ISSUE 9 - Winter ’11 (Standard) - Preview by Dark Beauty

Dark Beauty Fashion Magazine

the TEAM EDITORS MOMENTS With much joy and excitement we have happily moved into a new and much needed direction for Dark Beauty Magazine. Over the year and a half we have been in circulation we have discovered a much needed shift and focus on what we were to bring you our readers. Dark Beauty Fashion Magazine was simply forced to become what we are now. With all the joy and love and huge reception of our first concept we wanted to really dive deep into what Dark Beauty is and what we should be providing you each issue. We have moved to a four issue a year publication but will continue growing and providing special issues for appropriate demands as we keep growing as a publication. We will be bringing you a new look at Alternative Weddings in March, our passion for the avant-garde costume issue and our famous Halloween issue. We will never let that go. Its my pleasure to bring you a peak into Dark High Fashion and Avant-garde fashion with this our First instalment of our new direction. Along with a new Ask Debra column, CinaScope for your much needed guidance in your horoscopes and many articles assisting you with makeup guidance, skin care and some special stories about fashion, special individual features and much more. Dark Beauty Fashion Magazine is going to be the magazine that you will come to for the latest and greatest in what’s what in todays dark twisted fashion rings and underground news. Can’t wait to hear what you think about us now. We always are interested in what you want so please send any inquiries to info@darkbeautymag.com. Happy Reading, Topher Adam Editor n Chief/Creative Director

IN THE ISSUE ALEX LONDON ATELIER GOTHIQUE CINASCOPES DANNY DELUXE GINGER BRODERICK HENRY ALFANZO NAVARO JAMES HOFF NOREE ANNE CELINE POLINA OSHEROV SILKE GABRIELLE ROBIN HOWLAND

CONTRIBUTING ARTICLES LANA GENTRY KAREN KARDELL

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ADRIENNE GLENN NEWS JOURNALIST

PHOTOGRAPHY ALEXANDRA WAESPI STYLED BY ALEX LONDON

DARK BEAUTY MAGAZINE 3405 Helen St. Suite 3 Emeryville, CA 94608

ONLINE EDITOR CARL CHEN

RESIDENT PHYSIC DEBRA LAMB

ADVERTISING info@darkbeautymag.com 415.347.1703 SUBMISSIONS submissions@darkbeautymag.com INFO/WEB info@darkbeautymag.com Becoming a contributor to Dark Beauty Magazine is never easier. We are a Contributors publication and want to know what you know and share that info with the world. Contact us or give us a call to find out how you can become part of the Dark Beauty team.

KRAFTY KITTY MICHELLE GALLEGER

FASHION EDITOR LAURA DARK

Uncannonized Saints By Krafty Kitty

ILLUSTRATIONS: DAVID PRICE As your resident Krafty Kitty, I need you to know that for weeks, I personally struggled with the Saints Vs. Sinners theme. From the moment I have come across the intentions for this particular issue, my mind flooded with ideas regarding how history books are filled with religious crusades and bloody wars in the name of ‘God’. The visuals that train of thought evoked haunted me for quite some time. So I shook that off like a wet dog and looked for a different road to take. What should I write about? I’ve personally struggled with the idea of Canonization since I was a little girl in Catholic school. Just knowing that originally the individuals deemed so were merely recognized as saints without any formal process. It’s only a declaration. Period. You know how that goes. Good ole boys club, it’s who you know. Right? So I called Topher for magnificent inspiration. There’s

nothing like going to the source and my friend inspires me in ways that he’ll never know. Bingo! Suddenly it hit me like a ton of brooms and I got all kinds of fired up and really wanted to do an elaborate piece in reference to the massacre of thousands of innocent women and children during the Burning times. Saints versus sinners indeed! The blasphemy! The hypocrisy! It’s right up Dark Beauty’s ally. As a recovered Catholic and now a devout ten-year Neo Pagan, I am still intrigued by the madness that ensued to exalt the institution of the church and it’s greedy political system. But these are things that I know you are all ready privy too my kittens and to write about them in this format, I a mere mortal would do them no justice at all. Perhaps in this space, I am simply to remind you that we as a human race have always been battling with the notion of light and dark, good and evil, saints vs. sinners. The Bush Administration’s war on the Middle East, the Witch hunt

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in Nigeria to me represent that adage that history, at least the ugly and dark parts of it, always tend to repeat itself. Right versus wrong, insanity versus what is truly happening in reality. We as a people have a deep need to put in a place or categorize grand political and social behavior or lack there of. We seem to deem it scary, sinful or unnecessary when said behavior or opinion differs from our own point of view or the view of community or church that we belong to. With that equation in mind it always equals: we fear what we don’t know. And more than often than not, we as a people, a community, a town meeting, a political movement are always looking to vilify someone as something different when they don’t see things ‘our way’. While I am no history buff or grand theologian what I do know from my life experience thus far is that people at the core are inherently the same. There is both good and bad in all of us, light and dark. The nightly news reminds us that the holiest of thou in our society most often live the darkest of lives behind closed doors. Yet, we rally around the fire when their secrets are found out hurling rocks, pointing fingers and joining the mob mentality standing behind the saints for the sentence of the fallen sinner. While writing this article, something very poignant erupted in my life. I recently I fell victim to a con artist under the guise as a spiritual energy healer. While friends and family members rallied from the start to warn me about the false prophet and not to go into business partnership with her so to speak, I so badly wanted to believe that saints can and still exist and that the greater good of everyone’s interest was at stake. So I bowed my head, gave up my money and carried on like a lamb. I let this “energy master” coerce me into things that I knew were against all business codes and experiences that I was previously taught. It took just a few short weeks of uncovering a lot of clues, sifting through red flags and black and white evidence then finally being true to my authentic self. I stood up on the holiest of days, 11/11/11 and said I was done. I had to take a stand for my own integrity and reputation: you can’t run a wellness studio with a chain smoking, unpracticing yoga master declaring her business partners were low energy because of the music they listen to! At first, when I noticed the discrepancy between her behavior and then practicing what she preached, I just put my head down because I made the work we were doing my

