The Effort of Effortlessness

Growing up in 2016 amidst overly contoured cheeks, dramatically defined brows, and flashy ombre eyeshadow meant for going to the supermarket, I didn’t know makeup could be anything else as a teenager. In my mind, it was always bold, it was always colorful and it was always meant to be obvious. Thankfully, the dark ages of matte foundation are over and we all don’t need to rely on NikkieTutorials anymore. Natural makeup has taken the stage over the last five years in beauty trends with its emphasis on light coverage, full brows, and barely tinted gloss to achieve looks that often make it hard to tell if you’re wearing anything at all. Why has there been such a shift in our culture so suddenly from one end of the spectrum to the other? What do these trends say about what we find beautiful?

I don’t know why, but I immediately think of casual Instagram. Though it’s not easily defined, it’s a profile that probably features a blurry candid of someone laughing down a cobblestone street looking backward in a way that suggests they didn’t know the photo was being taken. Maybe there are a few coffee mugs, an underlined book quote, a cup of fruit or a selfie with an offbeat caption. Whatever the content is, it exudes spontaneity and confidence, a raw quality that promises an unfiltered view, a real look at [insert name]. I find myself gravitating towards this style of posting and towards those images in my camera roll that aren’t just smiling and standing. Often I’ll go on a long hunt for the perfect photo dump ingredients. Maybe it’ll include an unmade bed, my roommate’s cat on the kitchen counter, chalk drawing on the sidewalk. Something effortless, like I had just thrown it together. Which ironically, usually requires a lot of effort.

Maybe it’s unrelated, but I do think these two trends say a lot about culture when trying too hard is considered cringe. While I like casual Instagram and RareBeauty as much as the next person, the look of effortlessness can put a lot of pressure on us to make sure no one sees behind the scenes–the hours scrubbing with a guasha til your neck is red, the retinol and castor oils and teeth whitening and moments reminiscent of Cassie in Euphoria. No one should know about the careful positioning of your coffee cup, the Facetune, and fake laughter for another attempt at a candid. But most of all, no one should know that you care too much, either. So make sure you try really really really hard to make it seem like you don’t.

Strike Out,

Sophia Massebeau

Editor: Indigo Carter and Jaden Rudd

Sophia Massebeau is a Staff Writer for Strike Magazine, Saint Augustine. You might catch her busking downtown or apologizing for how messy her car is. You can find her @sophiamassebeau on Instagram or sophiemass1355@gmail.com.

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