Tag Archives: identity

The Duty of Beauty: Vanity in Downton Abbey

By Meli | Published: February 14, 2013

Any of us who are into fashion and beauty watch Downton Abbey with an eye for the details: the clothes and jewelry, and of course, the hair and (imperceptible) makeup. But I’m also struck by all the beauty and dress rituals going on in the background: the starching of collars, removing of stains, the help bathing and doing hair. Those of us behind the scenes in photography know how much labor goes into a “flawless” look, and that the series …

Posted in Beauty and Culture, Beauty and Technology | Also tagged beauty, Collective, Downton Abbey, Dress, Duty, Fabulous, Factory, fashion, Glamour, Hair, Individual, Jewelry, Labor, Makeup, Modern, Other, Relationships, Self, Servants, Society, Vanity | Comments closed

Makeovers in the Movies: The Skin I Live In (La Piel Que Habito)

By Meli | Published: January 29, 2013

As January ends, it’s occurred to me that I haven’t posted anything about makeovers. And since January is National Makeover Month (in the US media), it’s possible that I have been neglecting my duties here at Wild Beauty. But since we’ve had almost a month to see which New Year’s makeovers/cleanses/tips/resolutions worked and which didn’t, maybe now’s a good time to reflect on the process.

Creating a new self, even cosmetically, is quite an undertaking. How far will you …

Posted in Makeovers in the Movies | Also tagged Dr Ledgard, Face Transplant, January, La Piel Que Habito, Makeovers, Makeovers in the Movies, Pedro Almodovar, Pores, Tarantula, The Skin I Live In | Comments closed

Makeup as Performance: Cindy Sherman

By Meli | Published: May 16, 2012

Do we create our own identities, or are they created for us? In the age of seemingly infinite aesthetic choices (including surgery), are our physical identities truly fluid, or are they dependent on the stage upon which we perform?

Visiting the Cindy Sherman retrospective at MOMA, there’s a lot to be divined on these questions. Sherman, who has famously cast herself as various personas in self portraits for the past thirty-seven years, has used the genre to explore perception …