Beauty
They signify youth, life, and loss.
My first introduction to beauty was through Bonnie Bells Lip Smackers.
Then came a second incarnation a holiday gift set that I called The Untouchables.
I wanted to keep them perfect and pristine.
And thats how they remained.
For me, these beauty collections move the makeup needle closer to artistic intentionality.
And Warhol a piece of New York history.
Of being ahead of his time.
The outsider who saw art, people, even the way we lived, differently.
Pop culture and beauty have long had an intense love affair.
Others have lost the cultural references, the iconic experience and historical moment.
What makes my collection of Untouchables feel different?
The 2012 launch coincided with the 20th anniversary of the movie and was a throwback to the brands beginning.
MACsThe Simpsonscollection honored the shows 20th anniversary and the cartoon familys matriarch, Marge.
The products highlighted everything the show was and is original, intelligent, and satirical.
There were shadows, blushes, false lashes, even Marge Simpsons Cutie-cles Nail Stickers.
Its paired with a strong desire to hold onto a specific moment, and perhaps my youth.
Robert Thompson, director at the Bleier Center for Television & Popular Culture, calls this nostalgia.
In this society, we label ourselves voluntarily by what we connect to.
We advertise our identity through our taste, he said.
These items express our identity.
Theres a sensitive, intelligent, conscious that comes with the products we keep.
These items bring me joy because I understand the inside jokes.
I appreciate the creative endeavors.
The tangible promise of forever.
And these items represent loss.
For the moments we cant hold on to, and the lives that are no longer here.
I was 18 in February of 1987 when Warhol died.
A product collection that serves as a short chapter in your autobiography, Thompson says.
Memories and moments of my former self, frozen in time.
Galfo puts it simply: If you use it up, you cannot get it again.
This article was originally published onAug.
