Hi there,
I came back from Scotland last week and I feel blah about being back in Paris. It was an amazing trip (I almost died)(ok, that’s a bit exagerated) and I’ll tell you more about it very soon (next week if not too lazy).
But today, I wanted to go back over an article I read, here‘s the link.
The article starts with “As I flip through modern magazines made for women and men, I wonder how many people truly believe that what they see is a true representation of beauty, let alone think it’s achievable. Many forget that there is plenty of photoshop and surgery involved, to the point that it’s someone else entirely”.
Then, it presents the work of a make-up artist (Vadim Andreev) who “want[s] to help everyone to see their own beauty” by making them as glamourous as the girls in the magazines.
Roughly, what I understand is: “You don’t need Photoshop and/or surgery to be beautiful, just a little make-up (and some skills obviously)”.
I completely agree with the first part of the idea. Less with the second part. To me, the initiative is great, but incomplete.
I am part of the girls who have *strong* complexes. Those that stop you from going out if you’re not “ready”.
There are 3 things I don’t like about my face. In order of antipathy: my eyebrows, my natural lip colour and my eyelashes. My eyebrows are squattered, full of holes, almost non-existent in some places. My natural lip colour is too pale. My eyelashes are short, straight and few. I always have to make-up my eyebrows before going out. Always, always, always. Even if this means being late for a meeting. I spend at least 5 minutes on it, because it has to be perfect. Full, thick and natural looking. And I often had compliments on my brows actually haha.
But still, it feels a little wrong. I almost became obsessed by it. And I can’t go out without doing it. But the thing is, yes, my natural eyebrows are ugly, but then? Does it really matter? Does this mean I am ugly? Not that much, my face isn’t so hard to look at when I don’t have make-up on it. Boyfriend doesn’t cover his eyes of fright when he sees me on waking, neither the passers-by the rare times I go out with no make-up on haha. But it’s not so easy to admit it by myself. Why? Because models. Because beauty criteria. Because the eyebrows are what define your face and that’s an absolute rule.
So yes, Photoshop and surgery are not a solution. You’ll never be satisfied and always will want more. But make-up isn’t neither and certainly not artistic make-up that makes you look like a model.
Don’t get me wrong, Vadim Andreev’s work is stunning, I don’t deny it at all. The way he plays with the lights and the shadows, how he redefines the face and how he does the eye make-up, it really is impressive.
But it doesn’t help women to see their own beauty. And I do believe that, on the contrary, it locks them in their complexes. Because, yes, you look like a model with all this make-up, your skin is flawless, your lips are full and your eyes look like those of Bambi’s mother. But for how long? A day? An evening? An hour? How can this help you to feel good about yourself when there’s such a “harsh reality check” as soon as the make-up is removed? Do you even realize that? Photoshop and surgery are blamed to make someone be someone else entirely. But make-up can do it too. When you redefine all your face, it absolutely has the same effect than Photoshop. Surgery at least lasts (which can be dramatic).
This might be a nice experience, it might be fun and surprising to be “transformed” by make-up. But to me, this is not beauty, it’s glamour. Glamour involves the artifices. Beauty does not. Glamour starts when you put the lipstick on. Beauty starts when you admit its existence.
Whatever Wina 