Tuesday 12 September 2017

At long last and an Anti-haul rant.

I have returned as a warrior of the keyboard.
All joking aside, I decide not to write what I was having a "down" week. Which has actually turned into a couple of months. In that time I have felt extreme highs and lows. In which I have decided that writing the probably better for me than wallowing around in self-pity. I needed to go back to ground level and find what truly made me happy. And I'll be honest- I still don't really know.

So here I am, and I will try to update as often as possible. It is important for myself to take care of my mental health, this included taking a small hiatus. But don't worry. During this time I have thrown myself into the research end of the cosmetics industry and have returned with new knowledge and a renewed love for all things pretty.

During my time away, I have noticed Anti-hauls become wildly popular. Which I absolutely enjoy, I actually enjoy negative makeup reviews? I feel like sometimes they are more honest. But with the good comes the bad.

Anti-hauls are to go against consumerism. Kimberly Clarke (the credited mother of the series) has summed this up perfectly in all of her videos. In a world where we are consistently bombarded with adds it was nice to take a time out and see someone go against the system. "What I'm not gonna buuuyyy" always rings in my head whenever I enter the makeup aisle of the store. Or the ever so classic "I don't need and I'm not going to buy it."
But Kimberly also makes totally amazing points- "If you have pallet X and pallet Y then you CLEARLY don't need pallet Z, it has all the same colours! " She's teaching us how to be SMART with our choices, and how we continuously consume things. Showing us how to think for ourselves rather than just buying up everything that is shown to us.

But its changed. The anti-haul has mutated and she aint pretty.

Now, YouTubers and bloggers and turned the Anti-Haul into just plain "I'm not going to buy this." They are no longer smart, they lack any thought put into them. There are only a select few creators who still stand by this model, but all to often we are hit with the "I just don't like the colours. I just don't like this brand. I don't like this character that MAC is partnering with so I'm not going to buy it."  Videos made for the fact to show that they don't like this stuff in the first place and there for will not purchase.
I don't like a TOO FACED, should I make a video about all the stuff I'm not going to buy? No. But I will make a video about NARS Man Ray collection about all the stuff I DO want but will go through my collection to find similar colours and therefore will not need to purchase.
See the difference? It hold no weight if we already know you don't like it.

Just like how I needed to take a step back and look at what I wanted out of my life recently, I think people need to take a step back and really get back to ground level. It's hard to consistently pump out new material (daily uploads? Girl.) But losing such an important concept in all the hype is just so aggravating. It is such a beautiful concept and we NEED to be supported to reel it in. I know I start itchin for a proper Anti-haul video when I start feeling my debt card burn.
Trust me, I'm scouting all the makeup sites, Instagram pages, apps and Facebook groups. I get it.

It's an addiction. Shopping (a common process addiction) especially for new makeup is a fucking hard thing to beat. Especially as a person who has a hard time finding clothes to fit me, makeup will always fit. It's the ONLY thing that fits right now. The feeling of being apart of something bigger, the creativity, the hoarding of makeup and the process of buying it- its a ritual. It's a ritual designed by corporations and perpetuated by Consumerism.
Kimberly Clarke stood up in a world of plastic and said "Fuck that shit. Urban Decay, a white eye shadow called bump? As a reference to Cocaine? Yeah no."
"Really Too Faced? Glitter bomb?" Inappropriate.

I am able to think for myself now and can stand back and really evaluate the products as is. Instead of just giving Morphie the bird- I can look at the pallet and see it for what it really is, 35 SHADES OF GODDAMN BROWN.

Encourage people to evaluate more. Don't just tell people YOU DON'T NEED IT. DON'T BUY IT. Really just explain it. I support the notion to get people to take a step back. #1stepback
Make it a movement? I don't expect it to be like that Jenner girl ending protests with a can of Pepsi. But I mean. It could happen.



- - - - x- - -

If lot's more of us loved each other, We'd solve lots more problems.

1 comment:

  1. Very accurate and well said, lovely. ❤❤

    ReplyDelete