Hi all you lovely people out there on the inter webs! So happy to have you here. Today, we are excited to start a new series, which is going to be exploring something that is a huge aspect of our blog. What is that??? You guessed it- we are exploring BEAUTY!
Beauty. It is all around us. It is the ultimate goal for some and it is something seen as frivolous or worldly by others. Regardless of how you feel about it, it is a very real aspect of the human existence. The billion dollar industry and 104,006,015 105,565,902 #beauty posts on Instagram (and counting) reflect that beauty. Is. Everywhere. Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay.
Exploring Beauty
But why is that? Being in the beauty industry we wanted to do an in-depth study of all the aspect of beauty that hold cultural, psychological, physiological and historical significance. We knew there was a lot to cover but WOW. Not only is there a lot of factual information and research out there (the stuff that makes my little scientific heart flutter) but there is so much passion and opinion. That is where the birth of this series started and we are sooo excited to collaborate with a wide variety of women (and men) and find out not only where beauty comes from but also what it means to people, individually.
To begin, we are going to start at the basics. The definition of “beauty” as defined by Webster’s is:
- the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit : loveliness
- a beautiful person or thing; especially : a beautiful woman
- a particularly graceful, ornamental, or excellent quality
- a brilliant, extreme, or egregious example or instance <that mistake was a beauty>
I’m not sure if I had actually read the definition in all my many, many, many (seriously when did I get so many) years on this earth. But do you know what strikes me first? That the definition is not just regarding the outward appearance. It also doesn’t define beauty as a specific body type, face shape, hair style. Makes sense since those things are always changing. A society determines what it finds beautiful. Yes, social media these days definitely has a huge impact and drives what we consider beautiful as a whole, but that also means that on a grassroots level, we the people are what determine this.
A Good Pair Of Genes Is Always In Style
Study after study have been done on what influences this standard and interestingly enough it always reverts back to basic traits that signal genetic and reproductive strength. When images of human faces are averaged together to form a composite image, they become progressively closer to the “ideal” image and are perceived as more attractive. This was first noticed in 1883, when Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin, overlaid photographic composite images of the faces of vegetarians and criminals to see if there was a typical facial appearance for each. When doing this, he noticed that the composite images were more attractive compared to any of the individual images. Modern day researchers have replicated the result under more controlled conditions and found that the computer generated, mathematical average of a series of faces is rated more favorably than individual faces. The hypothesis for this occurrence is that it suggests the absence of genetic or acquired defects. There is also evidence that a preference for beautiful faces emerges early in infancy, and is probably innate, and that the rules by which attractiveness is established are similar across different genders and cultures.
Hips Don’t Lie
Another feature of beautiful women that has been explored by researchers is a waist–hip ratio of approximately 0.70. Physiologists have shown that women with hourglass figures are more fertile than other women due to higher levels of certain female hormones, a fact that may subconsciously condition males choosing mates.
Pretty interesting right? So now that we know the basics of beauty, the species survival that subconsciously motivates us as a whole, we are ready to explore further, the vast and multi-faceted culture of beauty that surrounds us.
With the launch of this series, we wanted to do something special, so you are all as excited as we are! What better way to really get out there and explore beauty than travel! We teamed up with our friends Natalie at CosmoMariners to offer a $125 Delta Airlines Gift Card. Best of Luck!
Join us next week for thoughts on self care and exploring beauty from the perspective of Megan Olsen, a writer, editor, college student, mother and wife!
XOXO~ M&D
Comments (25)
You are right. Beauty is EVERYWHERE. It is so prominent in today’s society and has been made to feel important. The key is to love yourself. Inner beauty wins in my opinion.
Yes! What society finds beautiful changes with each society and each generation other than a few physiological motivators. I think when we focus on the inside it shines through to the outside and THAT is always in style.
Very interesting post and I think you are right that the definition of beauty is so different for each person it is somewhat hard to put a “face” on what beauty is- beauty comes in all forms, shapes, and sizes. I definitely agree with the comment above that inner beauty in the end is what is most important and learning to love yourself. Great post!
I love this blog, I have been looking for something like this for a while I will have to try this and see how it does
I love this blog, I have always believed that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and beauty is skin deep I think too many women forget about the inside part and only focus on the outside
Thanks so much we are so glad you enjoy it! We completely agree and know this is a topic that needs to be spoken about more! Thanks for stopping by!
Interesting post! The beauty of definition is so different for everyone. I think we are all beautiful in our own way but having inner beauty is the most important.
I couldn’t agree more
thanks for stopping by!
Very interesting post. Instagram is a great place to look at when observing modern human life (and consumerism) as we know it. You’re so right. Beauty standards will always be en vogue and they are here to stay. I better go start moisturizing.
This is so interesting! Like it or not, beauty catches our attention. It’s just how we are hardwired.
I love the different definitions of beauty. So amazing how many different ways it can be used. Beauty can mean something different to each person. Interesting post!
Danielle Greco - AccordingtoD.com
Great post and so interesting to see the science behind why certain traits are more sought after.
thank you. ‘beauty’ is less subjective than previously thought and yet, follows cultural bias
I really get sick of how media tells us what’s beautiful. The cool thing is? We can define it for ourselves, we don’t have to listen to them. So what is beauty? It’s whatever you want it to be.
Thanks for the very good writeup. The idea in reality had been the discretion bank account the idea deca homes clark. Glimpse tricky to additional introduced gratifying on your part! Nonetheless, just how could most people stay in touch?
Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Everything is beautiful, you just need to see it. Thank you so much for the giveaway.
I totally agree! I love that there is so much diversity in what is beautiful. Both in nature and humans. Both the desert and the forest are both beautiful in their own unique way! Good luck!
Very interesting post! I have heard that the more symmetrical someone’s face is, the more likely they are to be “beautiful”. Thanks for the giveaway too!
Yes, symmetry too! So glad you stopped by! Good luck!
I’m super excited about this new series! It will be fun to see what beauty products to try out. Thanks for the awesome giveaway too.
Beauty IS everywhere as long as we keep our eyes and hearts open!
Yessss! It definitely is! The sunset- the desert- the mountains - the ocean- a snowflake -baby feet 😉
I was drawn in to this post by the beautiful picture! Thanks for the $500 giveaway.
Yay! Good luck and thank you for stopping by
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