Making Faces, Kevin Aucoin

Aucoin, Kevyn. (1999).
Making Faces.
New York: Little, Brown and Company.
978-0316286855
Genre: Non-Fiction

Make-up artist to the stars, Kevin Aucoin offers techniques and instruction for cosmetic application.
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Imagine going to prom and looking like Marlene Dietrich or Marilyn Monroe? Aucoin gives readers the option as he transform many popular entertainers (Drew Barrymore, Gwenyth Paltrow, Demi Moore, etc) into iconic figures via makeup and hair design. Aucoin promotes individual beauty and offers techniques for readers to achieve their own special look. The first section introduces techniques and basic information as far as skin types, foundation, eyeliner, etc. The most intriguing section features “styles” for readers to imitate: the Siren, the Vamp, the Diva as well as many others. Step by step instructions as well as large clear images make Aucoin’s book a must for those who want to transform themselves for prom.

Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture, Amy L. Best

Best, Amy L. (2000).
Prom Night: Youth, Schools and Popular Culture.
Florence: Routledge.
978-0415924283
Genre: Non-Fiction

Best evaluates the significance of prom in American culture.
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Best provides an in-depth look at the prom-what it means in American culture and how it has affected society. She traces its role in film as well as how it is represented in other forms of media such as magazines. She conducts student interviews to inform readers about the effects of prom. Best’s text is provides an academic discussion about the prom. Readers may find a particular interest in the actions of students who challenged the stereotypical norms of prom: boycott of a segregated prom, creation of alternative proms (morps, gay proms, etc) as well as subversion of gender symbols.