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This. Is. Huge.  

Disney, CoverGirl and Max Factor announced Thursday that the brands have teamed up on a global cosmetics partnership inspired by "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens." Featuring six looks in total, two of which were also debuted Thursday, the collaboration is the first of its kind between the three brands.

Renowned makeup artist and P&G’s Global Creative Director Pat McGrath helped to bring the looks to life. McGrath told The Huffington Post that she was "beyond thrilled" to work on the collection. 

"I watched my first film as a young girl and, like the rest of the world, was completely blown away," she said. "I immediately fell in love with the storyline, the never-before-seen special effects, and the amazing hair, makeup, and wardrobe of Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Hans Solo, Darth Vader, and all of the other characters."

CoverGirl's collection launches online Sept. 4 and is scheduled to hit US stores in mid-September. Limited-edition products will be available at Max Factor in Europe, Asia, The United Arab Emirates and beyond by November. 

If this is what going over to the dark side looks like, sign us up. 

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Designer Michael Smith and his partner of 15 years, James Costos, are used to being photographed in their Los Angeles and Palm Springs homes. Smith's cachet in the architectural world is expansive -- but their move to Spain two years ago has put them in a new kind of spotlight.

Costos was named the United States Ambassador to Spain in 2013; the duo are one of the first same-sex couples to make an embassy their home, a fact worth noting in the overwhelmingly Catholic country.

“We were very well received. They embraced us and welcomed us just as they would any other ambassador,” Costos told The Huffington Post over the phone from Spain. 

For his part, Smith, who has been commissioned to work on houses for Steven Spielberg, Bruce Springsteen and Cindy Crawford, among others, travels to Spain approximately one week out of every month to be with Costos at the Embassy in Madrid and spends the rest of his time working in Los Angeles. The Huffington Post met Smith on the rare kind of day in L.A. where he was working from home with his 12-year old Labradoodle Jasper at his feet.

“We realize the importance of it -- the precedent," Smith told HuffPost. "We knew that it was going to have weight. And we make a big point of being active, but we aren’t activists. It wasn’t like we were this big gay couple coming in."

And yet, Costos says (with a chuckle) that people have referred to him as the Gay Ambassador. “I say I just happen to be gay. It’s just like everything else -- I’ve been on the board of The Humane Society and I’m a vegetarian but these are just some of the things that define me as a person. They don’t define me in general.” 

Though the population is 93% Catholic, marriage equality has been legal in Spain for ten years. Madrid’s gay pride parade, which brought in a million people this year, has become a grandly celebrated, city-wide party over the years. It’s one of the biggest in Europe. When marriage equality was passed in the U.S. this June, rainbow flags flew proudly from the public buildings in Madrid in solidarity and celebration.

Smith is proud of the example they are setting, even if they never intended to do so. “I didn’t feel like we had to break new ground in Spain. But I think we have broken new ground as a result of being so accepted and so public,” he said.

It’s unusual for the spouse of an ambassador to have a full-fledged career and to not live at the Embassy full time, Smith said. It’s also rare that as the spouse, his relationship with the Obamas pre-dates Costos’ appointment as ambassador. Smith has been the White House decorator since President Obama took office and is responsible for the Obama's private quarters as well as the Oval Office’s 2010 makeover. That same year, Smith was appointed to the Committee for the Preservation of the White House.

“The roles of a traditional diplomat and wife are very much changed," Smith said. “I think this has changed the perception of couples in general. The next person that comes is will not necessarily be bound by conventions.”

When asked if he and Costos have encountered any barriers in Madrid, Smith answers with his own question: “How would we know?” The couple has made the Embassy a chic destination in the city, regularly hosting parties, events and a big celebration when marriage equality was passed in America.

“I think we have just really knocked down that wall in the upper echelon. The thing is, it would never occur to us not to,” Smith added.

Smith took it upon himself to re-design the interior of the U.S. Embassy by bringing in unique furniture and his famous sense of style. Renowned artwork decorates the walls. The couple has already decided to leave many of the new additions behind for Madrid -- and the next ambassador -- to enjoy. 

Smith and Costos are devoted animal lovers and already have three dogs in Los Angeles. After deciding against bringing them to Spain since Smith is still in L.A. so often, they adopted two rescues and named them after artists. Greco is named for the Spanish painter El Greco and Whistler is named for America's James Whistler, who hailed from Costos’ hometown of Lowell, Massachusetts. Costos has a couple of Whistler sketches in his office and says they are a reminder of home.

Costos, who was the Vice President of Global Licensing for HBO, and previously worked for Tod’s and Hermes, has spent the majority of his time as ambassador focusing on economic recovery in Spain. “Everything I’m doing here is related to entrepreneurship, future leaders of the country and investment between Spain and the United States,” he said. “I want to help find opportunities for people to become active participants in their communities.”

He looks at the progress Spain has made in the ten years since marriage equality was legalized and knows that America will encounter some of the same roadblocks.

Six months into the job, he started reaching out to the LGBT community and hosting roundtables in Madrid to learn more about the experience of being gay in the workplace. Many Spaniards spoke to Costos about how open the country feels and how thrilled they are to live in a place with marriage equality.

