During self-isolation, it’s nice to give your skin a bit of a break. After all, piling pounds of cosmetics on – and then using a plethora of chemical solutions to take it off – day in and day out can get tough on such sensitive skin. We’ve already been making DIY face masks from home to treat our poor skin to some extra self-care.
But routine is also key to managing quarantine long term – it’s important that we try to maintain as much of our pre-isolation routine as possible, and so if that means putting some makeup on for your grand outing to the living room, then so be it. In fact, now is the ideal time to take your make-up out, and we don’t just mean your usual favourites.
Brush the dust off of those palettes at the back of your shelf and have a go at the eyeliner look you added to your Instagram ‘saved’ tab but never got around to trying, stick household objects on your face in the name of art and stop caring how the end result will turn out. After all, if it doesn’t go well, who’s going to see it?
A thoroughly underrated time of the day, applying makeup in the morning, styling my hair and cracking out my full skincare routine evening were once sacred moments that in an otherwise busy day I would always make sure I took time to do, just for me. There’s a calming, almost meditative effect to sitting, maybe listening to some music, and enjoying putting your face on. For me, currently on day twenty-two of self-isolation, it’s been a way to feel a bit more like myself again.
As if you needed any further encouragement (I say, writing this from my garden in false eyelashes and my first attempt at a cut crease), we’ve asked seven makeup artists from the BRICKS community to share their #SlayAtHome looks and what inspired the look, below.
Bernardo Ferreira, @bernyferr
Being stuck at home during lockdown can mean having a lack of materials, my dad however is a computer technician and has loads of computer circuit boards, so I ripped them apart with some pliers and stuck all the pieces on my face!
Eszter Magyar, @makeupbrutalism
I wanted to do something more abstract, more like a visual poem. I’m lucky, because my girlfriend from London (who is a videographer herself) is stuck with me in Berlin.
Salwa Rahman, @urgalsal_
The look was inspired from when I was scrolling through my collection of art pictures that I took when I went to galleries pre-isolation, I think knowing everyone is in the same position as me (stuck at home) alleviates the tension to join the rat race of churning out content but actually grounds me in the knowledge that I’m doing makeup for fun and to kill time, which is what I always want it to be for me – fun!
Wendy Asumadu, @wendysworld_xox
A few runway trends at the moment that I love are pops of blue and liner. I wanted to incorporate these trends together but give it my own twist. I played around with blue and yellow because the contrast so beautifully and look great on my dark skin tone!
Grace Sinnott, @gracessinnott
The inspiration behind this piece was (sumi-e) Japanese’s ink painting. I tried to replicated the same inky texture of the koi’s on my face.
Madeleine Brown, @mvbmua
This look was made in homage to popular culture and culinary experimentation I have immersed myself in during quarantine, a creature from outer space meets domestic goddess. A complete transformation but still subtle enough to wear on your next Zoom conference. Key Products used: Ben Nye Nose & Scar Wax, Mark Traynor Face Lift, Bobbi Brown Creamy Concealer, coloured contacts, a shag/mullet wig and a pink oyster mushroom.
Aoife Cullen, @aoife.cullen
During this time I’ve found comfort in spending my free time doing what I love the most. I love experimenting with bright colours and experimenting with shapes just to see what comes out of my mind and onto my face. I like to spend the rest of the day wearing my creation – if anything, it’s a good conversation topic for my family when I come downstairs! I’ve focused on using this time to explore my passion and I would encourage anyone to do the same. Being creative calms your mind.
Feeling inspired now? Share your #SlayAtHome looks now on Instagram and tag us at @bricksmagazine.