making faces :: in living colour

not makeup

makeup didn't start off by being about, well, makeup. it started off being about literal masks, masks that were used in the theatres of ancient greece to portray specific characters or character types. often, the same actor would assume multiple roles and having different masks available made it easy to distinguish one character from another. those masks were also easily recognised by the audience for what they represented- grotesquely exaggerated, they embodied the essential elements of characters who would have been familiar to audiences at the time through myths and fables.

japanese kabuki and beijing opera would later use makeup to create those masks, exaggerating natural features and expressions with brilliant, contrasting colours. while the extreme traditions of theatrical makeup don't often find their way into mainstream culture, brilliant, intense colours, creating a completely unnatural appearance, have always been used as an informal kind of mask, an identification with a particular cultural group or movement.

everybody loves looking like lucy

in the later twentieth century, options as far as colour have changed. palettes have grown wider [and wilder] and many cultures have become more accepting of colours that would have been considered shocking a few decades ago. the acceptance of these changes in the immediate past can be back-dated to the widespread use of colour in films [the first look people had at the possibilities of colour cosmetics] and the period just after world war ii. during the later period of the great depression and the years of war that followed, the style was for women to appear understated- even if they used makeup to achieve the effect. once the war was over, things changed in a hurry.

first of all, women who had been hired to fill jobs which normally would have been performed by men were dismissed en masse. gone was the sense of independence that came with earning an income. the emphasis now, culturally and cosmetically, was on returning to the traditional roles of wife and homemaker, and to a similarly traditional femininity. makeup went from restrained to outspoken- conservative, "classic" shades of deep reds and neutrals were replaced by the outrageous cardinal and cherry reds of the fifties, combined with a dramatic "cat's eye" black liner flared at the edges to imitate the sweep of dramatic eye lashes. the mask was that of the coquette- the alluring young woman in search of a husband because, more than at any time in recent memory, women needed to find husbands in order to ensure themselves a stable life.

THERE'S MORE COLOUR TO COME...

another day at the office...

by the late fifties and into the sixties, cosmetic manufacturers started to add titanium to their lipstick shades, making them paler, but frosty, so that lips became very light- pearly pinks and peaches, or an almost silvery white. once this happened, emphasis shifted to the eyes. fashion icon elizabeth taylor, who had famously sported the fifties look of cherry lips and winged liner, began a new trend with cleopatra, with her lips pale and her eyes encased in thick liner and vibrant colours.

fashion in the sixties adored outrageous colours- stark white, orange, violet, the more outlandish the better. models of the time with their unnaturally spiked lashes, hollowed cheeks and completely matte complexions look like aliens. and apparently, much of the younger generation thought the same way, because the late sixties and seventies saw the rejection of the [obviously] artificial in favour of the [ostensibly] natural- neutral shades, glowing, tanned skin and hint rather than hits of colour.

the natural look is for losers

as tends to happen, though, the eighties saw the pendulum swing again. now, women who had fought their way through the equal rights movement and who had defined themselves in the seventies had moved into the workplace with a vengeance and the depth of that vengeance was displayed in the make up they wore. loud colours and heavily smoked eyes became part of the wardrobe [along with cumbersome shoulder pads and lots of hair mousse]. cosmetics in the eighties almost seemed designed to intimidate- exaggerating features in the same way as the masks of greek plays thousands of years before, reducing women to a few boldly pronounced key features. the mask of the office warrior.

currently, bold makeup is more a matter of personal choice. shifting trends dictate whether or not it is considered of the moment or oddball, but the continuously expanding palette of colours to choose from [red products for use around the eyes, for instance, have become widely available fairly recently in north america and even now, many people have reactions to them] make it more and more difficult to restrict people to one "norm" of appearance. it creates an odd milieu, really, where people can do pretty much what they want with themselves and know that they might be judged, but not how. such is the confusion of modern times.

so, on that note, here are a few looks that capitalise on the possibilities of colour and ways that i've found to use a whole lot of it. [products are from mac unless otherwise specified]

"victorian"

victorian

this look is in no way what one would think of at the mention of the word "victorian", but the resaon for me calling it that will be apparent in the breakdown. this was one of the first times i ever decided to screw what people said about colour and actually try something where there was equal emphasis on the eyes, cheeks and lips. if memory serves, it's also the only time i went to a karaoke bar. one step into new territory deserves another, i guess.

face ::
mac studio fix fluid nc15
cover f/x concealer c10
mineralize skinfinish natural light

eyes ::

victorian

nanogold e/s
straw harvest e/s
hot hot hot e/s
bio green e/s
boot black liquid liner
plushlash black mascara

cheeks ::
salsarose blush

lips ::
magenta lip liner
victorian l/s

"fusion pink"

fusion pink

named after quite possibly my favourite loud pink lipstick. the colour was apparently originally created for cirque du soleil and it's described by mac as a vivid coral, which really does it no justice. it's really an incredibly vibrant, fully saturated coral pink [i.e., a pink with lots of orange] and a sheen that defies description. truly one of mac's unsung superstars. this look is sort of inspired by the ultra-bold, "muscular" colour palettes of the eighties, when a lot of colours like yellow, orange and hot pink started to find favour. consider it an homage. [ironically, i wore it to dom's high school reunion, with a group of people who were in high school in the eighties.]

