Cassie

This post started out as a response of sorts to one written by Autumn Whitefield-Madrano over at The New Inquiry. She wrote some fascinating things about the gamification of beauty work (applying makeup, doing your hair, hair removal, etc), and the implications of that for feminism as a whole. I totally agree with everything she’s saying, and think it’s a fascinating insight, but I felt a little bit of disconnect from the whole thing. I couldn’t quite put my finger on why at first, but it just didn’t feel like it applied to me and my relationship with makeup.

So I went and had a fiddle with the app she mentioned, and got bored SO quickly. Like, lightning speed. I thought I would enjoy fooling around with it for at least a little while, but practically before the picture was traced I was bored. This was pretty confusing, considering how much I enjoy putting on makeup.

Then it hit me – it’s not about the end result for me. Some women I know love the process of buying makeup – trying things, searching out something they like, considering all the options. I find this part unbearably tedious. This is why I have so many eyeshadow palettes – the idea of putting the time into choosing separate eyeshadow shades just seems totally dull to me. I don’t really go makeup shopping as such – if I decide I need a product, I’ll look around online ...