The Makeup Museum

Leaving us breathless: Paul & Joe fall 2009 collection

Paul & Joe shook up their fall collection by releasing oval-shaped eye shadow duos, as opposed to their usual round shadow singles.  Called "Breathless", the lineup featured 3 duos and 3 lipsticks.  While the outer patterns and colors don't exactly scream fall to me (bright pink and purple, really?) the shadows themselves were good autumn choices. 

"So breathtakingly beautiful it will leave you speechless.  Skin that's deliciously smooth and firm.  Mesmerizing, seductive color...Paul & Joe presents an enticing, bold collection creating a new feminine cool that's sure to leave you breathless."  Eh.  I sort of feel like they haven't been putting as much effort into the theme copy as in past seasons, but really, it's all about the packaging, right?!

Here they are individually.

061 - Verité

062 - The Wild One

063 - Breathless

One of the things I love doing with each Paul & Joe collection is seeing whether any of the designs used on the packaging made an appearance on the runway.  Indeed, the cat on the Wild One duo was borrowed from a tunic:

(photo from nymag.com)

Now that I've finally covered their fall collection, I'm gearing up for their holiday offerings.  ;)

Couture Monday: Chanel Fleurs Celeste (again)

The Curator is over the moon that the beautiful Chanel Fleurs Celeste palette, rumored to be an Asia exclusive, has hit the States.  I got it in my hot little hands as soon as I could!

 

For an explanation of the inspiration behind the palette's design, see my previous post about this collection. :)  

The palette that started it all

The other day I was noticing how worn down my Stila Wheat eye shadow is and reminiscing about when I bought it.  Then it dawned on me that it was the 10-year anniversary of my very Stila first eye shadow and Stila girl package!  In October of 1999 I was a poor college student and my mother generously offered me to take me to the mall to buy me a treat.  As I was perusing the makeup counters in Nordstrom (remember when Stila was still sold at Nordstrom?) this lovely little palette caught my eye:

I remember thinking that I had never seen a palette so adorable in my entire life!  There she was, a brunette (like me!) putting on her makeup at her vanity.  The palette is sold empty so I got 4 eye shadows to fill it:  Wheat (still a staple for me to this day - its beigy-gold goodness goes with everything) Golightly (which, back then was known as Holly Golightly before copyright issues got in the way of Stila's eye shadow names)  Chinois, which I was told to use as an eye shadow base (remember, this is 1999, long before real eye shadow primers had become mainstream essentials) and Espresso (Stila had yet to come out with real eye liners, so I was told to line my eyes with this deep brown shade using a thin, damp eye shadow brush.)  As I started using and loving these shadows, I remember thinking that although the quality was superb, the best part about them was the palette they were housed in.  And thus the obsession with the Stila girls started.  No end in sight, of course.  ;)  I often wonder if I ever would have taken an interest in makeup packaging had it not been for the Stila girls.  

So, happy birthday to my very first Stila palette! (Looking at the picture more closely, you can really tell how well-worn and therefore, well-loved, it truly is.)

Friday Fun: Lancôme's Declaring Indigo bearbrick

I am beside myself that I was not able to get my paws on this!  (Pun fully intended.)  Last year Shu came out with Qee figures as a GWP with their cleansing oils.  This year Lancôme continued the toy trend by issuing a VERY limited edition bearbrick available only at select Lancôme boutiques in conjunction with their fall 2009 Declaring Indigo collection.  The worst part is that it was never even available for purchase; it was a gift only for the first 20 people who bought something at the boutiques!  As of this post it is available on e-bay for a mere $350, which is a wee bit out of the Museum's budget.  Phooey.

 

(image from thelancomeblog.com)

This would truly be a stunning piece for the Museum.  Anyone want to contribute funds?  ;)

MAC's namesake collection

This MAC collection is right up the Curator's alley!  The company collaborated with three artists - Richard Phillips, Marilyn Minter and Maira Kalman - to create products inspired by their art.   Here are the images each came up with for their collections.

(photos from maccosmetics.com)

I like that there was actual substance behind this collection.  All three artists were interviewed by MAC to find out what their inspiration was and how they came up with the colors they did.  Of course, I'm sure they were tweaked by the company to make sure they sold well, but it's nice to know that artists seemed to think carefully about how they wanted to express their work through cosmetics.   I also liked that the names for the products (like In the Gallery, Private Viewing and On Display) fit too.  Now if only they had come up with some nifty packaging with an image from the artist!