WHERE BEAUTY LIES

Hi ZoNeRZz,

Soooo, summer is over, and I was lucky enough to take some time off in the sun, live life outdoors and take everything to a slower pace than what I am usually used to. A very nice break from normal life that gave me some headspace to gather some thoughts.

As most of you might know by now, I’m a huge skincare nerd, and top advocate for wearing SPF daily and “moisturize ffs”. After having become the main skincare advisor of all my friend groups, I got to question the motivation behind my own knowledge of skin care and beauty in general. The tipping point was the following. If you know me, you know that I absolutely thrive in the summer. I like to refer to myself as a tropical animal. I dream of living in my bikini on a beach, I absolutely love water and spending time outdoors when it’s warm and sunny. It does wonders for my mood, my sense of creativity, my sleep, my will to live. However, and if you are a beauty lover, you are familiar with the concept that the sun is doing 80% of the damage that makes your skin look older. Again (there is a theme across my articles I guess), as a good youth obsessed capitalistically/patriarchally bread female I now always have a warning light shining in a corner of my brain when I dare step foot into the sun. Did I put enough SPF? Is the tanning session worth the wrinkles? All of those questions that project me into a sad future, preventing me from making the most out of the sunbathing experience. So, very recently, I was abruptly confronted with the fact that my great efforts to keep my skin “healthy”, that I thought were good self care, might have gone pass a limit, and were now preventing me from surrendering to what brought me extreme joy (yes, I am very much in love with the ocean). After being faced with that reality, I had no choice but to check in with myself and question if the core of my deep interest in cosmetics came from genuine curiosity and love for the products, or from fear.

What thought was good self care, might have gone pass a limit, and was now preventing me from surrendering to what brought me extreme joy

It is no news that the beauty industry has been capitalising on our insecurities. But I find the relationship with cosmetics and skincare more ambiguous than a simplified “colour cosmetics and anti wrinkles products are just part of a huge conspiracy of capitalism to make you think you are unworthy”. Beauty rituals existed long before fashion magazines and the heydays of advertising. Wanting to show some love to oneself by not letting one’s skin turn into flaky alligator texture isn’t a sin in my books: it’s just making sure the enveloppe you’ll be in for the rest of your life will protect you and not crumble prematurely. However there is a fine line between looking after what you have out of sheer care and maintenance, and over-doing it anxiously because of the belief any stigma left by time will diminish your fundamental personal value. I find myself crossing the line more often than I’d like to admit, so I wanted to dive into my approach to beauty and share my thoughts on this ambiguous relationship.

From technique to editorial, from acne to wrinkles - a quick story of the beauty market through my lens.

My perception of beauty has very much evolved since my teenage years. This evolution is quite aligned with the pivot of the market as a whole, in terms of products as well as in terms of “approach”.

Like a lot of teens, my first acquaintance with beauty was very much through the use of colour cosmetics. My makeup routine was mainly motivated by the will to transform how my face looked and comply with the idea I had of what an acceptable teenage girl should look like. I wore a ton of eyeliner, concealer and mascara religiously: my bare visage was definitely too ugly to see the light of day, I thus had to look like an orange racoon every time I left the house .

Very promptly, I fell into the rabbit hole of YouTube’s Beauty community. I figured that if this was what it took to make me look attractive, I'd better maximize my chances of being noticed by whatever older teenage dude I fancied at the time, by mastering my technique. And so it began. I went from neutral smokey eyes, to product reviews, dabbled in contouring, bought my first set of brushes, my first palette (OG Naked by Urban Decay), and increasingly bought into the very beauty influencery “more is more” philosophy, borderline looking like a Mac employee at all times. Then, a transition naturally happened and my lifestyle didn’t really suit my full face of makeup, nor my display of technique and artistry anymore. Also I found myself less and less attracted to crazy “pink and rainbow” makeup tutorials, and to the plethora of “nude smokey eyes, heavy contour and foundation” videos out there. It didn’t make sense nor fitted with my idea of beauty anymore.

