It’s safe to say that the beauty industry until this day benefits greatly from the insecurities of the female population. Society puts immense pressure on women to look a certain kind of way. We shouldn’t look too young as teenagers, so we feel the need to put on too much makeup; we shouldn’t look too old as we age and so we go for anti-aging products before we really even need them. I could add a thousand examples to this list, but I think you get the point.
Trends change every other day. Today some of the trends in the beauty industry seek to embrace and appreciate natural beauty as much as possible. Beauty has experienced huge transformation over the years. Models on magazine covers from back in the 80’s look nothing like models on the covers today. It’s the simple things, like the shape of our eyebrows, the way we line our lips, the volume of our false lashes and the blinding highlight. There was a time when freckles were considered unattractive and girls with freckled faces would spend much time in the mirror trying to cover them up with a ridiculous amount of concealer. Today we appreciate freckles so much that beauty gurus can be seen creating faux freckles on their faces as part of a beauty trend.
If you could write a letter to your younger self, ask her not to tweeze her brows for she will need them when bushy brows make a comeback. There was a time when bushy eyebrows were considered lumberjack brows and simply unacceptable. But today, full eyebrows are the non-plus ultra at the moment and cosmetic companies have made it easy to achieve with ranges of eyebrow pencils, creams, and gels that will let you fake it till you make it.
Not too long ago, girls with full lips received so much hate and were shamed with all kinds of names. Today full lips are the rage and women all over the world line their lips to make them seem fuller; we can use lip plumping glosses or even get lip fillers. As African women, we can simply be grateful.
And yeah, we have made noticeable progress when it comes to non-white beauty standards. Major cosmetic companies finally started to produce foundation shades for every woman regardless of her skin tone. When it comes to foundation, less is more nowadays, as beauty enthusiasts seek a foundation that gives you full coverage without looking like you are wearing too much makeup. Beauty brands are working overtime just to make the impossible possible.
Dewy skin, thick brows, glossy lips and some freckles are considered glamorous and this is a trend many of us can stand behind. We got used to caking our faces with so much powder anytime a slight shine appeared on our faces, but now we need the shine to give that hydrated and moisturized glow we all love so much.
Brands like Fenty beauty, Dior, Lamer and Maybelline have created beauty products that are perfect for that minimalist beauty look that is currently all the rage, with full coverage that looks like little to no makeup at all.
Don’t get it twisted: We are still wearing tons of makeup. But at least now the girls with freckles, bushy brows and thick lips get to be as beautiful as they have always been without the fear of being shamed for their natural beauty. Diversity is beautiful and the industry is slowly headed in the right direction. Let’s make sure that as women, we keep pushing further.