‘prayer’. I very much want to be a change in the community around me and really believed that I was part of a revolution for the greater good. It became a battle of my own ego. Fighting with myself on what I actually wanted to take on or what I wanted to let go of peacefully. But after five short weeks of wellness studio charade, I realized that I never met anyone in my life who screams love and light yet is the first to scream at you when you meet her with resistance to her opinion or for the most part, her poor business practice. And now that I’ve called bullshit on the peace preacher, I am being vilified for being more than just playing the part of the lamb. Surely, I wasn’t allowed to tell the holy woman that she was nowhere near walking the walk. She was talking, no, screaming a lot of how to pray, when to pray and who or what I should be praying to while my other business partner and I were clearly her meal ticket. She actually broke several business codes and of course our clients soon were complaining. I stood on the mountain and asked for guidance and it occurred to me that at the end of the day, business is business. The Yoga/Reiki master’s threatening, explosive behavior since our partnership has dissolved (much like her behavior prior) has been anything but filled with love and light, for the good of all. To me, this experience was not only a heavy personal blow but I also find it inherently disconcerting especially falling under the guise of Spiritualism or the Neo Pagan community. I am proud being Neo Pagan or as other like to refer to me the ‘white witch!’ I will not from this day forward align my energy with anyone who claims to be something they are not. Our business mission statement was to create a universal oneness, which was next to impossible because behind closed doors, the really angry, self-declared saint in oversized yoga pants hated children. Me, being a single mother took heed to that final warning mustered up enough of the ‘low energy’ I was deemed to have and dissolved our ‘partnership’. Amen. And while recent headlines on news and the most personal of events may have led me to strongly point out that those who claim to be or have been deemed as Saints could be called something completely different, I’d like to take a moment if you will to talk about the exact opposite of those who fall off their pedestal, choking on their halo on the way down. I’m making reference to those who swung far too low to be considered normal, functioning or even matter to anyone who thinks they are anybody within our society in the first place. You pass by them with heads turned because of where they live, how they earn their money and the things that they do not have (at first glance). It is exactly here, in this gray area that we often if we look hard enough can find light and light beings. The crack dealer turned missionary, the sex trade victim turned hero, the orphan turned technology master and billionaire. It’s the outcasts, the misfits, the downtrodden and the sinners that the saints so easily cast aside who are often more saintly by way of their own personal redemption. Their actions don’t have to speak as loudly or as often as their words or facebook status updates or in the amount of spiritual accoutrements they own. Perhaps now, at the end of this day, at the end of this article, I feel more at ease knowing that people like them are real and that they really do exist.

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Fur

without

FEAR By: Karen Kardell

I remember at a very young age seeing mink coats my mother had. Touching them, running my hands across the texture was profound. This was different than our collection of “live” horses, dogs, cats – this was a dead animal that people paid a very high price for just to touch its fur. She reminded me often when I was younger of how much a mink coat cost, although protests had already begun, they were the epitome of luxury, late 60’s, early 70’s – “I’m lucky to have one” she would say, “I’m leaving this to you”. She grew up and lived in the same eras of Marilyn Monroe, Lana Turner, and Elizabeth Taylor. When she passed away in 2009, there were no mink coats in the closet, what was left was a profound belief to not kill an animal to look pretty, to not raise an animal to be draped over your shoulder. I don’t think that my mother regretted the purchase of a fur coat she was delighted and happy with, what she came to realize was the true price of the kill and the loss of a sentient animal. Though the use of “live fur” has been a fodder for animal rights activists, and a growing concern of people across the world through the 80’s and 90’s, “live” fur is now making a comeback on the runways over the last few seasons. More than half the fur in the U.S. comes from China, where millions of animals are bludgeoned, hanged, bled to death, and often skinned alive for their fur. The Asiatic Raccoon was the focus of a particularly haunting and disturbing video produced in 2005 by the animal rights group, The Swiss Animal Protection. An April 2005 article published in the Beijing News substantiated the use of live skinning in China. Subsequently, though legislation was drafted in China in 2009 to address cruelty to animals, its effectiveness is a position of debate. The United States passed the Dog and Cat Protection Act of 2000, designed to protect the American consumer; however, Chinese fur is often deliberately mislabeled, so if you wear any fur, there’s no way of knowing for sure whose skin you’re in. Chinese fur taken from banned animals is used in smaller pieces such as trims and much harder to document its source. Other major fur producing countries include Denmark (mink), Finland (fox) and the United States ranking fifth in mink production. Finland, in particular, has been accused of inhumane practices at its farms which were documented in a video produced by Finish animal rights organization Oikeutta Eläimille in 2011. Ten percent of Finish fur farms were investigated, and the results are appalling. Dark Beauty is pleased to highlight a sampling of KMK Designs, LLC faux fur collection. Based out of St. Paul Minnesota, and run by the mother/daughter team of Sheridyn & Kaitlyn McClain, many of the designs are custom made to order. In addition to the glorious fur pieces, KMK offers a wide variety of dark/alternative / fantasy clothing that is gorgeous and unique.

