumes of green – the vivid shades – a bright flame rouge and lipstick with pale rachel powder and green-gray eyeshadow could be tried out with effectiveness assured."
"For deep green costumes, use the same rouge, powder and lipstick shades, but use blue-green mascara and shadow according to the color of your eyes."
"For greens, from pale green to emerald and vivid green, makeup base with a brownish undertone, light shade of pinkish tan powder, red geranium lipstick, red strawberry rouge with a blue undertone, red geranium nail polish. Jade or emerald green eyeshadow, and blue-green mascara."
"Greens and yellow-greens are trying, but if you bring out the warm rose tones in your coloring you will stand a better chance of wearing these colors successfully. If these colors make your skin appear sallow, blend a little mauve face powder with the color you normally select to match your skin. Use a dark rosy lipstick to give your mouth a definite outline and a brown or grayish purple eyeshadow."
Blue:
"For blue apparel ensembles the 'blue' idea is stressed. The powder should have a good deal of purple pink in it, the rouge and lipstick with a purple cast. And blue eyeshadow by all means."
"If your favorite gown is in one of the bright new blue shades, use a soft peach shade of makeup base and powder and raspberry rouge and lipstick."
"For guardsman blue, dusty blue and other spring blues, peach makeup base, peach powder, red strawberry lipstick with a blue undertone, matching rouge and nail polish. Blue mascara and blue eyeshadow."
"Blue has a way of throwing bluish or purplish shadows on the face. Use a creamy tinted powder to soften this effect and use a lighter color of rouge and lipstick, yet one that is vivid and bright."
White:
"White requires little rouge – the amount that is chic with black is blatant with white – and the paler tones are more successful."
"White, like black, takes either a dark or a fair makeup, but nothing is more striking than white worn with the darker powders. Golden skins, tawny skins, make a gorgeous contrast with white."
Black:
"Black requires a more brilliant makeup to complement it than a color does. A powder as light as your skin tone permits, and the bright shades of rouge and lipstick, those on the geranium cast, prove most effective."
"Black is most striking and flattering when the skin is fair, pearly and transparent-looking. Black is not becoming with sun-tanned skin or sallow, yellowish skin. If your new fall costume is to be black, then you must get rid of your leftover tan and get your skin as freshly pink and white as possible…powder with a warm pinkish or peach cast, rouge and lipstick that are a blush rose or a frank red – those are good to wear with black."
Pastels:
"Shades which have a suggestion of blue in them call for a rouge with a blue cast. Shades with a hint of yellow look their best when the face is made up with rouge and lipsticks with an orange cast."
Vogue also offered general color coordination guidelines in their October 1, 1938 issue.
Another development in the 1930s was the recognition of the win-win situation offered by color-coordinated makeup and clothing. As early as 1932 both industries acknowledged the opportunity to profit through various types of partnerships. According to the December 30 issue of WWD that year, "Clothes-stylists and cosmetic experts are in a strong position to help each other today, with the result that more clothes and more cosmetics can be sold." The end of the decade marks the point at which cosmetic companies began creating makeup shades based on seasonal fashion colors and/or formally collaborating with fashion houses on colors.
Perhaps in an effort to outdo Elizabeth Arden, in the fall of 1938 Helena Rubinstein collaborated with noted milliner Marion Valle to produce the "vanity box of hats" series, a collection of 6 hats "based on the colors of six Rubinstein products." The hats and cosmetics were displayed together in department store windows.
To further emphasize the connection between fashion and cosmetics, it was around this time that companies began referring to color coordinated makeup using fashion terminology. Gone was the "ensemble"; enter the "wardrobe".
In short, the 1930s witnessed the solidification of clothing/makeup color coordination, mostly due to cosmetic and fashion companies realizing they could have mutually beneficial relationships in terms of sales, but also due in part to the greater trend of accessory coordination and the growth of the cosmetic industry more generally. The 1940s strengthened the notion of color coordination. The sales tactics, accessory coordination, and pre-made sets remained more or less the same. Advised a 1946 issue of Chain Store Age to salespeople, "Lipsticks must also harmonize with costume colors so women need a vari-colored lipstick wardrobe. Point out to your customer that she should have one for daytime, one for evening, one when her skin tans, etc."
In the spring of 1947, U.K. company Gala of London presented a similar idea to Arden's color capes by encouraging customers to visit their "Colour Room" with swatches of their dresses in hand. It's not clear whether they were inspired by Helena Rubinstein/Marion Valle partnership some 9 years prior, but Gala also collaborated with Gertrude Harris on several creations based on lipstick shades.
Seasonal colors really came into their own in the 1940s. Primrose House released a shade called Maraschino, a "cherry red designed for wear with summer clothes," while Revlon came up with Pink Lemonade and Red Punch for summer 1940.
Dorothy Gray continued introducing colors to go with the latest fashions, a tactic they had begun in the the late 1930s, but launched sets in addition to individual coordinated colors. The company was one of the first to present sets as a cost-effective way to have the necessary variety of colors on hand. "To offset the disadvantage and expense of various makeup colors to match costumes, there is a new 'Portrait Make-up' package at a nominal cost, which will harmonize with any color scheme milady might have for spring."7
Formal collaborations between cosmetic and fashion houses also continued in the '40s. Elizabeth Arden, still the runaway leader in fashion/makeup color coordination, began partnering with a collective named Color Affiliates in early 1940.
As a side note, some companies had a more literal interpretation of the lipstick wardrobe idea. Gala's set, most likely released during this decade, consisted of an outer box featuring an illustration of a wardrobe and slid open to reveal four colorful dress silhouettes with corresponding mini lipsticks.
Tussy's Kiltie Red was obviously named for the Scottish garb and the bottom of the tubes adorned with a plaid kilt-like ribbon.
While Elizabeth Arden was the preeminent expert in color coordination, in 1945 Helena Rubinstein introduced her "color spectrograph", which detailed makeup-dress coordination for five types.
Rubinstein introduced several products relating to the color spectrograph, including lipstick wardrobes in a pouch, Four-Cast lipsticks and Keys to Beauty sets. These were all basically the same concept but packaged differently. (Keys to Beauty had been launched previously in 1940, but was not marketed as a color-fashion coordinating set. Rather, there was only one set of three shades meant to be worn at different times of day.)
The lipstick tubes for the Four-Cast and Keys to Beauty were cleverly correlated to the outfit color family, i.e. the lipstick in the pink tube would go with pink or pastel outfits, while the shade in the green tube went with green or similarly colored outfits. (I would have taken these out to demonstrate but sadly, they had not an insignificant amount of mold.)
The idea of being able to pull off any color also continued as a selling point for makeup, although by this time fashion salespeople were officially in on the concept. As noted earlier, it was a win-win situation: if the only thing holding back a customer from buying an outfit in a hard-to-wear shade is makeup, it benefitted fashion companies to have their sales force advise buying the appropriate cosmetics. And voila! New outfit AND new makeup purchases means profits for designers and cosmetic companies alike. Echoing the commentary from 15 years prior, one department store buyer remarked in 1947, "A wide-awake ready-to-wear salesperson who has a customer who feels she cannot wear fall's vivid green or wine, can so easily suggest that the woman consult with the cosmetic department about a makeup which will alter her skin tone enough so that she can wear one or both of those colors, and wear them well! Toilet goods people can also suggest complete new makeups for customers who may mention that fall colors are difficult to wear." Additionally, the department store window cosmetic tie-ins that had begun in the early '30s had become de rigueur for the big makeup companies by the late 1940s.
The trend of selecting colors to go with one's clothing continued throughout the 1950s and early '60s, with more or less the same marketing tactics and new seasonal shades. Lipstick remained the key to color harmony.
