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It’s March, and I’m itching for spring which shows no sign of appearing. If I could see a crocus or snowdrop I might find hope, but so far there’s nothing. At least we can all find comfort in the fact that the sun now rises at an appropriate hour – day and night are no longer diffuse and abstract. Me, I’ve been neglecting my skin terribly lately – I blame...
By now we’ve all read that piece on “the skincare con” on The Outline. Thankfully, Racked has focused on debunking many of the false claims of the piece , like the idea that evolution has fine-tuned our bodies to perfection and thus we don’t need skincare. And I can agree – we don’t need skincare, but that doesn’t mean we can’t prefer it. As Racked pointed out, there’s plenty of scientific...
Hi again! This Highlights post is a little overdue, I’ve been in a general slump the past few months and november was tough. I don’t hide that I have certain mental health problems, but I also have a bunch of chronic physical problems too which sometimes intensify and kind of knock me out. I’m starting to feel a little better, and I’m excited for the coming year which I think...
Ok y’all, it’s that time again. I’m getting on the soapbox, yelling indignantly et cetera. But can we talk about how so much of beauty has this unpleasantly infantilizing tone? Looking at a lot of beauty ads, there are strange references to girlhood and childishness. The unicorn trend is, I’d say, the most obvious illustration of this – unicorns may just be the ultimate symbol of female virginity, innocence, purity...
Happy October! Fall is upon us, dark lipstick is socially acceptable again, and these are the Highlights. This piece on the sheet mask selfie trend is hilarious and kind of true! I probably won’t taking these selfies, to be honest, because they are kind of fun… but… I’ll be thinking about this. Makeup icon Kevyn Aucoin’s life, impact and illness. I’m indeed very anxious to see the documentary, and also to...
When’s the last time you heard the term “empowering” in a context that wasn’t completely ridiculous? Empowerment has gone from being a feminist concern to an advertising buzzword used to sell anything and everything to women. I’ve seen sexy lingerie, menstrual products, snacks and pussy highlighter all being sold as “empowering”. Clearly, this word means nothing of value anymore – it’s window dressing for a “woke” female consumer. You can...
There’s a disturbing but unsurprising tendency among men – primarily straight, cisgender men – of extreme reactions to other men’s style choices. This is especially prevalent when men in one way or another uses feminine attributes in their self expression. I read an article in a major Swedish newspaper where a man was making a big deal about men who wear perfume, going so far as to compare their wearing...
In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Peter Phillips – creative director of Dior beauty – makes the bold claim that makeup is a feminist weapon: “To Philips, it’s not something to hide behind, but a tool that enhances women’s feminine power. “A lipstick, an eyeliner is something a woman can use, and should use, to really put forward her strengths,” continues Philips. “She can totally control how she wants the...
Photo: SKØN Magazine There’s an undeniable link between cosmetics and food. Going through my own collection, I find items shaped like, named after and scented like food – primarily sweets and fruits. I have a lip gloss that looks like a cupcake, and nearly every lip product I own smells like vanilla or toffee. The NYX Butter Glosses, which I’ve mentioned before, smell like the caramel syrup you put on ice cream,...
Whether you’re discussing the American “Flapper”, the French “Garconne”, the Japanese “Moga” or the German “Neue Frau”, the new woman of the 1920s has become a fixed, international symbol of her time. With her bobbed hair, heavily made-up face and slim figure, the new woman met your gaze from the magazine covers, print ads, movie posters and satire drawings of any major city. The most conspicuous and – in the...