An Exploration of the Art and Importance Behind a Daily Makeup Routine
Analysis by Sharanya (Anya) Gupta, BFA in Design at UT Austin
This blog explores the makeup routine of a subject (myself!) through documentation of tension/emotion, graphical data depictions, and coordinated images. This blog later expands upon this analysis through speculative design to imagine a dystopian future engaging in a feeble attempt to encourage sustainability, where makeup fuels exploitative actions.
- Tools Utilized: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, iPhone X Camera, Makeup Items, Pinterest, Pen, Paper
- Instructor: Cathryn Ploehn
- Course: Design Studio 1 DES 304
- Timeline: 5 weeks
I do my makeup every day: it’s a form of self-expression and art for me. Somedays I opt for very creative looks, while other days I may do something more traditional. I love the idea of being able to draw all over my face in some way and have that be a display of art, or create a look coordinated with my outfits to feel like the whole of me is an art piece. I draw on my bindis — a marking worn on the center of the forehead stemming from traditions of Hinduism— almost every day, which helps me feel closer to my Indian culture. Overall, doing my makeup makes me feel very put together prior to a busy day, and helps me “take on” the day feeling confident.
Phase I: Observation of the Routine
The steps within my makeup routine typically follow this order:
1) Base makeup (primer, concealer, foundation, etc.)
2) Base eyeliner and kajal (a black waterline)
3) Bindi (mark on the forehead)
4) Extra color (eyeshadow, blush)
5) Drawn on details (dots, lines, etc.)
6) Lips (gloss, lipstick, lip balm)
Each step tends to have different emotions associated with them, typically ranging from the tension felt at each step. Upon messing up makeup, I usually have to redo steps, so the tension for steps that have more detail associated with them often increases. Here is a review of the steps as well as the tension typically associated with them:
1) Base makeup (primer, concealer, foundation, etc.)
Super easy to do! I tend to be very “lightweight,” feeling little to no tension, during this step since the application of base makeup allows for a lot of room for error.2) Base eyeliner and kajal (a black waterline)
There is a lot of precision associated with doing eyeliner so it is definitely a high-tension activity, as I am scared to mess up and thus have to redo the steps that occurred underneath the eyeliner. Doing kajal (a black waterline) is super easy and low-tension after doing a high-tension activity like my eyeliner. I also make a small sharp “V” at the tear duct within my eye, which can sometimes be associated with high-tension since it is very small and requires precision to center on both sides.3) Bindi (mark on the forehead)
My bindi, depending on the complexity of the design I chose, can either be high tension or low tension. Some days I just do a dot, but the majority of the time I aim to do my current design, which is a crescent, I have gotten good at doing it very quickly but I often feel tense trying to do it and get it perfect.4) Extra color (eyeshadow, blush)
Extra color takes a bit of time to decide, but I tend to feel high energy, low tension while doing it because it is easy to do and is a simple way to enhance the look, so I’m excited!5) Drawn on details (dots, lines, etc.)
Drawn on details can either be high tension or low tension depending on their complexity. Some lines have to be very sharp and calculated, which means tension can be very high at times. Other details, like larger dots or shapes that allow room for error, are more low tension as they do not have as much precision associated with them.6) Lips (gloss, lipstick, lip balm)
Doing my lips can vary in intensity: if I am doing a more intricate lip look, then I typically will “line my lips” (drawing on the lip outline with a lip liner helps to define the shape as well as add depth to the lips), which requires precision, and thus this activity often is associated with a tension increase. However, filling the lips in, whether it is with lip gloss, lipstick, or lip balm, tends to be a very low-tension activity as it does not require too much precision.
Autoethnography and Journey Map Creation
Through the conducting of an autoethnography and the eventual creation of a journey map, I explored the routine of doing my makeup, finding that it serves as a “ritual” that helps me to feel more prepared before moving through the rest of my day. Feeling more prepared allows me to take on a day with confidence, which is why before starting any form of work, or knowing I have a long day ahead of me, I am sure to do my makeup to set the tone right.
