Maquillage: the everyday bricolage
Artwork by Olivia Bessant
Our Lifestyle Editors, Emma and Tuula, look back at the history of makeup and make a case for maquillage as the bricolage of the beauty industry.
Your face is a canvas. And you are the artist. You can gather together as little or as many tools as you want. You have in your hands a kaleidoscope of products in all imaginable shades, ready to be picked and mixed, to construct your daily masterpiece: your look. Maquillage is the everyday bricolage - and it sells.
Last year Business Insider reported that the beauty industry is worth $532 billion and counting. This astronomical value is not actually that surprising: cosmetics not only dominate our bathroom shelves, but also our Instagram feeds, our TV adverts, and even the giant neon billboards in Piccadilly Circus. How did it become such a prominent part of our world? Well, beauty has not only existed in our present: it also has a past.
The first evidence of makeup dates back to the Ancient Egyptians, who were obsessed with self-image and were essentially the Kardashians of antiquity. They used black kohl as eyeliner and mascara, and coloured their cheeks and lips with rouge made from ground beetles. In Ancient Rome women learnt to cover blemishes and whiten their faces by using lead and chalk: you can thank them for creating the first foundation. A tan was not a trend but rather a shameful sight: it meant that you were poor and forced to work outdoors under the scorching sun. Pale skin was associated with the rich who were indoors busy doing nothing and thus was all the rage. This failed to go out of style, and even started to become a lethal fad: in Victorian times, mercury, arsenic and blood-draining techniques were used, as they were believed to enhance your pale complexion (and you thought ground beetles sounded risky).
The turning point came with the birth of Hollywood: the public now looked to the stars as their ultimate makeup gurus. In a blink Max Factor was founded, the soon-to-be cosmetic heaven, followed by Coco Chanel who bequeathed us the classic dark eyes, red lipstick and suntan look. An explosion of bold colours defined the cosmetic landscape of the 70s and 80s, with icons such as Boy George and Bowie taking to the stage with eccentric eyeshadow and even lightning bolts painted on their faces. No matter what century you lived in, makeup was an ever-present essential. It transgressed time by learning to evolve with constantly changing societies, tastes and attitudes. By refusing to be matted down, concealed or brushed away, today the beauty industry has been crowned one of the most important and lucrative businesses of our time.
But if Netflix’s The Crown has taught us anything, it’s that a throne is never steady. In recent years customers have become much more vocal with their criticisms, urging cosmetic companies to offer products that tailor to all skin colours. Certain brands such as Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty have responded to those calls: in 2017, after months of anticipation, she launched a line of foundation which contained an unprecedented forty different shades. Several other brands have since followed suit, taking conscious steps to ensure inclusivity for all to find their perfect tone. Gender has also been at the forefront of the makeup industry’s agenda. In 2018, Chanel launched its first male makeup line, signalling the beauty industry’s efforts to deconstruct outdated conventions.
Cosmetic companies have equally caught on to the fact that we are less fooled by flashy packaging and much savvier about checking the back label. The shorter the ingredients list, the better; and extra points if it’s clean and sustainable. The industry is constantly proving that their focus is on the future: in 2018, L’Oreal announced that it wanted to be called “the number one beauty tech company”. Turns out beauty and technology are the next Batman and Robin ready to take on the world. Lancome has already launched a custom-made foundation machine which uses artificial intelligence to digitally read a client’s skin to create a specially blended foundation ready for you in a matter of minutes. You can thank robots for no longer having to share makeup with your younger siblings.
Nevertheless, the beauty industry is far from perfect: there are several scars that lie underneath the surface. It is still denounced by many as promoting superficiality and turning innocents into vanity-obsessed influencers. Whilst some may view makeup’s ability to enhance any feature or cover up any insecurity as a superpower, others criticise it for offering the wearer a temporary mask of self-assurance. A 2014 study assessed the relationship between makeup and self-esteem by asking participants to fill in a self-esteem survey whilst researchers measured the amount of makeup that had been applied to the individuals’ faces. They found that those wearing more makeup had significantly lower self-esteem compared to their clear-faced counterparts. This explains why some see makeup as “war paint”. Urban Dictionary, rather disdainfully, defines this as an “overabundance of cosmetics applied to a woman’s face for the purpose of hiding what lies beneath”. The idea of applying a layer of “protection” in order to face the day ahead has become so commercialised that habitual wearers can feel vulnerable and exposed if they choose to go a day without it.
In addition, tensions between cosmetics and professionalism continue to boil and remain unresolved. While some studies have shown that attractive individuals tend to earn more money than less attractive individuals, other studies have found that wearing makeup can impede one's ability to earn the respect of their colleagues. It is because beauty is such a universal phenomenon that it will always have to confront contradictions and criticisms. Just as there is no one shade, there is no one right way. Whether you choose to wear makeup as a confidence booster, to express a different side of your personality, for professional reasons or simply no makeup at all, your decision should first and foremost be a personal choice. Remember that it is your canvas, and no one else’s.
From Pharaohs to Fenty, the beauty industry has transgressed both time and traditions. It has destroyed conventions and created novelties, rebuilding itself each era alongside our ever-changing societies. What will the face of the future beauty industry look like you might ask? Well, here’s to hoping it blends together even more innovation and inclusivity, with a brush of confidence and eco-consciousness to give it that extra shine.
This article was originally published in Issue 725 of Pi Magazine.