IMAGE: TOMTOWN SWEEDEN

How did you get into designing and what made you incorporate fur? We got into designing through a mutual desire to create. KMK Designs came from an earlier idea of KM Kostumes where we were going to focus on costumes, but as it grew it became clear that it made more sense and was way more fulfilling for both of us to create clothing from our own imaginations instead of recreating someone else’s. We chose to incorporate fake fur into our winter line a year ago because it has that winter wonderland feeling. It makes everything look warm and soft, it was difficult to work with but the result was so much fun. What is the philosophy or mindset that makes you tick?

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Our philosophy is that everyone is beautiful and that clothing can make you feel how beautiful you are. We try to promote this ideal in the way we represent ourselves, the clothing we offer, and the way we treat our customers. Where did you grow up and how does that lend to your designs or not? Sheridyn grew up in California and spent a lot of her college years in San Francisco. This definitely led to the more organic way we go about some of our garments. Living in Minnesota now for both of us definitely affects the look of our winter lines. We tend to gravitate to garments that look warm and soft since it is so cold and harsh here sometimes. Your lines are edgy, dramatic and envelope life in a colder climate. What creative process led you to this? We often look at history books of fashion. It is fun to take old word elements of fashion and take them to a more modern twist. We also take a lot of inspiration from our experience of Minnesota winters, we have had some pretty cold winters here and it shows in our winter and fall lines. What do you think the difference is between feeling a “live” coat vs. a “faux” coat? Are there any? The difference can be how the fine the fur is, but if you get a high quality fake fur they are often really fine and soft and some of them feel almost indistinguishable from real fur. You also get the bonus of no smell of the skin and of course no animals are harmed. Why did you choose wolves as a showcase animal? What influenced your choice to use an animal at all in the backdrop? Well we love wolves they are so majestic and beautiful and we got a chance to work with wolves through the photographer Rachel Lauren and the model Stacey Smith who work with them quite a bit. I think the comparison of the fake fur in the picture against the wolves show you how you can look beautiful in fake fur even when real fur is right next to it. Who are your favorite designers, artists, musicians, writers, movies or TV shows? Who or what do you watch or hear?

A few would be Designers: Alexander McQueen, Vivienne Westwood. Musicians: Sugarland Movies: Underworld, Dr. Who, Supernatural. Any comments on the “live” fur trade? We think it isn’t a necessary practice. We have the ability to create fabulous fake fur. Why kill animals just for fur when we can enjoy the soft comforts of fake fur without the consequence of killing a living being? Who is your favorite author and why? That is hard to say, some favorites are Tamora Pierce, Garth Nix, and Neil Gaiman. How did you choose your photographers and models? We like to work with people who are professional and easy to work with so that is something that first peaks our interest in working with someone. Aesthetically we look for models and photographers who can create that edgy fairytale look. Our garments have a fantasy element so it’s important to have that echoed in the photography and the look of the models. What great ideas were you not able to do, and why? Some ideas don’t reach farther then a sketchpad, this is more because the time we have isn’t limitless so we have to pick and choose things we think are more appealing to more people, or might be more feasible to create. Some of our designs get pretty out there, in a good way, but sometimes it’s not feasible to make with everything we have going on. When you think about animals, what is the first thing that comes to mind? That they are all such unique and interesting creatures. Our world wouldn’t be the same without all of the different animals living in it. Please let us know about your family, loved ones and any spiritual foundations you care to share. Being a mother daughter team has definitely brought us closer as a family but is difficult as well. I (Kaitlyn) find a lot of support from my fiancé. He really helps me get through the tough days of the business.

Faux Fur Mittens Big and Fluffy Grey and Black MODEL: Stacey Smith PHOTOGRAPHER: Rachel Lauren WOLVES: Eden Creek Wolves

House of MOB PHotographer H. James Hoff

Photographer: H. James Hoff | hjameshoff.com Photography assistant: Nam Chau Models: Chelsea Nath Teill Claassen

Makeup Artists:

LaDonna Stein ladonnastein.com Amber Lynne amberlynnmakeupartist.com Clothing/styling: House of Mob houseofmob.com Hair: Tai Tipton, carpediembride.com/makeup__hair

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THE WARRIOR photography ALEXANDRA WAESPI styled by ALEX LONDON

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ON LYSE K.M. KOTULAK face piece TYSON TABBERT shoulder and neck piece ALEX LONDON top and skirt

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ON NATALIE ALEX LONDON dress K.M KOTULAK mask TYSON TABBERT neck and shoulder piece

ON THIS PAGE AND NEXT ON LYSE K.M KOTULAK cage ALEX LONDON dress and jacket

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ON LYSE K.M. KOTULAK crown TYSON TABBERT neck and shoulder piece ALEX LONDON dress

