I long for the simple life when I could walk out of the house without anything more than a comb through my hair. When I was a child, the most dress-up my mother or aunt would be willing to do before attending a party would be to wear nice looking clothes and apply a dash of lipstick on their lips! Come rain or summer, the most they would do is apply talcum powder and cold cream on their skin. The cure-all would be Boroline, a multipurpose cream gracing every household. Shampooing would be once a week, probably on Sundays, and oil would be applied on the hair every day before taking a bath. That would keep hair in place, they would say. If they did more, they would be like painted women and/or film stars, and that was not an image they would want others to have about them!
In the evolving years, makeup has become a thing common to almost every household. Few women in today’s world can claim that they do not use makeup. And, unlike our aunts and mothers, who would then say that it would be too much if they did any more than apply lipstick and eye liner (kohl became popular in early 2000s) for a grand party, today’s Indian women are not afraid to go beyond the safe zone and experiment. Hot colours, trends in makeup, contouring, are no longer things only done by makeup gurus. Thanks to popular online makeup divas (Lisa Eldridge) and makeup reviewers (Temptalia), now people are not only aware of new brands of makeup, but also why they are necessary, and the uses of these products. Take the example of the humble lipstick. Even a few years ago, the colours which were most popular around India were shades of brown, maroon and red. Pink was used in a more limited fashion, and most people did not know the uses of a lip balm or lip gloss! During the end 1990s, women who drew inspiration from films suddenly saw the emergence of nude makeup first made popular by “daring” heroines like Kajol who in Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai sports nude makeup with emphasis on the eyes mostly and lips enhanced with gloss..
It can be said that India is slowly becoming aware of fashion trends, and the concept of “Makeover” has become important with the mass market opening up to possibilities of looking as good as the stars on the screens with the aid of makeup.
Let us compare a daily skincare routine 20 years ago and now. 20 years ago, a woman’s daily skincare routine would involve drinking water, taking a bath every day, shampooing once every week, oiling the hair either every day or on alternate days, and applying body cream. In the makeup section, lipstick, kohl or eye liner, a compact and nail polish would be all that would grace the vanity case.
Now, makeup has become much more complicated. An office-going friend of mine told me that she takes about half an hour to finish her makeup as part of her corporate grooming procedure. This includes cleansing, toning and moisturizing the skin before applying a primer to let the foundation get more easily settled. Then, she would use a lighter foundation and darker foundation, and use them together to contour her face, emphasizing her features with the aid of a dome brush and/or a foundation brush. Her eyes would be primed first, and then neutral colored eye shadow would be put on with an eyeshadow brush. Smudge brush would be used to blend in the colors. Brows would be tamed and filled, and then, a thin coating of liner would be applied on the upper eye lid. Kohl would be used to tightline the eyes, followed by two coats of mascara. Depending on the day, a good bit of blush would be applied, followed by a highlighter, if required, and a finishing powder would be used to set the blush. Lips would be scrubbed and moisturized first, and then a lip liner would be used to outline the lips. This would be followed by a lipstick, used with a brush to prolong its wear, and a dab of gloss would be put in the center of the mouth for emphasis. Her entire face would be then brushed with a light hand of finishing powder, and spritz of expensive perfume on the hollow of the throat and pulse points would be applied with a subtle hand.
This elaborate procedure is nothing similar to what we had before but it can be a fair indication of how makeup has become much more complicated than before and the sudden evolution of it in today’s generation! We have certainly learnt to look better but we have also learnt to make our lives a lot harder.
I hope this post on ‘when did makeup become so complicated’ help you at its best!!
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