Pretty privilege is widely recognized—the advantages that come with fitting conventional beauty standards. But there’s an unspoken counterpart: the expectation that women must downplay their …
Paducah
Stress Steals Beauty
Stress turns makeup from an art into a chore. When the mind is tangled in deadlines, worries, and obligations, the simple pleasure of getting ready …
The Universe in a Compact
Cosmetology and cosmology may seem worlds apart—one concerned with beauty on Earth, the other with the vast mysteries of the universe—but their near-identical spelling hints …
Made, Not Just Found
In aestheticism, the belief is that the beauty found in art surpasses natural beauty because it is the offspring of the mind—intentional, refined, and shaped …
Look Good, Feel Good, Do Good: A Beautiful Cycle
The phrase “Look good, feel good, do good” is more than a catchy mantra—it’s a truth woven into our daily lives. When we take the …
Blink-and-You’ll-Miss-It-Beauty
The Means = The End
Dumplin’: Beauty Through Three Reflections
Beauty is rarely just one thing. In the movie Dumplin’, it shifts depending on who’s looking. A mother, a daughter, and a group of drag …
Reflection of a Reflection
“I’m just a mirror of a mirror of myself.” We often think of mirrors as revealing the truth, but what if they only show a …
Beautiful, Pretty, Gorgeous—And the Spaces Between
Not all compliments are created equal. To be called pretty is not the same as being beautiful. And gorgeous—well, that’s another world entirely. These words, tossed about as if …