The use of video conferencing platforms has skyrocketed amid national lockdowns, yet so too have apologies for people’s own appearances as they reckon with dodgy camera angles and often a more laid-back approach to typical beauty routines.

From grey roots to skin blemishes and under-eye bags, beauty brand Billie is addressing some of these self-deprecating remarks in a new film produced by Prettybird UK.

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A lot of time spent on Zoom ????‍???? = a lot of looking at ourselves = a lot of knee jerk apologies for how we look. Sorry for my bags! my roots! my grays! You name it, we’ve apologized for it. But when we say sorry for that stuff, aren’t we really just apologizing for looking like… ourselves?

A post shared by Billie (@billie) on May 12, 2020 at 5:43am PDT

As with most productions these days, the film was created over Zoom, which fits neatly with the topic at hand. Participants chosen for the film were asked to pick people themselves to feature alongside them in each clip, to help bring a natural feel to the conversations.

Despite video calls being ubiquitous these days, the film taps into the fact that many people are still struggling to shake off self-consciousness at a time when people are arguably at their most authentic and intimate. Although beauty brands have historically offered up a narrow representation of women – focusing in particular on the young and slender – the film also features a refreshingly diverse pool of stars.

mybillie.com