A person doing makeup. - SUPERSTOCK / SUPERSTOCK / SIPA

  • During confinement, some women decide to continue to wear makeup, even if they do not leave her home.
  • Ritual, landmark, control ... Make-up can have a comforting role for certain people during difficult times such as this Covid-19 health crisis.

What if we made up a lot more than our eyes and our complexion when we are confined? While cosmetic sales have dropped since the start of the Covid-19 crisis, and some women take advantage of this period to let their skin rest, others have decided not to store make-up and brushes. Almost every day, they get up, wash, make up and get ready, as if nothing had happened.

But why make so much effort when nothing forces us to? Isn't the period rather favorable for relaxation and cosmetic detox? It would be to forget the comfort and the magic power of makeup.

As usual

If she does not do it every day, by laziness or to rest her skin, Constance continues to make up "about every other day", even if she does not leave home. "It feels good, I feel" better "physically. I am teleworking, I have a lot of videoconferencing and I feel more comfortable when I am wearing make-up, ”admits this 25-year-old Parisian. His routine? As usual: moisturizer, light foundation, concealer, terracotta and mascara. His fear? " To let go. "I am confined with my lover and even if he does not attach much importance to makeup, for me it is important," she believes.

A feeling shared by Anna, who lives in Rouen. "I am confined with my spouse who is teleworking him with regular videoconferences, so he has kept a normal pace of work and clothing. I am a student and I wanted not to "let go", out of respect for him and for me ", explains the young woman of 27 years. "I know it can be nice and relaxing to let go for a few days, but in the long run it ends up playing on my morale and my mood," she says. She therefore makes up from time to time, mainly the complexion and the eyes, a light make-up, "the same as before".

We must not forget the routine aspect of makeup, confinement or not. "I think it's very important to keep your bearings, especially when so many things are turned upside down," admits Anna. This is something over which we have the ability to keep control. It is both a pleasure and a personal discipline like playing sports or paying attention to your diet. "Same story from Constance:" It's true that I like to keep the habits I had before confinement. Wake up at the same time, breakfast, shower, make-up, and I also try to get dressed every day… After that I also skip the make-up stage or keep jogging downstairs. But overall, I have an interest in taking care of myself, and framing my days. ”

Save appearances

What if make-up offered us the illusion of mastering everyday life when everything is going crazy around us? "I would say outright, save appearances!", Analyzes Emmanuelle Laurent, * creator of the YouTube channel Psychanalyse-toi la face , where she tackles major psychoanalytic concepts while applying makeup. There is so much real growth, a difficult period to live through, that some people try to save appearances, perhaps to ward off a little anxiety… ”

"Me for example, I do a lot of Skype aperitifs and casually there is also a small side where we reproduce a form of social semblance, by participating in it a little more make-up and dress than usual," adds she. For some of my girlfriends who wear make-up, I think it does them good too, as if we were meeting in the evening and we were a little dressed. "

Continuing this morning ritual is it therefore a great way to structure your life confined? Fortunately, not everything is so simple. “Some people are also very good at structuring their day in pajamas on their sofa! ", Nuance with reason Emmanuelle Laurent. In confinement (and in general), there is neither logic nor rules: "It all depends on the context, on his personal life, on his singularity ... I might say something weird, but I, for example, who live alone, I don't know if I would make as much effort if I were with someone! I don't have anyone to show this makeup to, I really do it for myself. But maybe it would be different if I had a guy… ”And if instead of trying to find out why we keep putting on makeup, we actually had to ask ourselves who?

Make it exist

During confinement, Isabelle, a 27-year-old economics student, continues to wear makeup to take a photo, or to "snap." She took advantage of this period to "try new techniques, like" cut crease "", or new colors of eyeshadows. "Make-ups that in normal times I don't have time to do," she says. If we sometimes make up for others, responding more or less consciously to the order to be pretty, clean and sophisticated (the panoply of femininity in the collective imagination), we must not forget that we can also make up for yourself. Because it can be a way of seeing yourself live, when the other's eye can no longer bear witness to it.

“By putting on make-up, it's a bit like making an outside look exist that isn't there!” Laughs Emmanuelle Laurent. A bit like the look you can put on yourself too. By being alone, if I didn't make up from time to time, I might be afraid of falling into the caricature of the girl alone who lets herself go ... For me there may be an antidepressant side in this action " Like what the makeup may be less artificial than it seems.

* Emmanuelle Laurent is also the author of Comme psy comme ça published by Payot.

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  • Coronavirus
  • Makeup
  • Containment
  • Beauty
  • Style