Makeup Museum

Makeup Museum Where cosmetics and art intersect. Dedicated to the preservation, research, & exhibition of makeup from all eras and cultures. Established 2008.

📣The Cosmetic History and Makeup Studies Network is hosting a fun, free event on Friday, June 12th! Join me, Lipstick au...
05/30/2026

📣The Cosmetic History and Makeup Studies Network is hosting a fun, free event on Friday, June 12th! Join me, Lipstick author Eileen G’Sell and historian for a little lipstick myth-busting. 😏Sign up using the form here:
https://chmsn.wufoo.com/forms/chmsn-salon-12th-june-2026 or click the link in my bio. Hope to see you there! 💄

Finally got a blog post up on some spring Japanese goodies - very pleased to welcome To/One and Celvoke to the museum, a...
05/30/2026

Finally got a blog post up on some spring Japanese goodies - very pleased to welcome To/One and Celvoke to the museum, and objects other than the Snow Beauty compacts from Maquillage. Check it out and let me know which collab is your favorite, link in bio! 💖

Some fun vintage lipstick cases! Which one are you? I’m the mermaid, of course. 🧜‍♀️But I’m also feeling Party Time. 🍸1....
05/02/2026

Some fun vintage lipstick cases! Which one are you? I’m the mermaid, of course. 🧜‍♀️But I’m also feeling Party Time. 🍸

1. Barbershop pole, Ernest Steiner, 1951
2. Pig, unmarked, ca. 1930s
3. Couturine, Revlon, late ‘50s-early ‘60s
4. Sailor (I think?), Bliss Brothers, ca. late 1930s-‘50s
5. Mermaid, Rich-On/BR, 1980s
6. Leaning Tower of Pisa, designed by Louis Nichilo, 1950s-‘60s
7. Fire hydrant, unmarked, 1951
8. Party Time, Park & Tilford, 1950s
9. Bathing beauty, Boots 17, 1968 (very similar to Cutex’s Bikini Beat cases from several years prior!

📣 Cosmetic History and Makeup Studies Network Salon - join us for this FREE online discussion! This Friday, March 13th, ...
03/09/2026

📣 Cosmetic History and Makeup Studies Network Salon - join us for this FREE online discussion!

This Friday, March 13th, 12pm ET/4pm GMT

I am thrilled to interview Eileen G’Sell, author of “Lipstick”, part of the Object Lessons series (Bloomsbury, 2026)

“From Revlon to Glossier, from Marilyn to Gaga, lipstick is as shape-shifting and unwieldy as femininity itself. Who wears lipstick today – as a matter of routine? And for those who do, is it out of obligation to a strict feminine standard, or some other reason entirely? Lipstick reconsiders the beauty world’s most conspicuous – and contentious – tool of artifice. Tossing expired ideas about femininity like so many tubes of melting wax, Lipstick explores how self-adornment can be a source of play, pleasure, and transformation, as well as how lipstick can knock gender norms off balance.”

Registration: https://chmsn.wufoo.com/forms/chmsn-salon-13th-march-2026 OR see my bio for the link OR DM . 💄

Still basking in the glow of the 114th annual conference and seeing various Chicago museums. 😄Huge thanks to the amazin...
03/03/2026

Still basking in the glow of the 114th annual conference and seeing various Chicago museums. 😄Huge thanks to the amazing chairs and and fellow panelists and - truly an honor to present alongside of you! Full recap (and more photo bombing by Sailor Babo) is over at the blog. 🎨

Brown Skin Beauty: mystery solved! You might remember I posted this face powder box a while back (swipe to see) and was ...
01/06/2026

Brown Skin Beauty: mystery solved! You might remember I posted this face powder box a while back (swipe to see) and was very puzzled by it allegedly being produced by a Memphis-based company called Darboux, since neither the rest of the Darboux line nor the copy on the back seemed to align with the product at all, and the trademark for Brown Skin Beauty face powder was registered to Chicago-based Valmor (which we know with certainty released products intended for Black customers). I think what happened with the previous box I posted was that someone had mistakenly put a Brown Skin Beauty box lid on a Darboux powder box, especially since every other Darboux powder I’ve seen has a lid with the Darboux name on it. No wonder I was confused! The copy on the back of this one that the Museum recently acquired confirms Brown Skin Beauty was from Valmor. Glad I got to the bottom of this, but it’s a cautionary tale for collectors. Sometimes objects get mixed up and it’s important to really inspect them before buying. This is a key piece of Black makeup history (and the graphics are fantastic) so I didn’t give it too much scrutiny – I was just so eager to add it to the Museum’s collection. Anyway…have you ever acquired something and find out later it wasn’t what you thought? 🤔

The Makeup Museum was the recipient of not one but two incredible vintage compact collections this year! I’m so very gra...
12/31/2025

The Makeup Museum was the recipient of not one but two incredible vintage compact collections this year! I’m so very grateful and honored to be their custodian, and I can’t wait to tell you about the individuals behind them in 2026. Huge thanks to the donors for their generosity! How was your year? What’s in store for 2026? 🎆

I blinked, and summer was over. Once again the warmer months went by way too quickly! Here’s a look back at the Museum’s...
09/13/2025

I blinked, and summer was over. Once again the warmer months went by way too quickly! Here’s a look back at the Museum’s spring and summer 2025 acquisitions. Any favorites? 💖

Today is World Elephant Day so I’m celebrating with a compact by Pilcher, ca. 1943-1949 (top) and what I suspect is a (u...
08/12/2025

Today is World Elephant Day so I’m celebrating with a compact by Pilcher, ca. 1943-1949 (top) and what I suspect is a (unmarked) knockoff. In the early 20th century “seeing pink elephants” was a euphemism for being extremely intoxicated. Pink elephants became a popular motif for barware and cocktail lounges. The design carried over to other types of goods, from costume jewelry to department store displays, and there was actually a song in 1932. Given the timeframe, I I think these and other pink elephants of the ‘40s and ‘50s may have been at least partially inspired by a scene in the 1941 Disney film Dumbo, in which the title character hallucinates dancing pink elephants after accidentally drinking a barrel of champagne. Which one do you like better, the all gold toned Pilcher version or the unmarked one with pink plastic elephants? Not gonna lie, I think the knockoff is a little tacky and therefore more fun. 😆💖🐘
museum

“Hey, do you think it looks really different around here lately?” “I dunno, maybe?” 😂Staff is a little confused but I th...
08/07/2025

“Hey, do you think it looks really different around here lately?” “I dunno, maybe?” 😂Staff is a little confused but I think they understand the museum has finally moved to new headquarters. Today they helped celebrate the museum’s 17th anniversary by…not doing anything but be very lazy and comfy in the new Plushie Cove. Have you celebrated any milestones or moved recently? 💖🏡

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