Pre-made lipstick wardrobes continued to flourish, usually in sets of 3, 4 or 5 tubes.
Of note is Charles of the Ritz's lipstick wardrobe containing single-use matchsticks, which was introduced in 1952 after the company had success with an individual matchbook released in 1948.
In looking at these ads and guides, it seems being a woman back then must have been absolutely exhausting. Not only was one expected to wear makeup regularly, nails and clothing needed to coordinate with it. And not just a dress, but one's bag, shoes, hat, scarf, gloves, hosiery, etc. also had to "harmonize". According to the ads and advice at the time, it was simply a matter of planning ahead, but the process seemed extremely labor-intensive.
Possibly the strangest take on the makeup-clothing color coordination trend was a Pond's Angel Face campaign that ran from about 1959-1962. Their claim that using different tints of face powders would allow every outfit to be flattering no matter one's complexion. It wasn't a new idea, as Pond's actually offered a different powder in 1940 that advertised roughly the same notion. Pond's essentially took the color correcting/enhancing concept described in the 1927 news column by Lucille Buchanan a (questionable) step further. While swapping out lipstick shades to better coordinate with clothing makes sense in the abstract, trying to change one's entire complexion to suit a particular fashion color is a fool's errand. A dusting of bronzer, color correcting or translucent powder is fine; wearing the completely wrong shade of powder or base makeup will look odd, to say the least. Given the excessive number of ads (which mostly ran in Life magazine), it seems Pond's was set on convincing women they could in fact change their skin tone through powder rather than lipstick. I guess we should give them credit for going against the conventional wisdom that lipstick is the most important factor in makeup-outfit color harmony.
What's especially amusing about the ads is that Pond's wasn't actually applying differently colored face powders or even clothing to the models – it's very obvious it's the same series of photos artificially colorized.
Companies were still not finished with the lipstick wardrobe concept in the late '50s and early '60s. However, the shade ranges expanded considerably as cosmetic chemistry and technology improved. Compare, for example, the range of Coty's shades in 1961 vs. the lineup they offered a decade prior.
Pastels, corals, bright pinks, orange and iridescent shades were now considered as essential as different reds were in the 1930s and '40s. "Lipstick wardrobes should contain pale pastel tints, brilliant vibrant tones, medium shades and iridescent colors," notes one 1961 article. Another from 1962 states, "Every woman should own a lipstick wardrobe that includes a shade of coral that best becomes her, one of the pink-to-rose tint, and a clear red, which is the safest choice when in doubt" and a year later, "One color is never right for every costume. The lipstick wardrobe should always include at least an orange, a pink and a pure red lipstick."8
With more colors to choose from for both eyes and lips, pre-made wardrobes now included 5-10 mini lipsticks in addition to the usual 2-5 item sets. Experimentation and play also became a bigger part of the makeup-clothing color conversation. Whether this was due to the increased volume of available colors for which the established coordination rules didn't apply, or companies trying to shift away from rules so that customers felt more emboldened to buy a multitude of colors, or simply feeling the need try a new(ish) marketing tactic is anyone's guess.
The copy for Revlon's Colorkins, Tussy's Lipstack and Pond's Angel Face lipstick wardrobe utilized traditional color coordination sales tactics (i.e., the need to have a variety of colors conveniently on hand) as well as encouraged the customer to experiment. They also were proponents of mixing shades.
Despite these developments, some of the advice remained much the same as twenty years prior. The March 1961 issue of Glamour contained a feature on how to coordinate with the seven "happy colors" of spring. (Apologies for the wrinkled condition of these pages…not sure how they managed to get crumpled while sitting in storage.)
The color chart at the end of the feature is simply mind-boggling – even more complicated than what was outlined in the Redbook article. With the consideration of no fewer than 6 accessories along with makeup and outfit, were women really free to experiment? Obviously these were intended just as suggestions – indeed, as all makeup advice should be – and it's highly doubtful any woman followed this chart, or for that matter any other color-coordination advice, to the letter. As with the faux pas of not blotting one's lipstick properly on special lipstick tissues or handkerchiefs, clashing colors were not as big of a misstep as the marketing for such color coordination would lead one to believe. Yet I find it troubling that a chart detailing how to organize the colors of 8 different components was even conceptualized. Perhaps if women were kept busy figuring out what to wear with what they wouldn't notice how few rights they had, or be too exhausted to take action if they did. I'm not suggesting makeup-outfit color coordination was a nefarious plot devised by the patriarchy to distract women from fighting for equality, but there is a strong implication that they were expected to put at least a moderate amount of effort into their appearance. As we'll see in part two of this post, charts like this don't exist in mainstream magazines these days.
In conclusion, it seems that the attempts of both the fashion and cosmetic industries in the first part of the 20th century to ensure color harmony between makeup and clothing was little more than a cash grab. First, the shades from the 1930s through the early '50s really weren't all that different. Colors were more or less recycled from year to year, just given different names. Secondly, some customers were genuinely curious to learn what colors suited them and switched makeup based on their outfits purely for fun, in which case the advice and pre-made sets were of use to them. But the main narratives surrounding color coordination pushed by both industries – that women needed more than one shade of powder, lipstick and blush in order to really pull off any fashion color, and that they also needed to change seasonally – are false. Given the cost of owning multiple shades and outfits, it seems doubtful many customers bought into the hype and scrupulously followed the prescribed makeup-fashion color guidelines. If pre-made color coordinated sets were popular, most likely it was due to the simple appeal of being able to grab several shades conveniently packaged in one set rather than hours of careful outfit planning – at least one color from the set is bound to work, right? Perhaps also back then, with a limited selection of shades, it was more important to select the few colors that went best with one's coloring and wardrobe. These days, with the literally thousands of colors on the market and an array of custom-blending options, it's far easier for consumers to buy just one lipstick/powder that can be worn with all different color outfits. No one needs 10 lipsticks or powder (or any makeup, for that matter, but that's a whole other story) specifically for various clothing colors when a "my-lips-but-better" lipstick and translucent powder will suffice. This is to say nothing, of course, about the fact that there is no need to color coordinate between clothes and makeup at all. If you want to wear a cool purple lipstick with a warm red dress, go for it.
I don't know when part two will be arriving as I've neglected to follow up on a couple of other posts that need a second act, but stay tuned for more on fashion-makeup color coordination, which will cover the mid-1960s through today. In the meantime, what are your thoughts? And how many lipsticks do you own?
1Not all that significant, but worth mentioning is that in 1924 Bourjois disguised ads for their Peaches and Peaches and Cream face powders under the headline of "Does Your Makeup Match Your Costume?" and being appropriate for "the real outdoor girl" and to "give a 'health, vim and vigor' effect," respectively, making it possibly the first time a cosmetic company advertised dress-specific makeup.
2"Possibilities in Makeup," The Baltimore Sun, August 16, 1931.
3"Blonde or Brunette Can Try New Shades: Just Change Your Make-Up to Suit the Frock is Timely Hint to Timid Shopper," The Akron Beacon Journal, April 5, 1933.
4"Cosmetics Style Show Demonstrates Color for All Types: Lord & Taylor and Elizabeth Arden Collaborate in Costumes and Makeup in Special Blends," Women's Wear Daily, November 18, 1931.
5"Arnold Constable Promotes Vivid Makeup for White Summer Costumes: Coordination of Costumes and Cosmetics Stressed in Window Series Devoted to White Sportswear Accented by Bright Sun Tan Makeups," Women's Wear Daily, May 15, 1936.
6All of these tips came from the following articles:
"Match Makeup to the Costume!", Viola Paris (syndicated column), July 1930.
