We’ve Been Running In Circles
There is a particular makeup trend that’s been circulating beauty-enthusiast circles for years now. Once a secret makeup hack only professionals wielded, this trend has spread its way across social media, and the technique has become an everyday basic for many. I’m talking about inner eye highlighting.
For those who are unfamiliar with the practice, inner eye highlight refers to a smudge of highlighter one applies in the inner corner of their eyes near the bridge of their nose. The light will reflect off of the highlighter brightening one’s eyes, and the light highlighter shade will make your eyes seem bigger and more awake. I remember first reading about this technique in a beauty book I got when I was 12. I immediately wanted to try.
Despite my multiple attempts and the variety of both highlighter and applicator I used, it never looked right on my eyes. I was frustrated, wondering why I looked so ridiculous with it on when I was following the tutorials precisely. I didn’t understand how, despite using the same product and the same application technique, it could look so incredibly different (and wrong) on my eyes. I came to the conclusion that there must be something wrong, either in my application, in the product, or in my face itself, and I gave up. It wasn’t until years later that I uncovered the true reason it never looked the same on me as it did in the tutorials: my eyes have an epicanthal fold (or eyelid crease) that folds too close to my inner corner eye, distorting the placement of the highlighter. Once I stopped following the makeup tutorials and figured out what worked out for my own face I learned how to do an inner eye highlight. But the lesson I am trying to convey goes far beyond an eye makeup tutorial.
The idea I’m trying to convey to you includes makeup products itself, as well as makeup application. The beauty industry (as creative and potential-filled as it is) in the end is a business. Beauty brands are in the business of creating products they believe will sell- that is simple logic. The thing is, many of these brands cater to The Hegemonic Standard of Beauty (read about that here), meaning they create products with a certain targeted market in mind. That’s why certain lipstick shades that are praised and called “the most flattering lipstick to ever exist” may not be as flattering on me as it might be on the skin tones it was intended to flatter. That’s why certain makeup techniques simply do not work with certain features. It’s disheartening, and extremely unfortunate, but the fact that makeup is still largely advertised for and on White models stands true, even in 2022.
But that is not what the average consumer sees. An average makeup consumer doesn’t realize that the makeup they purchased was created to flatter a certain face and a certain skin tone, all they see is themselves in the mirror, slathered in makeup that wasn’t created to flatter their faces. Instead of wondering why brands have to work to glorify the antiquated idea that there is a narrow, and very specific definition of beauty, an average consumer will wonder what is wrong with they themselves. It breaks my heart to think about how many people fell under the impression that they were ugly, or that they were unable to do makeup well, because they were using products and following tutorials that didn’t intend to celebrate their unique features.
So this hypothetical average consumer feels defeated. They wonder when they’ll ever be able to use makeup “like those girls on social media”. They feel bad about themselves because the tutorial they chose did not suit their unique (wonderful) features, and they feel ugly. So they go off to buy more makeup, search for more tutorials, and continue running in circles, never realizing that the problem is not and never was them, but the system that they’re in.