And yet, Costos points out that hearing these stories made it clear to him that remnants of homophobia still exist. “It’s about education, conversation and making sure that other voices are being heard. We can do that. That’s the power of my office. At the end of the day, what I have is the power to give a louder voice to people who have issues, questions and problems,” he said.

“We have to continue to talk about these things. You can have all of the laws and protection in place, but how do you get rid of homophobia? This is something that the U.S. is going to have to deal with.”

Progress in the United States, however, is something Smith is sure to keep talking about. Sometimes the biggest indicator of news is when it’s not considered news at all, he says. When the Obamas spent the weekend with Smith and Costos at their Rancho Mirage home outside of Palm Springs last year, no one said a word.

“Think about that,” Smith said with a smile. “If Clinton or Bush had stayed with an openly gay couple for the weekend, that would have been big news. But nobody wrote about it. The only article written was about how nobody was writing about it. You don’t realize that you’re changing a narrative, but it’s changing.”

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Breakfast smoothies are terrifically tasty, but when you're not in control of the ingredients, they can also be packed with sugar. A saccharine blast first thing in the morning is not the smartest way to start the day: Your body may crash, and you may experience a headache and crave even more sugar for the rest of the day. 

To ensure you're getting all of those smoothie benefits -- hello, protein! -- without the added sugar, whip up your own concoction at home. The 20 recipes below will keep you full and fuel you all the way to lunch. Pick a few favorites and get blending and shaking all week long.s

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Artist Loryn Brantz has already taken on Disney princesses with realistic makeup and now, she's reimagined some of our favorite characters baring it all. 

In Brantz's latest Buzzfeed article, the illustrator created mockups of Pocahontas, Ariel, Mulan, Elsa, Tiana, Belle, Jasmine and Snow White drawn without their eye makeup and occasional blush or lipstick. The princesses look gorgeous without their makeup, which begs the question, why were they wearing so much in the first place?

"As children we may not realize these images in the media affect us, but they definitely do," Brantz previously told The Huffington Post. "Media outlets with the opportunity to change the way women are viewed and view themselves should start taking responsibility." 

Check out the princesses below.

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Black Twitter eviscerated Allure magazine's tone deaf afro hair tutorial earlier this month and reignited the ongoing conversation about the fine line between appreciation and appropriation of another culture. Allure's article, which showcased a white woman feigning an afro with corkscrew curls, was widely criticized for the latter.

HuffPost culture writer Zeba Blay told HuffPost Live this week the publication "completely missed the ball" with their piece.

"The problem with appropriating cultures is that you take on the afro or the cornrow or the box braid without understanding the history behind it," Blay told host Nancy Redd. "And when you don't understand the history behind something, you don't understand the context in which it's done, and that's what makes it offensive."

Image activist Michaela Angela Davis spoke out against those who, in an attempt to deem the cultural appropriation critique hypocritical, liken white women who wear traditionally black hair styles to black women who wear their hair straight. Davis urged people to understand the context behind the issue, which has been fueled, in part, by the pressure to assimilate.

"White women were never persecuted for their hair," Davis explained. "For black people to adjust their hair, whatever color, whatever extension -- whether it's a weave or a wig or a braid, or all of it at the same damn time -- that is really a way that we culturally express, and some of it is historically to fit in, to be part of the mainstream. And some of it is just because we're fly."   

Although Allure responded to the outrage over the piece in a statement to The Huffington Post, Davis said the magazine missed an opportunity with its "very weak" reply. 

"The fact that they sort of doubled down, defended themselves, did not really listen, then didn't even expand on it was where they missed out, just as journalists," she added. 

For those who are still unsure about the difference between appreciation and appropriation, Derrick Clifton, the deputy opinion editor at The Daily Dot, offered some words of advice:

I don't think the burden should only be on black people and people of color to let a mainstream white audience know how they can proactively appreciate a culture. I think if you're going to approach a culture in a tradition that is not your own, there needs to be some level of respect and deference for ... the people for whom that's their history.

Watch the full HuffPost Live conversation about cultural appropriation here. 

Sign up here for Live Today, HuffPost Live’s morning email that will let you know the newsmakers, celebrities and politicians joining us that day and give you the best clips from the day before.

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Anne Hathaway is the latest celebrity to give us vacation envy. 

The actress was spotted rocking some cute swimwear while relaxing aboard Valentino's yacht (no big deal) in Ibiza, Spain. The "Devil Wears Prada" star has been enjoying the sun with her husband, Adam Shulman, the Italian designer and his business partner, Giancarlo Giammetti. 

One day, the 32-year-old rocked a tiny white and blue string bikini, which she wore while playing around in the water with Shulman. The next day, she opted for a super flattering strapless black one-piece suit that looked classic and chic. 

And since she's on vacation, "The Intern" star has been rocking a glowing, makeup-free complexion. 

She's living the good life, that's for sure. 

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What's old is new again, right? 

