The year is coming to an end. Having spent the majority of the year in pyjamas and barely taking the time to even brush one’s hair, the holiday season has presented itself as the perfect petri dish to observe how people are going to go about the festivities this time around – will it be a whole lot of Zoom calls while being 50% dressed up, or all-out glam for going out?
In pandemic-ridden 2020, we wondered how much energy people were putting into their year-end celebrations – especially how far they are going to get their glam on. We reached out to a number of leading makeup artists, beauticians, and beauty industry veterans on how this holiday season is treating them and if they see any major changes in the frequency of the Lankan population seeking beauty.
Beauty during Covid-19
Nadiya Fernando, pro-certified makeup artist and owner of The Wax Museum, shared with us how 2020 has been for her business and how she has approached this unprecedented turn of events. She said that during the first curfew lockdown, she researched pandemics in the past, stating that history is a great teacher and there is much to learn from it. From her findings, she said that she soon realised that this situation was going to affect the industry for at least a year and most likely even longer.
Especially considering that salon services require therapists and clients to be in very close proximity, their industry is one of the most gravely affected. “With weddings – our big-ticket service – cancelled, and also because of government regulations that only allow limited salon services, I decided that I needed to cut my overheads. I decided for the moment to close the physical salon and find ways to work differently,” she said.
Since then, Fernando has adopted some fundamental changes. “I have a studio in my house to attend to my clients. I also visit clients’ homes for hair and makeup because some clients are afraid to visit salons. And when I’m booked for bigger events like shows and weddings, I hire freelancers per event as necessary. I also moved my permanent makeup practice to the Ninewells Hospital Beauty Centre and Skin Clinic. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to know when to scale up and when to cut back and work smart,” she said.
A veteran in the industry, professional nail technician and beautician Lucky Susil of Nails by Lucky Susil said that it has been a difficult time for everyone, particularly for those in the beauty industry, as Sri Lankans often don’t view beauty as an essential thing. He said that the pandemic has made it so that some industries have been made obsolete. However, he shared that he is most grateful that having been in the industry for nearly 20 years now, he has a loyal client base who has followed him in his life’s milestones and continues to come to him, pandemic or not.
He said that the important thing about having a long-term client base is the trust you build. He said that his clients know that he is responsible and that he would take all necessary precautions and so, they can relax and come to him without worry.
Lucky Susil said that during this time of the year, usually his clients tend to be the younger demographic; mostly those ranging from 18 to 24 who prefer to get seasonally themed nails done like Santa Clause nails and other festive themed nails. However this year, he has seen a less walk-ins. Nevertheless, overall, he said that he has been blessed to have roots that have allowed him to continue with his work.
Ramani Fernando of Ramani Fernando Salons, who needs no introduction, shared her thoughts on the matter when asked how things are different compared to last year, and she
said that we cannot compare this year and any of the past years that have come and gone, as what we are experiencing right now is truly unprecedented. However, she said that despite the safety concerns, with a lot of the newer clients who come to her calling and inquiring about the safety measures and the risks involved, she said that her regulars have the confidence in her to feel safe in coming to the salon.
She shared that thankfully, her regulars are quite confident in coming to her knowing that she is very stringent with all the safety measures, insisting that everyone including the clients wear masks the right way. Even if they do fuss a little, she insists that they follow protocol as there are others who come in who would feel uncomfortable otherwise.
She did say that the reason why we cannot compare previous years to 2020 is the lack of functions that are happening; people don’t really have that many events to go to. However, she said that weddings have been happening a lot. “Our people like to prepare when going to a function like a wedding; they get their nails done, facials, etc.” She added that hair colouring is quite popular this time of year as well.
She said that they’ve come across many weddings with three to four functions where the bride has several changes, which, from their point of view, has been positive. With regards to the future and what’s to come, she said: “We can’t really plan too much, we have to take things one day at a time.”
New Year celebrations
We also spoke to makeup artist and hairstylist Dominique Sedra who shared her experience in 2020 with regard to the people’s approach to beauty, especially in relation to New Year preparations. She said that compared to the past years, it is considered very slow. “Usually during this time of the year I am completely booked. Starting December all the way through January there are bookings. However, this year, understandably things are very different,” she said.
She said that while it is a good thing, people have been far more concerned about hygiene than they would otherwise. However, as a makeup artist, there really is no following social distancing rules, at least not with her client, as they are in extremely close proximity when applying makeup. However, she said that she at least would leave her mask on at all times when working.
We asked her about the frequency of customers and whether it appears as though people are staying home out of fear or because they are sticking to the Covid-19 guidelines, she quite frankly said that people seem to want to go out a normal amount, but the only difference is that there really aren’t a lot of things happening for them to attend. She added that, regardless, she personally does not book clients on New Year’s Eve or New Year’s Day as those are her days off, but she would often come across people wanting to make bookings nevertheless. This time however, there have not been such requests.
Nadiya Fernando too spoke of the New Year celebrations for this year, stating that the frequency of customers coming in for New Year-related prep has certainly been low. She said: “I don’t expect many parties to happen this New Year and therefore, I expect a large decline in clients wanting processional assistance in getting dressed up. In the past, by 1 December, my 31st was fully booked. This year I’m pretty much free on the 31st.”
Johann Peiris, owner of The Cutting Station, also shared that timing has not been on their side, stating that “as soon as the season kicked in, we had to go into a lockdown which took a toll on the industry”. He said that around 1 December, things did begin to pick up as people felt the need to get out. However, with New Year’s right around the corner, he said that what is happening is that most of the bigger events are all cancelled and it is only smaller private gatherings that are still happening.
He said that due to the major hotels not holding their New Year’s Eve parties, there will be quite a lull right after Christmas, and while there will still be a few who come and get their prep done going into the new year, it won’t be a considerable number.
He also shared his thoughts on whether the beauty industry can be considered an essential service, considering that he has a couple of salons in Australia, where it is in fact considered an essential service. However, he said that while he personally believes it to be, as it is a part of hygiene, the mindset is different here, but there is genuine concern with the fear psychosis that has set in due to the rise in the second wave and he cannot begrudge people who worry for their safety.
