Dover Street Market Beauty & Digital Makeovers: November Beauty News

Hi! It’s highlights time again. So many good reads this month, I’m very pleased! I’ve been working on my thesis so not much time for other things I’m afraid. Been looking at beauty ads and crying about the state of humanity, as one does.

This miffy-themed face oil is TOO CUTE.

An archive of ochres, would you believe!

Here’s something the beauty biz is mega guilty of: trying to make cocktails “healthy”.

Maybe online call-out culture can be a force for good.

Toilet fragrance spray made this woman super rich. Like, really rich. And…spiritual?

Harmay Hong Kong by Aim Architecture (the firm has constructed several stores for Harmay across China, if you enjoy architecture I suggest checking them out!)

Hello, how major is this beauty store in Hong Kong? It looks like an ultra chic sci fi apothecary.

Radical lesbian feminism has never been faithful to the gender binary or sex essentialism, so why do we alienate trans women from our struggle?

The kids aren’t shopping the same way as older generations – especially when it comes to beauty.

Microblading used to be all the rage, but now brow lamination seems to be catching on instead.

This piece on the exclusive and reclusive Biologique Recherche literally made me giddy.

Virtual makeover by Ines Alpha for Selfridges.

How cool are these virtual makeovers? They’re made by artist Ines Alpha.

Meet the influencers going beyond face value and physical perfection.

DECIEM has been getting a lot of buzz for their anti-black friday campaign this year, but can we really praise them for distancing themselves from consumerism if they do it by offering a discount?

Speaking of which, “anti-consumerist” content is a big deal right now on youtube and instagram… how effective is it, really?

I’m gonna say it: Friendship breakups are the worst.

Starface is one of many brands making novelty pimple patches. Image via starface’s webshop.

Pimple patches are having a real moment… but do they work?

Kylie Jenner just sold a majority stake in her beauty business to Coty… for $600 million dollars. Hoo boy.

Wanna see an ancient sorceress’s collection of charms and effigies? Of course you do.

This New York Times article asks if “closet accounts” on instagram are the future of fashion journalism… and while I think the phenomenon is fascinating, I sure hope it isn’t!

The Queer Eye genre of “self care” is not necessarily helpful.

Jelly art by Sharona Franklin, via @paid_technologies on instagram.

Disabled food artist Sharona Franklin, known for her jelly sculptures as seen on @paid.technologies, was recently ripped off by none other than Alessandro Michele at Gucci. Here’s an interview with her.

This critique of heteropessimism is so lucid and important!

You know I love food culture and cooking, and I really enjoyed this article on culinary cinema.

Are there too many beauty brands? (YES. JESUS.)

With injection treatments more accessible than ever, there are some valid safety concerns to take into account – maybe injectables shouldn’t be this cheap and easy?

The tiny bag to end all tiny bags, the “Chiquito” by Jacquemus.

Ever wonder what it’s like to carry a tiny purse for a year? Wonder no more.

Collagen: What exactly is the deal. Does it work. Is it a scam. Why is everyone trying to make me put it in my coffee.

What happens to influencer marketing once instagram starts hiding likes?

This seems cool: Shiseido is developing sun protection technology that responds to heat.

How influencer culture reinforces ideas of whiteness, femininity, and often embodies these privileges is something that needs examining. Soraya Roberts does it brilliantly.

The Dover Street Market x MAC Tattoo Collab comes in this vacuum-sealed bag.

This Dover Street Market x MAC temporary tattoo capsule collection is pretty cool, actually.

People go on and on about how magazines and print media are dying, but there are more fashion magazines than ever in circulation.

Instagram and Facebook are, in the guise of “stopping sexual solicitation”, cracking down on seemingly any expression of sexuality on their platforms. Where do I even start with this nonsense.

Billionaire worship (or worship of the rich, in general – just look at Kanye West & Jared Leto’s respective cults) is capitalism as religion.

As someone who is desperate to revive the 00s obsession with swarovski crystal-encrusted everything (phones. please god bring back bedazzled phones.), this trend of crystal-embellished makeup is exactly what I need.

Chloë Sevigny’s fragrance for Régime des Fleurs, “Little Flower”

Chloë Sevigny is, as we all know, mega chic, and so is her perfume collab with Régime des Fleurs.

How cancer became a marketing opportunity. (Side note: The entire latest baffler issue is…amazing.)

Here’s an artist profile on the fabulous Theresa Chromati. Her art is bold, imaginative and vibrant, and so is her her style. Check out her work here.

The Money Diary is some of the most controversial recent trends in women’s journalism, and The Baffler is taking it apart as always.

This article on scientism and science history is an incredible read, it’s unbelievably good. You gotta read it, is what I’m saying.

Dover Street Market Parfums in Paris has this really cool, millenium-era design.

Dover Street Market has opened its first beauty retail space in Paris. The interior design is, as always, magnificent.

Let’s just face it: WORK SUCKS.

Beauty brands keep trying to appeal to LGBTQ people, but capitalizing on our struggle is a mockery of us. Please, no more sponsored coming out announcements.

Remember that Sunday Riley fake review scandal? There are developments!

An excellent piece by Laura Maw on horror, cinema, and women’s hunger.