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ON NATALIE TYSON TABBERT neck and shoulder piece ALEX LONDON dress

FASHION...FINE

COMING SOON FEB 2012 WWW. THE CURE

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JOIN THE REVOLUTION MAGAZINE .COM

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Author: Mascaraid Makeup Artist and Beauty Consultant Images copyright: Illamasqua Makeup www.illamasqua.com

When I was asked to write a piece on Illamasqua I sat at my keyboard for three hours. I would write and erase. Write and erase. This process has felt like trying to write a fan letter to a celebrity , attending a meet and greet, or even blanking out on the biggest test of your life. It feels like trying say I love you for the first time out loud to your biggest crush. When I first heard of Illamsaqua in 2009 it had not entered the US market. A friend of mine had been approached to do an article on the fledgling brand which she turned down. When she mentioned it casually my mouth dropped open in horror. I demanded that she take a second look. I bluntly told her that she was passing up the biggest thing to hit the cosmetic industry since MAC. Impossible! There will never be another movement like the one MAC trail blazed, right? Nay nay my Dear Readers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Throughout the 15 years I have committed to the cosmetic industry I have learned that brands may come and go but that constant need and desire to artistically express oneself will never wane. Whether it is a woman who has never worn a red lipstick or someone who owns the entire rainbow in eye shadows, it requires courage and self reflection. I have learned that no matter the background or lifestyle there is always an alter ego lurking beneath the surface. Illamasqua recognized this constant and built their brand around it. In their own words. “ Illamasqua is for the bolder person hiding inside all of us. It is an act and an attitude. A symbol of tolerance. A celebration of idiosyncrasies. A confident statement of self-ownership.” So, back to my love affair. The first time I viewed the Illamasqua web page I probably watched the tutorial clips for an hour. I was transfixed by not only the educational value but by the production. It became clear that this brand looked at every detail down to the background music. I found myself examining the tutorial of a basic three color smoky eye(a technique I have seen and demonstrated more times than I wish to recount). It was not that I was learning anything I did not already know but it felt new. It gave passion and life to something that had somehow, unbeknownst to me, become mundane. It felt magical again, something I had not felt in years ever since the greatest brand of all time was sold to a cosmetic giant. When that happened it was like seeing a Monet printed on a canvas bag or coffee mug. I digress. Fueled by my secret fear that this brand was all show and not a “true” artistry brand I decided to purchase a few products

at a Sephora while on a trip to Chicago. I started with some basics: powder blush in “Sin” and “Panic”, lipstick in “box” and “Corrupt”, intense gloss in “fierce” and “Indulge”, a liner cake in “mislead”, eye shadows in “anja” and “creep”, and I took some samples of a few foundations (the names of products only furthered the magic). Then I put all of it to the test. I wore it work. I used it in shoots. I put it on my friends. People started to ask what I was wearing. I started to buy more products. My friends started to buy products. Like a ripple in a pond. The matte shadows are some of the best I have ever used due to their color payoff and long wear. “Creep”, a pale matte lavender, is still one of my regular go-to shades when I need a basic face. The blushes have so much pigment I wonder if I will ever finish one. The cream blush and cream eye shadow color range have no competition. The cream pigments, like the cream shadows, have matte shades something that many women continuously request. Not every person wants to look like a disco ball everyday. The foundation shade range is just as impressive. Ever been searching for the perfect shade of pale? They have it. Where most brands over saturate the market with what feel to be rushed and quickly forgotten themes, Illamasqua invests such calculated energy and artistry into their images that it grabs the senses and sinks its creative claws into the psyche. At the helm is artistic director Alex Box who is quickly becoming a personality of intense interest. What is most fascinating is that she was originally a painter and installation artist who found makeup artistry. I have been known to joke that I would mortgage my home to afford to fly to London to attend her master class. I fear I would have a “Ralphie on Santa’s lap” moment and be silenced by the sheer awe of her presence. With the launch of “Skin Base” foundation, a formulation that was inspired by the emerging trend of BB creams, a unisex fragrance named “Freak”, and a school of makeup located in London, Illamasqua remains ahead of the curve. They continue to inspire their fans and intrigue spectators with their quarterly color stories. They give hope to all who seek the courage to express themselves and are a beacon to those artists who wish to push themselves beyond their artistic limits.

