Makeup: a philosophical approach
Several years ago a documentary produced by the British Broadcasting Corporation went into entertaining detail and analysis of this salient point. The Human Face was written and directed by comedy legend John Cleese and featured some rather candid comments from dermatologist Dr. Vail Reese on how we perceive skin flaws while watching films, and the way we make character assumptions based on things like facial asymmetry or scarring.
According to Reese, the clear-skinned, smooth-faced individual is almost always the hero, while anyone with a skin defect is relegated to the role of bad guy. In most societies skin becomes a reflection not just of health and beauty, but also of moral content and integrity, not to mention sex appeal. While we know rationally that appearance has no relevance to a person’s being ethical, studies have shown that people interacting with others who have clear, flawless skin feel more comfortable and relaxed than they do with those who have facial scarring or some other skin imperfection. When skin was marred in some way, spectators were more hesitant, more wary, or even fearful of the people who did not have good skin.
In terms of cosmetic adornment, Reese commented that women who use makeup to minimize skin imperfections and enhance their eyes and lips, thus giving the impression of flawless skin, create more positive human interaction (Source: www. skinema. com).
History Professor Arthur Marwick of Open University, Milton Keynes, England, maintains that there are many types of beauty and that with modern travel and the mass media we have become increasingly flexible. There is Chinese beauty, African beauty, Latin beauty, Nordic beauty, and more, yet only a tiny minority within each type is truly beautiful. Beauty is what the overwhelming majority, on sight, recognize as beautiful. Beauty is in the eye of all beholders but most people doing the beholding have a similar notion of how beauty is defined, regardless of cultural influences.
The Human Face goes on to reveal how studies from all over the world found that certain similar qualities about women are considered most attractive. It seems that people everywhere rate smooth skin, big eyes, and plump lips as signifying beauty. Interestingly, women and men of all sexual persuasions also rate the same faces as beautiful.
Women’s desire for self-appointed personal enhancement is as strong as ever, and although the reasons we use makeup have evolved, looking beautiful continues to involve using makeup, and it has for eons.