Historically, the beauty industry has been painstakingly exclusive in the ideals it puts forward to its impressionable and vulnerable consumers. Since ancient Egyptian times, people have been using beauty products to enhance their features. There has even been an instance of ‘Egyptian Magic’ packaged and sold to the masses, becoming a cult product which many social media influencers and youtubers have raved about. This is one example out of billions across the globe – from East to West, there are products that claim to halt aging, whiten or darken your skin (according to your culture’s beauty standards) and make you more ‘beautiful’. There is obviously nothing wrong with this, but this notion of ‘beauty’ since, over the years, has been bent and twisted so that beauty standards represented by the beauty industry are decidedly exclusive in what can be toxic ways.
For years, airbrushing and Photoshopping have been utilised to make the glossy pictures in magazines or the posts on social media platforms more “perfect” by the beauty standards imposed by the international industry. Despite photo retouchers and models telling and showing the truth behind every perfect photo – posting evidence of how much goes on behind the scenes from the makeup to the lighting to the editing, the masses remain blind to reality and continue choosing to believe the end product before their eyes. This evolution of mass media and its brainwashing effects has led to millions of women feeling inadequate, and desperate to right the ship.
The toxic evolution of the international beauty industry
The ongoing movement of the beauty industry is one that has been damaging, and up until recently, it was becoming exceedingly more toxic every day. This is a beauty industry that has been built on the foundations of disingenuous moments and all-consuming pressures to adhere to the standards that the world has told us we must fit into. Now, finally, the tides are changing. Women’s lifestyles slowly began to become more about fitting in than living a fulfilling life as their most authentic selves.
How the modern woman’s lifestyle changed it all
These days, the modern woman’s lifestyle is more freeing, more individualistic, and more comfortable in her own skin. The beauty industry has been forced to transform along with it, to realign with the way of the modern world. The women of today, and of recent generations, have been gaining more traction in building themselves up to be everything they want to be, rather than tirelessly chasing the ideals of being who the world tells them they should strive to be. We are more confident, more self-loving, and more self-respecting, and our lifestyles today are more empowering and individualistic than ever.
The modern woman is more excited about being healthy than pretty, substantial rather than just another flowerpot. Feminism has set women free in the sense that they are no longer tied down to one stereotype and label, allowing them to fight for equality and allowing them to look past mere appearances.
The modern woman and taking back control
Now, the beauty industry – and the rest of the world, realistically – is all about making choices that allow you to live your best life – even if that is unique from what the rest of the world is doing. Individuality is celebrated and widely encouraged, and the shift in women’s lifestyle has everything to do with this.
Women are fighting against animal cruelty and protecting the environment, forcing many established brands to re-establish themselves and forgo animal testing and opting for environmental friendly packaging. There are even those women who are making their own organic products as a healthier alternative. Women’s lifestyles today are all about being our best and brightest selves. We want to be confident, be honest, be open, and love who we are entirely and without exception…and a lot of that comes down to the way that we lead our lives and what we let into our lives, including making the best decisions for ourselves.
No longer are we standing for the ridiculous and the exclusive. We are now empowered and emboldened by the brave and the unique. The modern woman’s lifestyle encompasses these ideals and so much more, and it is the healthiest lifestyle and relationship we have ever had with ourselves. There is nowhere to go from here but up, and it is an incredibly exciting and positive time to be a woman. We will continue to fight for what and those we love – including, and especially, ourselves.