"Make the Tale Your Mirror Tells Please You," Helena Lundh, Winnipeg Tribune, May 31, 1931.
"A New Makeup Scheme for Winter: Smart Cosmetic Aids Must Blend Harmoniously with the Color of the Costume," Antoinette Donnelly (syndicated column), November 1931.
"Makeup Should Match Costume to Give Effect," Alicia Hart (syndicated column), September 1932.
"New Makeup Tone Said to Suit All Types," Jacqueline Hunt (syndicated column), October 1937.
"Match Makeup with Costume," Juliet Shelby (syndicated column), March/April 1938.
"Let Makeup Blend with Your Dress Colors for Spring Wear," Jacqueline Hunt (syndicated column), February/March 1939.
7"Beauty Expert Gives Spring Beauty Hints", March 28, 1941
8"Lipstick Hue Is the Key to Beauty," Abilene Reporter-News, June 9, 1961; "Key Lips, Nails to Fall Colors" by Alicia Hart (syndicated column), October 1962; "Say It With Lips" by Solange Bertrand, Baltimore Sun, March 31, 1963.
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 was skimming through vintage copies of Ebony magazine at archive.org, hoping to find some interesting and not widely known-about Black beauty pioneers. I struck paydirt with the February 1949 issue, which profiled a TV makeup artist named Blanche Hunter.
Hunter worked at a library in Harlem before starting her role at CBS as "wardrobe mistress" in 1943. After a year she became the head makeup artist. While the Ebony article and one in the Baltimore Sun from the same year detail Hunter's exceptional skills, there was almost no biographical information. So off I went in search of her personal background and to hopefully find out what she did after her time at CBS. According to this book she worked there for 11 years, but her career after CBS is unclear. I also wanted to know if she was the first Black head makeup artist at a national TV network. What follows now is a summary of the research by me and another lovely Museum volunteer, Professor Melissa! Melissa is a bona fide professor and reference librarian in New York, and she did much of the legwork contacting various archives.
Hunter was always referred to as "Miss" in the articles but in this image she appears to be wearing a band on her left ring finger, so Hunter may possibly be her married name. The round flat containers could be Max Factor. Given the packaging, the articles' mention of Hunter's fondness for pancake makeup, and the fact that she came from a theatrical background so would be quite familiar with Max Factor, it's as good a guess as any.
It's impossible to tell how old she is in the Getty/CBS archive photos, but I'm guessing Hunter was born about 1905-1910. My assumption was that she was born and raised in New York City so looking at city-based databases and archives made the most sense. I started with the NY Genealogical Society. The research consultant there couldn't tell me much unless I could pay an unaffordable fee to an actual genealogist, but she did suggest some leads.
1. The Schomburg Center at the NYPL; check out the city directories they have.
2. Check both the NY state and federal census from about 1905 through 1940. (I did see an entry for a Blanch May Hunter born in 1903 in one of those ancestry sites, but there was an E missing from her first name and again, it's not certain whether Hunter is her married name. I don't think any marriage records or obituaries showed up. I also found a mention and photo of a Blanche Hunter in the Baltimore Afro-American from February 1950 attending the funeral of her brother, but the picture is far too blurry to see if it's the same Blanche Hunter.)
3. CBS archives: I looked at their online archives and in addition to the photos there were 1 or 2 mentions of Hunter, but it just indicated the shows she worked on…not much info.
4. The last few places the consultant recommended: the NY state municipal archives, NY Times obituary project, and any New York land records.
I was completely overwhelmed, but fortunately Melissa enthusiastically stepped in to follow up on these suggestions. She reached out to no fewer than 6 archives and organizations. Here are the results.
1. Museum of the Moving Image – no mention of Blanche Hunter in the archives 2. NYPL Schomberg Center – had some CBS clips, including the Bob Howard Show, but there were too many clips and would require paying their research fee. While it would have been interesting to see the clips, they didn't primarily focus on Hunter; we were looking more for interviews with her rather than clips of the TV shows she worked on.
3. Library of Congress – recommended contacting the Paley Center 4. Paley Center – no information 5. NY Historical Society and WBSS Media – no response
The only other mentions we could find online were either irrelevant (such as a 1946 issue of Billboard magazine and the 1947 issue of a publication called the Decisions and Orders of the National Labor Relations Board), provided no additional or visible information, or were located in books that were impossible to get a copy of, such as this one – Melissa could only find a single copy, which currently has a price of $283 on Amazon. There may be some copies in university libraries near Museum headquarters, but without library privileges I can't get my hands on it. Another book, Radio Live! Television Live! contains a brief anecdote regarding Hunter's work on The Garry Moore Show. Prior to a special taping in Florida, Moore tried to ensure the two Black employees working on the show would be treated the same as the white ones. While Hunter and the other Black employee, production assistant Alfreda Diggs, were not harmed, they recalled being "fearful" of leaving the hotel they were staying at. It also seems like they were forced to eat separately from their white colleagues. (I think the author might be greatly underestimating the level of racism in 1957 New York. It may not have been as egregious as the South, but the statement that "color wasn't a problem" in NYC rings very false to me.)
Also, the date of this story conflicts with the earlier timeline of Hunter's tenure with CBS. If she had started in 1943 and stayed 11 years, it would mean that she stayed with the network until 1954. The above anecdote is allegedly from 1957, so how long was Hunter actually working for CBS? This is further confused by a mention in this book published in 1957 which states that Hunter had been with CBS for 13 years.
My only parting thought on Blanche Hunter is that she was amazingly talented. A Black woman working as the head makeup artist on a national TV network and garnering press in the late 1940s must have been highly unusual. As we know, Black women have to work twice as hard to get half as much, so for Hunter to succeed at such a high level during that era demonstrates truly outstanding ability. Unfortunately, like so many other Black luminaries, her story is not complete.
I'd like to give a big HUGE thanks to Professor Melissa for her excellent work on this. Given her research prowess, I'd be shocked if anyone else is able to obtain additional information for Ms. Hunter, but if you do, please send it my way!
Update, February 2023: Lo and behold, a smidge more information! I'm so grateful to game show historian Matt Ottinger, whose eagle eyes spotted Blanche during the 4th anniversary episode of I've Got A Secret, which aired on June 13, 1956. You can also see her waving goodbye at the end of the clip. The sign around her neck says Wardrobe, which sort of makes sense given that her official title during most of her time at CBS was wardrobe mistress, but I am curious to know who the mystery makeup man is. He sits down next to Blanche around the 2:57 mark.
There's a very good chance it's Bob Jiras1, who is credited for establishing the first formal makeup department at CBS and was appointed its director shortly after his arrival. A profile of Jiras from April 19502 discusses one of his first tasks for CBS, which was the tricky makeup for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde on the show Suspense. That particular episode aired in September 1949, so we can assume Jiras arrived at CBS well after Hunter. If that's true, it seems racism and sexism were at play: it's certainly possible CBS offered the job of makeup department head to Blanche which she turned down for whatever reason, but given the era, most likely it was the case that a major TV network would not allow a Black woman to be the head of makeup, even though she had been there some 6 years longer than a white man and had the exact same skill set and experience (if not greater). Granted, Jiras was a seasoned pro, having come from Hollywood and working with Dick Smith so he was especially good with special effects, but there doesn't seem to be any discernible reason Hunter couldn't have been in charge. Especially since, by all accounts, she was CBS's resident makeup expert at the time.
