Blog Post 3: Project Outcomes and Personal Development Reflection
When I chose Makeup Breakdown as my Better Lives class, I definitely expected my final project to be much different than what it actually was. This turn of events was not only due to this quarantine situation but also because of what I learnt during my classes.
One of the themes we worked with was the one of imperfection. This theme really struck me as, growing up, I had convinced myself that all the celebrities I looked up to were perfect, flawless, unlike I, who had many flaws. And then I discovered the power of makeup and photo angles.
The truth is perfection is so subjective and so idyllic that I doubt it even exists. What we consider to be imperfections, however, are very human. As our final project was to create a look around the theme of imperfection, I knew I wanted to do something that would resonate with my younger self, who struggled with her imperfections.
I decided to go down memory lane and watch some old beauty guru YouTube videos, as that is how I learnt to do makeup. Whilst doing this, I found this old trend of the ‘No Makeup Makeup Look’ which I remember just finding absurd. I remember thinking if you do not want to look like you are wearing makeup then just do not wear any. I therefore decided to create a look, without any makeup, that centers around that idea of the ‘no makeup makeup look.’
This project has not only opened my eyes to the creativity that can arise from a lack of resources (in my case, no makeup available to create a makeup look), but also how personal such a broad issue could be. I think anyone and everyone can resonate with the issue of feeling imperfect compared to society’s beauty standards, no matter what age, gender, ethnicity… Realizing this project felt like a responsibility to me. I felt like I owed this to my younger self, who struggled with feeling insecure but now has realized that there is no reason to feel that way. I can honestly say I am proud of the how much my self-esteem has improved, and this was really reflected in my work. I hope that anyone who saw my work can also learn something from it as I did.