Beauty is a complex tangle of perception, context, and social power. Depending on the person and the situation, it can be a positive or a negative influence. To get a sense of the various facets of beauty, we must look at how the concept has evolved over time.
For example, in ancient Greece, symmetry was the name of the game. The Greeks had perfect symmetrical faces with round chins and mouths that were slightly fuller than the upper lip. Even today, facial symmetry is one of the most common criterion used to determine facial attractiveness.
While the ideal face may have been the same in ancient Greece as it is in modern times, the standards of beauty have changed dramatically. As a result, it is not difficult to understand why some people consider certain women beautiful while others are not. It has even been argued that being considered beautiful increases power in some settings, whereas being perceived as less beautiful leads to a more difficult road to success.
In fact, in the Western world, being seen as attractive is considered a virtue that can boost the status of women and men alike. This is particularly true in the business world. Many companies have been known to use beauty products as a means to boost their consumer base.
Using a number of criteria, including aesthetics, science, and popular culture, the ideal facial appearance has come a long way from its origins. Indeed, the modern standard of beauty is a product of social power, fashion, and politics.
In the past, the ideal face could be replicated by using thick layers of cosmetics. These were sold in fairs and markets. They also contained ingredients like lemon juice, goat hair, milk, and dung.
However, the science behind the process was more complex than simply mixing these ingredients together. An art teacher named Antoine Mengs devised a formula to duplicate the Greeks’ perfect facial features. From this formula, he determined the correct proportions of the mouth, eyes, and ear. He also made a fancy formula to determine the optimum distance between the brow and the tip of the nose.
The most important part of all this is that, in the modern world, beauty is no longer the purview of only the wealthy and powerful. Today, it is a marketing strategy that has become a major profit center for a wide variety of companies. Some are purely entrepreneurial, while others rely on insecurities of their consumer base.
One of the main reasons for the proliferation of beauty products is their ability to capitalize on consumers’ insecurities. If you are not attractive, it can be difficult to advance professionally or obtain financial stability. On the other hand, if you are beautiful, you can expect to be treated with a more gentle hand, and you will likely be rewarded with benefits that you might not otherwise receive.
Despite its complexity, the concept of beauty has been around for centuries. And the best part is that it has evolved over time.