In the beauty space, there has been a noticeable shift from bold makeup looks with bright eyeshadow, full coverage foundation and a matte lip to a softer look of dewy skin, soft eyeshadow and lip oils and glosses. While I love a bold eyeshadow look, I also love the shift to really trying to improve skincare.
Personally, I have shifted to skincare because I don’t like the feeling of a full-coverage foundation, and my skin loves to tell me it also does not like it by causing me to break out. However, I think there are many more reasons a lot of people have shifted to the focus on skincare rather than a more glam style.
Although COVID-19 was nearly five years ago, the effects were not just health related! People stopped wearing heavy makeup and lipstick because you can’t see that behind a mask. Along with that, wearing foundation and other makeup under a mask for hours at a time resulted in sweat, acne and masks needing to be washed or discarded immediately after use. It felt much easier to just go without makeup! Not to mention, with masks also came maskne. This term refers to what happens when wearing a mask on your face all the time results in acne on the lower half of your face, whether you had makeup on or not.
Another reason I believe skincare is now trending more than makeup is the rise of skincare education on social media. Remember Skin by Hyram? He curated skincare routines and went super viral for it! Everyone was watching his videos and then purchasing every product he recommended. Although I personally have not seen Hyram on my For You page in a long time, the effects of educating the average consumer about keeping your skin happy has had lasting effects on everyone.
Additionally, there is a rise in Korean skincare and using products with a purpose and, of course, the trend of glass skin. Glass skin is a glow on the skin that can rarely be recreated by makeup itself and is usually done through skincare. By applying hyaluronic acid, the skin is left with a lasting glow due to the hydrating effect the ingredient has on your skin! While originally trendy in Korea, this trend has now made a mark on Western culture.
Lastly, the change in beauty creators’ content is a large reason why skincare is rising. For the most part, popular beauty influencers have shifted from creating in depth tutorials to only filming reviews of products or unboxing PR packages. The effect of this has spurred a movement of underconsumption. In my opinion, the shift in content turns me off to the products they show due to just how many products they show to their audience! Because influencers are not showing their audience how to apply makeup, people have shifted their perspective from trying to do makeup with a step-by-step tutorial to enhancing their natural beauty through skincare!
I love to do a mix of both skincare and makeup to mix my style up, but while these reasons have influenced others to focus more on skincare than makeup, remember to do what makes you feel the most like you!