Essential Skin Care 101 Many of us go through our lives not realizing the importance of skin care. For years, I was an Ivory Soap gal, and used no moisturizer. My skin was oily, so I didn’t start taking care of my skin until I was ‘mature’ and began freaking out about aging. I started doing research on ingredients and products. About 2 years ago, I made choices for new directions in my life. Having been in the beauty industry for almost 20 years, I chose to attain both a makeup artist certification, and an esthetics license. Makeup is my first love and my newest passion. Skin care and esthetics is at the heart of it all. Without good skin, makeup application is a nightmare! Clean skin is the foundation of good make-up. There are literally thousands of cleansers out on the market, in every price range and for every skin type. How do you know what’s right for you? It’s not as simple as you think. I spent my life thinking my skin was oily, and later thinking I was dry. I was T-Zone oily, with normal but dehydrated skin, and experiencing breakouts (even at 40) during hormonal flares. What product do I use? I use a neutral cleanser for normal skin. It’s the ‘after’ products that I change up depending on what mood my skin seems to be in that week. Most often people have combination type skin. Their skin is normal to oily in the t-zone and dry to normal in the cheek area. If you are super oily and prone to breakouts, you’ll want to use a cleanser for normal skin. Oily skin, or acne prone skin, needs a cleanser made for problem skin, preferably one with salicylic acid or benzoyl peroxide to kill off any bacteria present in acne. One lucky side effect for those with oily skin is that the oil protects the skin and slows down wrinkling. Normal skin tends to be smooth and firm with little or no breakouts. Use a cleanser for normal skin and a creamy cleanser at night and in winter to fight off dehydration. Persons with sensitive skin should use a gentle cleanser, with few additional botanicals, fragrance or alpha hydroxy acid. A product like Cetaphil is best. Dry skin is just that, dry, with not a drop of oil; no blackheads, pimples, or shine. This type skin needs a creamy cleanser and loads of moisturizer. Dehydration tends to come from outside factors such as weather, allergies, diet, use of hard water, and heat. Those factors can be addressed separately, so don’t view your skin as dry, just because you have visibly flaky dry skin with breakouts. Exfoliation scrubs can often take care of the flaky texture. If you follow the cleansing with the right toner, serum and moisturizer, you can fix the problem. If you can’t figure out your skin type, make an appointment for a facial or consultation with an esthetician at a spa. Besides learning about your skin, you’ll also get a great relaxing treat. With as many stores and products out there, it is essential that you learn what ingredients do to your skin. Read labels. There are some great over-the-counter type products that you can find at a bargain. Some products are ridiculously over-priced and really don’t do much for your skin. My personal preference in skin care is PCA, a dermatologist level skin care line that can only be found in dermatologist offices and salons that have gone through a certification process. As for price, it’s not much more than Dermalogica or Philosophy. The ingredients are more concentrated so

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you actually use less of the product, making it cost less per use. I use PCA not just on myself and my salon clients, but also on my daughter, to clear up her acne. Some easy to access products that are of good quality are: Perricone MD, Dermalogica, Bioelements, Boots, and Cetaphil. These products range in price from $7.50 (Cetaphil), to $85+ (Dermalogica). They can be found at Ulta, Sephora, Target and Walgreens. Always read the first 3 ingredients on a product. One should be water, preferably distilled. Another great ingredient should be aloe. If it says alcohol in the first couple ingredients, put it down and keep looking. Alcohol and water are cheap; aloe isn’t, but it’s also a great healer, moisturizer, and skin protector! After these ingredients, you’ll probably get a rundown of ingredients you can’t even pronounce. Some are preservatives, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. If you keep a product for more than a month it won’t grow mold. Other ingredients are detergents and botanicals. Some are good and some are bad. Many product lines use a long list of botanicals to correct skin issues, like algae for sun repair, chamomile and calendula for calming, and tea tree oil for acne. Find out what makes you allergic or sensitive. The last few ingredients are usually the pricier active ingredients, fragrance, and color. A fantastic book is Milady’s Skin Care & Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary, 3rd Edition, (Michalun & Michalun, 2009). This book will tell you about each ingredient and what it does to the skin. Don’t be afraid to learn. Learn about the ingredients you’re paying for and about what you’re putting on your skin. Your skin is yours for life and it needs to be nourished and fed. With proper skin care, you can see a vast improvement and a more youthful appearance for many years. Deanna Roberts – Makeup Vamp Licensed Cosmetologist, Esthetician, & Certified Makeup Artist She currently practices at Elements Salon Spa Retreat in Dyer, IN & freelances as a Makeup Artist all over the Midwest, for a variety of Photographers & Models. www.MakeupVamp.Com Products & Where to find them: www.PCAskin.com www.Dermalogica.com www.PerriconeMD.com www.Bioelements.com www.us.Boots.com www.Cetaphil.com Michalum, N., & Michalun, M. V. (2009). Milady’s Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary: 3rd Edition. Canada: Cengage Learning.

essential Skin Care

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NIGHT SHADE

PHOTOGRAPHER Silke Gabrielle

Model: Natalya Asadullina Makeup/Hair: Amy Lawson www. artistrybyamy.com

Photography: Silke Gabrielle

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NOCTURNAL PHOTOGRAPHER AND STYLIST ROBIN HOWLAND

MODEL: HEATHER Cemetery DRESS: MARC BOUWER VINTAGE BRACELET/RING: BETSY JOHNSON SHOES: BCBG MAKEUP/HAIR, STYLE: ROBIN HOWLAND

MODEL: HEATHER Cemetery DRESS: MARC BOUWER VINTAGE SHOES: BCBG MAKEUP/HAIR, STYLE: ROBIN HOWLAND

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MODEL: HILARIE OTTO DRESS: TAMA VA-JAY

CUFF: RHINESTONE ROSE BEBE MAKEUP/HAIR, STYLE:

ROBIN HOWLAND

MODEL: JANA DRESS: SKULL ‘N CROSSBOWS SHOES: BCBG MAKEUP/HAIR, STYLE: ROBIN HOWLAND

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MODEL: JANA M DRESS: SKILL ‘N CROSSBOWS SHOES: STEVE MADDEN ACCESSORIES: FOREVER 21 GLOVES: LA CRISA MAKEUP/HAIR, STYLE: ROBIN HOWLAND