He also pointed out that the book did not in fact make the claim that New York wasn't racist at the time but instead indicates that Florida was far more overt in terms of segregation. So between the I've Got A Secret episode and confirmation from the book, now we know Blanche was with the network at least until 1957. Thank you for these new findings, Matt! By the way, his current project is a very deep dive into the history of I've Got A Secret, which grew out of his incredibly extensive archive on Bill Cullen. It's all super fascinating, so go check it out!
1It's impossible to tell for sure from old newspaper photos, but there is a strong resemblance between images of Jiras in various newspaper articles and the footage from this episode – it could very well be the same man.
2 John Crosby, "Makeup for Video Actors Big Problem," The Oakland Tribune, April 21, 1950, 36. The article was re-printed with different headlines in several papers throughout the U.S.
"My work always aims to grow through an honest contact with people. I love feeling emotions and being able to create something that can touch people’s hearts. My work is about the symbolic things we put into our daily lives, and I’m always curious to see how everyone sees the world. As I mentioned before, I see art as a parallel, innocent language that leads me to different opportunities and challenges to keep growing as a person." – Jon Jacobsen
Last fall, I remember being very excited to see the launch of a set of Lisa Eldridge lip products in a beautiful velvet pouch. When I saw that the pouch was the work of multimedia artist Jon Jacobsen I knew I had to have it for the Museum. In case you need a refresher, Lisa Eldridge is one of the top makeup artists in the world and launched her own line in 2018. She is also a makeup historian, having written the excellent Face Paint, and she also possesses what is widely considered to be the best collection of vintage makeup in the world. I can only dream that the Museum's collection will compare to hers someday!
As for Jon Jacobsen, he is a 32 year old Chile-born, Portugal-based photographer, filmmaker and all-around master of digital art. He designed the gorgeous floral pattern for the pouch. The rich shades of the flowers against a black background are dramatic and moody, perfect for a fall release.
The bag is obviously velvet to coordinate with Eldridge's splendid Velvet lipstick line. Look at that texture! I'm still flabbergasted every time I see it. (And I really need to order some of these to actually use.)
The partnership is not a surprise. I'm guessing it came about as a result of the pair having worked previously on the Sunday Times' Style beauty feature back in May of 2020. As the world was in lockdown, makeup artists, fashion designers and photographers found themselves unable to work in the flesh, thereby forcing their processes to go virtual. (See also Harris Reed's 2020 graduate collection.) While "digital makeup" is not new, the pandemic forced a higher level of creativity.
Jacobsen was a natural choice to handle the project, given his unique approach to digital art. (And no, digital art is not just making silly filters for social media apps.) For Jacobsen, digitally altering images isn't about simply enhancing what's already there but adding an element of fantasy to produce surreal effects that challenge viewers' perception of the physical realm. In the case of the Sunday Times feature, Jacobsen deftly "applied" makeup designs created by Lisa Eldridge onto their model's face. The resemblance to real makeup is shocking. When combined, Eldridge's and Jacobsen's techniques yield an incredibly true-to-life effect that is nearly indistinguishable from physically applied makeup, yet still appears magical.
In an Instagram post, Jacobsen explained the role of each artist working on the feature. "The process behind each look was very unique and fascinating: With Lisa Eldridge in London, our lovely model Yumi Lambert in Maui and myself in Porto, we had to come up with an idea to bring all places together having technology on our side. With this in mind, Lisa designed and applied a variety of textures and colours onto her own skin which I later 'brushed', twisted and blended using a variety of digital techniques over the portraits that Yumi provided from a shoot that I directed from home. This was new territory for all of us – including for our lovely editors who trusted in us 100% (thank you) – so for several days Lisa and I connected over zoom meetings, experimenting and finding the right harmony, light and combination of textures to achieve something realistic with a hint of fantasy. This was a very meticulous process and I enjoyed every second of it! I might be quiet about this but I do love make up, not only from the fact that you can build endless characters and emotions, but also from how its composition changes through history." Every single texture and placement – from individual blush powder particles, the sheen of gloss with color concentrated in the center of the lips and shimmery eyeshadows in variety of shades – perfectly mimic makeup applied in the flesh. As Jacobsen notes, "real textures [were] translated to pixels."
The Sunday Times Style magazine, May 2020. Makeup: Lisa Eldridge. Photography and digital art: Jon Jacobsen. Model: Yumi Lambert. Beauty director: Sarah Jossel. Creative producer: Leila Hartley. Photography assistance: Guillaume Rasquier
His appreciation for makeup is abundantly clear, most likely stemming from his interest in the concept of transformation and questioning the boundaries of the human body, along with his passion for portrait and still life genres. All of these themes are inseparable from makeup. "Beauty shoots are definitely my favourite ones, it literally feels like eating dessert. My team and I always shoot knowing that I might add something on post-edition. Once the photos are taken, I lock myself in the studio to analyse the images and find the right universe of shapes. This a very experimental part of the process that I enjoy doing alone. There I imagine myself as a scientist, a musician, or a cook trying to find the right flavour, the right sound – it's hard to explain, but it is a blissful moment. Once they are done, I share it with my team and we celebrate…creating feels like making a puzzle that has no shape, but with the help of instinct, a good team and honesty, I can sense once it's finished."
FX 2019 masterclass. Makeup: Marcelo Bhanu. Photography: Jon Jacobsen. Model: Javiera Chandia. FX makeup: Carla Gasic.
Makeup/Hair: Nico Ampuero. Photography: Jon Jacobsen. Styling: Santiago Herrera. Model: Erlande Augustin
FX 2019 masterclass. Makeup: Marcelo Bhanu. Photography: Jon Jacobsen. Model: Lauren Skye. FX makeup: Carla Gasic. Assistant, FX makeup: Gaby Paz Olivo Pozo. Photography assistant: Javiera Allende. Styling: Esteban Pomar.
His photos are even more impressive when you discover that Jacobsen is entirely self-taught, citing the Internet as his primary teacher. At the age of 15 he took his first photo. After graduating college with a degree in graphic design, Jacobsen vowed to pursue art full-time. In an interview with Retouching Academy, he describes his journey to becoming an artist. "I started creating images at the age of 15, experimenting with any kind of camera that I could borrow. At that time technology was slowly becoming more accessible and I was curious to know how far I could get with it. I became obsessed with the idea that I was able to create infinite, surreal artworks from the comfort of my own room. My artistic journey began when my art teacher from school, Andrea Reyes, saw some of the images I had posted on social media. She pushed me to keep honing my skills by assigning me extracurricular activities such as additional homework, PowerPoint presentations and giving me quick art history classes during the school breaks. This was a key moment in my development as an artist as it was my first professional encounter with Art. I slowly became obsessed with creating visual metaphors with my images. The Internet also played a very important role in my development as an artist: It was (and still is) my main school. I watch tutorials every day and learn more and more about art. I keep sharing my work on social media, such as Instagram and Facebook, to maintain a close relationship with my audience and to learn from other talents. It wasn’t until I moved to Santiago (at the age of 21) when I decided to turn this ‘hobby’ into a full-time job. I graduated from university as a graphic designer but decided to present myself as an Image-maker, in order to be more flexible and work in all my fields of my interest: from being an artist who exhibits his work, to creating fashion editorials and films for magazines, and working as a high-end retoucher.I became interested in mixed media as a way to find an organic result through digital art. I am constantly creating textures, collecting images from my daily life and working with different kinds of materials depending on the requirements of each artwork…Last but not least, being able to sustain myself by doing this job feels like a big achievement. I come from a middle-low class family, with no art background. Choosing a life as an artist was a huge decision which I don’t regret. It has opened many doors and presented me with great opportunities so far."
