Makeup During an Earthquake

What is visible in the frame

The picture shows a young woman with straight light hair bringing red lipstick to her lips; her eyes are made up, and her gaze is directed at the camera. The room is cozy and homey: on the left is a shelf with boxes and books, behind her a mirror with bulbs around the edges, and on the right a floor lamp, a sofa, and cushions, on one of which a fragment of the word “love” is visible.

The frame resembles a classic makeup tutorial filmed on a webcam. Whether this is the original video with the “earthquake” or a similar shot cannot be determined from a single picture, so what follows concerns the format itself.

How the format emerged

According to meme overviews, it all began in July 2019. After a strong earthquake in California on July 5, 2019, which was also felt in the Los Angeles area, a video appeared online in which a blogger supposedly keeps filming while the room shakes around her. Soon viewers pointed out oddities: they said the room in the frame looked like the one in earlier videos, and the episode itself resembled a staged production. Some posts claimed the earthquake had been faked, and this version of events became part of the meme’s story.

From mid-July the first remakes appeared: authors inserted various disasters into the video, and then the format was picked up on other platforms. The joke quickly went beyond makeup and became a montage device: a calm procedure, followed by a sudden calamity.

Why the format sticks

The strength of the joke lies in contrast. A makeup tutorial is the most measured and predictable kind of video: preparation, base, accents, finishing. The viewer tunes in to an unhurried process, and any interruption is perceived as a blow to the script. The earthquake breaks not only the makeup but also the idea that everything is going according to plan.

Another important element is composure. In the original the heroine keeps sitting and applying makeup as if nothing is happening. It is precisely this behavior that turns the incident into a joke: the calmer the person, the funnier the destruction around them.

Examples of captions

“Me, who decided to tidy up the desktop before submitting the report,” on the calm frame, and “A sudden meeting” on the “earthquake” frame. Order collapses at the most inopportune moment.

“Spent three hours cooking the perfect dinner” and “The guests wrote that they won’t come.” Preparation and collapse mirror each other here.

“Finished the term paper up to the last paragraph” and “The computer restarted.” A classic catastrophe that is easy to recognize.

“Weekend plan: sleep in, cook, read” and “A message from the boss.” The template is split into two parts, and the caption shows what intrudes on the plan.

How to use the format

For a video, a montage of two parts works: a measured beginning and a sharp break. For a picture, two “before” and “after” panels are enough. The effect is stronger if the calm part is long and detailed, while the destruction takes a fraction of a second.

Do not apply the format to real disasters and affected people: the joke is built on a conditional “earthquake” in an everyday situation, not on a real calamity. It works best when the thing that gets wrecked is a small personal matter: a hairdo, dinner, a presentation.