We're wearing less makeup during the pandemic. Are relaxed routines here to stay?

Mar. 7—They say that lipstick is recession-proof.

Even when belt-tightening consumers begin to pass on big-ticket indulgences, there remains a desire to splurge just a little in a new tube or shade, according to this line of thought.

Pandemic-proof, though, appears to be a different question entirely.

"There's not really a point to it," observed Toledo's Brooke Fasnaugh, who, like the rest of the country, has been keeping her mouth and nose covered lately. "No one's going to see it."

Lip products saw the steepest decline among makeup sales in the country's prestige beauty industry, according to figures released by the NPD Group in February. In an industry that as a whole saw sales drop 19 percent in 2020, makeup sales dipped the furthest by category at 34 percent. NPD reports that eye products picked up proportionately while lip products dropped off, which the market research company interprets at least in part as an effect of the same coronavirus-catalyzed phenomenon — face masks.

Masks are just one element of a pandemic that's proven a significant shakeup to the makeup industry — as well as to those in the habit of wearing makeup products. Reflecting these nationwide industry figures, several makeup professionals and hobbyists in this region say they've found themselves using a lighter hand in the past year.

Like Billie Jo Bialorucki, a professional makeup artist and esthetician who takes bridal and other clients through Beauty by Billie Jo.

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"No lipstick, no blush. Eyeshadow, eyeliner, mascara. Very simple," she said of her preferred routine of late. "And if I am not doing a makeup client, I will a lot of times curl my eyelashes and just let my skin be bare."

Whether these relaxed routines will translate to a longer-term shift in trends or expectations is still to be determined: Will lighter looks carry back into the office? Will a tendency to prioritize skin care, or to play up the eyes over the lips, stick around once we retire our masks?

Ms. Fasnaugh, who likes to play with her looks, knows what she'll be reaching for first.

"I will be very excited to wear lipstick again," she said with a laugh. "I have all these lipsticks just sitting in a drawer, like athletes on a bench: 'Put me in, Coach!'"

ALL ABOUT SKIN CARE

Between new routines that keep us out of the public eye and masks that cover us when we do, there's plenty of reason for makeup-wearers to have been scaling back in the past year. And that's not to mention the practical implications of masks when it comes to skin care.

Think the dreaded "maskne," or breakouts contributed to the masks.

Experts and enthusiasts point to that awareness as one of the reasons they're paying particular attention to skin care during the pandemic, often to a greater extent than their makeup; they're looking critically at routines for naturally healthy skin. While skin care saw sales dip during the pandemic, too, NPD Group reports these were less steep than in makeup. Skin care sales dropped 11 percent.

"I think the first time you put on your makeup, you put on a mask, you take the mask off and see all that foundation on the mask, it's just an icky feeling," said Liz Dickens, an esthetician and makeup artist who picked up an appreciation for the importance of skin care as a child in California. "And when you're putting on the makeup, you're like, 'Why am I doing this? No one is going to see it anyway' So it's great that everyone is focusing on skin care."

Amy Lewis, of Makeup by Amy Lewis & Co., has picked up on a trend toward skin care with her bridal clients. She's noticed more — and more informed — affirmative answers to her questions about her clients' routines since the onset of the pandemic last year.

And she's paying more attention to her own skin care, she said, while, like Ms. Bialorucki, she's also reigning in her usual makeup routine. What would have been a relaxing two-hour ritual is now often just the basics in 15 minutes. She said it's given her a new appreciation for makeup as self-care: Even those 15 minutes can be pretty important.

"Quarantine really brought on more relaxed beauty routines, which in a way has been liberating, because we've seen attitudes and behavior toward appearance change. So it's been a great time to really stop and really reevaluate what's important to people, in order for them to feel comfortable in their own bodies," she reflected.

While many of those evaluations have led makeup-wearers to conclude that they're spending more time, effort or money than they would like, others have helped them "to realize what a powerful self-care ritual makeup is," she said. "Even the simple act of applying a lipstick or sculpting an eyebrow can make us feel ten times better in a matter of seconds."

LOOKING AHEAD

Whether we like it or not, a first impression matters.

That's why Sandy Hyde of the Etiquette School of Ohio, based in Dayton, doesn't anticipate our no-makeup days will follow us back into the office; she touches on makeup when instructing in business etiquette, where she says the mantra to "dress for success" applies to all elements of personal grooming. She's among those who isn't counting on any long-term shifts when it comes to the way women present themselves professionally.

"As much as we'd like to think that appearances shouldn't matter over our skills and our talents, they do. Psychologically, people still go back to that first impression when they meet someone," she said. "So by having that natural yet well groomed look from head to toe, you're going to make a good first impression. ... That's why makeup, whether it's during the pandemic or after the pandemic, I think is still going to be an essential tool."

Of course, business etiquette calls for a pretty natural, pretty neutral look anyway, as Ms. Hyde explained. The office wasn't ever the right place for a flashy red lip.

Perhaps save that one for after hours, where experts and enthusiasts wonder if there might be more of a shift: Ms. Dickens predicts that we'll be making up for lost time at our lips when we can finally shed the face masks; Ms. Fasnaugh is looking forward to it, and she's also wondering if the heavier looks at the eye might linger.

"When we — knock on wood, eventually — don't have to wear masks, I think people will maybe not be as dramatic with your eyes, but the baseline of what's normal is going to be more dramatic than it was pre-COVID," she said. "It never really goes all the way back."

Some are thinking and hoping that women will be more comfortable in whatever degree of makeup they choose to wear by the time that face masks begin to fade. Rebecca Ahern, a business mentor through Women of Toledo and owner of Axiom Lux, said that she's long believed that "you should do what best suits you, what makes you feel comfortable."

As chief of staff for Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz, Katy Crosby, who is also a business mentor through Women of Toledo, said she isn't in the habit of wearing makeup on the day to day. But she wonders if she'll be seeing more of it, rather than less of it, post-coronavirus.

"I had an event a few weeks ago that required me to dress up, and it felt really good to put on an outfit and to put on some makeup," she said. "I think people are going to be looking forward to that."