Much of his oeuvre entails futuristic visions of the human body that combine realism with fantasy elements. The artist has been fascinated by photography's creative potential since childhood. "Since I was a kid I always wanted to add an extra layer of fantasy to things, and photography wasn't an exception," he says in an interview. "I loved the idea of bringing something I registered to a computer, a flower for example, and twist it enough to create a completely different result. As much as I appreciate photography as the closest way to capture reality, I find there are many voids to be filled, especially in terms of the emotional aspects. Conventional photography registers light and shows a result based on the norms behind the human eye, but what about the emotions myself and my subject feel at that moment? How can these be shown? Digital art brings endless questions, and I get obsessed with the vast amount of answers I can find. There, I found a space of free will that I can link with my daily life, connecting the real with fantasy."
He often works with other artists from a variety of fields for his projects, citing the importance of familiarity with other disciplines for one's own artistic practice. "Working on digital is really fun because it's pretty versatile, but it can also be daunting when you're spending days in front of a screen. As a digital artist I crave for tangibility and the desire to use my hands/body to explore other media to keep evolving as an artist. Even if your plan is not becoming a sculptor, try doing it at least once and see what happens, or try out a new cooking recipe… a little bit of the unknown is enough to find a HUGE amount of answers. That's how I got into dancing, swimming, contemporary jewelry and music. Even if I'm not an expert in those disciplines, I learn a lot and include this new knowledge into my creative process, for example, while tracing the composition before starting a piece, or by creating models/small sculptures, textures and volumes to be used in future projects. Exploring new media also expands your knowledge and brings new contacts to your life: Win-win situation!"
Indeed, Jacobsen's endeavors are amplified through collaboration. For 2015's "Ínsula", for example, he worked with Columbian sculptor Daniel Ramos Obgregón and dancer José Tomás Torres. Jacobsen photographed Torres in different stances and sent the images to Obgregón, who supplied photos of his surreal series of ceramic body accessories and prosthetics. Jacobsen edited the images so that the ceramic pieces became technological-based appendages rather than human. Digitally slicing the dancer's body to reveal veins coursing with electric currents and smoke-like swirls in place of blood and muscle, Jacobsen presents his vision of the digital age's impact on human evolution. The official project description: "The digital era is no longer the futuristic set of a sci-movie. It has become our present reality where all digital platforms, computers, mobile phones, and tablets are now prosthetic elements of our daily lives, which work as extensions of our bodies and minds. We invest so much of our time into these objects that we have started to detach from our physical bodies making us now mind-based digital beings – androids in the becoming. Internet and social networks have created a complex social fabric where it is possible, through avatars and alter egos, to interact with the rest of the world – erasing any geographic border that might exist. By questioning this reality and how it affects our body limits 'Ínsula' starts as an observation of this behaviors to explore and interpret the evolution from a human into a digital Homo Sapiens."
While the distorted, grey-skinned figure appears grotesque, Jacobsen maintains his conception of virtual humanity is not dystopian; he's merely exploring what our digital selves might look like. The lack of normal human skin tone and organs expresses Jacobsen's notion of our online bodies. "I call it a projection, what we do on Facebook or Instagram, or the Internet in general. A part of ourselves is not physical anymore," he tells Wired. For Jacobsen, the digitization of the human body, with a smartphone as an additional appendage of sorts, means having access to unlimited knowledge that wasn't as readily available to previous generations. "You also have your phone attached to your body all day. It can become a vessel of eternal knowledge if you use it wisely. It makes me happy to observe these new generations having technology so intrinsic to their bodies. They grow up playing with apps since day zero and there is so much to reinvent." I can't say I fully agree; while I acknowledge the Internet provides a tremendous wealth of information and allows me to connect with people I otherwise would never "meet", I resent being tethered to my phone 24/7 (which, by the way, I refer to as the "nightmare rectangle".) I certainly would never want it to physically take over any part of me. Jacobsen's vision may not be dystopian, but for older generations it certainly can be interpreted as unsettling.
Still, the animation makes a huge difference – the images become less sinister when viewed as fluid motions. Additionally, "Ínsula" is notable in that it was created with the artists situated in different countries. Nowadays that's not surprising, but 5 years before the pandemic necessitated remote work, it seems even more ahead of its time.
Similar ideas are explored in "The Great Barrier", a 2018 series of photos that simultaneously recalls the beauty and destruction of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The centering of a human body – this time fused with marine flora and fauna instead of tech gadgets and electrical signals – depicts "an abstract vessel interacting with the environment," mirroring either the vibrancy or decay of its surroundings and perhaps serving as a commentary on humanity's role in saving or destroying the planet. "The Great Barrier" was also the result of a remote collaboration between Jacobsen and Australian performer/movement director Paul Zivkovich.
In my opinion, Jacobsen's most refined examination of the body and its boundaries is "Digital Flesh", which incorporates the style and subjects (flowers, fruit, etc.) found in traditional still life painting and combines them with tendons, muscles and internal organs. "These still lifes focus in finding human shapes in the everyday objects, for they carry the symbolic meaning through our senses and time. Either in their natural state or digitally manipulated selves, these forms float in harmony," notes the project description.
The one titled "Uncertainty" is my favorite of the series, as there's something vaguely aquatic about it. The large pink flower towards the left seems to be emanating light, illuminating its surroundings like a bioluminescent creature of the deep ocean.
I also like "Digital Flesh" because it's the most stylistically similar of Jacobsen's works to the Floral Fantasy pouch. The artist created a short video that alludes to makeup's tactile properties. The flowers appear to represent makeup colors and the pollen is reminiscent of delicate powder particles.
Overall, I enjoyed this collaboration. I do think Jacobsen tamped down the weirdness too much; I would have liked to see something more surreal or at least something that spoke more literally to the theme of evolution as in his 2017 film Die Verwandlung ("The Metamorphosis", based on Kafka's work), since makeup can be such a powerful agent of transformation. And while I enjoyed the video he created for the collection, it may have been interesting to do a makeup version of "Ínsula" or "Digital Flesh" since the same themes apply to makeup, i.e. showing how cosmetics can become one with, or an extension of, the human body. (Think about all the tips for "melding" a product with the skin rather than having it sit on top of it.) Alas, something really bizarre probably would not have been as marketable. Of course, for me, the stranger the better!
What do you think about Jacobsen's work and the design he made for Lisa Eldridge?
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. 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!
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.
– My former favorite band released yet another bad album. Admittedly I only listened to two songs from it, but that was more than enough for me. I feel so lost without them. 🙁
– I asked Museum staff to make a rainbow for Pride Month in exchange for some cookies. They were pretty happy to oblige, especially since I made their favorite summery cookies: lime sea-salt chocolate chunk.
How's your summer going?
The MAC x Harris Reed collection was released in February this year, but I wanted to wait until June to write about it in honor of Pride Month. For brevity's sake – I read through dozens upon dozens of interviews with Reed – and because I'm not a gender studies or fashion expert I will try to keep this as brief as possible.
The collection was manageable, consisting of an eyeshadow palette, a gold kohl pencil, Cream Color Base compact and a palette of three lip colors. I juts picked up the eyeshadow palette and the Cream Color Base as the packaging for that one was the same for that of the lip palette.
Who is Harris Reed? Unless you've been living under a rock, you'll recognize them as the 25-year old wonder who's been taking the fashion world by storm. Reed came to my attention when Harry Styles wore several of their fabulous flouncy frocks in the December 2020 issue of Vogue.
(images from vogue.com)
Committed to gender-fluid fashion, Reed creates clothing that makes a statement yet doesn't take itself too seriously. "I don’t just make clothes. If you want pretty clothes, you need to go to someone else. I fight for the beauty of fluidity. I fight for a more opulent and accepting world. That is really important to me…there always has to be a message. I wouldn’t pretend that doing some crazy avant-garde outfit is going to change the world, but I like to think that it could start a conversation."
