A makeup artist and beauty product consumers unpack the economic and environmental issues with purchasing beauty products in today’s society
By Isabella Iula
In the era of beauty influencers, TikTok trends and celebrity beauty campaigns, it’s easy to be persuaded into buying more makeup. Often, to the extent where products end up on the shelf or in the trash.
As the beauty ads around us grow, so do our makeup collections. With this in mind, this photo essay takes a closer look at the makeup of our makeup waste.
Saskatoon-based TikTok makeup artist Leila Rudy lays out her entire makeup collection. She purchases a variety of eyeshadows, blush, and foundations to create her online content and daily makeup looks. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
While advancements in beauty advertising have allowed brands to reach a wider range of consumers, they have yet to solve the problem of makeup waste.
Leila Rudy, a Canadian makeup artist on TikTok said people are purchasing beauty products through social media but are not using them to their full potential. “There are a few mascaras on social media that are really popular right now, and if someone were to go out and buy all of them, I can guarantee they will not use all of them before they dry out and get old,” said Rudy.
TikTok makeup artist Leila Rudy uses a brown and gold eyeshadow palette from Morphe for her fall eye makeup looks. She uses some brown and gold shades more than others as three of the 35 shades appear to be running low. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
TikTok makeup artist, Leila Rudy uses a variety of makeup products from Glossier, Rare Beauty and E.l.f. These well-known makeup brands have gained more traction due to influencer promotion, large ad campaigns and positive product reviews.(Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
Emily Heese, a third-year fashion student at Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), said the influence from ever-changing beauty trends on social media can also maximize makeup consumption. She said seeing an increase in trending beauty products fuels her need to add to her own collection. “There’s always a new ‘it product’ that sometimes works, and I’ve definitely found things on TikTok that I’ve loved [...] but it’s a new thing every single day and it’s hard to keep up,” said Heese.
Rudy mentioned how other influencer’s displayed products influence her to buy and create content with the same ones. Since influencers are the ones physically testing out the products, it tends to place more trust within the viewer about the quality of the product. However, there are ethical factors that can cause people to question an influencer’s authenticity.
For TikTok makeup artist Leila Rudy, the Hydrating Camo Concealer Satin Finish from E.l.f. is one of her most frequently used concealers for her content and everyday makeup looks. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
TikTok makeup artist Leila Rudy about to apply Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty liquid blush. She said she applies about two to three dots of the blush to give her face a bit of extra colour and shimmer. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
For example, second-year journalism student at TMU, Aliya Karimjee, said it’s difficult to tell whether an influencer is being truthful about a product if they are being paid to promote it. She also mentioned the product the influencer is using may not work with everyone’s skin colour and skin type. “One makeup product is not going to work the same on someone who’s Black compared to someone who’s white” said Karimjee.
Karimjee said beauty brands need to diversify their advertisements and product test samples to encourage people to buy more sustainably. “They have to be very representative of today's society and the people in that society, otherwise it's not going to be effective,’” said Karimjee.
Rudy added how researching a beauty product through a range of avenues can help people find products that will be useful for their skin.
TMU second-year journalism student Aliya Karimjee brought her makeup collection from her home in Ottawa to Toronto at the start of the school year. She uses a small amount of each product daily to create a natural everyday look. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
Since moving to Toronto in September, some lip products belonging to TMU second-year journalism student Aliya Karimjee appear full or lightly used. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
Heese mentioned how advertising eco-friendly disposal of beauty products itself can also help reduce makeup waste. “Companies need to be mindful of the capabilities of the consumer,” she said.
Makeup stores are also working to reduce the amount of waste with their recycling programs including Sephora’s Beauty Re(Purposed) and the Back to M.A.C Program.
Heese said removing plastic packaging and providing makeup recycling stations are steps to reduce cosmetic waste, but there is still more that can be done to ensure products are sustainable for us and our environment. “My hope for the future is for brands to create products that are usable, good quality and have good intentions from beginning to end,” added Heese.
Heese said while beauty companies may benefit from people making big makeup purchases, the customers and the environment are the ones paying the price.
As for my own makeup collection, most beauty products were used for dance makeup, but now I only use them when attending events. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
In my makeup collection, I own three types of brown and white eyeshadows from the brand Sei bella. I owned the same three eyeshadows for the last year, since they used to be my dance makeup and appear to work best for my complexion. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
As someone with a smaller makeup collection, I displayed my three most popular lipsticks from M.A.C. I bought the three lip products during the COVID-19 pandemic and still own the purple lipstick to this day. (Isabella Iula/CanCulture)
A beauty product is an investment into yourself, so it’s important to know which ones will glow and which should just go.