Makeup as a Way to Feel Powerful

Nowadays wearing makeup is an essential part of a person’s routine. The beauty industry is changing all the time. There are always new trends or new styles entering the beauty community. Countless new brands have been created and many new ingredients have been developed. There is a stigma that involves the belief that those who wear makeup are insecure about their appearance or that it is worn to impress others but this isn’t always the case. It is a form of self- expression.

One hundred years ago in 1919, The ideal face of makeup was inspired by Hollywood and was most commonly seen on movie stars. By the 40s and 50s everyone was wearing red lipstick, as well as other beauty products that complimented their facial features. Throughout the 1900s some beauty products were created for solely for women with white complexions. But in the 70s an influx of new cosmetic brands brought some darker shades to the market. Beauty standards changed regularly between the 70s and 90s as some women stopped wearing makeup completely while others wore vibrant colours daily. Today the ideal face of makeup is often glam and is inspired by artists on Social media. Skincare was the leading category in 2016 accounting for about 39% of the global market. The beauty industry is growing faster than ever before, today it’s estimated at 532 billion and counting. The famous brand L’Oréal is a French personal care company it is the world’s largest cosmetics company and had 5.5 percent growth in 2018. Unilever is also a popular brand. It is Europe’s seventh most valuable company and is one of the oldest multinational companies, its products are available in around 190 countries.

YouTube celebrities are exerting more and more influence. As woman, makeup helps us embrace our femininity. More and more men are using makeup and pursuing careers within the beauty industry Beauty vloggers are changing the face of industry turning creative and entrepreneurial makeup enthusiasts into online sensations vloggers are turning a simple hobby into an actual career. Big cosmetic companies are taking notice. They are partnering with these beauty gurus for advertising campaigns and product placements. They are even co-creating new products with these young influencers. The beauty industry has adopted influencer marketing more passionately than any other industry. From 2007 onwards brands really started paying close attention to bloggers and influencers. This lead to the rising popularity of ‘sponsored content’ in the form of blog posts and YouTube videos. Research shows that the average woman will spend around £22,000 on makeup in their life time. It is astounding to consider the amount of money that is being spent globally on products that manipulate how people look. It is amazing to consider the opportunities that this industry has provided for creativity but it is appalling to think huge amount of money is being spent on something that doesn’t really matter.

Makeup is a form of art. Most society thinks makeup is just a way to hide a person’s flaws or a way to have fake perfection. Drag is an art for that has exploded largely because of RuPaul Andre Charles who is arguably the most famous drag queen in the world today. So many trends started with the drag community, before YouTube, Instagram and other social media’s makeup techniques like contouring were used by drag queens. Makeup was about exaggerating features and turning a face into a character. Makeup artists love to follow drags as they are continuously bringing out new trends. Due to RuPaul and other drags the world is blooming with drag queens. RuPaul was the first face of M.A.C’s collection of lipsticks in 1994. One of the issues surrounding drag queens is the lack of recognition they get. I don’t think the drag community gets the credit they deserve for the trends that are occurring with makeup as so many trends started within the drag community.

Influencers make huge amounts of money. Leading brands know that social media influencers are amazing to work with. Brand ambassadors are a way for social media influencers to make money. Companies hire brand ambassadors for the long term and it is up to them to have the responsibility to learn about the brand or product. The average salary for a brand ambassador in the United Kingdom is around £21,000. Another way for brands to advertise products is social media sponsored posts. This is by far the most popular method and the most common way for influencers to make money especially when they are just beginning. A sponsored social media post is when a brand engages an influencer to create content featuring the brand and share it with their followers on social media platforms. According to the UK bloggers survey 2019 most British-based bloggers revealed that they charge between £100-£250 per sponsored post but these numbers vary within the blogging community.

Makeup products can be very expensive. Women don’t need to wear makeup; it is a choice. When you put makeup products on your face it can cause spot break outs or your pores to block up but the makeup covers it, it covers the insecurities you have. Many say to embrace how you look and feel beautiful and confident with ourselves and that we don’t have to lie about how we look, but if we don’t feel comfortable with ourselves then there is nothing wrong with wearing makeup to make us feel better in our body’s. Makeup isn’t a bad thing. Makeup is one of the best things invented, if you took makeup away from a lot of girls they would feel self-conscious about their image and how they look. Makeup is such a unique thing, we put it on to feel confident in our own skin, not to impress anyone else but to impress ourselves.

I have a positive opinion on makeup. Makeup is adventurous and it brings out the creativity in yourself. You paint a picture with colours and brushes. Just like you do your makeup with colours and brushes. Whether or not you have a good or bad view on makeup, the power is that makeup is an art and it cannot go unacknowledged because it is simply mind blowing.