All made up with nowhere to go: makeup and lockdown

With many of us living in loungewear and putting away our makeup brushes for a few weeks, I question whether lockdown has proved that people wear makeup just to meet society’s beauty standards, rather than for themselves.   

I have worn makeup pretty much every day since I was eleven years old, but since lockdown began, I have been going make up free. Admittedly, I have adored not having to stress about my makeup in the mornings, but I don’t feel the best about my appearance. Customarily, I apply makeup when I’m going out of the house, and I tend to do a ‘full-face’ unless I’m in a hurry, or hungover, of course.

80% of people feel good about themselves when they wear makeup during lockdown

This hiatus from wearing makeup has made me realise that I use it to fulfil my ideal perception of myself in front of others more than for my personal self-esteem. I rarely wear it if I am not seeing anybody that day except if I am in a creative mood and feel like experimenting. 

By embracing no-makeup most days, I have gotten used to seeing my freckles and rosy cheeks and started to like them. When I applied makeup again for a zoom meeting, I found that my unique features disappeared, and my usual makeup seemed too heavy and false. Yet, I can’t help thinking that I wouldn’t want to wear minimal makeup every day because I enjoy being creative too much. I don’t shy away from bright colours on my lips and eyes, and I love playing around with different styles. For me, makeup is a big part of expressing my identity as I like to show that I’m a creative person.   

I can’t deny that when I put that makeup on, I felt a lot better about myself and finally felt like me again. I could barely recognise myself in the mirror but I was unsure whether this was a newfound confidence in going natural or relief of finally looking like a ‘better’, less tired, version of me. A survey by makeup brand No7 concluded that 80% of people feel good about themselves when they wear makeup during lockdown, with almost half continuing to wear it every day. So, many fellow makeup wearers feel the same as me and agree that it can be excellent for our self-esteem. 

We should wear, or not wear, whatever makes us feel confident

Putting makeup on again reminded me of how relaxing my makeup routine can be. Self-care is often a capitalised package of body butter from The Body Shop, Lush bath bombs and Sunday night face packs while putting on your usual makeup can be a kind of mindfulness and self-esteem booster. Small, habitual routines are well-known as being great for our mental health and one art therapy study found that 45 minutes of creative activity a day reduces our level of cortisol, the stress hormone, by 75%. 

Lockdown has led me to reflect on why I choose to wear makeup in the first place. From a relatively young age, I was encouraged to wear makeup to emphasise my supposed ‘natural beauty’ by female family members. I was taught to cover areas that I felt less-confident about like my teenage acne and red cheeks, and this helped my self-esteem and made me feel more grown-up at the time. Now I am approaching 21, makeup still makes me feel more confident as I can cover the bags under my eyes from late nights and any unwanted redness. I am more conscious of makeup trends, so I often find myself altering my looks based on what is in vogue, rather than what ‘suits’ my face and aligns with my individuality. 

This period has ultimately taught me that I should embrace my natural side more often but should not tone down my creativity when it comes to makeup. It has also reminded me that we should wear, or not wear, whatever makes us feel confident, and do so for ourselves, not others. This time is perfect for us all to explore different ways of growing our self-esteem, so why not experiment.