#African beauty secrets

[choupicosmeticbeauty]

Dudu-Osun – hygienically sealed & individually packed – CLASSIC Black Soap.

[blackgirlslivingwell]

Why Do Black Women Look So Young? Shocking Black Beauty Secret!

Melanin is a natural pigment that gives color to your skin, hair, and eyes. It's produced by cells called melanocytes and protects the skin from damage from the sun's UV radiation. People have varying amounts of melanin - the more melanin you have, the darker your complexion.

[candylandphotos]

Beauty Skincare Model Skin Routine Cosmetics Makeup Photo Ethnic African

"Captivating Beauty Unveiled: Exploring the Skincare and Makeup Routine of an African Ethnic Model."

[lampstaketv]

MY CHILDHOOD FRIEND.

[arielleslipgloss]

Victoria Secret Is Back!! Here’s Your Guide To A Victoria Secret Angel Makeover (Part 1)

“I feel like when people judge me they’re not judging me, because they don’t know who I am.” - Gisele Bündchen 🪽

Hiii doll, welcome to Arielle’s makeover store!! It’s looks like you set an appointment for a Victoria Secret Angel transformation. Is that correct? Perfect, relax and take some notes if you like!

In this NEW series, I’ll be going over things like fashion, perfumes, makeup, hair, nails, what you eat, and more!! I hope you all enjoy this series, let’s start on your makeover💗

Before we actually get started, please keep in mind I’m not a doctor and I don’t own any photos that are being used. Thank you!!💋

1. Start Eating Clean!! I know you’ve probably heard someone say this before, and maybe it’s time you actually listen to them for once. If eating clean is confusing, no worries. Let’s start with the basics!! Now, the first thing is mindset. It may seem off topic, but trust me. What I mean by this, is think of eating healthy as a lifestyle. Many people think of it as restrictive diet. Which, it’s most definitely not. Instead of thinking of it as being “restrictive” think of it as discipline. I can tell you based off of my experience that this way of thinking works!! Next step, is to eat real whole foods. Literally start eating what God has provided us with since the start. Eat meat for protein, fish for healthy fats, naturally fermented foods for probiotics, fruits for healthy digestion, nuts for fiber, vegetables to improve your immune system, etc. Real whole foods, will make real impacts on your health. And let’s not forget supplements help a lot too. However, I would talk with a professional about what supplements to take. Overall, everything listed helps to get that inner and outer glow.

2. Body Care!! The key to soft skin, smelling good, fighting skin issues, and obviously feeling/being clean. As always, let’s start with the basics. A simple body routine consists of a body wash, something to exfoliate with, (ex: African net or exfoliating glove.) and lastly moisturizer. Super easy, effective, and simple. However, let’s crake it up slightly. If you wanna smell good try a dry brush, quality sugar scrub, Moroccan Kessa glove, body wash, scented lotion or body butter, shimmery body oil, deodorant, and the cherry on top perfume obviously. Now, me personally I really only do all of this together once a week. Cause the truth is, it does take a while to do all of this with my hair care routine. However, in the end it’s so rewarding and I feel amazing every time. All of this is completely optional of course, EXCEPT the first routine I listed. If your not doing the three step body care routine I listed at first, sorry but I’m just gonna assume you smell bad. The first body care routine is ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL. Well, now that you know that let’s go over some products. I am not gatekeeping here, so here are some my favorite body care products. Starting off strong with, the dry brush from Kitsch that’s available at Ulta Beauty. For good quality sugar scrubs I love making my own or using Josie Maran’s (available at Sephora & Amazon.) For finding an affordable and amazing Kessa glove Zakia’s Morocco (on Amazon) is perfect. When it comes to body washes, Dove and Naturium (Target) are my top choices. My favorite body lotion is from Naturium, but Esos lotions (Target) smell amazing. Another great Josie Maran product is their body butter, it’s leaves the skin soooo soft. Next, is NUXE’s shimmery body oil that’s available on Amazon. I will be skipping my favorite deodorants, since I feel that everyone has different preferences. Which, leaves us with only perfumes left. My favorites are Strawberry Poundcake (Bath & Body Works), Philosophy Warn Cashmere (Ulta Beauty), and despite not listening to her Billie Eilish’s Eau de Parfum smells like a literal glazed donut. Hopefully, that all helps!!