My bare visage was definitely too ugly to see the light of day, I thus had to look like an orange racoon every time I left the house

I shifted between what I now consider 2 complementary sides of the beauty market spectrum. The side I originally came from, having evolved to be transformative, drag inspired, red carpet makeup. Today this style is supported and spread by a lot of influential figures in the beauty community (Jaclyn Hill, Nikkie Tutorials, James Charles, Jeffree Star) and relies on highly pigmented, technical products (indie brands, color cosmetics specialized makeup, influencers name brands) and a set of codified techniques (baking, contouring, cut-creasing) to make the makeup more full coverage, complex, and hold throughout the day. While this was all booming, a counter movement was also taking space in the beauty world. A more subdued, more editorial movement supported by star makeup artists flaunting their credentials earned working backstage during fashion weeks or shooting vogue editorials (Lisa Eldrige, the OG). It showcased almost a snobber, maybe more mature approach to beauty, a tad more couture, consistent with its ties with high fashion. To give you visual cues the faces this segment create: lighter on face makeup, less codified, proposing alternative techniques to sculpt a face (blush on temples, work with non conventional face colours), deconstructing eyeliner, experimenting with colour block, graphics, far from the blending religion, and full coverage love of influencer makeup. This segment was originally supported by luxury beauty brands and professional colour cosmetics brands. The movement became bigger and taken out of the borders of fashion magazines or designer shows thanks to people of the likes of Rosie Huntington and Violet FR, and brands like Glossier and exclusive niche collaborations like RHW x Sunnies Face. The wave has since been surfed by wider media, British Vogue showing off models’ beauty routines, tips and tricks they had learned during their years backstage popularising the "Couture Snob" beauty approach.

The years 2010 have seen the birth of a seemingly more liberated approach to beauty

In between those “polar” opposites a messy middle has appeared, a movement that cultivates the best of both worlds. The latter has been spread by shows like Euphoria, TikTok and Instagram, juggling between sophisticated high caliber, high technique, heavy makeup and editorial muteness. As those cohorts fully developed; the last years have showcased the fluidity with which one can go from one to the other. The years 2010s have seen the birth of a seemingly more liberated approach to beauty. It’s not that much about covering / transforming/ complying, but more enhancing editing, exploring, expressing.

My personal shift from influencer to editorial beauty came in the wake of a more global shift of my interest from colour cosmetics to skincare, and this internal change was very much mirrored by the whole beauty industry, accentuating the canvas rather than the paint. Over the years, “indie” skincare brands have blossomed, and are now the crown jewels of big conglomerates (Drunk Elephant acquired by Shiseido, the extraordinary basic and successful “The Ordinary” was acquired by Estée Lauder), and being cool on the beauty market now starts by being very niche : be instagrammable, exclusive and have a strongly defined brand identity thanks to one product/ ingredient. Good case studies are “Summer Fridays” where all started with one face mask, or Frank body, master of dry body scrub. Colour cosmetics are also more skin-health conscious and start to advertise more “skin loving” ingredients to their formulas. Lastly a whole new breed of supplements has seen the light of day, a mix of Biotin, vitamins, probiotics, promising to fight free radicals, protect against pollution, moisturize from within, reduce inflammation and heal your gut (Aimé skincare, Halo Beauty … #Dramageddon).

The new boom of the skincare industry is very much boosted by younger customer segments , who were taught early on they should prevent “the collapse”

From a personal level, I had already been introduced to rigorous skincare because I suffered massive acne in my late teens early 20s (thank god for medication). My concerns about pimples however slowly shifted to age prevention when I was the tender age of 22. Funnily enough, over the last few years, I also saw a silent pivot in the messaging conveyed by skincare brands. The new boom of the skincare industry is very much boosted by younger customer segments (I’d say 16 to 30), who were taught early on the routine they should follow to prevent “the collapse”: sun spots, loss of bounce, dehydration, fine lines, dullness and the list goes on. If I look back to the late 90s and early 2000, even then, the message was much different. The anti ageing narrative was designed to reach more mature women and geared towards “fixing” what was already there - a damage control strategy. Fast forward to now, at only 25 (no my skin ain’t mature), I have a well rounded embarrassinglytoomany steps morning and night skincare routine, experimenting with serums, oils, exfoliators, toners, moisturizers, SPF (of course) ... Because it’s 2020 and self care is trendy, skin treatments are sold as a great way to show your own self some well deserved attention and love. Long day hun? Run a bath, put Netflix on, and put a sheet mask on your face. It will erase all your problems.

