Lockdown or No Lockdown. Why You Should Give a S*** About Makeup.
From the moment lock down measures began to be enforced, our collective priorities instantly shifted. We worried about how we would do our jobs, look after our children, even maintain our own sanity over what we imagined would be the coming weeks.
Two months in, we’ve navigated some of those initial concerns, despite new concerns taking their place. While the war wages on in a battle with literal life and death consequences, some of what seemed important in our old normal, now seems trivial in our our new one.
The flexibility to work from home has opened up new opportunities, like the freedom to work day in, day out in our pyjamas, as well as challenges like letting outsiders pearing inside our homes via Zoom calls and a distinct lack of motivation to change out of our pyjamas day in, day out. The novelty of our dual purpose home/ work space opens up a Pandora’s box of obstacles, and a new set of personal and professional liberties, that we wouldn’t have dared dream possible just last quarter.
And with all the big questions looming, as well as evolving to the new normal, it’s easy to feel like the little indulgences of life, like doing your makeup or curling your hair, just don’t matter.
I feel that. I feel it deeply.
But I also feel the overwhelm of the big stuff -- the how am I going to pay my mortgage; the when will my industry get back to work; the what do I do if I don’t want to send my children back to school; the BIG stuff worries. And I feel that starts to fade away when I look after myself.
So in addition to ditching the jammies, when I take the time to do my hair, apply my makeup and stick to my skincare routine I know I’m doing something proactive for my mental health.
Think that’s too far reaching? Well, ask yourself how many times you or someone you know has complained about their roots or grey hairs since lockdown began. Now, let’s be clear, I don’t necessarily advocate home hair colour and I especially don’t advocate home hair bleaching, but I do advocate doing what makes you feel good about yourself.
My Lockdown face. No need for lipstick here.
1. Sending a message to yourself that you are a priority. Lockdown, or no lockdown putting yourself first can be a struggle. I tend to compensate with cake, giving myself a sweet token of self-affection, only to then plague myself with guilt. Whereas, when I carve out time to do my hair and makeup, I’m sending a clear signal that I am worthy of that time. I am worthy of the investment in the products I’ve carefully selected. I am worthy of the feel-good factor that I create for myself. That’s a much stronger message than any cupcake, and kinder to my waistline (and psyche).
2. Your skin will thank you. One of the biggest reasons a skincare routine doesn’t yield the results we desire is because we don’t have the time to invest in being consistent. Even if you only commit to properly cleansing your skin every night, preferably, you will see visible gains. There are so many gorgeous products out there, but choose one that’s just right for you. If you need help deciding on the one for you, there are a few skincare experts and makeup artists who are offering online consultations (wink, wink).
3. Skin care routines are the new meditation, no yoga mat required. I struggle to clear my mind, or at least to my schedule, to lock in a window to be alone with my thoughts. For many, they can combine meditation time with yoga, walking or running. I’m going to level with you. Any form of exercise induces pure panic for me. I am so focused on A. doing it right B. not giving up and C. not dying (if you’ve ever had a panic attack, you’ll know I’m not exagerating), that there is little to no chance of enlightenment during physical pusuits. So my morning and night time skin routine, is my meditation time. I’ve got my habits down so that I don’t have to think about the automatic actions of my mini facials and bonus, when I cleanse my skin, I’m mentally cleansing any nastiness from the day, as well as from my face. If that’s not a win, win, I don’t know what is?!
4. Learn a new technique. With so many learning opportunities being offered directly to your screen of choice from online cook-a-longs to PE with Joe Wicks, now is an ideal time to try something new, that you might not otherwise have time for (or at least not enough time or privacy for if it goes wrong... cue lots of video of winged eyeliner attempts). But if you’ve been wanting to try a glamorous smokey eye, now is great time to give a whirl. I bet we’ll emerge from lockdown with LOADS of people perfecting their feline flicks.
Red lips and Victory Rolls might not be appropriate for everyday, but during lockdown I took the opportunity to try a little something new.
Get your Zoom face on. The days of messy bun conference calls are being taken over by video and if you’ve not yet had the pleasure, I’m sure it’s looming. Now I’m not advocating wearing makeup for the benefit of others on the call. I’m not even arguing whether or not you’ll come across as more professional with a full face of makeup, however, I know all to well, that when I’m on a video conference call there is absolutely nothing more distracting that scrutinising my own face. So get your work face on to eliminate your own distraction. Once it’s on, you’re ready roll... or record.
Exerting control despite being in the throws of the uncontrollable. I’m not pretending that by applying foundation everyday you’ll be making strides to creating a vaccine, nor will it necessarily influence when we’ll be able to safely lift social distancing measures, but it’s the little controllable details and routines in our lives that are going to keep us grounded. You can’t control a lot of what is going on right now, but you can control your response. I choose to respond with tinted moisturiser and groomed brows.
Life in Lockdown can be hard. Do things that make life feel good.
Be the Visual Affirmation of the person you want to be and the feeling you want to embody. I talk about this A LOT in my business. It’s why I retrained in beauty in the first place. If you look in the mirror and see someone who is run down and fed up, you’re more likely to feel run down and fed up. If, instead, you look in the mirror and see someone who is polished and feel prioritised, you are more like to feel powerful, polished and prioritised. It comes down to how you want to feel.
Embrace a new way of beauty buying and accessing a new level of expertise. This pandemic has exposed the vulnerabilities of industries across our international economy. As a skincare expert, makeup artist, hair stylist and massage therapist I can tell you my own business has been hit hard -- social distancing (ya, how do you do makeup from 2 metres away?); gatherings (weddings/ hen do/ photoshoots/ awards shows...); and though I’m not in retail artistry any more, I think it’s safe to say we are never going to buy cosmetics in the same way. And my plea, is to utilise professionals who are 1. experts in their fields and 2. unbiased. This ensures the recommendations you are getting are completely tailored to your needs as a consumer, not to fulfil orders or build commission. Ultimately, you are investing in something. Treat your skincare, hair care and makeup investment the same way you would do any other asset acquisition.