issue 8 // volume 43 life & style // no. ‘Wi

Being on brand

> Self-branding vs. self-identity

Brittney MacDonald
Life & Style Editor

 

he words “brand” and “branding”
have taken on an interesting
new meaning in the past year
or so, and it is in part due to an
evolution in social media.
Before, connecting on social
media seemed a lot more cerebral,
due to the fact that most content
was text-based. Yes, even early social
media sites did have photo albums
or something similar for you to share
pictures, but that content wasn’t what
drove you to log in every day. There
was a base need to connect—meaning
you wanted to share your feelings and
thoughts with the world. The reason
for this differs from person to person,
as well as from platform to platform.
Sex has always been at the centre of
most human interaction, but there was
also the idea of finding a sympathetic
ear, as well as a desire to expand
your social network with people that
share your interests and hobbies.
Nowadays, we're seeing a shift in
social media. The goal is no longer to
connect with people, but rather to live
vicariously through their experiences, or
allow them to live vicariously through
yours. To put it very simply, that
cerebral experience that arose from the
text-based interaction that I mentioned
earlier is being replaced by visual
experiences. This is why visually based
social media platforms are becoming
so popular. Apps like Instagram
are taking over, while social media
networks like Facebook are becoming
an after-thought in your daily routine.
Because your social media is

now about selling the experience of
being you, this has driven people to
start cultivating their online persona
in very specific ways. This is where
the “branding” comes in. Users have
begun treating themselves as a brand,
something of commercial value for
public consumption, which in itself
is not a problem. I mean, celebrities
have been doing this for ages. Where
this sort of ideology begins to falter

is when you mistake this idea of self-
branding with your own sense of self—
in other words, when you mistake it

Beauty on a budget:
Eyebrows by Essence and LOreal

> Make your brows fierce for Fall

Lauren Kelly
Editor-in-Chief

 

[I has been awhile since I’ve covered
any brow products in my column,
and I was ready to dabble in the
broader spectrum of what’s available
in the drugstore market. After
research, the LOreal Brow Stylist
Definer seemed like a winner, and

I decided to try Essence’s Make Me
Brow after I was recommended it by
the beauty consultant at Shoppers
Drug Mart, who called it a great
dupe for Benefit’s Gimme Brow.

Make Me Brow is a tinted eyebrow
gel that’s described as a 3-in-1,
because it colours, fills, and shapes.
The product comes in a small tube
with a tiny, mascara-like brush. It
comes in three colours: Blondy Brow,
Browny Brow, and Soft Browny Brow.
Because I have very dark eyebrows,

I purchased their darkest shade,
Browny Brow. When using it as a gel
to shape my eyebrows, it made a large
impact. They looked much neater
and more structured after I was done.
It did build them up a bit to result
in a fuller brow, but I didn’t notice
any tinting on my own eyebrows.
However, I tested Browny Brown
on someone with much lighter
eyebrows, and the tinting made a
dramatic difference. The eyebrow
it was used on looked significantly
darker. For those with lighter eyebrows
who want to keep them more polished
without filling them in with another
product, Make Me Brow is quick
and easy. If you want to use it to
set your brows after filling them in
like I do, it also works very well.
The second product I used was
LOreal Brow Stylist Definer. It is in
a long, thin pencil type tube, and
features a very fine point, perfect

  

Photo via Brittney MacDonald

for your identity or autonomy.
Autonomy is defined as “freedom
from external control or influence,”
which is impossible for a brand
because a brand is influenced by its
consumers. How this relates to personal
branding is that many adopt a brand-
like mentality when it comes to the
aesthetics of their content. So, being
“on brand” simply refers to you being
loyal to your aesthetic preferences,
or the aesthetic that is popular.
Unfortunately, as an individual, if
you remain too dedicated to your own

for accurately and naturally filling
in your brows. You twist the tube to
reach more product, so there is no
worry about it dulling or needing
to sharpen it. The other end of tube
has a cap with a small brush under
it to comb the product through
your brows after and soften it. |
purchased it in Dark Brunette, and
it matched my eyebrows well. As
directed, I outlined my eyebrows
and then used small strokes to fill in
any gaps. I ended up with dramatic
but natural-looking eyebrows, and
the process was fairly quick.

I really liked both products
I tried this week, and they work
great together. However, if I had
to pick one, I would say Make Me
Brow for sure. At $3.99 at Shopper’s
Drug Mart, it is a bargain. LOreal’s
Brow Stylist Definer was definitely
a winner as well, though, and you
can buy it for $9.96 at Wal-Mart.

“brand,” you run the risk of stagnation.
Your identity becomes too attached to
a way of being and portraying yourself
that is entirely determined by your base
following, because they are the ones
that determine how they interpret the
content you put out. In essence, your
“brand” isn’t yours, but is merely how
other people see you. So if you make
a change—or go “off-brand”—you run
the risk of being accused of “selling
out” or losing some of your base
following as your identity naturally
evolves and changes. Fear of this can
drive people to actively maintain
certain aspects of their personality
that gained them popularity, but may
no longer reflect their current views or
mood, sometimes to their detriment.
To give an example, I recently
attended a party where I met someone
who follows me, but who I had never
interacted with despite similar social
circles. They mentioned both to me and
a mutual friend that they were surprised
at how personable and cheery I was
because my Twitter and Instagram feeds
are very loner- and macabre- based.
This experience made me realize that
the way I was presenting myself outside
of my writing only portrayed one very
distinct aspect of my personality, the
one most affected by my visual aesthetic
preferences, which lean more towards
dark and brooding. These choices,
when seen completely independent
of the rest of my personality, paint a
picture of someone very gloomy and
apathetic, which I like to think I’m not.
Taking all of this into consideration,
I am not advising people to stop self-
branding. Just don’t let your “brand”
become the only you that people see.

 

Photo Illustration by Joel