Lockdown isolation has turned into one big L online tutorial show, including on make-up. As a result, perfectly regular women are turning into high-brow, high-cheekboned, multi-eye-shadowed, perfectly pouted models.

It's fascinating to watch the transformation. They do it for you with their entire make-up kit on hand, holding up each product before application, so that the viewer can see in every detail how the make-up looks at every stage. The transformation reminded me of the erstwhile Miss Universe Sushmita Sen, who had answered a question on how she rated herself on the beauty scale with a return question of with or without make-up. In fact, even before the pandemic started, social media influencers would post their DIY make-up videos shot at all odd places, including in flight with copassengers either snoring or peering in. But now we have a huge flood.

The face can feel like a wall, first treated to a coat of primer before the coat of paint. The DIY expert will tell you how a primed face will hold the make-up well. Then there are colour correcting crayons to hide the warts and shadows, the zits and the scars. Then the concealer to finish the coverup. By this time, the face has turned into a multi-layered wall. (Our mothers however had skipped all this with just a few drops of foundation.) Draw the contours now with bronzer, blush or what have you and while doing so don't forget to smile or pout or draw your cheeks in. And that looks really sexy.

But that's only the beginning! Then the great fuss over the eyes starts. The brows are filled up, the shadows are dusted, first with a green, then with a neon, then a purple or maybe three different colours on three different parts. You can go as you like. A waterproof eyeliner pencil comes to the aid of 'tightlining'. And before you apply the mascara, a strange contraption of curler pulls on the eyelashes. I would think twice before doing that, with just a few lashes to hang on to.

And in between all this spritz a bit of setting spray before you go on to the next layer. The lips are another fuss zone with liners, lipsticks, gloss in that order.

But the fun is when you finish. Looking into the camera with that face, and that sultry, come-hither look, it's hard to not marvel at what it was and what it has become.

But to go by the latest stylebook, Rihanna's new post is all about no make-up make-up using Fenty Beauty. Watch it on Fenty's YouTube channel.