3. Be Kind!! The year is almost over and it’s never too late to share your love with others. So be kind to everyone, even if they have hurt you. Try complimenting people more, like the VS models would hype each other up. Maybe try giving 1-3 compliments to people you see. Oh, and always remember to be kind to yourself. It’s much harder to be nice to others, if you can’t be nice to yourself. So, take this advice as you will. Just never forget that you won’t remember that argument in 5 years.

4. Skincare Secrets!! I’ll be listing the top skincare secrets I’ve seen the angels share for perfect looking skin. Starting off with, eating their skincare. Whether it’s Gisele Bündchen’s Elderberry jello or Adriana Lima’s avocado smoothie. The angels know it’s important to eat and drink their skincare. Some recipes the angels have shared like Miranda Kerr’s celery juice and Candice Swanepoel’s favorite smoothie are amazing for your skin. Overall the angels aim for clean and beneficial foods/drinks. Which, I go over in the very beginning of this blog. Next secret is, lymphatic drainage facial massages. These massages are perfect for sculpting your face, and super easy to do. I mean all you need is, either a gua sha or your hands. Plus with the internets help, you can find videos on what massages to do. Now, what I’ll be sharing next is no secret. However, drinking water is a MAJOR step to having glowing skin. If you’re not drinking enough water your skin will let you know. Seriously, water works miracles for your skin. It reduces puffiness and inflammation. Which are things you’ve probably experienced. So, go drink your water right now if you haven’t. Last skincare secret of the angels I’ll be sharing is, facials. Most models have facials done regularly or for big events. However, it can be a bit on the pricey side for some. But no worries, I’ll be revealing how to have your own facial at home. For facial we’ll be focusing on cleaning your pores. First things first, is steaming the face. The benefits of steaming your face are honestly endless. Which, is why I love facial steamers so much. For those who don’t own a facial steamer just use a bowl, hot water, and a towel. Simply, put your face by the steaming water and throw the towel over your head. Then, wait for about 10 minutes. Next, grab yourself a clay mask. I personally loveee Zakia’a Morocco Ghassoul Organic Clay Mask. Once you’ve applied your mask, keep it on for however long is instructed. After that, rinse it off and wash your face with a gentle cleanser. Making sure you thoroughly cleanse your face for at least one minute. Last steps, are to moisturize and massage your face for a good ten minutes. And just like that, you have an easy and quick pore cleaning facial at home. That I can guarantee you is probably 10x cheaper. With that all being said, that’s all of the skincare secrets I have to share in this blog. However, I of course will be sharing more in my other upcoming blogs!!

5. Workout!! As we know, working out is so good for our health. It’s incredibly important for our bodies to move everyday. Now, I’m not saying to do an intense workout everyday. But, maybe go on a 20-30 minute walk everyday. You can also make a workout plan. Try aiming to do pilates, a dance workout, or any workout in general every 3-4 days each week. Not only does this help with a busy schedule, but also will make you feel productive.

6. Sleep!! In order to have a proper makeover you must get sleep. Getting sleep for at least 8 hours will help with your energy, digestion system, eye health, and your brain functioning properly. Sleeping will overall improve your health. So, making a night routine that will help you go to bed at a certain time.

7. Read And Journal More!! Reading and journaling can often be used to refresh our minds. Both can help relive stress, anxiety, and improve our health. Of course, be mindful of what you read. Some books can be bad for our health, so be aware. However, taking a break from our phones to read or journal should become an everyday habit. Maybe go outside and be with nature as you read or write. Take the time to breathe and sort through your thoughts.

8. Self Care Sundays!! Before the new week comes along, take the time to do some self care. Workout, shower, do karaoke, a face mask, eat nutritious foods, drink tea, watch your favorite movie, wash your bedding, read or journal, plan for the week, go on a walk, dress up cute, do your skincare, clean your room, give yourself a spa day, etc. Just do what you love and what makes you feel genuinely happy.

”The more you trust your intuition, the more empowered you become, the stronger you become, and the happier you become.” - Gisele Bündchen 🐚

Thank you dolls for reading this until the end!! I hope you enjoy this series 💗

Remember to trust your intuition and stay pretty.

Xoxo, Arielleslipgloss 💋🎀

[sad-trekkie-life]

What I think TOS crew Instagram accounts would look like:

Bones:

Less then 1K followers. Private account. Selfies of him being in a company, a lot of selfies with Kirk, bad pictures of Spock, random photos of medical equipment. Sometimes snaps of landscapes. Active on stories.

Argues in the comments on scientific and moral topics (he’s usually right).

Has 2 secret accounts: Dolly Parton fan account, with a huge amount of followers. Other one is reviews of drinks, bars and clubs of different planets, also has a big amount of followers.

