It’s everywhere — the first trending video you come across on social media, the ad pasted on the bus stop, the most colorful outlet at your favorite mall, the magazine you’re reading to pass the time… everywhere. Makeup is one of the most explored and talked about topics the world over today. People are either sharing hacks or breaking down popular looks and trends in videos, or they’re reviewing the latest palette in the market or a celebrity look that’s currently viral. And that’s just the scene online. Offline, numerous individuals are experts or budding makeup artists, beauty stores are ubiquitous, and salons are a booming industry, especially in big cities. Almost every young woman looks forward to an occasion that allows her to doll up and step out, and it doesn’t end at a chic outfit. Smokey eyes, winged liner, no-makeup makeup looks, liquid lips, filled-in eyebrows, voluminous mascara, false lashes, flawless highlighting and contouring — the world is crazy about it all.
Why? What makes makeup, or cosmetics in general, something to look forward to, something that we almost can’t do without? Why do we willingly drop thousands on makeup, skincare, nail art, hair care, and even cosmetic surgery?
Cosmetics have a lot to do with identity and expression. After a point, we become synonymous with a certain beauty practice, particularly if we’re in the public eye. For instance, everyone remembers soul singer Amy Winehouse for her signature dramatic winged eye and her over-the-top “beehive” hairdo. It’s not just the lush colors and textures and perfumes of these products that have us so attached to them. There’s more to it than that, and it comes down to image, confidence, and comfort.
You’re probably familiar with the “power of makeup” format of YouTube videos. It often features a YouTuber — someone like you and me — who undergoes a beauty transformation, but sometimes, it features a person with a prominent skin condition or an elderly person. The videos proceed to show us how these individuals go from ordinary to extraordinary, from blotchy to bomb, from ageing to amazingly youthful, from female to male, and even from average nobody to popular celebrity through clever use of makeup. The format receives millions of views, in particular those videos in which a supposed ugly duckling glows up into a glam swan. That is the power of makeup — it can hide our insecurities and enhance our strengths, leaving us comfortable in our own skin and able to go out and live our best lives.
Cosmetics, in the modern context, go beyond beauty. They are a science and an art simultaneously, a veritable movement that arms us with confidence and daring. You can stand in front of a mirror, apply a bold shade of lipstick and a coat of mascara, and feel able to take on the day just like that. And despite face masks that currently prevent us from donning our favorite shade of lip colour and the ongoing dearth of social events due to the pandemic, makeup and its comrades of the cosmetics world are going nowhere. Every layer of lipstick, every coat of nail lacquer, every flick of a mascara wand, every dab of perfume, every stroke of a contour brush — all of it comes together to form one of the greatest confidence boosters ever known to humankind.
And it’s here to stay and slay. Just ensure that your cosmetics come from a brand that cares for all-kind, and you’ll be able to take on the world like the star you are.
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