The Makeup Museum

Where cosmetics and art intersect. Exhibiting, preserving and researching makeup from all eras and cultures. Est. 2008. Posts by the founder/curator.

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

This article has been with me for days. Ditto for the phrase “change the narrative”, which I heard from a Black curator giving an IG talk on vintage compacts. My brain is in overdrive with new possibilities. https://t.co/IW5nAhuyLp

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

Not deleting the Makeup Museum’s X account yet, but I do want to stop posting here and take a shot where the skies are blue. Hope to see you there! 💙

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@lucyjanesantos_ Thank you so much!! 💖💖

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@cosmetics_skin Aw, thank you so much! 🥹

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

📣WE ARE LIVE! Phase 1 of the Makeup Museum’s website redesign is here. Ironing out a few wrinkles, particularly on mobile, but it’s mostly done. Thrilled with how it turned out! 🥹Onto phase 2: getting the collection fully digitized.
https://t.co/SX3OZ70EBx

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@Shybiker1234 Thank you!!

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@laurenohagan91 Congratulations!! 🎉 👏

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@lucyjanesantos_ 🤣I’ll do my best! But I just looked at their Instagram and it’ll also be recorded and posted at their site, thank goodness!

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

Symposium at Yale tomorrow on the 17th century painting “Two Women Wearing Cosmetic Patches”! 😱 Features presentations by @profjill_burke, @eringriffey and @KatieAske. Looks amazing and will be live-streamed for those who can’t make it in person. https://t.co/Eo1u4EO9gv

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

2 weeks ago today I had the honor of presenting my paper, “Makeup Design, Compulsory Beauty and the Modern American Woman, 1920-1960” at the @WomensHistNet conference! Here are some of the Makeup Museum’s objects that were featured.

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

Wow!! The world’s oldest dated kohl! 😱🖤 @ZahraHankir https://t.co/L9W6VZmcxV

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

Speaking of new books, I am particularly looking forward to one on lipstick by @Reckless_Edit for Bloomsbury’s Object Lessons series, due in late 2025. ❤️💄

[Eileen G'Sell @Reckless_Edit]

The editor in me itches to fix the transitive verb here, but delighted to see my first book of nonfiction, for the Object Lessons series @BloomsburyPub get an official shout-out! My book on #lipstick will toss expired ideas about femininity like so many tubes of melting wax. 💄💄

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

Ooh, there’s a new book out on Elizabeth Arden! I perused it through Google books preview. Among other interesting research, it agrees with the previous findings of @lucyjanesantos_ that Arden did not, in fact, hand out lipsticks to suffragettes. https://t.co/hiennKM7gO

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@softnadjah_png Thank you so much!! 💖💖I’m so excited!

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

As if I don’t have enough projects, moving all the Makeup Museum’s objects to a new home has been added to the list b/c…WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!Finally out of B’more city to a safer, quiet area. And so much more storage room for the Museum’s ever growing collection. 💖😍🏡

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@lucyjanesantos_ Thank you! I can’t wait either! 💙

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@beautyvixenca Thank you so much, I hope so! 🤞

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

Blog will continue being quiet, but for good reasons: 1 journal article, 2 papers for conferences, 2 book chapters and 3 grant proposals are all due in the next 4.5 months. Oh, and managing the museum’s website redesign. 🤪

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@syntheticpearl Haha, thank you!!

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

@softnadjah_png Aw, thank you so much! 🥰😘

[The Makeup Museum @MakeupMuseum]

It’s okay that I bit off more than I can chew…outside of a few tasty meals, for the most part I’ve been intellectually and academically starved for over 20 years. These projects are a veritable feast and I am relishing every morsel. 🤤