Spock:

A lot of followers (think ten thousands). Posts rarely, so account doesn’t really grow. Very beautiful photos of the landscapes and portraits of crewmen. A lot of candid pictures of Kirk. Sometimes posts harp music. Doesn’t feature his face for privacy.

Kirk:

Successful influencer amount of followers (think of hundreds of thousands or even over a million since other planets might have instagram as well). Cares about feed’s aesthetic, which features a lot of space, stars and shiny disco balls. Posts videos where he tells about his adventures while doing “get ready with me” (usually makeup), regular outfit checks. Pictures Spock made of him, information of interviews, articles, him with famous interplanetary politicians and celebreties, etc.

The only photos of people without him in the picture as well are of Spock (with some cheesy captions), and of Bones, with funny captions. Always pins Bones’ comments. Reposts Spock’s photography in stories. Doesn’t know why Dolly Parton fan account follows him. Follows Bones’ review account without knowing it is Bones, recommends Bones’ recommendations to everyone, even to Bones. Tries to convince Spock to create a beauty account.

Scotty

Scotty does have an account, but does not post anything on it. Still managed to get 325 followers.

Chekov

Two accounts. Meme account and modeling. Meme account is pretty big, and it’s Russian memes. Modeling account is smaller than meme account but still big. Collaborates with popular intergalactic brands. Doesn’t tell people about model account, meme account is Chekov’s proudest achievement.

Sulu

Cosplay. Botanics. Shitposts. Cosplay again. Comic cons (with Chekov). Flowers. Cosplay. Not a big amount of followers but not a small one.

Uhura

Amount of followers is slightly higher than Kirk’s. Makeup, outfits, singing, African culture. Spock leaves a lot of nice comments there. Uhura from time to time features Spock to promote a makeup or them to do makeup to each other. McCoy also gets featured especially “doing makeup to my friend” kind of videos, and is pretty popular among her fans, but he doesn’t accept follow requests. Feed aesthetic often changes, but always has bright colors, certain themes and color schemes.

[no-psi-nan]

I'm not a fan of soulmates in romantic fiction because it's basically arranged marriage with extra supernatural noncon/dubcon elements.

However, in the Saiki universe, the soulmate connection seems to lack pretty much all of those problematic elements.

We have to do a little extrapolating from what we see in canon since this aspect of Aiura's powers is not covered in detail, but:

Soulmates do not seem to be guaranteed to ever meet, considering the fact that Aiura specifically looked up her soulmate and that one guy who was linked to someone in a remote African village that would almost certainly never cross paths with him.

Being with your soulmate is completely optional, otherwise Aiura wouldn't bother providing relationship scoring and just tell each person to go find their soulmate. This allows for a lot of narrative opportunities to explore why someone would consciously choose to not be with their soulmate, and also opens up the door for polyamory.

Soulmates do not instantly fall in love, and are not forced to stay in love by any supernatural powers. Aiura didn't think anything of Saiki until he flawlessly saved Yumehara's life like 10x in a row, and Saiki certainly didn't fall for Aiura right away either. They fought over their values strongly enough that it would've been a breakup if they'd ever been together.

Soulmate status just seems to indicate particularly good chemistry, and like the rest of Aiura's powers, is purely informational and not determinative. Presumably soulmates have the highest possible compatibility scores, and it's kinda cool that it seems guaranteed there's at least 1 person out there who will jive with you, but also plenty of other people you can connect with to various degrees.

With Saiki and Aiura specifically, it's shown that Saiki can change the future Aiura sees as soon as he hears about it. It may even be possible for him to change the soulmate determination, and he certainly could've used Time Leap to fool Aiura into thinking someone else was her soulmate if he was really opposed to the concept. She had scryed it recently, so the butterfly effect shouldn't be a challenge.

But they do work so smoothly together with their powers complementing each other, and Saiki is kind of a lonely romantic tsundere at heart, so it makes sense that he would let the soulmate thing play out and yet test the connection by pushing Aiura away as much as possible.

Actually, considering that Saiki can't control people's actions directly (and that he sucks at trying to control people indirectly), the strongest noncon/dubcon force in the Saikiverse shockingly appears to be Teruhashi's beauty.

The only male character that doesn't seem at all affected by Teruhashi's powers is Hairo, most likely because of his heavily implied homosexuality. Women attracted to other women are also impacted by her power, as seen with Aiura.

While Saiki says that married people aren't affected by Teruhashi, Kuniharu does actually show several signs of being affected by Teruhashi, and so does Kumagoro.

