Cart

In a world full of idolised beauty standards, it can be hard to find where you fit in. Comparison today is more unavoidable than ever with curated versions of perfection constantly at our fingertips. The concept of beauty has become so entangled with the gaze and opinions of others that it can easily be mistaken as conformity. Being sold the dream that if you look more like this, then, you will feel beautiful. As these ideals continually shift and evolve, they create a moving target that can leave one feeling perpetually inadequate.

From the moment we wake up, we are bombarded with images and messages about what beauty should look like. With a saturation of celebrity endorsed brands that capitalise on our insecurities, constantly being told to be more, or to be less. Riding on the tails of trends and aesthetics that turns beauty into something that you could be, instead of something that you are. Now, with filters and retouching, real life is almost becoming secondary to the online world. Products that promise, “blurring” or “filter-like” effects that push standards impossible to achieve.

In his essays ‘Ways of Seeing’, John Berger states that;

Berger wrote this over 50 years ago, yet women are still being brought up in a world centred around female visual perfection. We grow up with the idea that wearing makeup is a part of being a woman, a silent expectation, or at least without it, you aren’t your best-self. Young girls are pressured to hide their imperfections, sculpt their cheekbones, have glass-like skin with long, shiny hair, but only on your head - shave the rest off. We’re expected to always be pleasant and smile, just not too hard, otherwise we’ll crease. Anything that deviates from these standards is labelled as different, as if being natural is the unnatural way. This transition of existing as a child, to existing as a woman, becomes an involuntary journey of being told who to be, before you even have a chance to discover who you are.

It’s time to shift this dialogue of beauty being something that’s defined by others, into it being something entirely your own, whatever that may look and feel like to you. This starts by using products that amplify who you are, not those that make you feel inadequate without them. You are already exactly as you are meant to be. True beauty, at its core, should never be tied to the imitation of others but instead to the beauty that is authentically, unapologetically, and uniquely yours. Anything extra should not be viewed as inherently better, but instead simply an extension of self.

So the next time you prepare for your day, take a moment to recognise the person you woke up as on this tiny, little, floating rock. Turn the outside noise off for a second and ask yourself who you are before the world gets to shape you into a million different versions of yourself. What do you enjoy, dislike, get annoyed at or inspired by? How can you, today, honour the beauty that you already hold? Give thanks to your body, be kind to your mind, embrace your heart and celebrate the beauty you wake up with.