In light of all the beauty products and beauty treatments that are now so readily available, and the prevalence of the science and business of beauty, it’s the nature of beauty that actually interests me more. I was just interviewed on what I thought made a woman sexy and beautiful, which got me thinking about how misguided many of our concepts of beauty are these days. To look like a doll, or be eternally young, pale white, with long, computer-generated hair, and clinically-enhanced features has become the current standard of beauty–which, to my mind, doesn’t do true beauty any justice at all.
Birth of Venus, Botticelli
First of all, I think there is beauty in diversity, which means it’s a lot more fashionable to experiment with developing your own beauty rather than try to look like everybody else. Whether your hair is curly, wavy, straight, black, blond, or even grey, it’s always a good idea to play up, or even exaggerate the features that make you different, rather than change them. It’s the same thing with skin color, whether you’re peachy-skinned, fair-skinned, olive-skinned, or dark-skinned why not just celebrate the skin you’re born with instead of trying to be something else?
Frida Kahlo, photo by Nickolas Muray for cover of Vogue
Developing a personal style that works with your body type enhances your looks both by allowing you to feel comfortable in your skin and express who you really are. Also, one of the most important things that contribute to a person’s beauty is health. Watching what you eat (not obsessively dieting) and eating fresh food does wonders for your looks and your general well-being. And living a well-balanced life adds beauty not just to your face, but to everything around you as well.
It may be time to come to terms with our looks, appreciate our unique features, and re-fashion our idea of what it is to be truly beautiful.