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MODEL: BECKY C DRESS: CALVIN KLEIN CUFF: SHEROWSKI EARRINGS: NICOLE MILLER BEADED HEAD BAND: SCANDALOUS COLLECTION MAKEUP/HAIR, STYLE: ROBIN HOWLAND

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Agnus Dei (Lamb of God) Photographer/Styled: Noree

Photographer: Noree (www.noree.co.uk) Model: Julia Kinnear Styling: Noree Designers: Jan Knibbs, Tallulahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trinkets MUA: Emily Summerhayes

Hair: Tracy Connolly Assistant: James Connolly Atmosphere Dress and Sash

Jan Knibbs Jacket and Choker, Elixium Skirt

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Atmosphere Jacket, Burleska Corset, Elixium Skirt, Thrift Vintage Gloves, Tallulahâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Trinkets Veiled Lily Headband

Dorothy Perkins Dress, Elixium Hat, Atmosphere Necklace

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Atmosphere Jacke, Thrift Vintage Gloves, Tallulah’s Trinkets Veiled Lily Headband, Topshop Ring, Claire’s Necklace

ANti.Label Photographer/Styled: Laura Dark

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Model: kat livingston Styling: Laura Dark Designers: Anti.Label MUA/ Hair: Joshua Lucas

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G O I N G

H enry

A lfonso

U P

N a v arro

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model: Girl on Gate- Daniele Rocha

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image: Vintage Highfashion with necklace-

Tori McLean

models: Chainmail-

Kurtis Dam-Mikkelsen, Ivan C Morales

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model: Black dress and hat- Farnaz Dadashi

MODEL: Black dress and pillar-

Aja Lathan

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model: Girl on Gate- Daniele Rocha

What would you ask

a Mortician? by Adrienne Glenn

My shaking finger clicks on the laptop key and takes me once again to the world wide web of possibilities. When I enter “The Order of the Good Death” into the search line, I can feel the cold steely breath of Death pulsating against the back of my neck and a shiver runs over my arms…. why did I decide to research this on a cold, dark and rainy night while I am all alone in the house? As I then click on the link and the web page pulls up, my pulse races and my muscles tighten for the impending fear I’m about to experience. Did I mention I’m a huge chicken? Horror, death, and the boogey man scare the bejesus out of me, so you can imagine my terror at the concept of this article.

is cute and even on the verge of shabby chic (good taste and style always calms my nerves)… my trepidation lessens. As I then click on the “Your Mortician” button, I am truly shocked by the HORROR of… a super cute, raven-haired smiling mortician named Caitlin Doughty looking up at me. Now that isn’t what comes to mind when you conjure up the idea of a mortician. I think of some gaunt faced, pale, almost skeletal man wearing a lab coat and big black rubber gloves to repel all the disgusting goo that comes along with death. Granted she is holding a skull in her hand, but for some reason I’m not scared to look further at all… I am now officially totally enthralled with this woman and her website.

I part my fingers for a quick glimpse of the main page of www.orderofthegooddeath.com and much to my surprise the opening page

After three hours of reading everything she has written, watching almost all of the videos, and scouring the entire site, I feel like I’m ready to really know who my mortician is, so I asked her:

AG: What was your very first experience with death? CD: My first experience with death was when I was about eight years old and I saw a small child fall off a balcony, presumably to its death. It was absolutely traumatic at the time, and caused me to have a lot of mortality fears I didn’t even know were there until I started working in the death industry. I wish someone at the time had told me, “it’s ok, this is what death is and how it happens, you don’t need to be afraid.” That sort of honesty is my mission now. AG: What led you to this career choice? CD: I had always been very attracted to the macabre, but in a very academic way. I studied Medieval History in college, but became fixated after graduating on the idea that I could actually put my all of my interests into practice. I decided I wanted to be a crematory operator and just wouldn’t give up until someone interviewed and hired me. From the second I started working at a funeral home I knew that this was what I would be doing for the rest of my life. AG: Tell us a little bit about the average day in the life of a mortician... CD: There are lots of different types of things morticians do. I’ve done everything from cremating bodies, to driving around a van that held twelve corpses at a time, to meeting with families. Currently my job is a little more bureaucratic (dealing with the coroner, filing death certificates, arranging cremations, etc) but I finally have a nice office that isn’t covered in dust from the crematory! AG: What is your favorite thing about being a mortician? CD: That I can be a calm, competent resource at a time with people feel like everything is terrible and out of con AG: What does mortality mean to you? CD: Mortality is everything to me. It’s the absolute driving force behind everything we do in our lives. The reason we want to make art or have children is all because we know, even if we try to deny it, that life is short and largely out of our control. AG: I am loving your Deathsnitation essays, are you willing to take location recommendations from all of the new fans Dark Beauty Magazine is going to bring you? CD: Are you kidding, of course! There is nothing I love more than a good morbid travel site. If I had $25,000 and a free year of life I would spend it traveling the world to study catacombs and charnel houses and burial grounds and death sites. AG: Any new projects on the horizon we can look forward to? CD: Absolutely. I’ll be writing and doing videos for an online journal called Fortnight, which features young innovators in traditional fields of work. A short narrative film I wrote will be out soon. Lots of more videos, content, and new ways for people to become involved as members of the Order. AG: Do you have a plan for your remains, after death? CD: It’s always changing, I’m really attracted to the idea of decomposing naturally, not using embalming to try to stop the process. I’ve thought about decomposing in a glass coffin where people could come by and watch it happen. Or perhaps just out in a field somewhere where it’s just me and the sun and some worms. If I was cremated I would want it to be on an open air pyre, like the Indians or the Ancient Greeks. AG: Honestly, have you ever taken a self iphone shot of you and a dead person? CD: I’ve never taken photos with anyone dead because would you want someone taking LOL pictures with your deceased family member? It’s also a one way ticket to getting fired-ville. The only time I’ve taken pictures of a body is when the son was like, “I’m in another state but need to know my mother is really dead, please text me a picture.” Texting someone a picture of their dead mother is a very strange experience.

