Makeup As Meditation, Skincare As 'Girl Therapy'
The latest installment of Ask Ugly is here.
The next installment of Ask Ugly, my monthly beauty advice column for the Guardian, is here! A preview: Hi Ugly, I’ve been obsessed with makeup and beauty products for years and have read a lot (and seen a lot of TikToks) about how a beauty routine can be a form of meditation or mindfulness. I felt that way for a re…
J_
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Mar 13
I loved this one, I think it cut particularly deep.
You can never have too much of what you don't really want.
I think of drinking coffee when you're thirsty for water and convincing yourself the problem is just that the coffee isn't high quality enough, or there's too much water in the coffee and you should drink espresso, or that the only reliable way to get water is by buying coffee, or maybe if you really embraced a positive mindful attitude towards coffee it wouldn't leave you feeling so bad, or maybe you should fight back against mainstream strong black coffee culture and try this refreshing organic iced coffee instead.
I also think of accounts I've read by people who self-harmed for so long they grew to ritualise it, and the parallels in your writing sent a shudder of recognition.
I think of accounts by women who believed that love was like getting nothing but endless cups of perfectly swirled expensive cappuccinos and wondering why they were felt like they were dying inside.
vicki
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Mar 13
I think the topic of makeup/beauty as it relates to wellness is so muddled because it asks us to confront our relationship with consumerism in general. so much of what we buy is self-interpreted/justified as a representation of the self and any sniff of criticism at that relationship can feel like a personal attack. but it's really like a once you see it you can't unsee it sort of situation. the more I learn about beauty culture and its ties with capitalism, it's hard not to see advertisement as a form of escapism/cope about the fact of one's mortality. "maybe if I buy enough things I can stave off the threat of death, the last one didn't work, but maybe this one will. I didn't feel better with my last purchase in a sustained way like I was promised, but maybe I just have to try again." these are the sort of thought spirals I find myself in when I buy into the belief that products will save me.