All affected people instantly fall in love with her on sight, no exceptions.

Critical thinking ability appears to drop precipitously when it comes to her, with her fans accepting that she had a secret child with Saiki despite being in school with her every day and that she can just choose not to poop for a week. More effective mind control than anything Saiki can do tbh.

The instant Saiki loses some of his powers, he starts being affected by Teruhashi's beauty.

The narrative supports Saiki's theory that Teruhashi is literally favored by God and can affect reality just by hoping for something. The implication that God is (physically??) attracted to Teruhashi and does whatever she wants is.... yikes on several levels. If she asks for someone to love her, do they get a choice in the matter??

Anyways, there are way more elements of noncon/dubcon with Teruhashi ships than there are with actual canon soulmate mechanics in the Saikiverse and that's just such a wild choice by the author lol.

Truly subverting tropes!

[realprissygirl]

my current makeup + beauty shopping list ❤︎ ྀི

hair

shark airwrap styler

more amla oil

fenugreek powder

luxy x acquired style mega curls bundle

mermade style wand mega bundle

miss jessie’s curl cream and gel (my absolute fav curly products)

nails

new liquid monomer

crystal katana

more dnd polishes

glitter base cover powders

apres gel x bond refill

bedazzled led lamp

nails charms

body

aquaphor healing ointment

braun epilator

african net sponges

urea cream

glow getter body wash

dove holiday deodorant

new belly rings (sparkly and dangly)

makeup

danessa myricks groundwork defining neutrals palette

one size pressed and loose powder

patrick ta major dimension palettes

kryolan setting spray

one size cheek clappers (both pink ones)

fenty fu$$y and confetti gloss bombs

a base restock (reups on my fav foundations, powders, and concealers)

buxom plumping glosses in clair, sophia, dolly, white russian, kanani, gabby

rhode peptide lip tints

fenty skin tint

elf halo glow

skin

paula’s choice bha exfoliant (bought this stuff three times now i’ll never let it go)

turmeric soap

joseon relief sun

argan oil

fragrance

victoria’s secret pink cotton candy mist

african body oils (yummmmm)

victoria’s secret shimmer bombshell mist

full size kayali vanilla candy rock sugar

gourmand fragrance oils

victoria’s secret daydream mists

purr by katy perry (i have meow ˖𓍢ִ໋)

victoria’s secret vanilla bean and macadamia mist

victoria’s secret pink glazed holiday mists

victoria’s secret pink seasonal scents

sol de janeiro sets

britney spears candied fantasy

sabrina carpenter fragrance collection

[princesspastel8]

That smile....is hauntingly beautiful

Secret Desire

《A Jeff The Killer Fanfic》

°•~Collection of Chapters~•°

☆

▪︎ Synopsis

▪︎ Chapter One

▪︎ Chapter Two

▪︎ Chapter Three

▪︎ Chapter Four

▪︎ Chapter Five

▪︎ Chapter Six

▪︎ Chapter Seven

▪︎ Chapter Eight

▪︎ Chapter Nine

▪︎ Chapter Ten

▪︎ Chapter Eleven

▪︎ Chapter Twelve

▪︎ Chapter Thirteen

▪︎ Chapter Fourteen

▪︎ Chapter Fifteen

▪︎ Chapter Sixteen

▪︎ Chapter Seventeen

▪︎ Chapter Eighteen

▪︎ Chapter Nineteen

▪︎ Chapter Twenty

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-one

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-two

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-three

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-four

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-five

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-six

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-seven

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-eight

▪︎ Chapter Twenty-nine

▪︎ Chapter Thirty

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-one

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-two

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-three

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-four

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-five °TW°

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-six

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-seven

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-eight

▪︎ Chapter Thirty-nine

▪︎ Chapter Forty(TW)

▪︎ Chapter Forty-one(TW)

▪︎ Chapter Forty-two

▪︎ Chapter Forty-three

▪︎ Chapter Forty-four

▪︎ Chapter Forty-five

▪︎ Chapter Forty-six

▪︎ Chapter Forty- seven

▪︎ Chapter Forty-eight

▪︎ Chapter Forty-nine

▪︎ Chapter Fifty

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-one

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-two

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-three

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-four

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-five

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-six

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-seven

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-eight

▪︎ Chapter Fifty-nine

▪︎ Chapter Sixty

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-one

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-two

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-three

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-four

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-five

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-six

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-seven

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-eight

▪︎ Chapter Sixty-nine

▪︎ Chapter Seventy

▪︎ Chapter Seventy-one

▪︎ Chapter Seventy-two

▪︎ Chapter Seventy-three

▪︎ Chapter Seventy-four

▪︎ Chapter Seventy-five

▪︎ Epilogue

▪︎ Author's Notes

☆

Story Playlist

Jeff Origin Story(David Near Version)

Jeff's Interviews(David Near)

《 This is a dark romance with heavy triggers for some readers. Viewer discretion is advised.