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Be sure to check out www.orderofthegooddeath.com immediately to find out more about Caitlin and The Order! For all you brave souls, dig right in; for those of us who are of the big chicken persuasion, don’t be afraid… in the words of your mortician, “there is a nice comfy place in death even for the most glitter/puppy/rainbow of ladies!” Also feel free to do all the usual cyber stalking we do these days on youtube, facebook, twitter, etc. You won’t be sorry!

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Photographer: Sergio-m STYLE/FASHION: Styling /Fashion: Danny Deluxe

Dark Beauty Fashion Magazine

Photographer: Sergio-m STYLE/FASHION: Styling /Fashion: Danny Deluxe

Dark Beauty Fashion Magazine

Photographer: Sergio-m STYLE/FASHION: Styling /Fashion: Danny Deluxe

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STYLE/FASHION: Styling /Fashion: Danny Deluxe

diamonda THE PAIN OF PLEASURE

GALA

(an interview with Diamanda Galas, by Lana Gentry) 2011 Beyond the scope of pop iconography lies the dark world where we find the artists who appeal to other true artists. Hail to those indefinable pioneers of madness who throw themselves into the mouths of lions to make the art we’d otherwise never get to see or hear. It cannot be denied that Diamanda Galas is certainly one. Shrieking howls of horror lace themselves through wailing suffering tones and messianic chants. This is the genius music of the universally worshipped Diamanda Galas. We were honored to catch up to this activist and musician extraordinaire to discuss her new film project Schrei 27, which promises once again to drop us into the beastly belly of the Operatic Vampira herself. LG~What an honor. At which point in your life did you switch tracks from traditional protocol into the genius madness that has become so unequivocally associated with you? DG~I switched when in my early twenties, since I already had a background of study in classical piano, bebop, stride, avant-garde, etc., and a natural singing voice which I had not trained through voice study but was using anyway. I became very aware at 17 of what would be my classical music prognosis, which would be to realize the genius of Brahms, Liszt, Scriabin, and so on, and this is hardly a bad thing, although as an improvisator I was at odds with the desires of my Russian teacher. You can see from the way I play that I have the Russian technique, which employs the back as the center of power. My teacher said that my jazz playing was going to destroy the classical playing. She came up the stairs of the house one day while my father and I were playing Fats Waller. He was on bass and I was on piano. She gave him a lecture. I did not like this and it depressed me profoundly. She was impeccably wrong incidentally, but at the same she was a monster player, a magnificent teacher, and coached and taught me through rehearsal and performances of difficult concertos. In my early twenties I was playing with musicians from the post-Ornette/Ayler School and I got tired of using the piano. In that context it was very minimal for me, albeit everyone always rushed over to me to give the chord changes, to make their song make sense. Sometimes it would be a ridiculous lick that anyone could have thought of. So I thought, hey man, why am I working with you?

B/W PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVIDE PEPE, 2011 RED IMAGE: HARDY HA R TM A N, 2011

So I got into a decontextualized vocal research, free of other musicians, although I would do occasional voice and piano gigs later with Mark Dresser and Roberto Miranda. However, I thought that the voice work of mine was the most interesting because it was not concerned with categorical imperatives of different musical genres, e.g., jazz— “Oh, yeah, baby, it gotta swing”—[or] classical music—the imperative to submit to a higher power...that of the composer. Now, this being said, I can do both, but I thought, not as a lifelong concentration to the exclusion of everything else. I had studied with Jimmy Donahue, who would be known as a monster bebop pianist but he killed himself—this, of course, to the horror of my father and me, since he was our

