Looking at the photos of the modern actresses, it reminded me of yassification. The modern ones look much more like that (IMO).
I wonder if stuff like Snapchat and FaceApp filters influence people’s ideas about beauty and inspire them seek that look. Also I wonder if social media in general is causing people to have more unrealistic beauty standards. (And not just among women, even among guys. Like I don’t think looksmaxxing was a popular thing among guys before. Or working out at the gym for the sake of an aesthetic physique.)
Also, apparently even young teens and children(!) are increasingly doing meticulous, laborious skincare routines:
there has been a rise in young girls sharing videos of complex skincare routines with moisturisers, toners, acne treatments and anti-ageing products.
… some girls wake up as early as 4.30am to fit in their routines – but pricey, unnecessary and potentially harmful.
Also this study says:
scientists at Northwestern Medicine found girls ages 7 to 18 are using an average of six different products on their faces, with some girls using more than a dozen products. These products tend to be marketed heavily to younger consumers
[…]
Each teen daily skin-care regimen costs an average of $168 (which the authors estimate typically lasts a month depending on the size of the products), with some costing more than $500, the study found.
It’s so sad that girls as young as 7 feel the need to change how they look.
It’s also an indictment of our culture that young people are focused on improving their bodies/faces rather than their souls/minds. It reminds me of this quote from Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind:
As it now stands, students have powerful images of what a perfect body is [e.g., buff guys on magazine covers, extensive TikTok makeup routines, fashion shows] and pursue it incessantly. But deprived of literary guidance, they no longer have any image of a perfect Soul, and hence do not long to have one. They do not even imagine that there is such a thing.
Which in turn reminds me of Cyrano de Bergerac by Rostand:
I have a different idea of elegance. I don’t dress like a fop, it’s true, but my moral grooming is impeccable. … I may not cut a stylish figure, but I hold my soul erect.
Also Epictetus:
It is a sign of a dull mind to dwell upon the cares of the body, to prolong exercise… all your attention must be given to the mind.