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HOW THE LOCKDOWN CHANGED MY BEAUTY HABITS

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To think that this time last year the phrase 'social distancing' would ring zero bells. That the idea of not being able to see friends and family whenever we wanted to would have been unthinkable. That most managers, if polled, would argue that their employees couldn't work from home effectively. 2020 has probably been one of the strangest years our generation has lived through and I'm sure one day we'll be asked about the pandemic in the same way many of us ask our grandparents about what life was like during World War 2. I've talked at length about my personal ups and downs during this crisis but today I'm sharing a lighter, more random side-effect of how our lives have changed over the past 6 months, which seems pretty fitting given this is a beauty blog! 

-  HAIR REMOVAL SEEMS A LOT OF EFFORT -

Remove your body hair, don't remove your body hair; just don't feel embarrassed or ashamed of being a mammal... All joking aside; I just want to be clear that what you do with your body hair is your choice and there's no judgement here. It's very easy for someone with very fair hair or someone like me who has quite sparse body hair to say 'let it be', but some people grow very dark, thick hair in various places and it's not my place to tell those people how they 'should' feel about it. I still do remove body hair but I switched to epilating a few months ago and haven't really looked back. I've just accepted that sometimes I might miss a patch or sometimes (because you fall out of the habit of checking you're hairless when you're not shaving because it doesn't regrow so quickly) I might have some hair on my legs. The world has not ended. I'm just not willing to spend more than 5 minutes a week on hair removal and that's that. I can't believe it's taken me until 27 to fully shake off that teenage feeling of 'I must be a hairless baby seal at all times' and even 12 months ago I may have been like 'well, I didn't freshly shave my armpits this morning, so I guess I'm wearing a long-sleeved top on this hot day'. Not any more!

- PRIMER AND SETTING MIST ARE NO MORE -

This one is pretty self-explanatory. In all honesty, I've only really been wearing makeup a couple of times a week since lockdown started. And, when I have been wearing it, primer and setting spray have usually been absent. There are definitely situations where I'll want a primer because I'm going somewhere all day, but on the whole I'm not doing these big long days at work and then going out socialising afterwards, so I don't necessarily need it. I also really don't care too much about having some visible pores any more. Needless to say, I probably won't be buying any new setting mists or primers in a rush!

- SKIN AND SELF CARE -

It's no secret that I've found myself more and more involved in the realm of skincare, and in some strange way it's been an important part of this experience. Sometimes it's felt a bit odd to not do my makeup and get into work clothes every day and skincare has felt like an important part of looking after myself and my appearance. It's also been nice to have that extra time in the evening to do the steps I usually skip because I've been out, I'm tired or I'm just too busy. It's infinitely soothing and relaxing to me!

- ALL CREAM EVERYTHING -

I like a fresh skin glow but I'm also actually quite lazy, it has transpired! Therefore sticks and creams I can pat on with my fingers without the faff of lots of brushes have really appealed to me. It's just an intuitive way for me to apply makeup; I find it flattering, I like the effect it gives and I love the natural ease with which I can work with the products.

- STREAMLINE -

I honestly feel I can now do a nice, proper face of makeup in about 15 minutes. And that level of makeup is more than enough to see me through a typical work day when I do go back into the office. Therefore my morning routine just got a bit quicker! 

- MAKEUP SHOULD ONLY BE WORN WHEN IT'S FUN -

This was a biggie for me. Pre-lockdown, if I was going to the pub I'd definitely pop on a bit of makeup, but I'm so used to not wearing it that it honestly doesn't bother me being bare-faced in social settings any more and I won't have any qualms about going to work without it. I'm sure these are all things that would eventually have happened (again, it takes a long time to move past the ideas about how you 'should' look in certain settings from your teenage years!) but lockdown has sped things up. To be honest, I'm wearing makeup so infrequently that it feels like an exciting treat, and that's what makeup should be all about. You should have fun, get creative, feel like you're doing something a bit special. It shouldn't be a chore and it's definitely not something you owe to other people. It's your face: people can get used to looking at it.

How have your beauty habits changed since March?


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