《 This is an oc female(African American) love interest, but feel free to picture yourself as the character.

《 This is the fully edited version of my book. The completed unedited versions are on Wattpad & Ao3. Links will be below.

《 Wattpad

《 Ao3

Dividers credits are used throughout the story:

° @khaer

° @anitalenia

° @kimjiho1

° @somenteniki

° @bucciniexe

° @cafekitsune

° @k1ssyoursister

° @chaefilm

- If any of the art used within this story is yours, please let me know so credit can be given.

[lokorum]

Your art so surreal, did you take inspiration from African masks it’s amazing. You have probably gotten this question before but what’s your process and how do plan these beautiful pieces out. I am a beginner artist and would like some advice on how start doing digital painting.

thank you for bringing me back from the dead with your kindness, (i was so sad today ughhhh i think watching vampire diaries starting to affect me hjkhjk), i really, really deeply thankful that you spend your time to write something so sweet (also sorry it took me literally ages to reply phphp THE USUAL)

yeah, in buryatia shamanism like the big thing, so when i went to search what's out there in the masks department - google's mess of the results for once was helpful and showed this massive collection of beautiful african masks. the one that was inspo for tiisha lived in my head rent free for weeks before the character was even born phphph now i cant even imagine her without it 

(here is little tiisha for you before i'll proceed to be not helpfull phphphph)

oof advices are not my strong side , like..........my process mostly is just sleep through the whole thing i guess..........................i very rarely do sketches, i hate study anatomy and perspective, drawing cubes makes me physically sick etc etc my approach to drawing were "fuck around and find out", always about chill and fun and barely ever about learning. imho thats why im so shitty at drawing simple things but not bad at coloring. so yeah, my biggest advice always and forever will be - be gentle to yourself, please

digital or traditional or whatever else is out there, dont forget you make it for yourself and for yourself only okay? it supposed to be fun, not sad tiring and competitive 

advices for digital specifically tho - very objective, apply with caution

learn all the keyboard shortcuts, ideally to press them without thinking 

explore more instruments than just brush. it will be tedious and sometimes feel like a chore so mb pick one victim once a month and browse youtube for a stuff like SECRET ULTIMATE TIPS ABOUT MAGIC WAND TOOL THAT WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE (they indeed will save your life) 

check if your drawing program has artboards - turning it on will give you more freedom over canvas positioning  and your refs will always be there and not in the separate window 

idk about others but using auto tone, auto contrast and auto color often gives me well needed perspective on what im doing 

in 99% cases be sure that you can reanimate even the most messiest artpiece you ever did. working in digital gives you the chance to mess with shapes, colors and perspective at any time so if you dont want to gave up on something - you absolutely didnt have to

from time to time while you are still learning - go out there in the wilds and search for the new brushes. tweak with them if you want. i have like ~500 and i use 6 max, but those 6 i found by at some point trying to draw with all of the 500

MADE. BACK UPS. and i mean not like save layers just in case before merging them (tho that's too will help) no, i mean click SAVE AS once an hour and create A NEW FILE. PLEASE. i lost so much stuff to sudden power outage. its never pretty and you loosing will to work for days

watch at least one tutorial about the whole rgb srgb and cmyk thing - i did, understood not a thing, but at least im not playing dora the explorer with my colors after the export now 

uh idk think thats it? tried to think about those that id hope i knew when i started so hopefully something will help 

have fun with your drawings!! 

[listofwhyyouloveher]

Can you please do a gang x black reader hcs who isn't a (thug)

Summary: Gang with Reader prompt

Warnings: stereotypes racism and misogyny, 1/2 wokesiders

Authors Note: provably not a good idea to be typing this on mobile after getting my nails done ...

PONYBOY doesn't generally know anything about you or the other African American Tulsa folks. He knows of you, but has never spent much energy actually learning about you. It was kind of a shock for him when you started talking to him, he knows people with bad reputations and was actually star struck by your kindness and wowed by your beauty.