Reed's aesthetic is heavily influenced by the free-spirited atmosphere of the '70s, particularly the androgyny of glam rock and Studio 54's dazzling evenings. The wide pants legs and lapels, bold patterns and extensive use of embellishments (feathers, sequins, etc). reference the era but are modernized so as not to veer into full-on costume territory. Reed explains their fascination with glam rock to Fashionista: "I've always loved glam rock. I’ve always said we need more people like David Bowie. At a time like right now, a lot of things can either look very the same, or brands are doing things—or musicians are doing things—that sometimes don't feel authentic. I love glam rock because there’s a level of grit and more importantly a level of authenticity that I think shines through all the glitter and the glam and the flares and the ruffles. I look at all those things, the flares, the ruffles, as points of reference of someone expressing themselves at the most heightened, most authentic, most outrageous part of themselves. So I think for me, glam rock, it's almost like fluidity. Obviously it’s different, but they go hand in hand because it's your most extreme version of yourself. You are expressing who you are in the most heightened, over the top, fabulous way…I really try to be modern in my designs, but I still try to keep that nuance and push it to the limit. Be the person who doesn't fit the mold. Be the person that doesn't fit the box. That’s where I see glam rock coming back into what we do and our daily lives and within fashion—being referenced more as a way of being than just a specific style."
I can't say Reed's designs are wearable for the average person (or at least, not an entire ensemble), and they acknowledge that their latest collection is more about artistic vision than whether it would sell. I'd also argue that their clothes were made with a certain body type in mind, i.e. skinny and tall – I see zero diversity in terms of size. But Reed's dedication to creating flamboyant yet expertly tailored clothing for all genders is definitely something we can all support. Their statement about breaking free of slogans and logomania represents a thoroughly Gen Z outlook and is a refreshing new direction in fashion. "I’m ambiguous about my gender and have never understood why something is made for a man or made for a woman. I think if a piece makes someone feel invincible or unstoppable, that’s all that matters. At the centre of my work is a drive to break down any preconceived idea of what gender is. I love that fashion has an obligation to trigger debate. But at the same time, it has to be in the most fun, playful way. It’s not about slogans, it’s about fantasy, and letting someone live that fantasy through clothes. Fashion is about self-expression – dressing in a way that makes you feel the happiest you’ve ever felt. Life’s too short to try and box yourself in to something normal, so why not have as much fun as possible with what you’re wearing? For me, that means flares and flouncy blouses – the more performative, the better. I’d describe my style as glam-rock Victoriana."
Anywhere is fair game for frills and ruffles; whether they adorn the front of a blouse, the end of a sleeve or a skirt hem, they add an exuberance and joy not regularly seen in high fashion. In looking at their work, I would posit that Reed is an aficionado of the late '60s as well. Take, for example, a blouse from the showy "peacock revolution" ushered in by Michael Fish next to one Reed designed for Harry Styles.
Reed also cites "old-world" classic European art as inspiration, especially the Rococo movement. Again, while there are some literal references to that period, the clothing exudes the overall vibe of the era: dramatic, over-the-top and ornate.
Though born in Los Angeles, Reed traveled extensively growing up. "My mom is very much a free spirit and artist. She was a model in the '80s, she would go to Studio 54, she is just an incredibly creative and soulful woman and then she became a candle maker and a perfumer. With my father being in Entertainment, Los Angeles, he remained there and me, my mom and my sister went off gallivanting around America, moving to different cities and different places," they tell Purple. Reed came out as gay to their parents at the age of 9, and was grateful to have their full acceptance – they encouraged his creativity and stood up for their son when teachers called to say some parents didn't want their children in class with a gay kid. "I was bullied for being gay and for being different…my mother would often find me dancing in bedsheets and shower curtains – and she and my father nurtured and supported that side of me." (I'm relieved to hear that Reed's parents supported them, but still aghast at how recent this was. Reed is so young – when they were 9 it was 2005. I honestly did not think that kind of casual, blatant bigotry was still happening to children in the 21st century.)
Reed was a creative child, but fashion design didn't occur to them until later. It was clothing's transformative power and ability to express a different aspects of one's personality that captured their imagination as a teenager. "Fashion wasn’t part of my background. I think creativity and this yearning for creating was a part of my background – I think for me there was always this idea of creation but it wasn’t until I was in my teens that I realised that clothing was more the artistic venture that I wanted to embark on. Clothing had this intense ability to transcend peoples’ emotions and for people to see each other in different perspectives and through a different lens. Once I took all this creation as a child and used and harnessed it, it was about applying it. I found it through dressing up and experiencing this playful carefree sense of trying on different identities until I found the right one. From there it was even more about building on the identity I already had and making it special to make it shine."
Reed's arrival in London to attend Central Saint Martins – the legendary design school that educated the likes of Alexander McQueen and Stella McCartney – marked another turning point. "I never really sewed a proper piece together until I started at Central Saint Martins – a lot of people don’t know that. Before CSM I was mostly duct-taping, pinning, draping, literally using anything and everything I could get my hands on to create clothes without actually putting a machine to the fabric. As a child, as someone who was very much picked on and who was not someone who fit in whatsoever, I look to Central Saint Martins as the shining beacon of escape. When you looked at McQueen and Galliano and look at Ricardo Tisci, you could see what came out of there and I just remember watching old documentaries and you could see this sense of camaraderie with everyone communally coming together with shaved hair and crazy colours and crazy clothes and it just felt like my version of what outer-space would look like."
Reed was only in their 2nd year at Central Saint Martins when their "white show" outfit caught the attention of noted stylist Harry Lambert, who in turn introduced Reed's work to celebrities like Solange and Harry Styles. Reed explains: "It all took off with the first show of the BA fashion course, in which students have to make one piece in white. I’d always known who I was, but I didn’t quite know how to express that in terms of clothing and character. Then the White Show happened. There was so much I wanted to articulate in the piece I made – the experience of being bullied, my childhood fantasies, my commitment to making clothes that weren’t just pretty but also sparked conversation. And so I based my piece on those made-up characters from my childhood, this time a boy aristocrat who was kicked out by his parents for being gay and took refuge in an old opera house, putting on white powder every day until all his clothes become white. I made a giant, wide-brimmed, white felt Little-Bo-Peep hat, with a low-cut ruffled bustier jacket with huge puffed sleeves and dramatic white flares. It was neither menswear nor womenswear but genderless. And within about 30 seconds of my posting it on Instagram, Harry Lambert requested the piece for a shoot. Next thing I know, Solange is being photographed by Peter Lindbergh wearing it."
"The outfit was, in a way, parallel to my own story. This character was like me coming to London and finding my salvation,” they say. “It was quite emotional because it was the first time that I put myself completely out there in London, my first kind of big full look."
Reed cites the support of their classmates as well as more seasoned designers such as Alessandro Michele, head of Gucci, for whom they interned. "I think first of all collaboration is everything, as someone who is still in school I value the collaboration of my classmates more than anything…If you just sit with something in your own mind, the outcome you have will not be nearly as good as the outcome you have when you have four friends there helping, pushing, challenging you and criticising you to come up with something better…the support of emerging designers is crucial. The world is run by huge companies and we have to support young talent. That’s why brands like Gucci are so extraordinary because I think that’s why Alessandro Michele truly can pick young talent, nurture and collaborate with them. The collaborations he does with young artists, with illustrators, designers, singers, musicians, I think more brands need to be doing things along those lines. Alessandro opened my eyes up to a world that was more colourful, vivacious and more surreal than anything I thought it could be. Those nine months in Rome were the most incredible nine months of my life. It truly gave me a whole new perception on the way that I looked at fashion. He opened my eyes up to the power of texture and colour and embroidery. His narrative lies so deeply within his veins, so deeply within his soul that I think it just pushed me to a deeper level of understanding of creation. It’s massively affecting my work now because I think everything I do has so many more layers to it within the narrative as well as the design. Now there’s a hand-painted print, with embroidery on top, finished with hand-diamanté. Everything becomes so much more multi-faceted and Alessandro instilled that within me. I think he’s a genius." Reed, in a very fitting collaboration with their mom, has since designed a collection of candles for the brand.
