Good morning! Hoppy Caturday! ??
It’s sunny here this morning, thank goodness. It looks like we’re getting a break from the rain. I’m on my second cup of coffee, and the caffeine is coursing through my veins and making me contemplate something I’ve been contemplating all week long, the new season of Black Mirror on Netflix.
Season 4 is out!
Anyway, I love the show. It’s a modern day Twilight Zone where technology always plays a central part in every story.
That’s where the term “black mirror” comes from. According to the show’s creator, Charlie Booker, “…any TV, any LCD, any iPhone, any iPad — something like that — if you just stare at it, it looks like a black mirror, and there’s something cold and horrifying about that, and it was such a fitting title for the show.”
If you’re stuck inside today, marathon Black Mirror.
Most of the episodes take unexpected traumatic turns, and I’m not gonna lie…I’ve been mentally scarred! There are things I wish I could un-see, LOL. A lot has to do with the current state of A.I. and where it might be headed. Seriously, it’s almost enough to make you want to pack your bags and move to a remote farm on Kauai, where they don’t have any internet connection or cell service AT ALL.
I think I could do that, live the rest of my life in lo-fi style and live off the land. I’d have aloe plants all over the place and break off leaves and smear them all over my body.
It’s a good show, even if you aren’t a sci-fi fan. I’m still waiting for them to do a makeup-technology episode.
Oh, wait — did you say makeup, K-dawg? I SURE DID.
- If I were in an episode of Black Mirror, I’d want it to be set in a near future where I could roll up to Walgreens on my lunch break, talk to a holographic A.I. makeup artist and 3D print a customized, personalized lipstick…
Actually, we’re almost there now. Pretty soon you’ll be able to apply Russian Red without a mirror.
Yeah, I wouldn’t mind that future. It certainly beats a future with killer robot dogs, or having my consciousness uploaded to the cloud for eternity.
- Speaking of technology, Neutrogena is introducing an techie attachment to the iPhone called SkinScanner that lets you scan your face at 30X magnification to detect areas of dehydration, large pores (dude, as if I needed technology to tell me THAT),
wrinklesexperience lines, etc.On one hand, I’m totally interested in ways to combine beauty and technology to gain more insight into things and customize solutions, but on the other hand, NO. I don’t need a “smart hairbrush” pointing out all of the alleged wrongs my mane is currently committing. Thoughts?
- I’m always looking for interesting, talented makeup artists to follow, and Liz Sharp’s work recently caught my eye. She’s known for makeup, hair, special effects and body art, and in 2017 she won the title of Makeup Artist of the Year at the Australian Beauty Industry Awards.
- If you’ve been following the Claire’s makeup recall, the retailer is now claiming that their products don’t contain asbestos.
- Storytelling sells scents, which is why perfume descriptions are never really about smell. According to this article on the link between scent and memory, the feelings evoked by fragrances are stronger triggers than the actual fragrance notes themselves. “Humans evolved to use scent as a survival tactic,” the article says. “Although our sense of smell is not as well developed as that of other mammals, like dogs, we have long needed our noses to help us make life-or-death decisions… However, we also have unconscious reactions to scents that have nothing to do with survival, but with recollection, because of the physical link between scent and memory in our brains.”
- Remember when the Winter Olympics turned ice skating into a Lifetime movie when Tonya Harding tried to destroy her rival, Nancy Kerrigan? The makeup artists who worked on I, Tonya,, a new movie that chronicles the sordid event, recreated the early ’90s looks by deconstructing every last detail in photographs to accurately capture the big-banged, red-lipped, French-tipped beauty style of the time.
For some reason, that reminds me… I haven’t worn nail polish in ages (just going through a phase), but I’m ready to get back on the train.
I liked this short video on the history of nail polish…
Do you have a base coat you really like? I’m looking for a new one because I had to chuck the old bottle of Sally Hansen Green Tea & Bamboo Strengthener I had for ages. It got goopy and thick.
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
P.S. Happy Saturday. 🙂
I love Dark Mirror. I just started watching the new season.
The lady who started alerting people to the asbestos has lab results to prove it, so I think Claire’s is full of BS. Play makeup like that is made in China and treated as a toy or novelty item, not as makeup, doesn’t have to meet the same quality standards as real makeup. Remember all the lead in toys that were found a few years ago? I’m not buying Claire’s story, unless they provide new, compelling evidence.
When you’re done with it we have to talk about the show’s commentary on A.I. I think that’s what traumatized me the most!