JOHNNY is a little influenced by stereotypes and rumors that he can catch snippets of, but he never tried to start or spread anything, which meant he was mostly out of your hair. Until it dawned on him that he thought you were the prettiest girl ever. He keeps his feelings a secret for a long times because his parents would react badly to you.

SODAPOP is honestly such a gentleman, especially when it comes to pretty girls like you. He will never partake in any trash talking or anything unless he's drunk. But he's never seen you're face before, and he doesn't know what to imagine when he tries to imagine you, so him finally seeing you and connecting it to your kind reputation makes him genuinely head over heels.

STEVE can sometimes be caught lacking and start thinking that stereotypes are true. However he thinks that you're the most pure girl in the world and with the pretty face to go with it. Getting into the relationship is a struggle though, Tulsa is rough and unforgiving society and it left you two on brink of unrepairable damage a couple of times but it only made you4 bind tighter.

TWO BIT just generally tries to stay out of trouble, whether that means he obligation drinks with a couple of sober friends or staying away from people who are racially profiled, then so be it. It wasn't until he stepped in on an attack by a soc that he realized how sweet you are. He spends so much time hanging out with you after that that he starts mimicking your laugh by accident when he's laughing.

DARRY, like Two Bit, prefers to stay out of trouble. He's got too much running on the back of him being a good brother to lose. He tries not to let it affect his thinking, making sure he's not become crazy with a superiority complex, but he's still completely shocked when you first meet him. He didn't expect some crazy violent thug but he didn't expect...you. From then on, his fascination with your kindness grew to love.

DALLAS is a complete asshole. There's not much else to say about him. He'll poke and tease you about things just to see you react. He really enjoys how your kindness and want to stay out of trouble gets him bailed out of jail sometimes, but other than that your just another broad he's bad a grip over, albeit the prettiest too.

[15-lizards]

what are your thoughts on the dune costumes? ive always found them so beautiful and they have left me going down rabbit holes trying to put together my own versions and collections of things i think fitting for the setting. i personally am OBSESSED with the bene gesserit and their look … and naturally lady jessica is an inspiration to us all

I was really impressed by the costuming in the movies, and I adore the attention to detail and storytelling through different clothing. You can clearly see the North African and classical Islamic inspirations

However, the one gripe I have with the Fremen costumes is the lack of color. Like these pics above are clearly the cultures the designers were inspired by, but if you see the newest movie, there is quite a lot of sandy, beige, and brown coloring and little else. Obviously if you live in the desert, you will rely on undyed or neutral colored cloth, but natural dyes are still available in these areas. Even in the book, the sietches are described as having colorful tapestries and color on the walls. The costumes were still beautiful and practical looking, but I do wish there was some individuality. There are a couple scenes near the end where Jessica and her entourage all have on brilliant dyed clothing and headdresses, so it is possible.

Here's me once again championing for the Islamic Fashion Institute to create all the costumes for future Dune projects, especially the Bene Gesserit show. There's an air of secrecy and mystery to the organization, and I just love the way their costumes shut the sister off from the average person as well as making them stick out as a member of the order. And these pics are giving me very regal secret sisterhood vibes

Also the catholic nun inspirations are sooooo palpable I need more people talking about this. All the strange headdresses and veils that put a barrier between the sister and the rest of the world. And not even just the costumes. Pure Catholic arrogance that this coalition of space priests could breed the savior of the world I live for it

[gatheringbones]

[“My girlfriend (I’ll call her Rachel) and I have been riding the same bus to the Metro station together nearly every weekday morning for the last two years. After a few weeks, all the commuters on the bus start to look familiar. You begin to notice who travels with whom. You start to give people secret nicknames (Franklin Planner Guy, Park Service Guy, Beautiful Woman, Vancouver Boy). Pretty soon you start noticing each other around town, start saying hi at the farmers’ market. You don’t know each other’s names, but if someone disappears from their regular bus for more than a few days, you begin to wonder if they’re okay, if they’ve moved or changed jobs. It’s an odd sort of community.

Rachel and I wondered sometimes if our fellow workers had nicknames for us, too. What would we call ourselves? Dress Alike Girls? We’ve committed the Ultimate Lesbian Sin—dressing alike—on more than one occasion. We have totally dissimilar clothing tastes, but an unfortunate affinity for the same colors, so we’ve been known to show up at each other’s houses in the morning to find one of us wearing tailored silk khakis, black pumps, and a dark blouse—that would be Rachel—and the other (that would be me) in khaki shorts, black sneakers, and a dark blue T-shirt. Embarrassing. We finally decided that our bus gang would call us Jointed at the Hip Girls. We’d sit at the back of the bus, hold hands sometimes, whisper. We didn’t need to wear T-shirts that said “Dyke.”