friend, along with Butch Lacy, Walter Bishop, and Bobby Bradford, during those years. I listened, while working with these masters, to the inanities of bad-playing of the Hitler of jazz, Stanley Crouch, [who spouted] crazed and jealous nonsense from various and sundry, and all too many, podiums, while also wiring treatises on dead musicians, on homosexual artists, on women...his theory being that only young heterosexual black men can really play jazz... Not Mary Lou Williams, not Cecil Taylor, not Bill Evans, and, later, not Miles Davis, because he went into the slick and superfine shit of On the Corner. I was at the concert in San Diego and Stanley came up to me whining about how Miles sold out. Fool. That shit was on the money. Miles did well to get a hardon for Hendrix and work it out. He knew the next direction and he was right. We had some physical fights over these things. Physical. I heard he continued his practice in NYC and got fired from the Voice. Too little too late... liberal timid motherfuckers. He already fucked the music scene in NYC and you need a blow in the face to fire him? Anyway, I was more interested in my shit and that precluded all such nonsense. So I’ve done solo performances since the ‘70s and have continued, although promoters seemed to have been for the voice and piano stuff for the last twenty years, so I have worked out many different arrangements for voice and piano. You have to work. So I take a song that inspires me and create a world out of it. Although for the audience this is not my theatrical work, it is for me. I travel through the sound, the chord changes and the music, which is flipped out if you take it to a place which includes the intentions of the composers. What Miles knew and what I know is that it is all the same shit. If you know what you are doing, you know what you are doing. If people don’t get it, why, ain’t that a shame? LG~Tell me about your new film collaboration, Schrei 27, and how it was to participate in this project. DG~Schrei means “shriek,” but it can mean a shriek that’s the sound of objection, or the sound of funereal mourning. It is multifaceted. The tradition of Schrei theater comes from small German villages, not Berlin, not Munich, and it was a virtuosic tradition where movement was oral and the sound was corporeal. When I started referencing Schrei theater years ago, I was thinking of it in its particular form and its relationship to German Expressionism. A Schrei theater performer was expected to be virtuosic. The words were springboards for extreme psychological states. Sometimes with few words the actor was expected to do a hell of a lot. Those who performed were doing that which was forbidden. It was a theater style that was considered decadent. If you really want to indulge this experience, as is with all art, you must experience it. LG~What would you say is the most commonly misunderstood perception about the work of Diamanda Galas? DG~That the work of Diamanda Galas began with four microphones and a solo voice, when in fact it began with the piano improvisations and then voice and piano improvisations. There is this idiotic question: when are you going to return to the Diamanda who first started out? I should say, you want the baby photos, cretin, where I am sitting at the keys playing at two? Just because the first recordings did not include piano, guess who was playing the organs and synthesizers (with the exception of David Hunt, who is a master of putneys and analogue synths that I don’t know...

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not yet)? How about the four-hour gigs in my father’s band at 13? Those were gigs: 100 songs a night without a fake book. Come on, baby—get a grip. Sure, I would like presenters to be wild and present my other work, so what I am trying to do is to get it on film. Enter David Pepe and Schrei 27, which very few presenters would ever dream of presenting, so we have it on hand for class installation. I heard that Kevin Spacey has access to subway tunnels, or something of this nature. If someone wants to be a pal, would you tell him that I returned his call but after that could not reach him? (He wanted me to play the Old Vic during the summer five years ago.) LG~People’s ideas are generally so trite and conventional that one has to wonder how hard your struggle was in bringing your genius to the masses. Of course one live performance leaves the lucky patron knowing that it was always meant to be, but just how hard was it initially? DG~A pain in the ass. After you perform the work that only you believed in, the doubters then crowd around to shake your hand and say, “I just knew you could do it.” Right. Then they give a polka queen 100 grand to do a fashion show. That’s cool. Avante-garde means on the front lines. I am only an artist. I should have been an underground fighter. It would have suited my overall agenda better. What the public wants, save the aristocrat, is always to be disrespected. I prefer to disrespect them my way. LG~You have become known not only for your ripping of the keys and vacillating operatic brilliance but also for your activism as it relates to AIDS. Would you mind sharing a bit about that? DG~Well, you get what you see. On my website I have essays, so I believe they are self-explanatory. My history is also pretty clear. I would nod out retracing my path, you know? It has been a long one, since the ‘80s. Not just AIDS, but Greek politics, the horror of incarceration for “dope fiends” (those who don’t have the money for the psychiatrist so they have to score themselves, and then do a ten year bid on their stomach. CRAP, LIES, HATRED... FUCKING DISGUSTING, when the Hollywood stars preen around with their bags of dope scoring photo ops. It is gruesome. Someone pull a chain on one of them, they won’t be carrying a goody bag out of the joint. LG~ Please share your upcoming projects. DG~Schrei 27, of course, and feel free to follow all my other impending projects on my website. LG~Thank you so much for the honor and time.

Hello, all you Dark Beauties! Topher Adam, the editor and creator of this gorgeous publication, has given me the unique opportunity to share my skills as a psychic with you! I am a psychic and clairvoyant, and I’ve been helping people with everything from relationship and financial concerns, to giving spiritual advice and guiding past life regressions for over 20 years.

I will be answering your questions which may be published in an upcoming issue. You can ask me anything. You may be wondering about a long lost love, need advice regarding a current relationship, or perhaps you’re bogged down with worry over financial issues. You may be focusing on your spiritual journey and would like to get some guidance, or perhaps you’re curious about your past lives. I have also given messages from loved ones who have passed over. If you would like to have your questions answered, you can contact me by emailing Dark Beauty at info@ darkbeautymag.com. I would love to hear from you!

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by Debra Lamb

image by: The Dark Noveleer

I love guiding people down the path of self discovery and helping to reveal the vast possibilities that are there to be explored! The universe wants us to succeed, but everything has its own time. There is the time for action, and the time to be still. Many times it is difficult for us to know what direction we need to go in next. Sometimes we just need a little reassurance that we’re on the right path. That’s where I come in.

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