Saturday, October 20, 2018

Remember Makeup 411?

Have you ever paused a movie mid-dramatic moment because HOLY HELL, you MUST know what that lipstick is? I've done it more times than I can count, and until recently, there was a website I could visit that might tell me exactly what the makeup artist used: These days, it redirects you to the website for Makeup Magazine, but there was a time when it posted official product breakdowns and expert advice. I know I'm not the only one who misses it.

Well, with the wonderful Internet Wayback Machine, you can still access most of the site's content! (You can also access plenty of other websites and see the stupid shit you wrote when you were 13 years old, but based on personal experience, I can't recommend putting on that digital hair-shirt.) Just type in the URL and hit enter.

Here's a screenshot of the website as I remember it: there'd be a large photo of a featured breakdown, a list of the most recent breakdowns, and some easy-to-navigate tabs at the top. Unfortunately, a lot of the links on main page are broken in the Wayback Machine, but you can still get around with some creative clicking. If clicking on the actor's name under "Latest Breakdowns" nets you a broken link, for instance, you can usually get around it by clicking the makeup artist's name. That's how I got to this breakdown for Beyonce:

I TOTALLY USED TO OWN LYCHEE LUXE! I was a freshman in college and still used Aveeno lotion as a facial moisturizer, then wondered why my skin stayed so dry and unhappy, BUT STILL! I remember owning that gloss.

Interestingly, the links for the older version of the site are almost all active and easy to reach. I don't remember the site looking like this--I was introduced to it circa 2010--but holy shit, did seeing that early 2000s design take me back:

A layout made from pictures that were probably sliced in Dream Weaver, the default fonts, the hit God, the memories. Now I'm thinking back to the time before search engines. How did we find what we wanted back then?!

Actually, I've changed my mind: this takes me back. Man oh man, I remember when every girl in my high school went for this look! You plucked your eyebrows as thin as you could handle, you wore so much liner and mascara that your eyes looked slightly crusty, and you keep the rest of your face pale as could be with a super matte face powder and some borderline white lipgloss. You all know I love clean, dewy skin, thick brows, and a bold lip these days, and I think it's because I tried this out when I was younger and never wanted to admit that it looked horrific on me.

Speaking of the older website: these advice sections were stellar, and I'm sad that I missed them in their heyday. A list of drugstore alternatives for pricey products? If that wasn't prophetic for YouTube dupe videos! I don't know how accurate it is--I remember the NARS Sheer Lipsticks and the CoverGirl Lip Slicks, and they looked very different to me--but if a makeup artist said they could use those products interchangeably for the same effect, I'm not going to argue too much.

You can still find some beauty breakdowns and plenty of makeup artist tips by using Google, I know, but it's just not the same. I really miss having a full list of products straight from a makeup artist and readily accessible on one site, and I miss reading about the ten extra skincare steps completed to prep an actor's skin. Maybe we'll find another site that can fill the gap. Until then, here's one of my all-time favorite breakdowns, which had a product list so long, I had to cut and paste together two screenshots... MS Paint. You know, like you did during those Y2K years.

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