The Changing Faces Of Beauty

As Demand For Snappy, Unpretentious Content Grows, Beauty Industry Is Changing Too To Reflect Consumer Desire For Pared-down, Ready-to-wear Make-up

- Chelsea Tang

The last time I dedicated myself to a beauty video on YouTube was two months ago — a 17-minute long review by vlogger-entrepreneur Kathleen Fuentes (better known as Kathleen Lights on the platform) on a new “Gen Z” launch by Los Angeles-founded beauty brand Morphe. The collection, named Morphe 2 was created in collaboration with TikTok stars Charli and Dixie D’Amelio, and is a selection of what I like to call “ready-to-wear” makeup: skin tints, lip oils, cheek and-lip mousses — essentially, it’s makeup that’s easy to use, and doesn’t take much (or any) skill.

As much as I love the sweet (online) personality of Kathleen Lights, I distinctively remember grumbling a little at her way-too-long video — like fast food, these products are fast make-up, and a review on them can definitely be done in five cool minutes. I say that with conviction, because my favourite TikTok make-up artist, 22-year-old Mikayla Nogueira, clocked one minute talking about three products from the same range, and gave all the info that consumers need.

Don’t get me wrong though, it’s not so much pitting one content creator against another, but more of coming to the realisation that the growing desire for snappier content is a reflection of overall “modern-day” content consumption; and from a beauty standpoint, the trends that follow.