Apart from being the excuse *ahem* for a quarantine makeup and style video, this circuit breaker has also given me the opportunity to embark on an Instagram page overhaul.
When I started my Instagram account several years back, I was already late to the party. Almost everyone I knew already had an account and a following. I was still feeling sad about switching from my Blackberry to an iPhone.
I didn’t know how I was going to use it other than to post photos of my travels and life. Since I was also exclusively beauty blogging then, I figured I’d use my account to also post photos of beauty products.
My blogging style before was quite rigid, now that I think about it. But maybe it was a good thing. Things that I posted were factual (still are today) and true to my knowledge. The thing is, I could not bring myself to add colour filters to products because I felt my readers and followers had to see the products in their real form.
If I were talking about a purple eyeshadow, people needed to be able to see the kinds of purples that they were getting. If I was creating a bronze smoky eye look, I needed my makeup to look as close to what it looked like in person. So, no filters or colour edition.
But these days, everyone uses an Instagram filter. Nobody talks about creating a look using specific products in specific shades, and then uploading them as a photo on social media without editing the colour. Unless you’re Nikkie Tutorials, or Pony, or someone of the same calibre. Also, not everyone is comfortable showing their bare skin to their thousands of followers.
So social media has evolved to fit our lifestyles, wants and needs. Which is great, because I think that’s what technology is supposed to do anyway. It’s supposed to serve us, not the other way round.
So I’ve let go of the need to always be as precise and exact as possible. I’m now more flexible in how I share what I share. I’ve changed my focus to overall aesthetics, seeing that people aren’t that fixated on getting exact colours of things anymore. If they are, there’re always swatch videos on YouTube and IG anyways – and these are kind of no longer my focus.
I’ve always been thinking about having an Instagram theme but could never really be set on one. There was the whole millennial pink trend for a moment, which I really liked but I don’t follow trends and besides, that trend has since sailed. I really wanted a turquoise-beachy theme but I don’t exactly live by the Mediterranean Sea.
And then I saw this image:
And while it’s most likely edited, everything about it screams me. I love the beach and the sea breeze, I love nature, I love open spaces. I love it when the storm is brewing but not quite here yet. I love colours – I cannot just pick one. I love contrasts. I love how philosophical it is when light shines and is obstructed. I love purple – I seem to always be drawn by it. Even my favourite gemstone is an amethyst.
So that’s how it struck me. I’d go with purples, oranges and greens!
While I’ve still not gotten 9 pictures of the same theme yet, things are looking more settled now. And not only that – my Instagram page is now much closer to a reflection of who I am. You have no idea how much of a relief this is to me!
Have you made the switch to a theme for your Instagram page, or are you still searching for one?