This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
Women Share Newfound Confidence in Lockdown ¶
As lockdown restrictions ease, many women are finding that their beauty habits have changed for good. A recent poll found that just 21% of French women used make-up daily in June, down from 42% a few years before.
For Hanna Ebsworth, 31, from St Albans, Herts, lockdown has been an opportunity to let her skin breathe. 'I've definitely cut back and let my skin breathe and I really like how it's looking,' she says. 'My freckles have also come out in the sunshine we've been having...I think, as we go back to normal, I'll wear eye make-up if I'm going for client meetings or dinner with friends, but apart from that I will stick to giving my skin a rest.'
Businesswoman Ava Brown, 44, from Belfast, has also reassessed her beauty habits during lockdown. 'I have been going out more without make-up and moisturising more,' she says. 'My skin is able to breathe better...I think my skin actually looks younger without the make-up.'
Lifestyle mentor Sophia Husbands, 41, from Slough, Berks, has fully embraced the no make-up look. 'Lockdown has made me more comfortable with having more bare-faced days and even with my grey hair,' she says. 'I don’t like putting foundation on my skin. I do love to dress up but at the same time I’m comfortable having bare-faced days too. It’s nice being natural and free.'
PR manager and singer Bex Stirling, 32, from Reading, Berks, has loved being make-up free so much that she’s stuck with it.
