MM Curator's Profile

Curator's Corner, March 2021

Late links as usual...I get so frustrated at not being able to stick to even the most basic of schedules. But as I'm demanding more of the Museum these days it's hard to keep up. ;) - The Curator's favorite... Continue reading

Posted 4 days ago at The Makeup Museum

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Speed reviews: makeup history reads

In an effort to condense a few posts I'm doing some quick reviews of recent additions to the Museum's library. Hopefully they'll be of use...I mean, they can't be any worse than my usual long-form reviews, right? Up first is... Continue reading

Posted 7 days ago at The Makeup Museum

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Welcoming spring with Sulwhasoo

As they do each holiday season, Sulwhasoo released a beautiful compact featuring traditional Korean craftsmanship back in 2019. Why I'm just getting to it now is beyond me, but I did think the design was appropriate for spring so here... Continue reading

Posted Mar 31, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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Portrait perfect: A series of "fascinating women" from Dorothy Gray, part 1

From 1947-1949, the Dorothy Gray brand ran a series of ads featuring portraits of "fascinating women". I don't know why I'm covering them given that they're all white, upper-crust socialites who for the most part didn't do much besides existing... Continue reading

Posted Mar 27, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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Curator's Corner, February 2021

Links for a busy February. - It was Black History month, so that means major companies (Ulta, Sephora and Nordstrom, among others) are rolling out new diversity and inclusion initiatives. Time will tell whether they're in earnest or just crossing... Continue reading

Posted Mar 10, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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Color Connection #43

Hale Woodruff, Twilight, ca. 1926 BH Cosmetics, Golden Twilight palette, fall 2019 Continue reading

Posted Mar 6, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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The art of juxtaposition: Duro Olowu for Estée Lauder

I was compiling trivia focused on the topic of makeup-fashion collabs to put on Instagram a little while ago, and as with artist collabs, I quickly saw just how few were with Black designers. Even worse is that I realized... Continue reading

Posted Mar 4, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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A not so magical holiday with Holiday Magic Cosmetics

While hunting for vintage Christmas makeup a few months ago I stumbled across a brand from the 1960s called Holiday Magic. This won't be a complete history either of the brand or the man who founded it, but it's one... Continue reading

Posted Feb 25, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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Curator's corner, January 2021

Links for one of the most miserable months of the year. Good riddance, January! - Sephora unveiled an action plan to eliminate racial bias in their stores. Let's hope they keep the public informed on their progress. Ditto for L'oreal's... Continue reading

Posted Feb 3, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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MM Musings, vol. 29 : Diversity and inclusion

Makeup Museum (MM) Musings is a series that examines a broad range of museum topics as they relate to the preservation, research and exhibition of cosmetics, along with my vision for a physical Makeup Museum. These posts help me think... Continue reading

Posted Jan 30, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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Color Connection #42

Todd Chilton, Split and Quartered, 2012 Juvia's Place, The Masquerade palette, 2017 Continue reading

Posted Jan 24, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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Makeup Museum ideas for now and the future, 2021 update

It's the time of year where I babble on about things I want to tackle but most likely won't be able to. I reviewed last year's blog post ideas and out of the 30 topics I only managed to accomplish,... Continue reading

Posted Jan 12, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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Curator's corner, December 2020

I was too tired and sad to do a 2020 version of Curator's Picks and Pans, so I'm skipping straight to Curator's Corner for December. - Mother has become a Dame! Huge congratulations are in order for Pat McGrath, who... Continue reading

Posted Jan 3, 2021 at The Makeup Museum

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Fox weddings, weaving cranes and moon princesses: Kate holiday 2020

As usual, there was no shortage of artist collabs of the holiday season. Kate is an affordably-priced Japanese brand owned by Kanebo, maker of the beautiful Milano compacts. I was immediately intrigued by the packaging for their holiday collection, and... Continue reading

Posted Dec 31, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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A season for giving (and receiving): donations galore!

I am forever grateful for those who approach me with makeup they no longer want or that they feel belongs in the Museum. While 2020 was another hellish year for me personally and the Museum, as well as basically the... Continue reading

Posted Dec 29, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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Wishing you peace and joy from Bob Jordan and MAC

MAC's Frosted Fireworks was already a fun collection, but they managed to sneak in an artist collab in their holiday lineup too. And amazingly, the artist actually responded to my interview request and kindly answered my questions! We'll get to... Continue reading

Posted Dec 21, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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Curator's corner, November 2020

The November rewind. - Tooting my own horn, again...this time I was interviewed for a short video segment on makeup during the pandemic. If you want to see what I sort of look like - I swear I'm not quite... Continue reading

Posted Dec 4, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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The Birkin of lipsticks: Rouge Hermès

Here's a bit of luxury to start off your week! (Yes, I backdated this post.) Hermès, historic French purveyor of fine leather goods and other accessories since 1837, debuted a lipstick line back in March. Once I saw the modern... Continue reading

Posted Dec 2, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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Makeup as Muse: Gina Beavers

Despite my art history background and general love of art, I am less than eloquent when writing about it. Nevertheless I will continue soldiering forward with the Museum's Makeup as Muse series, the latest installment of which focuses on the... Continue reading

Posted Nov 28, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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First: unraveling the origins of cosmetics museums

I'm doing the #Museum30 challenge on Twitter, and one of the recent prompts was "origin". It got me thinking about the very first makeup museum. While I have no definitive answers, it seems the first cosmetics museum, at least in... Continue reading

Posted Nov 17, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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Curator's Corner, October 2020

I was hoping to do a history of Day of the Dead makeup in addition to Curator's Corner, but as usual I wanted to tackle a very in-depth topic that I lacked the time to cover, so here are some... Continue reading

Posted Nov 5, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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Halloween 2020 roundup

It's hard to believe I haven't done a Halloween roundup since 2016, but here we are. Hopefully this post will compensate for the makeup I missed the past couple of years, as cosmetic companies continue churning out spooky and fun... Continue reading

Posted Oct 31, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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Beauty profile: Carmen Murphy and Carmen Cosmetics

"To borrow Dr. King's phrase all I had, too, was a dream. I got into the business mainly because Black women, myself included, had been searching for cosmetics that would look good on them for years. There just weren't any."... Continue reading

Posted Oct 20, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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An exhibition of royal makeup (that you might be able to buy): Princess Hwahyeop

Here's more makeup awesomeness from Korea. As usual I completely forget what I was looking for when I stumbled across a couple of articles describing the discovery of cosmetic containers in the tomb of an 18th-century princess, but it was... Continue reading

Posted Oct 8, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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Curator's Corner, September 2020

Links for September. - Any makeup history fan must check out Lisa Eldridge's video showcasing highlights from her amazing collection. - Estée Lauder will be the first company to send beauty products into space, to the tune of $128,000. To... Continue reading

Posted Oct 2, 2020 at The Makeup Museum

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