Their designs for their 2020 graduate collection hit a new peak for creativity. With the pandemic making in-person shows all but impossible, Reed and their fellow classmates had to figure out how to exhibit their collections remotely. Reed, with typical flair, teamed up with illustrator and 2020 RISD graduate Lukas Palumbo to make elaborate theater sets for their designs. The finished product is absolutely astonishing – one would never know it was photographed against a green screen in Reed's living room. Reed, of course, modeled their own designs, having previously walked for Gucci. Standing at a very lean 6'4", modeling is certainly another career option for them.
And this is where we start to talk about the makeup! Terry Barber, Director of Makeup Artistry for MAC, was in charge of makeup direction for the show. Barber provided makeup tutorials so Reed could wear the look for the final photo shoot. The summation of the style, according to Barber: "angelic but sordid." Speaking with Dazed Beauty, Reed elaborates. "The looks were quite dramatic and over the top. Terry Barber being a complete and utter beauty genius he was really able to transport and positively move what I was doing in a better direction. I was originally like ‘more gold!’ or even getting a bit more costume-y and Terry just so seamlessly brought it to a place where it was opulent, it was fluid and it was quite majestic. The influence for the make-up really came from the starting points of people like Henry Paget and this idea of theatre make-up. This idea of rosy kissed lips that are slightly smeared because you're trying to hide a secret while you’re wiping your mouth and this gold on your eyes that’s gleaming and shimmering but in a way that’s a bit fucked up because you just woke up with it on from the night before. This idea of stage make-up but then you were just at an amazing party at Studio 54 and you woke up and you slapped it back on to go greet your day and this kind of alter ego fluid manifesto of yourself…We were really just trying to find a good balance between Henry Paget and the New York Dolls. They went heavy with the stage make-up and they went quite crazy but it was that love of theatricality and this idea of men wearing make-up for the performance of it. I love the idea of everyday is the performance. The face, the skin, the lips were very Henry Paget but then the eyes were so New York Dolls to me because even though I wasn’t doing the black intense eyes they were doing, I was using that technique of smudging with my finger, getting in the creases, getting in the cracks really going for this fucked up glam rock vision…It’s a fluid romantic opulent, stable kiss fantasy. it's quite in your face, it's quite loud but then it's almost smeared. This kind of kiss-behind-the-stables, hidden Renaissance."
Adds Barber, "I had worked with Harris a few times before and we’d already connected on things that we loved in beauty like a smacked-on cheek, a rubbed in lip and finger-painted eyeshadow. The idea just came from the story of a slightly surreal, aristocratic, faded glamour, rather than anything too technical. A suggestion rather than a major statement…Harris has collected so many references along the way which not only relate to designing a collection, but also to the story of being gender fluid and how that might manifest itself in terms of styling. Many of those references lent themselves really well to creating a beauty which is at the same time romantic and subversive. We discussed foppish boys in 16th century Flemish paintings, Victorian am-dram, Fellini caricatures, Tilda Swinton in Orlando, and Bowie in his Diamond Dogs period. It was essentially about creating a character rather than a specific design."
Given the success of the Barber and Reed partnership, a MAC collection wasn't unexpected. MAC was also a natural choice for Reed as the brand was part of the designer's early makeup memories – they remember going to a MAC store and seeing the artists applying makeup on boys. "My first experiences with make-up were with my friends at a MAC store getting ready for prom and it was the brand that I first saw putting make-up on ‘boys’…for [MAC] to even trust me, and take on my strong-ass message of fighting for fluidity, I have to say, has just felt like the most beautiful partnership…M.A.C has an amazing heritage of fighting for self-expression and inclusivity, so they were so on board and supportive of that vision."
(image from maccosmetics.com)
All of the product and shade names are personal for Reed. The monikers in the collection are iterations of their mantras, with the name of the copper shade in the eyeshadow palette being a favorite. "I always just say, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' when there's someone in the street saying something homophobic or mean to me," Reed tells Teen Vogue. "If someone doesn’t understand what I’m trying to say or doesn’t get who I am, [that phrase] lets me brush it off, peel it away, and step forward into the light."
"Every single name in the collection is based on daily affirmations I tell myself," Reed says. "Whether it's 'embrace your duality' or 'spark conversation,' I want men, women, non-binary people, and you to be able to pull it out and to put on the best version of themselves. They're putting on an affirmation; they're putting on something that it's really helping them enhance and showcase who they are."
The shades and concept for the MAC collection are more or less an extension of the ones used in Reed's 2020 graduate collection. "The colors tell this soft, poetic story but, at the same time, I wanted to include emerald and black to be able to quickly shift to something more rock ‘n’ roll and messed up…Reference points come from anywhere from Studio 54, the ‘70s—a time of complete androgyny and glam rock and decadence and fabulousness. And then also, looking still within that theme, a completely different world [of] Rococo, more of this idea of androgyny back then. In paintings, it's so effortless and just kind of had this beautiful blending. So very much pulling in this old world, Rococo, men in makeup, really kind of lounge-y fabulousness, and then juxtaposing but also sitting beautifully within Studio 54 and the ‘70s."
The entire collection, of course, is based on Reed's boundary-less approach to fashion and makeup. The goal was to create something that could be worn by anyone for any purpose. "I want anyone and everyone to be able to wear this. This was two years in the making, and when I was creating this, my family was in the room and everyone including my dad, mom and sister agreed they’d try and wear the products I was working on. We don’t just want to normalising the wearing of make-up, but to make it accessible and acceptable to everyone by breaking any preconceived boundaries that people may have with such beauty products." No products are in a tube, and the palettes lack brushes, encouraging users to adopt a more playful, carefree application rather than precision. "The collection for me really embodies this idea of not only fluidity, but complete and utter self-expression. Nothing is in a tube and nothing has a brush. It's really all very much like an artist palette; it's meant for your fingers, it's meant for men, women, non-binary, every individual to feel completely comfortable to be able to play with…What I love about make-up is it doesn't get more hands-on or personal then you putting something on yourself. That's why for me, I'm not really a make-up brush person. You should play, touch, smudge, feel and love with your fingers on your face."
Accessibility also came in the form of the products themselves. Much like Reed's fashion, they're multi-purpose and are intended to create a variety of looks to suit any mood. "Everything and anything goes," Reed tells Allure. "It's just like my approach to fashion. One thing isn't meant to be for a top. This fabric can be for boots, it can be for a hat. This eyeshadow is not for your eyes. This eyeshadow is for your collarbones; this eyeshadow is put up into your hairline and almost making a gold halo around your face." Reed demonstrated the gold halo look at the British Fashion Awards in 2019.
Additionally, gold was chosen as a prominent shade not only to align with the sparkly glam-rock/Renaissance aesthetic but because it's flattering on every skin tone. "I want this line to be showcased on people of different genders, races, ethnicities, and gold is such a universal color because it works for everyone," says Reed.