Kylie Jenner must have dug through her mother's closet before jetting off on her birthday getaway, because the 18-year-old was photographed wearing Kris Jenner's bathing suit from the 1980s while at Casa Aramara in Punta Mita, Mexico, Thursday. Kris saw a paparazzi shot of her youngest child wearing the familiar-looking swimwear and took to Instagram to ask who wore it better.

"Ohhhhhhh so THIS is where my vintage Body Glove bathing suit went!!!! @kyliejenner you are grounded! Wait, I can't do that anymore you're 18....#whoworeitbetter #80's #whoknewyouwouldlikemyoldstuff #recycle #love #mexico #alcapulco1989," she wrote under the side-by-side shot. 

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Miley Cyrus has formed a bond with Caitlyn Jenner. 

"We've talked a lot about how you can never make every single person happy," the singer says in the September 2015 issue of Marie Claire. "We always laugh about people saying she transitioned to be famous. Which is crazy. Caitlyn has to tell her story, because if she doesn't, everyone else is going to tell it for her."

Jenner first publicly identified as transgender in April, during a "20/20" special with Diane Sawyer. At the time, Cyrus tweeted her support for the former Olympian, using the name by which Jenner had previously been known. 

Cyrus also painted three versions of Jenner's Vanity Fair cover, each of which Jenner signed, that were auctioned off for charity at the amfAR Inspiration Gala New York in June. The pieces sold for $69,000, the New York Post reported.  

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What does a "perfect body" look like? It depends who you ask -- and where they are.

UK online pharmacy Superdrug Online Doctors recently created a project called "Perceptions Of Perfection" that features 18 photoshopped images of the same woman. The company hired designers from countries around the world to photoshop a stock image via Shutterstock to reflect the beauty standards of their specific countries.  

"Widely held perceptions of beauty and perfection can have a deep and lasting cultural impact on both women and men," a Superdrug press release reads. "The goal of this project is to better understand potentially unrealistic standards of beauty and to see how such pressures vary around the world."

The company asked 18 designers from 18 countries spanning five continents to photoshop an image of a woman to fit their perception of the culture's beauty standards. Below is the original image before the designers photoshopped it: 

The designers photoshopped everything from the size of her waistline to shoe and hair color to mold the photo into the ideal body type of that culture. 

Out of the 18 designers, 14 were women and four were men, according to Superdrug. In order to highlight a woman's perception of her culture's beauty standards, Superdrug asked the four male designers to photoshop the image based on messages women in their countries receive about what an ideal body should look like. 

Some of the images appear only slightly altered, while in others, the original image is barely recognizable. Photos from China and Italy were dramatically photoshopped to have very thin legs and arms. Images from Colombia, Mexico and Peru reflect the traditional voluptuous beauty standards of those areas with tiny waists, large breasts and curvy hips.   

Scroll below to see what the "perfect woman" looks like in 18 countries. 

Head over to Superdrug to read more about the project. 

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The Jheri curl was one of the baddest trends, literally and figuratively, in hair history. 

Invented by Irish-American haircare entrepreneur Jheri Redding, the two-step chemical process transformed straight hair into curly hair. Entrepreneur Comer Cottrell is credited with designing an at-home product known as Pro-Line's Curly Kit, which made achieving the look of loose and lustrous curls more accessible and affordable within the black community.

According to celebrity hairstylist Ursula Stephen, the Jheri curl was one of the first styles that gave African-American hair manageability and versatility. Music icons including Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie and New Edition, wore the style. Jheri curls were also seen on characters in cult hits "Coming to America" and "Pulp Fiction." 

This may not be a hair trend that we'd like to see make a major comeback, but we can't deny its longstanding influence. So, we've put together a list of the most iconic Jheri curl moments in pop culture. Who or what would you add to our list? Tell us your thoughts in the comments section!

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• Realistically, nobody will even pay attention to your shop except for your friends and family initially. So you don't need to impress potential buyers right away with a lot of choices.



• If you spend hours creating your item in half a dozen colours or designs, how will you feel if nobody buys it? You're going to feel discouraged. If you just create one prototype of the item, you can test and troubleshoot without being discouraged by all your hard work being ignored.



• If your item and shop is set up in a way that allows special orders, you'll find that you get a lot of special order requests, and your hard work will be under appreciated because everyone wants something custom.



• It's a waste of money and time, and it's also a great excuse to not get the shop up and running, which is really just your self-doubt and fear pretending to be practicality.

• Neutral backgrounds always perform better than busy backgrounds


• Use props sparingly, but don't underestimate the power of a good prop


• If you're using a DSLR, turn up the aperture on your camera so that the item is in focus and the background is blurred


• Don't worry about investing in a great camera. Use whatever you have -- an iPhone or point and shoot will do


• If you are using an iPhone, download the free Snapseed app. You can blur out the background with the app and adjust the color as necessary


• Study the photographs of successful stores who sell similar products to you. What makes them good? Try to replicate their technique.

• Create a Facebook page for your shop and pay for a promoted Facebook post linking back to your shop


• Promote the items directly in Etsy to show up above the rest of the "like" items


• Create Google ads for your listing


• Sponsor posts on Twitter

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