September 19, 2014 - 21:31
Before you say hello to someone, hug them or have that first encounter with them, the initial stepping stone to developing the contact zone is by the way the person looks. First impressions are the gateway to the contact zone. Using their looks as the primary source before actually having an interaction with someone, you can sometimes judge which party within this relationship is going to be the superior party and which one would be the inferior. Someone may be wearing beat up clothes while the other person is dressed in the latest trend, and in that instance a contact zone as well as the rankings of each person involved in the contact zone has been set before anyone has uttered a word.
So we decided to use the element of first impressions and how important they are to the contact zone, but we will be using makeup. We decided to focus on a makeup commonly used on the eyes, mascara, as well as the lips, lip balm/lip gloss/ lip stick, because these two body parts are very important in relation to the connections you make and try to sustain with people/things. Makeup, for men and women, plays a very important role in people’s everyday life. How many layers of mascara you will apply, if you decide to put any on, as well as the color of lipstick you put on your lips or how glossy you want your lips to be is well thought out and planned when thinking about how you want to be perceived and what type of image you want to portray when unknowingly setting up your contact zone with people.
What we have learned is that many people do not know where their beauty products come from. They don’t know if they were tested on animals, what the working conditions of the people making the product are, or who made the product. The contact zone with the people who help enhance the contact zone of many people’s lives every day is nonexistent. So we are going to trace back where our mascara and lip enhancement makeups are made and try to bridge that gap.
For centuries presenting oneself has never been a simple task. Various factors go into preparation for whatever occasion even if the occasion is just another Monday. Contact zones are birthed each day by every action humans make, but one that constantly is forgotten is the connection made through cosmetics. Specifically, eye and lip makeup.
EThis project will begin with our research over a few cosmetic products: mascara, eyeliner, lipstick, and lip gloss. By selecting one brand of each cosmetic commonly used, we will research the journey it’s undergone to reach the consumers hands. This will begin by identifying the brand, where it was purchased, how it was transported, where it was packaged, who created the packaging, where it was manufactured and by who, where and what it was tested on (if it was tested at all), headquarters (CEO, CFO, COO), how it is marketed (endorsement deals) and various other factors we may come across during research. Documenting the process is not where it ends though.
There is a larger connection to be seen. After gathering this information we would like to look more in depth into how this affects others’ lives. For example at every stage in this process there are people and animals involved. After this acknowledgement there is a stronger impact of the connection being made. Then going one step further, we must analyze what role they are playing and how consumption of this product affects their daily lives and environment. To illustrate this suppose a worker for Maybelline is paid for packaging mascara. The consumer’s consumption of this product determines whether or not there is a demand for this item. A demand is created through marketing which in turn also adds a certain connotation to the product. As long as there is a demand, there is a job for that worker at this company. But this also affects the environment in terms of the factory existing. The very space that building is taking up was space that once served a purpose for someone or something else. The creation of this product led to the creation of this building which leads to others gaining an occupation but also affects the environment in which it is placed.
Over the course of the next 10 weeks, we will research the process of this product making its way into the consumer’s hands as well as that deeper connection but also how much more this plays into the first impression aspect. Thirty students will be surveyed on the question, “Does makeup effect your first impression on a person?” After gathering their answers it will be followed by presenting the information gathered on the deeper contact zone. The entire course of this project may be turned into a documentary which will then be used to bridge the gap between the benefits of knowing the entire background and chain it has undergone and the various lives affected with the immediate contact zone on first impression.