My latest shironuri project, covering myself in twisted tree branches. The kicker here is that I plan to draw the branches onto cardstock, then put my head thru it.

The left drawing is how I plan on inserting my head through the cardstock & the right is my initial concept sketch.

It’s amazing how many of the popular YouTube beauty influencers from 2009-2016 are part of the alt right now

While doing shironuri today, I tried a traditional Tajik beauty method—painting in a unibrow.

Traditionally, women used woad to dye the eyebrows (and the area in between) a dark color, emphasizing their beauty. It’s the complete opposite of Eurocentric beauty standards which are anti-unibrow.

I needed green embroidery thread, so I popped into the thrift store today (I rarely buy it new these days). Found a ton of vintage American Thread Co floss, probably from the 1960s.

Despite its age, the threads are in great condition. I can’t wait to use it in some upcoming projects!

I’ve always wondered: Were mummies ever buried with makeup?

Turns out the answer is…yes!

Here are some cosmetics found buried with a mummy from the Subeshi culture (found in modern day Xinjiang), which existed from 1100-100 BCE.

The burial goods include rouge and a stick for applying mascara.

I’ve redownloaded Bsky but still not sure if I’ll completely abandon Threads in favor of it. I def like navigating this app way more, so we’ll see 👀

While raiding the homes of people suspected to be gay men throughout the late 1930s-1940s, Chicago police plucked any photographs in their possession “proving” their homosexuality.

Here’s one example - a person, AMAB, wearing lip rouge with plucked eyebrows.

Weird observation, but men often refer to makeup as paint or face paint instead when wearing it. It’s not simply because it’s more theatrical, but to distance themselves from the word makeup itself, which is perceived as being heavily feminized.