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By now we’ve all read that piece on “the skincare con” on The Outline. Thankfully, Racked has focused on debunking many of the false claims of the piece , like the idea that evolution has fine-tuned our bodies to perfection and thus we don’t need skincare. And I can agree – we don’t need skincare, but that doesn’t mean we can’t prefer it. As Racked pointed out, there’s plenty of scientific...
*header image – Truth Coming Out of Her Well to Shame Mankind by Jean-Léon Gérôme. There’s no shortage of drama in the beauty community. This we know to be true. However, most of the mess that garners attention is beef between vloggers or instagram models leaving their sponsorships undisclosed. What I see a lot of personally, though, is misbehaviour on the other end – the corporate end. Beauty brands stick...
Ok y’all, it’s that time again. I’m getting on the soapbox, yelling indignantly et cetera. But can we talk about how so much of beauty has this unpleasantly infantilizing tone? Looking at a lot of beauty ads, there are strange references to girlhood and childishness. The unicorn trend is, I’d say, the most obvious illustration of this – unicorns may just be the ultimate symbol of female virginity, innocence, purity...
When’s the last time you heard the term “empowering” in a context that wasn’t completely ridiculous? Empowerment has gone from being a feminist concern to an advertising buzzword used to sell anything and everything to women. I’ve seen sexy lingerie, menstrual products, snacks and pussy highlighter all being sold as “empowering”. Clearly, this word means nothing of value anymore – it’s window dressing for a “woke” female consumer. You can...
There’s a disturbing but unsurprising tendency among men – primarily straight, cisgender men – of extreme reactions to other men’s style choices. This is especially prevalent when men in one way or another uses feminine attributes in their self expression. I read an article in a major Swedish newspaper where a man was making a big deal about men who wear perfume, going so far as to compare their wearing...
In an interview with Hollywood Reporter, Peter Phillips – creative director of Dior beauty – makes the bold claim that makeup is a feminist weapon: “To Philips, it’s not something to hide behind, but a tool that enhances women’s feminine power. “A lipstick, an eyeliner is something a woman can use, and should use, to really put forward her strengths,” continues Philips. “She can totally control how she wants the...
There’s a lot of buzz around the ‘cool girl’ beauty movement – rumours and legends spread like wildfire about what ‘cool girl’ does and what ‘cool girl’ likes. But who the hell is she anyway?! Googling the term ‘cool girl beauty’ leads me to headlines like “What’s the deal with cool girl beauty?” (That’s what I wanna know!) along with “5 Cool-Girl Beauty Trends for Spring Brides”, “Top 5 Picks...
Photo: SKØN Magazine There’s an undeniable link between cosmetics and food. Going through my own collection, I find items shaped like, named after and scented like food – primarily sweets and fruits. I have a lip gloss that looks like a cupcake, and nearly every lip product I own smells like vanilla or toffee. The NYX Butter Glosses, which I’ve mentioned before, smell like the caramel syrup you put on ice cream,...
This time of year is rife with “holiday” beauty launches. Aside from the ubiquitous celebrity perfume gift sets, it seems like the fall-winter season is the event of the year for makeup. You have everything from holiday palettes to bizarre christmas tree ornaments with mini beauty products inside to advent calendars stuffed with shower gels and body butters. To say the least, it’s overwhelming to the point of exhaustion. And...
Short answer? No, I don’t think so. Does that surprise you? Well, the long answer is – surprise surprise – it’s complicated. I identify as a woman, a feminist and full-time aesthete. Beauty, not only in a cosmetic sense, permeates all my interests. But beauty is not apolitical, and for women, beauty is a prison. To think otherwise would be kidding yourself. For thousands of years, the way women look...