Should: Does a woman need to look like a model on a glossy cover?

We see slim young girls with flawless make-up (and photoshop) every day on screen and on the internet. Endless shelves of cosmetics stores, advertisements of spas and fitness studios convince us that it is difficult to feel like a “full” woman without constantly improving our face and body.

omnipotent beauty

Coming to a classic office without make-up still means attracting the sympathetic attention of your colleagues: did something happen to you? This situation did not develop overnight. While we sneered at the powdered wigs, hoops and corsets that women in past centuries gladly got rid of (although it is important to remember that not everyone has to conform to these standards of beauty), we did not realize what a situation we found ourselves in. much tighter grip. Today’s standard makeup arsenal: 2-3 mascaras (volumizing, lengthening and waterproof for beach and windy days), foundations, highlighters, blush, eye shadows, liquid eyeliners and a dozen pencils, lip glosses, a set of lipsticks. And this arsenal requires constant and seasonal updating.

Cubes on the stomach and elastic hips

Since the 1980s, when aerobics became fashionable, the number of fitness clubs in each region has increased rapidly until they equal the number of beauty salons. Going to the gym has become mandatory and this is of course a great healthy lifestyle trend. True, health is increasingly being replaced by unrealistic beauty standards: Promotional videos show an ideal body that is almost impossible to achieve while working not only in the gym but also in the office. Also, a “model” figure needs natural data. We inherit our constitution and body type. Thin-boned asthenics can reach a weight of 49 kg with a height of over 170 cm (although WHO considers this mass index painful). The majority of women in Russia are normosthenic with a strong skeleton and proportionally developed limbs. Unlike filters and Photoshop, hard training and strict diets will not change this.

Be yourself, not an advanced version

It is time to remember the ancient truth: the best is the enemy of the good. The most modest makeup set will cost thousands of rubles, and the cheaper the cosmetics, the more likely allergic reactions and other unpleasant consequences are. There is evidence that the average woman eats about 10 pounds of lipstick in her lifetime. Let’s add 15-20 minutes to do make-up every morning and the same time to remove make-up in the evening (with the help of 2-3 special products) and multiply this by weeks, months and years. But it’s not the end of the world if your eyelashes retain their natural color (on the contrary, they won’t thin out over the years), and there’s really no need to even out your complexion by paying attention to the slightest redness or freckles.

There is no absolute symmetry and smoothness in nature; Everything that is perfectly smooth and perfect is a product of human activity and our biases; Liberation makes us calmer and more self-confident. Sport is necessary, of course, but primarily for strength and well-being. We should not sacrifice ourselves to a figure that is considered the standard in social networks, life interests, career, communication with children and loved ones, travel and rest. As we know, standards are fluid and have changed more than once, and each of us lives our own precious life.