But we didn’t actually think about it very much either. We felt safe enough in our little bus world to be “straight acting” (ha ha).

And one morning, when we were standing on the platform at the Metro station, one of our bus buddies approached. She’s tall, light-skinned African-American woman with a penchant for outfits that Rachel admires, and we had wondered if she were family; she had that look about her. She apologized for interrupting and said, I just wanted to tell you guys that it’s so nice to see you in the mornings. I looked at Rachel, a little puzzled. I mean, the woman continued, You both just look really happy when you’re together, you sort of glow.

I started to blush. My ears got very, very hot.

Umm, I umm, I said.

Rachel was more composed (although she was blushing too). She thanked the woman graciously, and asked her name. Kara, she told us. I actually ran into Kara the other day at the grocery store, and we rode the bus home together. I found out that she’s a poet and a sculptor, and she lives three blocks from me. I told her I was writing about her in an essay I was doing for an anthology. She laughed and said, Oh, because of that thing I did that morning?, and chatted for a few more minutes. I don’t remember the rest of that conversation either, really. After all this time, is it possible that I’m still traumatized at the thought of coming out?”]

kanani kauka, from freedom rings, from a woman like that: lesbian and bisexual writers tell their coming out stories, 2000

[africanrefugeeswelcome]

This Swiss woman needs to hide her family due to unfair and racist policies that consider her husband illegal in the country, despite this, she continues to smile and fight for a better world alongside her African husband and their beautiful mixed baby, I hope that one day these beautiful and warrior women can walk and expose themselves freely on the streets, on social media and wherever else they wish, may they be free to love their men without any secrets. We will never stop fighting for you refugees. Refugees are NEVER illegal, refugees are ALWAYS welcome!

[alpaca-clouds]

Egyptomania in Europe

So, let me talk about Egyptomania in Europe, if we are already talking about Castlevania Nocturne and history. (Yes, I am very much using this trying to get y'all to learn a bit about history. Because the humanities are important, and history class in school does not really cover this stuff.)

Because, oh boy. While - as I said - technically the dates are not quite right (the Louvre did only open the Egyptian exhibit in 1802), Egyptomania absolutely started in the 18th century.

So, let me talk a bit about Egyptomania, and what kind of inappropriate shit European colonizers did with Egyptian mummies. Because, oh boy. You are in for quite some history there.

The 18th Century, or: "Those are some pretty pyramids, you have there."

The one thing you have to understand about Ancient Egypt is how something about that culture just seems to make sense to people. As I said in the essay on Drolta: Egyptian religion and culture had a ton of staying power. Like, no matter who took Egypt. The Greeks, the Romans... Anywhere they went, they tried to push their own culture onto the people there. Egypt? Yeah, they just started worshipping those gods. I don't know what it is about Egypt that connects so much with people. But there surely is something.

Now, in the 18th century there were several things that came together. Literacy was widely enough spread that for the first time in history people actually could make a living publishing novels. About a third of all men and a forth of all women in France could read by the beginning of the Revolution. And of course the Revolution later pushed for all children to be allowed to learn to read and write. And some of those novels included Egyptian mysticism.

At the same time coffee houses, political societies and secret societies became more popular and those also would include often some Egyptian symbolism. Our dear Americans might be aware of some prominent Egyptian symbolism on their money for examples, which is related to this.

Through this interest, there were a few first actual Egyptiologist starting to arise. Remember: At this time folks knew there were those pyramids, and a couple of graves and been found, but we knew very little about the actual culture, because we could not read hieroglyphics.

Now, there were some few Europeans academics, who at this time seriously engaged with the North African and Arab people, and among them were a handful of people who actually tried to find out more about Egyptian society in antiquity. But they by far were the minority. After all, this time was very racist, and very few saw Egypt as more as a source for mysticism.

However, then the end of the century came around and with it a certain Napoleon Bonaparte, who tried to take Egypt. For context, France and the Ottoman Empire had a shaky alliance through parts of the 18th century. But of course Napoleon broke that alliance, when he decided to invade Egypt for multiple reasons (partly access to the Red Sea and the Nile). He lost the battles that followed, and the Ottomans ended up striking an alliance with the English, but never the less: Napoleon brought back a lot of spoils from Egypt, and made sure those would be introduced into the Louvre in 1802.