It’s not about fixing what you might not be happy with right now, it’s about keeping you “safe” from a threatening future

However, if the skincare market does nothing but expand, its watered down message of self love, science, grounding rituals, clean ingredients, seems to insidiously force us to enter the race to “prevention” and contributes to a global climate of fear towards what we have been taught were negative signs of ageing. It’s not about fixing what you might not be happy with right now, it’s about keeping you “safe” from a threatening future.

Anti wrinkle to “prevent” … from what exactly?

Granted, the anti-ageing message has morphed over the years, and women over 50 are increasingly more visible in advertising, with less filters, selling a more realistic dream when it comes to mature skin. Granted skincare brands now advertise the self love you show when you decide to take care of your skin, the main motivation behind skincare products marketed at young women remains “this cream will make you look younger”. From this narrative’s standpoint the aesthetic state of your skin doesn't come as a side benefit of adopting a routine that would make you feel better. The story is rather a cautionary tale, putting self-care as an excuse to buy into the tragic destiny of getting older. Your skin will look old, and you will ultimately lose self-respect and power, confidence in your sexuality, your voice (read the hot girl costume) BUT you can delay this terrible future by putting 24 different serums on everyday and fight to look young and valuable just a little bit longer.

Everything around us is reinforcing this message: Vogue shows off the complicated 24-step beauty routines of 20 year-olds on its Youtube channel, expensive facials performed by hyped beautycians are getting more traction than ever, instagram filters smooth your face so you look perfect in your stories, everything you see on IG is facetuned, beauty influencers vlog their trip to their doctors to get fillers (all injected while they are in their 20s). There seems to be no limits to products or sophisticated techniques to earn your safe spot in the race against time. As always, I am saying that with compassion and empathy: I largely am buying into this terror too.

We have been trained to resent the most natural part of living: change

Yet again, like I try to do with everything that terrifies me, I paused and questioned. What does it hide? Why are we so afraid of our skin transformation? The more I think about it, the more I realise that it is quite unnatural to picture a maturing face in such a bad light. How I see it, we've been trained and conditioned to resent wrinkles, age spots and everything else. Because when you think about it, being young looking or older looking doesn't carry any inherent value. Primarily, it just signals you might be more fit to make babies to the opposite sex, which, when you're actually in your 50s might not matter that much anymore (not the having sex part, the being fertile part). We've actually have been trained to resent the most natural part of living: change. I think that originally, we are hard wired for acceptance: I have vivid memories of me as a child, thinking that, actually, people looked better when they aged. I remember precisely watching fondly those celebrities montages on TV, showcasing their transformation from their younger years to now. I remember distinctly thinking they looked different but having around the block for a bit longer actually suited them. Same for your family members. I am sure we all have memories of looking at old pictures of our parents, acknowledging their change of looks but observing it without negative judgement. Still, now at 25, when I look in the mirror I catch myself inspecting if new lines have appeared, and I very much have a larger skincare budget than I would like to admit.

I was confronted with the fact that despite my efforts and discipline, I’d never win the prevention contest

I have no clue how to conclude, but from my experience this summer, and from the new light in which the pandemic throws your priorities in your face, I’d say a life happily lived has to leave marks somewhere: laughing in the sun gets you tanned and will damage your skin, enjoying a Friday night out sipping on cocktails will dry you out, that delicious birthday cake will most certainly give you pimples and despite all your efforts, your collagen levels will drop and the fat on your skin will be redistributed over time. For the first time in a while I was confronted with the fact that despite my efforts and discipline, I’d never win the prevention contest, and a life lived to the fullest is far more fulfilling than a life spent worrying. I just haven’t quite found the method that’d liberate me from what I still consider being the dreading consequences of time flying.

Mad love