The Concept of Ideal Beauty

Talk about the concept of the ideal beauty and you'll get multitude of variations depending on which continent you live in. It's a topic that we can postulate for months....... Is it any wonder that the cosmetics industry is growing by leaps and bounds and projected to hit $265 billion by 2017?

On the other hand, fewer men seem to suffer from the same affliction. I often wonder if we judge ourselves more harshly whereas there's less emphasis on looks for the other sex. It's interesting how different the East and West perceive the ideal beauty to be. There are times when straddling the two different cultures makes me feel like I need to install two operating systems in my brain because they're polar opposites.

It's the pursuit of the impossible. The Asian continent wants whiter skin, larger eyes, smaller faces preferably with more angular jaw line and smaller lips. The Europeans prefer a tanned look, fuller lips and larger breasts. The only common point I can see is rhinoplasty because a narrow and sharp nose is desired by both cultures.

Is the growth of the global beauty industry fueled by our obsession for unattainable perfection? Is our self esteem linked to our self image? How is it most of the accomplished women that I know are so self conscious when it comes to their looks?


Photography: Angela Martinez