Blog 2: Themes Reflection Task
For my Better Lives unit, I chose to attend Fashion Activism lectures which proved essential for my practice as a makeup artist and hair stylist. After attending the Better Lives unit, I learned that diversity, inclusivity, sustainability and social responsibility are the key themes that we need to be focusing on. After what happened in the recent months, many experts from the industry are expecting the fashion industry to change dramatically, by putting bigger emphasis on sustainability than ever. And thus I chose to centralise my essay around sustainability and how this translates into my practice.
I hope that the Clean Beauty Movement will escalate and thus further support conscious consumerism in the beauty and fashion industry. Clean beauty is an umbrella term that covers beauty products that are hypoallergenic, green and natural. In the recent years dermatologist have noticed a rapid increase in people with sensitive skin due to pollution and stress. Keeping this in mind, I want to be able to cater to all my clients and models and their needs and thus I would like to update my kit with more clean and organic products. One would be surprised how many harmful chemicals there are in makeup products.
Currently I am seeing a big makeup revolution in the runway makeup. Backstage can get very hectic (and messy), using hundredths of tissues, cotton pads and other materials which are incredibly hard to recycle. Fortunately there are makeup artists such as Crystal Riley that are pioneering clean and zero waste beauty in the backstage. After looking closer to Crystabel’s work, I started to admire her DIY approach to clean and organic beauty. She often mixes clay and cellulose and even creates her own organic makeup tools such as reusable pads from flannel shirts. I really hope to use some of the products she recommends and thus slowly transform my kit to more environmentally conscious. Furthermore, by taking my time to look deeper into the ingredients and how products are made, I hope to create a deeper connection with my kit. It is almost like a link between futuristic approach and an ancient one. There is something fascinating about producing beautiful work without producing rubbish around myself.
After reading multiple articles about the mentality of beauty brands in backstage, it is evident that majority of people prefer luxury products with heavy packaging that can be simply put away. Luxury should be comfort and cater each human’s needs. Perhaps makeup artists can stop using wet wipes and go back in the ancient times and use a wet warm cloth on the face. Not only will this be more eco-conscious but also will add a healthy glow to the skin like no other product.
In conclusion, Better Lives gave me a great opportunity to reflect upon my practices. Fundamentally, sustainability in the makeup artistry should be more talked about. Us, makeup artists are often using harmful chemical both to the people and the environment around us. Especially during times like these, industry professionals are expecting fashion industry to change after this pandemic and so should our approach to beauty.