by Gloria Marquez
When you think of beauty, you might associate it with superficiality. It’s hard not to do in a world where your looks can make a bigger impression on people than your intellect — especially since people sometimes associate glamor with being superficial, or fake even. But there’s a shift happening in the way beauty is understood and talked about on social media. The strongest sign of this shift in attitude is the sudden interest in skin care. Beauty influencers have noticed that the community on Instagram is starting to pay more attention to skin care. People are beginning to understand that beauty should be self-expression, not a facade.
Many women, and men alike, on social media are now understanding the importance of feeling good and what it means to take care of yourself from the inside out as a whole. There is now more attention given to addressing the problems that cause skin issues instead of just smothering them in makeup. The focus is on bringing out your inner beauty, not covering up imperfections. Glowing from the inside out and making sure your skin is happy is the craze right now. For example, one big beauty tip that many models, like Miranda Kerr and Rosie-Huntington Whiteley, give is to drink a lot of water. It keeps your skin hydrated and it’s just plain good for you. But the bigger idea is that your outer health is a reflection of your inner health. Healthy, luminous skin is often associated with people who aim to be the best version of themselves.
Beauty, including skin care, is a form of self-expression, because it helps to form a positive identity. It’s not easy to always feel confident about how you look, but taking care of yourself and your skin helps to build self-esteem. And accepting yourself allows you to make healthy decisions about how you want the world to perceive you. Sometimes beauty is used to mask what you don’t like about yourself, and that’s when it becomes deceptive. Makeup should not be about hiding flaws so much as enhancing natural beauty. Wearing makeup 24/7 suffocates and damages skin. But even more, using beauty tricks to mask yourself hurts your own and others’ perception of your identity.
As a person of faith, I feel like God did not make a mistake when He created us, and that’s why knowing you are naturally beautiful is a crucial beauty tip. In Matthew 6:21, Jesus says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” It’s such a powerful verse, and it makes you realize that your inner beauty and glow has a lot more to say about you than a perfectly highlighted and contoured face.
It’s not easy to go make-up free onto social-media platforms, but women all over have joined a movement of going barefaced on social media, explaining their need to find the best skin care regimen for their skin type. Regular people on Instagram have started to track, mostly through hashtags, their success on finding skin care products that help enhance the overall health of their skin. The hashtags #naturalskincare and #naturalmakeup have millions of posts showcasing this shift of attitude of the community on Instagram. This hype has even been noticed by major companies. Victoria Secret, for example, has started producing a variety of skin care products, including cleansers, exfoliators and sheet masks. This is completely new to them, since the majority of their beauty care was mostly makeup. Now many beauty businesses are making new products that target skin issues.
The most notable craze is the Korean beauty regimen. It is an extensive daily regimen favoring products made from natural ingredients, with rose and tea tree being popular ingredients because of their beneficiary effects on the skin. One of the main products that the US has started to produce is the sheet mask, which is part of the Korean beauty routine. Many have joined this barefaced movement including major celebrities, like Zendaya and Gigi Hadid. The popularity of this trend reveals there is a widespread desire in women to feel beautiful without having to cake on layers and layers of makeup every day. Women are beginning to feel empowered. And as women stand up for themselves, they are realizing they want their natural beauty to be recognized instead of having to force their faces to fit a mold.
There is nothing more precious than seeing a girl feel beautiful just the way she is — the way God created her. No more masking insecurities, no more hiding behind layers of heavy makeup. Feeling confident with your natural beauty — and with your flaws — is gradually becoming the norm, and it’s setting a positive model for the younger generations who are following these beauty trends online.
Although makeup has been used to mask people for ages, there has been a rebirth in the beauty industry where enhancing your natural beauty brings pleasure and a sense of self approval. Many makeup companies have emphasized natural beauty, including L’Oréal, the world leader in beauty. Women are now more comfortable letting their inner and natural beauty come together as a whole and make that their personal brand — their identity.
