It’s been a long time coming.
We’ve been catching glimpses of it. We saw it when Meghan Markle married Prince Harry. We saw it in the brilliant launch of Emily Weiss’ brainchild, Glossier. We saw it in the monochromatic makeup trend that emerged on the runways and the red carpet.
We were already seeing this beauty movement towards simplicity, a push away from excess and extra. Trends like these continue to grow in popularity as people search for a simpler way to do makeup. We were already seeing conversations about going back to the basics. And now we find ourselves at home and reaching for a small collection of products each day as we work from home, prepare to jump on a Zoom call or FaceTime with family. Extra just seems so...extra right now. Women are giving their hair a break from heat and embracing their natural hair textures. We’ve seen the hashtag #quarantineessentials. We are realizing that what we really want are the basics. But could our quarantine essentials have become our new daily essentials? With the stay in place orders and virtual interactions likely to continue indefinitely, is this moment in time driving us into beauty minimalism?
The beauty industry is a market that is so very saturated with products and launches that we have bought into the idea that we need all of the products all of the time - even when we don’t have a clue what they do for us or how to apply them {I still don’t have a client who is confident about the way she’s “supposed” to be contouring}. This time at home is giving us space to consider our routines and the reasons behind them. In a world with limited access to assistance from the experts we are being allowed an opportunity {or forced one, as it were} to create our own definition of beauty. We have looked to the experts {qualified or otherwise} to tell us what we should have but the reality is we’re really just wanting to know what we need.
This is our chance. We get to decide what’s truly important to us now. As a makeup artist I can promise you that beauty isn’t contingent upon the number of products you have. So take this time to figure out what your essentials are. What sparks joy for you in your beauty routine? Take this time to eliminate the extra so that when we come out of this we aren’t weighed down by all the products we have and don’t use. Schedule a virtual lesson with a makeup artist who can help you to eliminate the excess. This is the perfect time to let go of all the unnecessaries you feel tied to. Beauty in the time of Corona is simple and easy, which we could all use a little bit more of.