Key Takeaways from Observation
Flexibility of Steps. Although I established a journey map of the general process of my makeup, it should be noted that many of these steps can be switched around, and often are done so in order to reduce the time (between swapping different materials). For example, I might do my eyeliner and then immediately jump to special details since they might require using the same tool (the eyeliner). However, for the “basic” routine of a base concealer, with eyeliner, a little color, and lips, the routine remains unchanged from what is described in the journey map.
Coordination. Even within more “basic” routines of makeup, I found myself always pairing makeup looks with the outfit I was wearing. This introduces an area of exploration within the routine, as changing this coordination aspect could possibly affect the rest of my ritual, and thus affect my day as a whole.
Self-Image and Consciousness. The documentation of this process forced me to analyze “no-makeup” photos of mine. I do not have a problem with seeing my no-makeup face, but I recognize that I have a slight aversion to revealing these images in the public sphere since many of my peers are used to only seeing me with makeup. I wondered how pursuing makeup looks that force me to not add certain “key” elements of my typical look or pursuing makeup looks that set me outside of my comfort zone may affect my self-image and perception of my public presentation, and thus affect my ritual and my day as a whole.
Lessons and Reflection Upon Feedback
I was very happy to see positive feedback on the linework + following dots of the face! A few suggested to combine the linework and the steps that follow, which led me to the following conclusion
Eliminate the Cognitive Leap: implement changes that allow one to “understand the embodied reality of the activity.”
Exploration of Perception and Identity: I want to explore using specific inspiration photos and trying to recreate them: I’m wondering if I can recreate looks I find appealing, and talk about how pulling inspiration from others affects my makeup as well as the perception of my identity.
Phase II: Expand and Contract
To explore my routine further, I decided to implement a “nudge” — or change in the routine — that would affect my makeup each day.
The “nudge” I chose to implement was to “randomly select a look on my Pinterest board as a starting point, roll a dice then — using the number rolled — to count from the start point and locate a final look.” The introduction of a dice roll introduced uncertainty into the routine, which I believed could help invoke deeper insights regarding my makeup routine.
Nudge Documentation
The nudge analysis consists of the makeup steps (and their variation if at all), documentation of tension felt at each stage, graphical data depictions (abstracting the journey map to a data representation), and photographic images (aligned + centered to create a sense of unity across the nudge analysis).
My nudge served as a great tool to explore new insights regarding the routine itself, but more importantly, it allowed me to explore my relationship with makeup.
✧ Insight-wise, I found that my nudge revealed that steps within the routine were flexible: oftentimes, I would move around steps in order to best accommodate myself. For example, if I am doing my eyeliner and see details that require an eyeliner, I may just do them then and there, rather than swap tools, conduct a whole different process, and then pick up the eyeliner at a different time. My nudge also revealed that across the board, there tended to be a consistent association between high tension and the action of doing my eyeliner, regardless of where the step was during my process. This is likely because this is an action that requires precision, and as such, there is more tension to complete it perfectly the first time to avoid having to remove makeup and redo steps. This insight echos into other steps that also require precision, such as with “special details.” There were also other steps that normally were low tension, and for certain looks became high tension: a prime example being Look 3.5 with the removal of the eyebrows. Look 3.5’s eyebrows were incredibly difficult to execute, which led to a feeling of high tension.
♡ Relationship-wise, I found that the way I felt about these new looks was often mixed. For Look 1, I wore it out and about, and felt conscious of it especially when interacting with strangers close up (bought an item from a market, and could feel the stares). I wasn’t very happy with the color combination, and so for Look 1.5, I changed it from green to white to better fit a new outfit I had chosen for a night out. This made me feel incredibly confident, but it is also to note that I was spending time with my more creative friends, and within an environment where I felt like this style of makeup was “acceptable.” For Look 2, I felt MAGICAL! And confident! Although unconventional and bold, I surprisingly did not feel very out of place, though I did get many questions asking why I had so many “dots on my face.” For Look 3 and 3.5, I was visiting my parents and wore Look 3 out for about 4–5 hours on a shopping trip. I didn’t feel too self-conscious until my dad made a comment about how I looked a bit “intimidating,” which unfortunately did fuel some anxieties. But, after looking at it myself, I was excited to be wearing such a bold look. Look 3.5 was done as an experiment; I took away my eyebrows and committed to the full look! No eyebrows on me feel weird and uncomfortable, primarily because I feel like a lot of my face is framed by my brows, although I think it does look cool! I knew that no brows was likely something I would not feel good about wearing in public, since it made me feel like a “part” of me wasn’t present.