Hope you’re having a nice weekend so far. 🙂
We will! I’ve got a couple episodes to go still. I keep getting interrupted by my hubby’s love of Battlestar Galactica. He got the full HD blu-ray set, so he’s re-watching the whole series when he’s home. lol
I watched Black Mirror and I’m scarred by Crocodile. I’ve always adored Charlie Brooker but that episode was too violent. I felt that some of it was gratuitous.
Hi Nishad,
That one bothered me tremendously. Black Museum also scarred me, especially the part about the uploading of the human consciousness into objects with the limited ability to communicate. (“Monkey loves you. Monkey needs a hug!”)
That episode too! And the doctor! (I had to hide behind my cushions for a lot of that episode).
I’ve been reading your blog for a long time (maybe 12 years) but I think this is the first time I’ve commented. I love how positive and honest you are. xx.
The doctor was AWFUL. The episode with the mother and the daughter bothered me, too. 🙁
I will say this about Black Mirror… Even with all the traumatic things that happen, the show’s writers seem to believe in love. I’ll give them that. San Junipero is my favorite episode because of this. 15 Million Merits comes a close second because of the love theme (even if things didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to).
Thank you for reading all these years, Nishad. 🙂 I’m glad you decided to say hi, and I look forward to chatting with you more.
My favorite base coat of all time is Essie First Base. And sometimes I use one of the Essie TLC strengtheners in a pinch – it always works well! I am a nail junkie 😉
Thanks, Erin! I’m popping by Target later on today so I’ll check it out. Have a nice Sunday!
My all time favorite base coat is the Sally Hansen Complete Care! It’s kind of pricey but it works so well to keep my nails healthy & strong! I’ll have to check out Black Mirror too, I need a new show!
Hi Kristina,
I wanted to grab something from Sally Hansen but everything was sold out at Target, gah! I ended up getting Essie’s Grow Stronger Base Coat.
Hope you had a nice Sunday!
So many great things this week! I loved the I, Tonya article! I loved getting such an insight into not only how they created the looks but why, from a storytelling point of view. It’s so cool how they used the makeup not only to make the actors look like the characters, but also to suggest a time and a place.
I never thought about Tonya Harding’s makeup being “ten years behind” as the article suggests, but recreating that does help to suggest her background.
It’s so fascinating. I’m going to try to see the movie sometime soon!
I also binge-watched the new season of Black Mirror last week. So freaky! What’s really interesting to me is to hear people’s reactions from different generations and who have different histories with tech. My friends and I mostly span the tail end of Millennials so we have grown up with technology front and center but still remember learning to use computers. My brother, on the other hand, is firmly Gen Z and is even more used to invasive technology than we are. That’s not even a huge age difference, just a few years, but we’ve still had such different relationships with tech. I want to ask my dad if he’s seen it and what he thinks, because as a Baby Boomer he didn’t even have a calculator until graduate school and grew up with rotary phones, but he’s even more tech-savvy than I am nowadays (with a pretty active Insta feed!). I don’t know, it’s just interesting to me to think about those things, and BM brings that up a lot in conversation.
Karen, I don’t know if you’re still in the market for a base coat, but I use OPI Nail Envy (the nail strengthener) in the matte formula for a base coat. It plays really well with every polish I have. Not to mention, my polish stays on a really long time. (Between 7-12 days, depending on the nail polish I put on top of it.). Plus I sometimes just put that on and slap on a top coat for a super quick (and quick drying) mani.
Hi Kimiko,
Thanks! I ended up getting one from Essie because there wasn’t a lot to choose from at Target and I didn’t have time to stop by Ulta. I’ll put that one on my list though because I’m trying to find *the* ultimate base coat. OPI usually works great for me so I have a feeling that I’d like it. Does it dry relatively quickly?
It dries lightning fast!
OK, good to know. I don’t have time to wait any longer than I do for nail polish to dry. 🙂 Thank you so much for the recommendation!
Whenever I think of Beauty and Tech I think about Total Recall (the original) and the receptionist changing her polish color with the tap of a stylus. Oh, and the 5th Element eye makeup box. That would be lovely. HAHA!
I’ve seen a couple of eps of Black Mirror, and I know it’s very popular, but it hasn’t been a favorite. I can’t explain it because it seems so up my alley. I’ll have to give it another shot. 🙂
The 5th Element eye makeup applicator was Chanel (!), which was the weirdest case of product placement, ever. It’s so rare to see Chanel on film, so my guess is Milla Jovovich was a brand spokesperson at the time.
Sooo Black Mirror. Did you start with season one? Because it really gets better in season two and hits its stride in season 3. Try it again! Or try these individual episodes (because you really don’t need to watch it in order):
Season 3, Episode 4: San Junipero
Season 3, Episode 2: Playtest
Season 2, Episode 1: Be Right Back
Season 2, Episode 2: White Bear