face ::

mac studio fix fluid nc15
cover f/x concealer c10
prep & prime finishing powder

fusion pink

eyes ::
bright sunshine e/s
crystal avalanche e/s
sushi flower e/s
bright fuchsia pigment
boot black liquid liner
fascinating eye liner
opulash black mascara

cheeks ::
azalea blush

lips ::
fusion pink l/s

"partylicious"

partylicious

that name sounds like it belongs to an annoying pop song, but it's actually the name of one of mac's pigments that came out last year. this look was sort of inspired by the sixties "cleopatra"-inspired trend of intense, colourful eye makeup with neutral lips. i don't think my lips could get any more neutral, actually. but you gotta admit, those are some pretty colourful eyes.

face ::
nars sheer glow foundation mont blanc
mac prolongwear concealer nw20

eyes ::

partylicious

vex e/s
aquavert e/s
partylicious pigment
surreal e/s
noir plum e/s
unflappable e/s
fluidline eye liner blacktrack
undercurrent eye liner
false lashes mascara

cheeks ::
oh so fair beauty powder

partylicious

lips ::
viva glam gaga 2 l/s

and for those who might be interested in such topics, i've challenged myself to go 30 days without repeating the same lipstick... i have more than enough of a collection to do so and now i have a page on this blog to track my progress. watch me go! permanent link is in the upper right hand portion of the page, under the about me section.

the lips have it

what is it about red lips? spicy vermilion, bold crimson or deep, mysterious blood reds, they have all held a fascination for both men and women for hundreds of years. even in the twenty-first century, with thousands of colours available for women (and adventurous men) to pick from, reds from across the spectrum remain a statement. in fact, many women still shy away from them out of fear of looking shocking. and, given the reactions that some receive, maybe they have reason.

guerlain rouge g in rouge sensuel

the association of red with audacity, energy, even danger is an ancient one. the greeks and romans identified their god of war with the planet mars- the red planet. of course, red is also the colour of blood, linking it to the force of life as well. and of course, if you are a christian, or are raised in any area where the culture is predominantly coloured by christianity, red is also the colour of apples, the sweet forbidden fruit, the seed of all temptation.

there is also the fact that red lips are actually completely unnatural. if we were trying simply to emphasise the mouth's natural beauty, there are a whole range of hues that would be appropriate, depending on skintone, from light pinks to rich browns to plummy shades, but never red. in fact, the origins of using red tint on the lips actually came from the fact that it was unnatural. in the middle ages, european aristocracy distinguished themselves from the rough folk who toiled in the fields by cultivating a pale complexion and eventually, to further add to this distinction, women began to tint their lips red. of course, this did not look natural, but that was its charm: those who looked natural were those who had to spend their lives working outside. an unnatural appearance was the privilege of those who had their choice of when and how to interact with the natural world.

chanel rouge lacque in dragon

of course, as time went on, cosmetics became more widely available and rouged cheeks and bright lips became the hallmarks of low women, while those of breeding were encouraged to be demure, to avoid appearing to seek attention. thus was another dimension added to the history of red lips: the woman who wore them was held in contempt, but at the same time inspired fear, being both independent (in the case of higher class mistresses, at least) and sexual.

by the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, the cultural ideal of feminine beauty had shifted. in europe and north america, the church frowned on the use of cosmetics and the fresh-faced "gibson girl" became the new icon. at the same time, a new class of women, also independent and often sexualised, became known for their dark red lips- entertainers.

the reason for the use of red lipstick in the theatre and early cinema was practical rather than political- red lips showed well under theatre lights and a dark lip colour was necessary to make lips more visible on film. of course, along with the screen ingenues, who were generally lit so that their heavy makeup was less obvious, a new woman was introduced to the popular imaginary: the vamp. emobodied best by a midwestern girl born theodosia goodman, the vamp was the polar opposite of the gibson girl. her eyes were ringed with kohl, rather than proper restrictive clothing, she wore robes that flowed as freely as her dark spirit. and her lips were dark, as dark as blood. the term "vamp" was obviously coined from vampire (another popular icon of the late nineteenth century), the damned creature who fed off the blood of innocents. the cinematic vamp, by contrast, drained life from formerly upstanding men by sucking the spirit from them, the allegory reflected in those deadly blood-stained lips.

this is who your mother warned you about

this was a naive time of absolute good and evil, distinguished visually as well as morally, but that came crashing to an end with the first world war. in the wake of such unbelievable carnage, past standards seemed at best quaint, at worst psychotically mislead. and with the crash landing of colonial values came a general questioning of all that had been parceled with them. (as a side note, i've always thought that the first world war was actually far more interesting and more important than the second. i encourage people to read up.)

not the girl next door

with the 1920s, the flapper arrived. she was youthful, independent, a bit wild, brimming with energy, utterly modern. she was a vivacious combination of the ingenue and the vamp- feminine but able to keep up with (or lead) the boys. her hair was cropped short and her lithe figure was frequently clothed only in a small sheath. and she wore makeup. her eyes and lips were darkened. in this case, her dark lips were a symbol of that other kind of danger- rebellion. these were the daughters who refused to do as their mothers had done, who insisted on experience more and staking a place for themselves in the world.

mac kissable lip colour in love peck

in the last century, both the position of women and the cosmetics industry have advanced beyond what the women of the early twentieth century would have dreamed possible, and yet, when we see a red mouth, there is still something in us that feels that ruffle of excitement, that faint thrill that the wearer is bold, daring, sexy and possibly just a little dangerous. for all our advancements, it is still a challenge, smiling beguilingly at us with bold lips.

for a scintillating read about icons of femininity from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, i recommend bram dijkstra's evil sisters.