Escaping into the World of Make-Up Routines in Iran

Abstract

Traditionally, Iranian women's use of dress and make‐up has been an arena – sometimes a battleground – for identity negotiation. The present study questions the current over‐emphasis on identity and the prevalent tendency to look for identity meanings in the use of hejab (veiling) and cosmetics. The results of fifteen interpretive in‐depth interviews with young adult women in Iran reveal that these individuals' make‐up practices are largely associated with a total immersion in the experiential, creative aspects of make‐up use and with ways to uplift their tired spirits in a monotonous environment. Make‐up routines provide these women with opportunities to escape from boredom and immerse themselves in the playful fantasies of the world of cosmetics. Despite facing various challenges, including frequent stigmatization on account of their use of make‐up, the informants in the study derive high levels of satisfaction from their make‐up practices. The study establishes that changing socio‐cultural dynamics give rise to new forms of consumption experiences in contemporary society and calls for further investigation of such experiences in women's everyday lives.

The interrupted world: Surrealist disruption and altered escapes from reality

“…The end result of these various facets is that pleasure can be derived from escaping deeper ‘into’ inner worlds rather than simply ‘from’ the outside world (p. 155). Comparably, Jafari and Maclaran (2014) in their treatment of the escapist potential of make-up practices and routines find consumers escape not only from boredom but also into the aesthetics, intricacies and fantasies of their creative efforts.…”

The ontological pitfalls of Islamic exceptionalism: A re-inquiry on El-Bassiouny's (2014, 2015) conceptualization of “Islamic marketing”

“…Yet, this intention should not lead to hasty and incomplete conceptualizations that can concurrently justify the instrumentlization of Islam in markets and consumption spheres. For example, there is no guarantee that the propositions set forth by El-Bassiouny remain at a voluntary, moral and spiritual level (respecting human dignity and freedom above all) and not turn into ideological means of power abuse (see Jafari & Goulding, 2013;Jafari & Maclaran, 2014). By the same token, no matter how distressed El-Bassiouny and other scholars such as us feel about the terrors created and crimes committed by different groups in the name of Islam and 'the Islamic', terrorists and criminals may declare themselves more Moslem and Islamic than anybody else.…”

Crescent marketing, Muslim geographies and brand Islam

“…More recently, there has been research on modesty versus vanity in covered women's appearance ( Jafari and Maclaran, 2013;Sobh et al, 2012Sobh et al, , 2010Sandikci and Ger, 2005); privacy and gendered spaces in Arab homes Sobh, 2008, 2010;Sobh and Belk, 2011b, c); consumption rituals associated with Ramadan in Muslim majority and minority contexts (Sandikci and Ö meraki, 2007;Hirschman et al, 2011); and Arab hospitality at personal, commercial, and national levels Sobh and Belk, 2011a). Much of this latter work has been visual and has involved both still photography and videography, which signals the breadth of research approaches and methods needed to help "lift the veil" on the mysteries of Islamic consumption as currently seen by the West.…”