As this lockdown period has sporadically stretched over ten months, inside life has forced many of us to consider, ‘what is the point of wearing makeup at home?’ However, for those of us that have been using beauty and makeup as a creative outlet and coping mechanism since lockdown 1.0, there has been a noticeable evolution into the way beauty content creation is curated. With so much time spent being indoors, frequent makeup wearers dived deeper into their makeup bags to reach for products they haven’t used in a long time to create looks that they’ve never done before.
During the first national UK lockdown wearing makeup at home, or to our local essential shop, or perhaps for a Zoom call encouraged feelings of normalcy in the midst of an extremely difficult and strange time. With ample time on our hands, a lot of us saw this as an opportunity to brush up on our makeup skills and try new things. No pun intended. Beauty content created by talented artists such as @the_brooksbrother and @mata_marielle arguably inspired the quirky graphic liner trend. The girls, guys and theys were exuding what TLC would call crazysexycool with bright eyeshadow looks, eccentric makeup and iconic recreations. All the sunlight peeping into our homes replaced artificial lighting and as lockdown continued into the summer months, blossom trees and greenery on our daily government mandated walks influenced many of the colourful Instagram posts showcasing creative makeup looks on sun-kissed skin.
Now, ten months into this panoramic, are beauty enthusiasts still doing makeup at home to simply pass time?
Social media: where beauty meets technology
As YouTube becomes what Precious Osoba accurately calls the ‘new’ reality TV with weekly vlogs and numerous ‘A Day in the Life of…’ videos, social media platforms are now the home for beauty content creation and innovation. The first lockdown saw an incredible boost in engagement for a lot of content creators, specifically for makeup artists and enthusiasts, so how are they navigating these spaces now in lockdown 3.0? The answer is TikTok. Launched 5 years ago back in 2016, TikTok has emerged as an amazing digital marketing tool in recent months to push visually appealing, oddly satisfying and entertaining content. The emergence of TikTok as another digital avenue used to boost Instagram engagement transformed eccentric makeup looks from static images to short bursts of creativity packed into 30–60 second videos. With the help of voiceovers, trending songs such as ‘Say So’ by Doja Cat and ‘Back to the Streets’ by Saweetie, and cool transitions, beauty content creators have been able to bring makeup to life with personality. TikTok’s competitive algorithm and virality increases the chances of one’s creativity reaching wider audiences and in turn, driving traffic to your Instagram page.
Doubling as both a freelance makeup artist in sister duo, Sisters in Beauty, and beauty content creator, Tatiana Ekila has been consistently growing her online community of beauty lovers who actively engage with her content. Tatiana connects with her 22.9k followers through bold and bright makeup looks via Instagram and explains how she has used TikTok to grow her audience:
What type of beauty content were you creating during the first lockdown? Were there any particular trends that you jumped onto?
I was used to creating slow therapeutic makeup videos before lockdown however, during the first lockdown I started seeing a lot of TikTok makeup tutorials circulating and decided to switch up my filming set up. I started using my front camera, playing with different angles, made my videos a lot shorter and snappier at around 30–40 seconds and used upbeat, trending music.
How have you dealt with burnouts and lack of creative juices?
When I’m feeling uninspired, burns out and bored of my content, I change my set up and film in a different space. I will say that Pinterest has been inspiring me a lot recently with makeup looks and photography. If I don’t find anything I like there, I do some “Instagram Googles” and see who my favourite content creators are following or I scroll on the explore page for a good 40 minutes.
You double as a freelance makeup artist with your sister, has it ever been difficult trying to juggle both creative outlets that demand equal attention?
At first it was quite difficult but seeing as I’m still a student, I don’t take bookings at university. I thank God for my sister who can keep the business going from London while I study away from home.
How have you adapted your content over the lockdown period?
During this lockdown 3.0, I’ve circled back to where I started in lockdown 1.0 and resumed doing TikTok inspired makeup videos. I feel like it makes my feed look a lot cleaner. I think hair videos ruin the look of my feed unfortunately.
Do you have any advice for other young black beauty content creators?
Research, research, research! It’s so important to know what is hot and trending right now. Recently, it’s been the @meredithdxblury foundation routine. Experiment with trendy looks, music and editing style. Try not to feel discouraged if your engagement fluctuates from time to time, it happens to all of us and it’s really annoying. If things aren’t working the way you want them to, go back to the drawing board and try something new to spice things up. I noticed that when I interact with my followers via my story by either talking or sharing a meme or using a question sticker, it boosts my engagement. Also, aim for at least 3 posts a week, if you can do more then that would be great too!
As the seasons have changed and we have moved from one lockdown to another, beauty content creation has remained a constant. In this age where digital media is at an all time high, I think it is important that all creators utilise as many social media channels as possible, especially TikTok. Sprinkling your personality on your work is always a great place to start.
Written by Precious Dami
