We like to believe our beauty routines are rituals of self-care, self-expression, even self-love. And often, they are. But behind every action and product promise, there are also whispers, urges, and shadows.
Beyond concealing or revealing, makeup reflects not only the version of ourselves we want to be seen, but the parts we’d rather not admit live beneath the surface.
This is a series about those shadows.
The seven deadly sins weren’t meant to be moral indictments. They were maps of the human psyche. Ways to understand our deepest impulses and how we attempt to soothe or satisfy them. And what’s more psychologically rich (and more emotionally revealing) than beauty?
In this series, we’ll explore how each of these ancient archetypes shows up in the modern mirror:
Lust sells the fantasy. The lip. The gaze. The undoing.
Pride wears highlighter like a crown and fears being caught without it.
Envy scrolls with a clenched jaw, saving looks for “inspiration” but secretly aching.
Wrath isn’t always loud. It can be the punishment we inflict on our own face after rejection.
Sloth tells us it’s not worth trying, and that showing up undone is a rebellion in itself.
Greed doesn’t stop at one perfect shade. It needs the whole vault, just in case.
Gluttony overindulges in transformation until we forget what we looked like before.
These sins are invitations to notice, reflect, and question the marketing messages, the societal cues, and the inner narratives that shape how we present ourselves to the world.
Beauty is never just about appearance. It’s about power, desire, memory, longing. And sometimes, it’s about control.
As we unpack each sin, we’ll find they’re not bad in totality. There’s insight in envy. Power in pride. Even rebellion in sloth. But only if we’re willing to look in the mirror and ask what am I really seeking here?
This is a series about honesty.
And like all things beauty, it’s about choice.