Good morning, New York Times! I see that you certainly had a fun night last night, judging by the dewiness of your complexion and smudged eyeliner. Since it's 2012 and I guess the world is supposedly ending, I guess you're saying that the trend this year should be minimal, imperfect makeup, right? Let's just have a good time, get around, and let ourselves go! So what, who cares?
But honestly, as I sit at my desk next to a box of tissues and dwindling supply of Sudafed this morning, the last thing I want to see in the Style section is a piece on how "the look is 'coming home from the party,' not 'going out to the party,' said Terry Barber, director of makeup artistry for MAC Cosmetics. 'Perfection got slightly boring.'" I like to think that a way for me to revive from being sick and having this terribly pink nose is to strive for perfection; it's a way to be positive, to hide my sniffly snout and move on!
Oh, and what a relative term it is, "perfection". Of course, (I think) the article is conscious of the fact that it's instructing its readers on how to achieve "perfect imperfection":
"And the must-have tool to achieve perfect imperfection is recession-friendly: your fingertips. Use them to smudge eyeliner, smear bronzer, press bright stains into your cheeks and lips. The application of the makeup is as relaxed as the overall look."
Oh, and did I mention that the new lip style is "the Popsicle"?
"Emily Kate Warren, a member of Dick Page’s Shiseido fashion runway team who has also done makeup for Yoko Ono and Jennifer Jason Leigh, calls the 2012 lip “Popsicle mouth” because it appears as if the wearer has been sucking an ice pop. (A variation of the mouth was seen at the Viktor & Rolf spring 2012 runway show.)"
WTF? Mkay, I love Yoko Ono, but I find that putting her in the same paragraph as the term "Popsicle mouth" is inappro.
The article continues to highlight looks ladies should strive for: Tilda Swinton, Michelle Williams, Ali MacGraw. Click here for the slideshow. First off, nobody should try to look like Tilda Swinton. She's the only one that can pull off that style because she is awesome (I put her in the same category as Ono in terms of successful minimalist makeup). And I actually think Michelle Williams looks great in the slideshow, but she doesn't look anything like the makeup style the article describes. She just looks fresh, clean, and pretty. The problem I have is with Lady Gaga's recent "natural" look in Harper's Bazaar, where she wore zero mascara.
Let me just point out here that I am in support of natural beauty. Yeah, Ms. Gaga is into that whole "Born This Way" deal (while still getting all eccentric on our asses with her extreme getups). But achieving perfection, to me, isn't the ability to wear absolutely no makeup and look great. It is the ability to highlight natural gifts through such fun toys as eyeliner, eyeshadow, and lipstick. Yes, I called them toys. I think it's fun to play with colors, lines, and textures! It boosts my mood in the morning, waking me up and getting me focused and productive.
Finally, if we're looking for recession-friendly makeup, I would think that following a quick trend is a terrible idea. What's next, 2013 will be deep, rich colors to reflect our hopeful financial improvement? If this years buzzword is "restraint", will next year be "indulge"?
I think the best way to handle the recession in terms of style is to strive to look as good as possible. Who wants to hire the girl who just got back from the club at 8am? Oh, and let me just say that I don't think this article does anything in terms of inspiring me to go buy more makeup just because "the Popsicle" is in. You're going to have to try a bit harder to get me to spend.
In honor of the best thing about this article (the image by Matthew Richardson), I decided to give a (subtle) makeover to Ms. Gaga. And okay, yes, I did use my fingers for the eyeshadow and blush.
Fun, right? Do I get any gold stars for mah finger-painting skillz?
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