Key Takeaways
✧ Steps Aren’t Concrete. My nudge revealed that steps within the routine were flexible: if I was conducting one step, but knew another future step utilized the same tool I was using in the current step, I may skip and also conduct the future step regardless of “step order,” out of convenience and less need to keep picking up so many tools.
✧ High Precision = High Tension. My nudge revealed that steps requiring high precision or special techniques (like drawing very detailed lines, placing small dots, removing eyebrows, etc.) often yielded high tension within the routine.
♡ Bold is GREAT! But Only Around Creatives… My nudge revealed that with more creative and bold looks came confidence… but only if I was in spaces where I felt like creativity was acceptable. Outside of the design classroom or hangouts with artsy friends, I felt incredibly conscious with detailed makeup on my face, which perpetuated feelings of anxiety within me throughout the day.
♡ I Need A Look That “Fits Me.” Makeup actively affects my perception of self and thus can control my emotions: if I feel self-conscious due to a look, that anxiety is reflected in my day-to-day actions. With no eyebrows, I felt like I couldn’t step out of my room to go to the kitchen, no way would I have been able to go through a whole day! Even the circles made me feel conscious, I would have gone with something a bit more subtle.
Phase III: Transform / Speculate
After examining my routine and seeing its impact on my daily attitude and mental, I aimed to explore this concept further and enhance its capabilities through speculative design. This resulted in the following ideation:
I am a plant lover, and biophillic design appeals to me. I own over 36 houseplants. The idea of being able to closely connect with nature, whether it is through touch, smell, taste, or sight, is what I believe makes us human. To further this connection, I thought to choose the option that best transforms my routine to have increased connectivity to nature. I chose the idea of a….
“makeup bag that grows plants that can be broken off and used as makeup. Examples include cherries serving as lipstick/blush, camphor serving as kajal/eyeliner, sandalwood and cinnamon serving as facial powder, concealer and foundation.”
With this, the makeup can literally be a direct connection of nature to my senses. Touching each of the products and feeling plant material, smelling the scent of cinnamon, tasting a cherry on my lips as lipstick, seeing the greens of the ecosystem encased in a makeup bag.
We then formed groups within the studio space to create our “world”: an encapsulation of all of our main speculative design Ideation for Speculative Design. This encapsulation, a restriction of sorts, sponsored creativity, and through a combination of three ideas, we resulted in a world of “analytics, preservation, and sustainability…” Below is the ideation of our world-building, and storyboard basis.
Our world was one exploring hierarchy and classism further, as the unifying idea across all of our concepts was the presence of a higher class and a lower class: the Original humans versus the Duplicates. Originals duplicated their consciousnesses in order to serve as indentured servitude to conduct basic day-to-day life processes, such as one’s coffee, medicine, or — in my case — their makeup routine. Interestingly, this world allows me to explore one more theme I was thinking about while speculating concepts, which is the greater awareness of the ethical impact of makeup products.
Ethics & Makeup
Through the implementation of my nudge, I discovered how deeply my mind is tied to doing my makeup, as it is an activity that makes me feel refreshed and “prepared.” But what about the product’s history itself? What about its creators? Is the worker hand harvesting hairs for my makeup brush overworked and underpaid? Was my eyeliner fed to rabbits held in cages from cradle to grave before entering my hands? Is their exploitation and negative emotion what grants me this small bit of satisfaction to begin a day?