And with this he started Egyptomania.

The 19th Century, or: "Do you want some mummy with your coffee?"

Now, the 19th century was kinda the perfect storm of circumstances, that lead to the actual Egyptomania. Because a variety of cultural aspects and historical circumstances lead to western people just getting enamored with this culture.

First of all there was the romanticism movement that started at the end of the 18th century, that was very concerned with beauty, and emotion, and the eternity of the soul. So those ideas that we even early kinda knew that the Egyptians had (they did make those mummies after all) were super interesting. Especially as the romanticism movement also had those ideas about magic and the paranormal, that both Egypt, as well as the "east" kinda played into in popular imagination. This is part of what sparked the whole Orientalism trend. (This is the moment I will tell y'all to just get yourself a copy of Edward Said's book "Orientalism". This really should be standard reading in my view.)

Second - and quite related to this - the mysticism and spiritualism movement got even stronger now. Especially in the second half of the 19th century the spiritualism movement really took over the zeitgeist. Just ask Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who was pretty darn influential in this. And spiritualism just loved those Egyptian ideas of the afterlife and such. Especially after...

Third: Champollion managed to decipher hieroglyphics in 1823, and with this people suddenly could understand all those writing in those graves and on those papyri that we had found in the desert. And with that we had an understanding of the believe system of the Egyptians. And sure, those things I spoke about earlier today - about how religion shifted and such - was not well understood by the people back then. But they sure fucking loved what they heard about the Duat and the souls and such.

This all really created the perfect storm. No, not for people to have a respectful exchange with the Egyptian culture. What are you thinking? We are talking about 18th century white folks, after all. Some of them were okay, sure. But, in general we are talking about colonialist a-holes.

So, instead they started to look for those graves, treasures and art pieces from Egypt grabbing pretty much everything that was not nailed down. (And let's face it: Nailing stuff down made it harder to take, sure, but they still tried.) Jewelry, art pieces, both the fancy and less fantasy sarcophagi, and all those mummies. In fact mummies were such a popular item of merchandise at this time, that a whole fucking black market started to spring up around them, including people who figured out to make their own mummies. Partly by digging up graves and mummifying the bodies in there. Partly by more... direct means of acquiring dead bodies, if you get my drift.

And those fancy rich western folks sure loved their mummies. Things they would do with those mummies included:

Using them as medicine

Using them as food (yes, this very much qualifies as cannibalism) and as garnish for food

Sniffing them like drugs

Grinding them up to make oil colors with them (there was a color called "mummy brown" that indeed used fresh mummy)

Having fun "mummy unwrapping parties"

I hope, if you have not known this before, you flinched at least a bit at this. Because yeah, it is fucking disgusting - both on a hygienical level, as well as a moral level. And there is a good chance that some of those graves we found empty later on were indeed plundered to provide stuff for the black market during this time. While sure, there were absolutely folks who really started to figure out a lot of stuff about that ancient culture of Egypt, there is also stuff we will likely never know because so much stuff was stolen and then got lost. Some of it might to this day be in private collections, while other stuff truly is lost, after then being stolen during one of the world wars.

The 20th Century, or: "Oh wow, this one grave is actually still complete! Huh!"

The actual science started to get going more towards the end of the 19th century and then at the beginning of the 20th century. But again, this ran into the trouble of finding many graves that had already been robbed. While some of them had of course been robbed over the millennia since their inhabitants had been buried (people had interest in those jewels and what not during the antiquity and the middle ages, obviously). But some also had only been robbed recently due to the rising black market.

This is why we know Tutankhamun so very well, despite him being only Pharaoh for a very short time and not having done anything of note. The big thing about him is not what he archived in life, but the fact that he was one of the few tombs we found that were pretty much fully intact. So from that we learned a whole lot about how such a grave would usually be set up, because the grave had not been stripped for parts. (And yes, obviously the whole spooky story of the curse of the Pharaoh also played a big role in how well known Tut became.)

It was only towards the middle of the century and mainly due to the second World War that the brunt of the Egyptomania was letting off. People still were super fascinated by Egypt, sure, but they were no longer quite as obsessed with it as they had been before. And at least there were no more mummy-unwrapping parties, which I take as a plus.

Though it was only during the second half of the century that there was more critical reception of how Egypt had been plundered. And while it is still not ideal, I will say at least Egypt managed to enforce more of its ownership over her history, than a lot of the other colonized nations.

The main takeaway of this is: You all need to read Edward Said's book Orientalism. And colonial Europe was fucking weird.