Wandering around Milan, marveling at the grand architecture and the impeccably dressed Italians and hoards of old-money tourists, I couldn’t decide which was more impressive. Obviously being bombarded with so much glamour from every direction results in its fair share of self-comparison and doubt. Let’s be honest: I’m a girl; I have insecurities.
What it also resulted in was a whirlwind of thoughts on our society’s unhealthy obsession with beauty and that which is aesthetically pleasing. I realize the subject of beauty has been dissected to pieces. By now, quotes like “beauty is in the eye of the beholder” or “beauty is more than skin deep” are so cliché that it hurts just typing the words. So I’m not here to debate the meaning of beauty.
But I would like to know one thing. As much as we claim to love and appreciate the “real,” the “authentic,” the “natural,” why are we far more often drawn to and obsessed with the dazzling, glossy, shiny, glittering, glamorous and perfectly-groomed? Just imagine how many hours a day we as women spend plucking, tweezing, brushing, curling, concealing, straightening, whitening, shaping, exfoliating, drying, scrubbing, painting, shaving, moisturizing — in other words, torturing — our bodies into what they consider ideal — whoever “they” are. And for what?!
All it takes is one day for me to forgo makeup for friends and strangers alike to start asking “Everything OK?” or “Did something happen?” or – best one yet –”Are you sick?” A bevy of arbitrary products and routines start to become absolute necessities, enslaving us in the daily struggle to be beautiful – time and money that could be spent on far more important things like becoming a better person, or traveling or spending time with people who matter.
I half pity, half envy women who spend a fortune on brow threading, eyelash extensions, plastic surgery, tanning memberships and other attempts to beautify themselves, only to remember that I style my hair every single day and feel unprepared to face the world without my eyebrows being perfectly groomed. Although my beauty routine may be less stringent than that of some women, it’s far more high maintenance than the vast majority. All in all, the mentality is exactly the same.
Theoretically, there is nothing wrong with trying to look your best. But there is a dangerously delicate line between feeling confident in your own skin and being utterly enslaved by the media-driven quest for beauty.
Worst of all, I have yet to figure out where this line is.
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Oh, Gosh! I’m so jealous of you being in Milan! Such a wonderful city! Wish I was here
Yes, it was beautiful – a must-see for every blogger and fashion lover! XOXO
Amazing!!!!! i love those photos. great blog btw
xx
Masha
disconnectdots.blogspot.ru/
Thank you, Mash! Very happy to hear you enjoy them! XOXO
Beautiful pictures, Oksana! I see that you are enjoying your new camera :)
I get the thing you say about make-up, sadly I feel prettier with make-up than without it. And other people do too I guess, I get the ‘are you sick?’ or ‘you must be very tired’ too. Shame! If only my lashes were very long and my lips bright pink or red naturally ;)
xoxo Iris
A DASH OF FASH
I’m definitely learning and finding new features on the camera every day! :)
I know what you mean about not feeling pretty without makeup, but I wonder if it’s all in our head?
The problem with the “if only” mentality is that it doesn’t stop. Using the example you gave, if your lashes were long and your lips bright pink, you’d be saying “if only” to something else… And that’s, unfortunately, the main issue, I think.