These concepts suddenly came to mind as we ideated an exploitative world that “craves to be sustainable” (ex: through a nature-oriented makeup bag). After creating this world, we expanded upon our original speculative concept through the creation of a storyboard. The storyboard allowed us to flesh out the concept further as well as offer context on how the scenario would play out.
Select: The Original human selects their makeup item of choice out of the bag.
Labor: Duplicate humans work to grow, maintain, and harvest the plant makeup on a mass scale in order to meet the demands of the Originals. Duplicate humans are overworked and exploited, as they are given coffee and medications to work past their physical limit (illustrated in my teammate’s concepts).
Experience: Original gets to experience some form of positive feelings, and increases in their self-esteem and confidence. Original enjoy an enhanced experience where they are “connecting with nature” without any guilt of Duplicate suffering, simply due to visual ignorance (the Duplicates are extremely small and inside of the makeup bag!)
Through the execution of a performance, conducted by my peers and I, we acted out each of the world scenarios to further bring them to life in front of our peers for critique. Within our performance, we set the context for the world (Originals can make copies of their consciousness, which are called Duplicates, that they then use for labor), we acted out the creation of a Duplicate, and then their exploitation:
- Machines examined Duplicate’s sleep level, then estimated the amount of caffeine necessary in a cup of coffee to keep them working past physical capabilities
- Duplicates worked hard long days farming for makeup,
- Duplicates were assigned to test allergens for Original usage, resulting in the death of a Duplicate.
This exploitation leads to a duplicate rebellion, as they unify to leave their bodies and send their consciousnesses to space.
Overview of the World and its Timeline
- Originals copy their consciousness for labor, creating Duplicates, who they view as nonhuman “AI’s” that conduct labor meaninglessly
- Duplicates are heavily exploited and often die, they grow angry.
- They rebel against the Originals, utilizing the very consciousness extraction that caged them to conduct liberation.
Lessons and Reflection Upon Feedback
Hierarchy is Bad: Our world is set up in such a way that only prioritizes those who are “original” or a higher being, dehumanizing the “duplicates” who are considered to be lower and disposable: merely a means to an end. Similar to our society currently, low-income individuals are often being exploited (even to death) and their struggles ignored, sharply contrasting with higher-income individuals who live lavish gluttonous lives.
Disconnection: Visual disconnection between the Originals and the Duplicates allows for the continued exploitation of Duplicates by Originals, similar to the modern day. When I use my makeup, I do not see the pain and suffering that went behind the creation of the product.
A Better Future: Such a dystopian speculative future can actually help to sponsor the discussion for positivity in design. The best way to avoid this instance entirely is to study it carefully, recognize the warning signs, and keep the ideals in mind when designing. The process of ideation, world-building, and storyboarding served as useful tools when creating a scenario to be closely analyzed.
A Step Forward
After reviewing the speculative design dystopia, we can extract positive themes to create a “better,” less exploitative design. The makeup bag design could be enhanced by humanizing the Duplicates and fostering better connections between Originals and Duplicates: maybe the makeup bag is actually a makeup garden, where Originals interact with Duplicates in growing, maintaining, and harvesting plants for makeup. This bond formed between the Duplicates and Originals would help to avoid exploitative practices.
Similarly, less speculatively, this can be fostered in the modern day as well. Maybe you begin to pay more attention to the labeling of your products: whether it’s makeup, shampoo, body wash, or lotion. Maybe you study more on cruelty-free brands, and one day purchase a more ethical product. I personally wish to slowly make the switch to more ethical products (when my wallet allows me to do so).
Humanity could one day be less exploitative, and maybe we can make steps towards that reality by minisculely adjusting our everyday experience and attitude towards these products. Glance at the above icons for a moment, and help catch exploitative and manipulative brand tactics in your everyday life.
A makeup routine, or any routine of sorts, can be central to centering one’s confidence, esteem, and sense of self, and it can be enhanced by being ethical, creating an overall net positive impact on the world.
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