dollymagazinesealedsection2008:
not 2 be a banksy freak but 2017 makeup culture is so depressing… the industry relentlessly peddling products to teens & the ridiculous level of consumption thats celebrated n normalised….worst of all ppl defending it saying its a wonderful thing that we live in an age of extreme makeup consumerism..soz i dont see anything wonderful about 14 yr old girls being told by rolls royce owning youtubers that they care about them so much that they are giving out a discount code on ludicrous amounts of essentially the same products every week so they cn perform femininity adequately enough to feel worth
And it’s even sadder when you bring this up around people and they get all defensive because everyone and their mother wants to be an MUA these days, and they don’t realize they’ve been handed such bullshit by these big companies. The companies have won when suddenly you can’t be an “empowered” women without “power brows” and perfect lipstick, and I see so many people on social media preaching that being an MUA makes them a stronger feminist; basically aligning feminism with consumerist makeup culture which is the exact opposite of what feminism actually is.
& I think the equally capitalist response to this phenomenon have been companies like The Ordinary, Glossier, Karity, Milk Cosmetics, etc. These companies preach a “pure, no-makeup” philosophy in an attempt to make themselves look better and trash the “mainstream” so that the consumer thinks they’re buying into a better, more “feminist” beauty scheme. It’s really funny considering that most of these millennial-geared, minimalist makeup brands have larger parent companies who comprise the very “mainstream” that’s supposedly being combated. Like, DECIEM, The Ordinary’s parent company literally has a whole line of products dedicated to skin lightening and proudly advertise their bleaching products in the year 2017. It’s all trash.
I wonder how many responses to this thread are “LMAOO UR UGLY AND UR EYEBROWS ARENT ON FLEEK THATS WHY UR BOYFRIEND SAYS I FUCC BETTER LMAOOOO”
The idea that being critical of something that women partake in is suddenly antifeminist, woman hating and must be shut down at all costs is DISGUSTING. Like where is this defensiveness coming from? I’ve seen posts that criticize makeup get called homophobic and transphobic bc LGBTQ ppl use makeup and saying that makeup isn’t the most empowering thing ever is hating on LGBTQ ppl now…? Stop. Just because it’s marketed and aimed towards women/the LGBTQ comm doesn’t mean it’s untouchable or that any commentary on it is a direct attack of our identities. These companies and these products don’t give a fuck about you, they just want your money and they’ll do anything to keep selling it to you, including throwing so much cash at YouTubers that they’ll bend over backwards to make you believe makeup will liberate you.
I am a big makeup wearer, I like wearing a lot of makeup, always have, probably always will. I will point out that throughout history people have painted their faces and it’s cool that like people have found new ways to do that, HOWEVER the fact that people who aren’t into doing that are shamed and the whole thing is turned into a capitalist circus is fucked up, also the marketing of hyper luxe beauty brands is suuuuper gross and the whole thing where more expensive is marketed as essentially and always better so that if you can’t afford Natasha Denona or whatever you feel like you’re doing something wrong.
Makeup is potentially empowering when you treat cosmetics as art supplies, but like you don’t have lifestyles associated with different brands of oil paint
Thoughts From The Peacock Angel 