Truth unmasked

Exactly one year ago I decided to actively talk about my pandemic experience as a frontline worker. That’s right, for almost two months, I avoided any COVID-19 mention thinking that it was just a fluke and that you, my readers, would be more interested in the usual content.

On the 1st of April 2020, like a twisted joke, I decided that talking about COVID-19 was our duty as the generation who is living through it and has the means to virtually reach anyone across time and space. Ironically, on the 1st of April 2021, I received my first dose of COVID-19 vaccine and I am still here writing about the pandemic.

It feels like the world has both stopped and sped up during the last twelve months.

For the past year, I have truly forgotten what breathing in fresh air feels like. Masks have been a staple in my days, to the point where I feel naked without wearing one. I had a virtual interaction with a person who requested for me to drop the mask and show my face. Well, let me tell you, I have not felt that way since leaving Italy and its daily catcalling. In retrospect, I can vouch for masks, they not only limit the spread of pandemic diseases but also can make your life much easier! Think about it:

Are you embarrassed by falling asleep on public transport with your mouth semi-open? Wearing a mask makes your drooly sleeping face look just like everyone else’s!

Need a pick me up that’s socially acceptable but not work appropriate? Why not boost your confidence with bold black lipstick in the privacy of your own mask.

Afraid that your manager will question your lifestyle choices or your attention seeing you yawn during meetings? Wear a mask, stop the spread of the pandemic and the sight of your yawns.

Suffering from a less-than-ideal allergy to nature? Unclear what, when, or how nature exists in the city centre, yet 'sniffles' is now the cute pet name your partner calls you? Wear a mask, match it to your outfit or find an edgy one, and embrace the Asian way of the masked white collar.

Your favourite song came on and you’re in public? Don’t resist the urge to lip-sync for your life, wear a mask and hope everyone else is wearing earphones too, pretending to be a functioning member of society, so they won’t hear your whispered lyrics.

Coffee breath or spinach between your teeth? Not a problem with a mask!

For full disclosure, I do feel sorry for chewing-gum and lipstick industries that must have seen their sales drop to unprecedented levels.

Other things I will find it hard to re-adjust to, once masks won't be mandatory anymore are:

Applying sunscreen to my whole face.

Experts agree the recommended amount of sunscreen for your face and neck is 2 finger-lengths. But not if you’re wearing a mask that already covers most of your skin! Who needs protection, when you're not exposed to the outernet? 

Applying make-up to enhance the lower half of my face.

Ask anyone, it’s so much easier to make your eyes and eyebrows look good. You just need some eyeshadow, maybe fake eyelashes, a good brow routine, and you’re good to go. But to make your nose, lips, or chin look good you most likely need fillers or surgery, or to be really good at contouring and to care very little about looking too caked up in person. This year I forgot how to line my lips but I am now a master of daily falsies.

Lastly, is it just me, or everyone went on to create hypothetical faces for people?

Let me explain. I have met people during the pandemic who have been working with me on a daily basis, and I just now started seeing them without a mask. The first time I noticed something was different, I did the polite generic smile thinking they were related to my colleague? Maybe they were waiting for each other, or joining the team after some good references from the inside? But then they started talking to me as if they knew me, and that’s when I realised something was off. Namely, their mask!

As it turns out, along with forgetting the existence of my own lower face, I did not care about anyone else’s appearance and went ahead filling in the gaps of existence with mere imagination. No wonder everyone looked great and always smiling with TV-ready teeth. Sadly, the same goes for me. After seeing my masked face zoom after zoom, and forgetting how to make my lower half face look good with makeup, removing my mask implies people get to see the tiny scar on my chin, my chapped small lips, and that darn spinach leaf!



Image: via