I was recently looking on Facebook for some interesting articles and images to share on my page, and I happened to come upon a link that Jennifer Devlin, of Celtic Complexion, shared with her readers. This link shows how the hosts of The Today Show promoted the idea of Makeup-Free Mondays by appearing on screen makeup-free and by showing photos of how they look before and after having professional hairstyling, makeup artistry, and lighting–both the men and women participated! Funny little side note…The Today Show promoted the event on social media using the hashtag #loveyourselfie…maybe I should have named my book “Love Your Skin, Love Your Selfie” 😉
Anyway, this got me thinking about beauty and cosmetics trends in general–especially since it was the theme of my most recent webinar, “Return to Refinement.” In this webinar, Barbara Sherf of Capture Live Stories and I certainly spoke about beauty and fashion trends–particularly how changes in society and world events dictated changes in fashion, the changing images and roles of women in society, and how women presented themselves to the world.
As I researched trends in skincare and beauty over the decades certain themes really stood out.
First, I was actually really happy to see how some of the all-natural ingredients women used decades ago to tone and moisturize their skin, like rosewater, witch hazel, and cocoa butter–are some of the ingredients I use in my all natural and organic skincare products today. I really enjoy keeping old traditions alive and passing along their benefits.
Well…not all traditions.
The second idea that jumped out at me was how CRAZY and downright toxic some of the ingredients and methods used back then for youth and beauty were! For instance, in Edwardian, pre-World War I. times, makeup was scarcely worn–mostly because much of it hadn’t been invented yet–but also because society was very conservative and austere and when it came to skin, pale was in.
Pale was in for a couple of reasons, which we thoroughly discussed in the webinar, but mostly because women wanted to appear high class–regardless of their actual stations in life–and if one’s skin was tan, that implied that she worked either outside or around dirt, soot, or grease. One of the crazy things women did to get their pale pallor was to add white liquid lead-based enamel to a fat and apply it as an early form of foundation.
Another trend was to appear “bright-eyed”–which was likened to youthful. To achieve this look, women put drops of belladonna–AKA deadly nightshade into their eyes to dilate their pupils. Belladonna can be extremely toxic, and has been known to cause fits of delirium and hallucinations. Awesome ideas, right? Not so much.
What women did for the sake of beauty…and what we do today.
This led me to consider measures some women take today to enhance their beauty or appear more youthful. Today we look back 100 years and laugh about some of the crazy things women did to themselves for beauty but what will people say about us in 100 years?
Think about it.? Women today wear more kinds of makeup–much of which didn’t even exist 20 years ago, nevermind 100 years ago. Most women today have no worries about the safety of the makeup they buy–well, you might since you’re smarter than most women 😉 But in truth, there are plenty of makeup companies today who still put lead, coal tar, and other CRAZY toxic ingredients in their products, market the heck out of them, and sell them with no care or consequence.
What about skin treatments?
Getting zapped with lasers, burned with acids, and shot full of botulism and proteins from farm animals? All in the name of beauty and youth. Why is this considered any less crazy today than some of the ingredients and techniques used a century ago? And why is it primarily women who take these risks and endure the discomfort? I know that more men are getting spa treatments and worrying about looking younger these days than they did in the past…but the overwhelming majority of beauty and anti-aging clients are still women, and they start getting these treatments now younger than ever. Look at certain celebrities in the media…why on earth would a beautiful twenty–or even thirty–something actor need Botox or fillers? Come on now.
The funny thing is that none of it will matter, because in 100 years there won’t be any realistic photographs or videos of how people looked today because of the wonders of lighting, editing, and Photoshop.
All women have the ability to be beautiful–I truly believe that–but it must start within.
And there’s nothing wrong with aging. We’re all doing it–it’s inevitable, and the less we stress about fighting it, the better off we’ll be. I don’t know who ever decided that beauty and youth equate goodness and value of character, but I’ll tell you what: that’s just CRAZY.
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite quotes about how to attain true beauty:
?For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run their fingers through it once a day.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you never walk alone.
People, more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed. Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of each of your arms.
As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself and the other for helping others.? ? Sam Levenson
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*Image 3 courtesy of the ASCP
