Geisha

[Diorling]

I love that picture! It's so gorgeous.

 

[Cyalume]

i once took a japanese arts class and the teacher introduced a two tone lipstick that comes in tiny ceramic? jar. the color changes in the light from red to green gold ( i think) the jar only contains a small amount of pigment which is painted as a thin coat on the inside. you wet it and apply. he managed to acquire it in chinatown in nyc, so it's probably chinese? anyways, if anyone has more information i'd appreciate.

I don't have any concrete information, just a lovely sentence from À Rebours (Against the Grain) by J.K. Huysmans :

Là, des laques, incrustées de burgau, renfermaient de l'or Japonais et du vert d'Athènes, couleur d'aile de cantharide, des ors et des verts qui se transmuent en une pourpre profonde dès qu'on les mouille

Thanks to the Online Books Page, here is a translation that's far better than the one I could have made :
There, jars incrusted with mother-o'-pearl held Japanese gold and Athens green, coloured like the wing of the cantharides beetle, golds and greens that blend into a deep purple directly they are moistened.
I guess "Pourpre" was translated "purple" because it keeps the sonority, but it can mean reddish purple or crimson, too. So it *must* be the same pigment.

Doesn't help much, I'm affraid. But that book is so lovely


Cyalume, now back to lurking mode

 

[travolta]

Cyalume, thanks for briefly stepping out of the 'lurking mode'.
it was a very eloquent description indeed, and it seems to fit what i was thinking of. i will have to look up that book now.

 

[travolta]

My pleasure Travolta!


You seem to know so much about Japan, I kind of thought you were from here. Which area of the world do you live in?

Hey, look what I've found! Not sure if it's from the same store, but this seems to have some gold shimmer to it too. Apparantly, this IS what the Maiko-sans actually use, and is made of saffron. The containers are actual clam shells. (I'm very new, not sure how to add pictures, but here goes...)

By the way, I'm fascinated by Sofialuv's Magic Pot!!! I've got to get one too.

From this site:
http://www.kyoto-zou.co.jp/shop/zou/kyobeni.htm

i think that is absolutely gorgeous -- thanks for tracking that down! unfortuntately, the container i saw was not nearly as elaborate as this; i love how to pigment lines actual clam shells.

btw. if you manage to get a hold of this pigment, you must post a pic.


i'm flattered that you thought i was from japan, but i am not!
i am in the process of learning a lot about eastern culture, particularily japan. i'm korean/ america -- born in seoul. i haven't been to asia since i was a wee little one, so you could say i'm getting 'reaquitted' w/ this culture...
i did have a japanese roommate, and that was pretty illuminating, but i need to actually travel...

 

[Cyalume]

About the little morroccan stone container :
http://www.laboutiquevpc.com/produit.php3?gouega=femme&session=XbiRx5uZI0&utilisation=accessoire&id_categorie=20&id_client=&nomFic=categorie
So the name of this cosmetic is Aker Fessi. Apparently they paint the intrtior of the container with poppy petals pigment before baking it.

I think I may have to go to this shop in order to investigate

this site carries it , too, but I don't know if it's reliable :
http://www.metissence.fr/cat/Hammam/pdt/Aker-fessi-ou-Rouge-levres-oriental.html

 

[Lena]

Cyalume, thanks for briefly stepping out of the 'lurking mode'.

i second that emotion

cyalume, if y0u find it at pvc (what a fun shop), please, do let me know, i simply want one

 

[Melisande]

Mmm, these tangents are getting really interesting--first Sofialuv's pot, now Huysmans! Thanks Cyalume, how fitting for A Rebours to be mentioned in this forum. The prose is lush like a heady perfume, and I'm sure all of us who love fashion and beauty would to some extentidentify with Huysmans' obsessive quest for decadent aestheticism.

Yay Travolta, you are Korean! That's so wonderful that you are getting reaquainted with your roots, and that you view Japan as part of your Asian roots. As you probably know, Korea is all the rage right now in Japan.

(I may be learning more about Geishas in this thread than I have from anywhere else, hee hee!)

 

[travolta]

^ thanks! i've been trying to find that 'jar' forever, so i'm glad for all the useful feedback. i think coming from the middle of america, and growing up w/ very little knowledge and exposure.. i unfortunately adopted a somewhat skewed or 'exoticized' view of asia. so i don't think i necessarily relate more to korea than japan, actually quite the oppisete! for some reason japanese culture strikes a chord w/ me, perhaps because it seems to be particularily fragmented: old and new, east and west, and the resulting search for identity. it's refreshing to know that it's not the 'pure' roots that truely matter, but everyone to a degree feels this sense of disembodiment. whew...

btw. you say korea is all the rage in japan? do tell...

 

[sw33tricecakes]

For anyone who is interested in the film version of Memoirs of a Geisha, I found some pics! I'm curious as to how it's gonna turn out.

***edit: lovely pictures, but please resize them and try to post them again, they're simply too big and are causing page formatting problems ***

 

[sw33tricecakes]

oops...sorry it came out so big

 

[Melisande]

Hmm...yes Travolta, I think you are right, many people do feel culturally disembodied in today's world. I feel this is the perfect opportunity to re-explore the beauty of our own cultures, no longer under pressure to adhere to or rebel against confining "old world values" but out of free choice.


I'm not an expert and totally OT , but Korea is all the rage in Japan now mainly because of these Korean soap operas being broadcast here. Now it seems that Japanese women can't get enough of cute Korean actors, tourism to Korea has risen exponentially,and Korean food is more widely available. Interestingly, kind of like you said, this phenomenon comes from people rediscovering the good-old days of Japan... in Korea!

 

[czilla]

::cheers:: This thread has been fascinating. Cheers to all of you. ^^

I haven't spent too much time in Asia but at least among my Chinese peers in San Francisco, there was a peculiar desire to idolize all things Japanese. Japanese grocery stores were better organized, Kinokuniya was the best book store, Takashimaya was the best department store and unfairly opened in NYC before SF... Most people joked it was a desire for order, but maybe it's a result of this cultural disembodiment. Asian pride exists under the moniker of Asian en tot, but so often breaks down according to ethnicities. Re-exploring the beauty of your own culture, with a dash of the neighbouring ones? Curiosity is always for the best.

 

[sw33tricecakes]

yup, sorry bout that utopia!

and little Chiyo with her mommy

 

[travolta]

thanks for the new pics sw33t. the middle one is stunning

 

[utopia]

thanks ricecakes I agree, the middle one is absolutely lovely...

 

[*tata*]

What a fantastic thread..i love geishas

 

[travolta]

alber elbaz for lanvin is creating a collection inspired by geisha. he said geisha's look perfect, and that isn't what interests him. what interests him is the pursuit on perfection, and the process, and applying that to the modern woman.

 

[*tata*]

Does anybody happen to know when Memoirs of a Geisha will be released in Australia?

 

[maraschin0]

The hair ornaments are amazingly beautiful. The make up does some long term damage to the skin though.

 

[*tata*]

^ i heard that too...but was that only with the make up they used to use in the earlier geisha days?? ie. post ww2....i heard it had mercury or something horrible like that in it