The Mineral Makeup Mutiny was founded to encourage consumers to buy indie self-made mineral cosmetics, instead of overpriced makeup that were repackaging wholesale micas from companies such as TKB Trading, or publishing contradicting ingredients lists and sending Cease-and-Desist Letters to unfavourable reviews. Miss K of Aromaleigh, founder of the Mutiny (and former seller of repackaged wholesale hues, which she's discontinuing in favour of original colours), demonstrates how mineral eyeshadows are made. [more inside]
posted by divabat on Nov 7, 2009 - 33 comments

Ah, Fashion. The shows. [more inside]
posted by kathrineg on Sep 15, 2009 - 35 comments

Glowpinkstah gives lessons on how to do your makeup in a wide variety of styles: Emo, ganguro, chola and others.
posted by MaryDellamorte on Aug 12, 2009 - 38 comments

Hollywood Makeover Try on the hottest celebrity hair and makeup looks. Upload your own picture. Or picture of someone you hate.
posted by ColdChef on Jun 17, 2009 - 35 comments

Painting with Ketchup and Fries. Sketching Elvis with Cheetos. Artist Jason Baalman specializes in painting in unusual mediums and then posting the results to YouTube. Painting with ribs. Or just the BBQ sauce. Or chocolate syrup. Branching out from food, he also paints with mascara, lipstick and vegemite. He says he can teach you to draw too. His Mona Lisa in MS Paint has previously been posted here.
posted by CunningLinguist on Feb 1, 2009 - 13 comments

You’re a former diva who’s decided to eschew cosmetics and let your natural beauty speak for itself, or you just find yourself with drawers full of makeup that you’ll never use. What will you do with all these products? Well, you can consolidate your lipsticks, check out these five ways to use or recycle old makeup, or see the reader comments in these threads for more tips. You could make a snake out of your old fake nails, or take a look at this list of 20 things to do with old nail polish. When your mascara gets too old to be safely used on your eyes, you could sketch a tree with it, or Bette Davis. Here are some tips on how to use makeup as an art medium. And if you decide to paint with your old makeup, please start with the blue eyeshadow and mascara. Merci.
posted by orange swan on Jan 11, 2009 - 13 comments

It took me a second to realize what this was, but amazed I had to continue looking at Batman and Robin, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and the Pop Art Blonde. Face painting was never like this in my day.
posted by salishsea on Nov 21, 2008 - 25 comments

Taaz is a fun, easy-to-use website that gives women the opportunity to “try on” the hottest makeup and hairstyle looks from the convenience of their homes. From creating the perfect smoky eye to painting on a dramatic ruby-red lip for a night out on the town, taaz.com allows women to become their very own makeup artist and create the perfect look for any occasion. [more inside]
posted by Dave Faris on Apr 4, 2008 - 22 comments

Wife thief - the Wodaabe of Nigeria are one of the world's few remaining Nomadic peoples, retaining age-old customs and ways. Physical beauty and charm are highly prized, qualities much in evidence at the annual Gerewol ceremonies. After donning elaborate makeup and clothing, men engage in stylized dance and preening to win the favor of a desired woman - often one who is already married. [more inside]
posted by madamjujujive on Nov 26, 2007 - 20 comments

Did John Chambers fake the Patterson Bigfoot Film? If it weren’t for John Landis’ big mouth, maybe no one would have figured out that John Chambers was the man behind the monkey suit in the Patterson-Gimlin Bigfoot film. Of course Chambers denied it (and we’re still waiting to hear back from Landis).
posted by Chinese Jet Pilot on Apr 23, 2007 - 23 comments

If you know monster makeup, you already know the name Jack Pierce, who created the makeup for Frankenstein's monster, The Wolf Man, The Mummy, and many others. But Pierce's career with Universal Studios, for whom he created these masterpieces, came to a sudden, and unexpected, end when, in 1945, he and his entire staff were fired.

The trouble? Pierce's methods were time-consuming and painstaking, involving, among other things, building up his creatures features with cotton and collodion, a process that took many hours. Universal had fallen on hard times, with mergers, sales of its catalogue, and the loss of its 1,500-screen theater chain bringing the bean counters to the fore. They wanted to cut back on Universal's grand-spending ways, and out with the bathwater went the baby. The sorts of makeup men the bean-counters like were George and Gordon Bau, two brothers from Minnesota who had worked at Rubbercraft and brought with them a knowledge of how to make reusable appliances from cheap, lightweight foam latex. Their major accomplishment was House of Wax (1953) and they revolutionized the industry (Dick Smith's work in Little Big Man would be unthinkable without it, as would the entire career of Rick Baker. Best still, it's now possible to buy monstrous and gruesome rubber appliances right off the shelf.
posted by Astro Zombie on Jun 18, 2006 - 27 comments

Showing Off a Little (Inner) Cleavage. Author Geralyn Lucas wore bright, red lipstick to her mastectomy. "It was my way of saying I knew I would still be a woman when I woke up with a blood-soaked bandage where my breast used to be... women have sacrificed breasts and hair to try to save their lives. We have traded in our beauty for some kind of cure. But something strange often happens when we lose the bling — the big boobs and big hair — of womanhood. We're left with what I call 'inner cleavage,' and no plastic surgeon can sculpt it. It is the beauty that exists when everything else has been stripped away".
Lauren Greenfield photographs here. More inside.
posted by matteo on Apr 4, 2005 - 19 comments

Permanent Makeup. Look like yourself, only better!

Many of Nancy Ruth's clients are tired of applying eyebrow pencil day after day. Or they don't want their eyeliner to smear every time they cry at a movie or rub their eyes.
posted by fizz-ed on Jul 1, 2004 - 33 comments

Kabbalah is the new Scientology "The Rav" - Born Feivel Gruberger in Brooklyn, was an insurance salesman before leaving his first wife and children to reinvent himself as a modern spiritual guru. He runs the Los Angeles-based Kabbalah Centre. When Berg blesses ordinary spring water, it apparently becomes "infused with kabbalistic meditation . . . for healing, well-being and rejuvenation" - qualities that are neatly marketed in his exclusive make-up range, which includes a "restoring night cream" at £80 and a £91 eye-cream.
posted by suprfli on Dec 18, 2003 - 13 comments

A gallery of photos showing celebrities with and without make-up.
posted by crunchland on Aug 29, 2003 - 58 comments

Roman Cosmetics Found at Temple Dig: Stunningly well preservered, the cream still bears the fingerprints of whoever used it last, almost 2,000 years ago.
posted by Irontom on Jul 30, 2003 - 14 comments