Reed makes the same point I do about artist and fashion collabs with makeup brands, which is that one may not be able to afford an original work by an artist or a couture garment, but they can afford makeup. "Make-up is also incredible because, you know, when I was younger I didn't have the money to have the clothes. But I could go to the drugstore store and buy a great lipstick and that lipstick could be a blush, it could be an eyeshadow, it could be for your lips, it could be for your ears, you could put it in your hairline. Make-up is accessible and it's fun. I think people get scared of it but you have to just own it and use it as a weapon to be who you are. It's such a cheap and inexpensive way to get a message across…we can’t all have a giant gown in our wardrobe but we all can have that one lipstick that changes how we feel about ourselves. And for me, that accessibility is crucial because it lets anyone have a dream, lets anyone feel like they have the power to change and evolve as a human being. This is what I truly love about make-up…I’ve been so incredibly lucky that millions of people have seen the things I’ve worked on and have been a part of, but have maybe until now they’ve not been able to buy into it. This is now something that anyone can get their hands on and be a part of. It doesn’t feel real, it feels crazy."
Makeup is also a handier way of accessorizing for one's mood, with the ability to change any time. "What I love about makeup is the fact that I can't change my clothes throughout the day, but I can change my makeup look with the touch of a finger," Reed says. "It really allows me to almost have different looks, different personas within the day, all literally through something that fits in your pocket…I can start the day with one mood, but change and amplify it by lunchtime. Then, by the evening it’s a full-blown party."
We all wear makeup (or don't) for different reasons, most of which are fairly mundane. But for some, makeup can be a tool for transformation. Reed discusses how their first experience with lipstick made a lasting impression of the power of makeup. “I picked up a random red drugstore lipstick with my mom when I was eight or nine, put it on, and thought, "'Fuck, this is amazing,'” Reed recalls. "Actually, I was young, so I probably didn’t say the F-word, but I remember being so blown away by the transformative power of makeup…this small thing in your hand had [the power] to really show different sides of yourself, show different aspects of your personality, your individuality," Reed tells Allure. "That relationship with makeup is still my approach today with everything I do. It's this idea of putting something on that enhances and brings out a side of yourself. You're not becoming someone else, you're not trying to be someone else, you're literally pulling from within."
Along those lines, Reed is very much a proponent of makeup for self-expression and play rather than as a way to meet conventional beauty standards, and this belief was what they were trying to convey with the MAC collection. "My interpretation of gender fluid make-up is really being what makeup should be—a tool to help not only enhance but communicate a story. Makeup is so beautifully able to transport someone and the way people see that person simply by what you put on your face. It’s similar to how clothing almost serves as armour walking into a daily battle, fighting for what you believe in and being who you are. And makeup goes so beautifully hand in hand with that. Putting on a fabulous red lip on or adding pops of sparkle and glitter to your face is like claiming your identity, facing the world with authenticity and claiming your space…[The collection] is very much about a playfulness and the joy of make-up. As I have pushed this idea of a more fluid space in a more fluid world, I’ve really loved that make-up can always be that gorgeous icing on top. It doesn’t only complete the look but, it also completes the message, acting as that extra ounce of light to help radiate what I stand for. Try and not think of make-up as something that makes you look ‘pretty’ and try and not look at it as something that you use to make yourself better, but to explore and enhance something within you. Use make-up as a tool to be your most authentic self…I really hope this collection is something that can help me break down conventional ideas of what make-up looks like. I hope in 2021 and going forward that ‘glamour’ is going to be about something more than just copying a set-in-stone look from a tutorial. It's about asking 'how does that work for my face, my features and my personality?'"
Now let's take a peek at the gorgeous packaging. As soon as I saw it I knew it was Museum-worthy. We'll get to the illustrations in a hot second, but first I want to highlight the use of pink, which Reed is reclaiming from its overtly feminine connotations by combining it with a regal gold to give it an "old-world" feel. "I love the color pink. I like to be a bit tongue in cheek with it, I think that's the English side of me. I like to take something that is so specific and gender-specific and just take it and make it my own. I was like, we're gonna choose the color pink and really just make it this color that is universal and mix that with the old world charm. I've always been so deeply fascinated by history. I think if I didn’t do fashion, besides being a queer activist I'd really maybe be a historian. I think we've learned from the past, we learn from history, and when I was developing the packaging, I wanted to really represent this old world nuance."
The artwork for the packaging was created by Lukas Palumbo, an illustrator and collaborator of Reed's. A 2020 graduate of RISD, Palumbo began working with Reed in 2020, when he designed the sets for their graduate collection.
How jaw-dropping are these at full-size as a backdrop for Reed's designs?
I wasn't able to find much information on the individual designs, but this one (with mermaids!) had a tiny bit. "This garden was inspired by a collection of 17th century engravings of a garden that once existed in Belgium. You can also probably tell that on paper, this piece exists only as half of a landscape, as the right half is a digital mirror of the left half. This trick was a necessity in making so much work in so little time, and I found it worked especially well for theatre backdrops," explains Palumbo. And perhaps the double-tailed mermaids were influenced by those in the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna.
According to his website, Palumbo is inspired by etchings from the 16th-18th centuries. (I tried to get an interview with him but received no reply to my request, alas.) To my eye, his style also brings to mind both medieval manuscripts and Neoclassical landscapes.
Some of his illustrations remind me a little of the ones Pamela Colman Smith created for the famous Rider-Waite tarot deck.
For the MAC collection Palumbo created more of his signature otherworldly dreamscapes. The illustration on the eyeshadow palette shows a pearl with a human face resting in an open seashell, which is held up by two red-headed figures standing at a rocky riverside (seaside?) as if an offering. Rays of sunlight radiate from the shell, while the sharp stakes emanating from the pearl are wrapped by serpents or pierce through crowns and hearts.
The artwork on the Cream Color Base and lipstick palette depict king and queen figures wielding scepters atop a seashell overflowing with water, their heads silhouetted against a bright sun. Says Reed, "It shows a woman and a man combining into one fluid being." The long, flowing robes are one of Reed's creations.
Overall, I think Reed did a great job and accomplished what they set out to do: create a makeup line that could be used by everyone for any purpose, complete with visually appealing packaging. While the designer doesn't see themselves as being the first to release a gender-fluid makeup line, they acknowledge the MAC collection is helping lead the way to normalizing makeup's use for all genders. "It’s amazing that so many brands are jumping on the idea that people don’t have to be so gender-specific but we have a long way to go. I don’t look at myself as the first pioneer, but I’m hopefully one of many to be coming, wanting to stir things up… a lot. This collection is not for men. It’s not for women. It’s for every single person." Hear hear! I really hope we see more makeup from Reed. Perhaps a collab with Gucci Beauty is in order. ;) As for the designer as a person, I can honestly say they seem very nice and genuine. Despite growing up in an artistic household, attending one of the most prestigious design schools in the world, meeting great success at a young age, AND being good-looking, factors that seem like a recipe for pretension and self-aggrandizement, Reed comes across as humble and kind. I think you can get a sense of that in all the interview snippets I've included here. And after following them for a little while on social media, I can safely say this is someone I would love to have a makeup playdate with.
What do you think of this line and gender-fluid makeup in general? I think everyone should approach all makeup as gender-free and not feel as though they can't use it because they're not the "right" gender, but it seems society at large still has a problem with that. Fortunately it seems that more companies, in addition to MAC, are shifting towards collections and products that speak to everyone, regardless of gender, by using gender-neutral language and including gender-fluid models in their advertising (or at the very least, starting to include people who present as men instead of only women models). Now if we could just get more fat models and people over the age of 30 to be represented, we'd really be moving in the right direction.
(images from michaelcailloux.com)
(image from hoctok.com)
