The theory states that while a lot of luxury items feel out of reach during this time, smaller and slightly more affordable luxuries still feel splurge-worthy and attainable.
I know how messed up it is. I use filters because I don’t like how my skin looks, and then I dislike my skin more because I’m constantly comparing it to the filtered version. It’s a version of me that doesn’t exist but somehow feels more real than my reflection.
I love it, but I know every “clean girl” aesthetic, every dewy no-makeup makeup routine and every “morning shed” ritual is just another layer of consumerism dressed up as self-care. But knowing doesn’t stop me. If anything, it makes me more fascinated. I don’t just want to use these products — I want to understand why we want them so badly in the first place.
Natural beauty is all the rage. We’re rocking the bare skinned look. Goodbye full coverage foundation and false eyelashes, and hello skin tints and lash extensions. Goodbye dramatic eye shadows and deep contour, introducing under eye creams and facial filler. We’ve made a dramatic shift in our beauty standards since the 2010s, but is au natural all the better or are we just exhausting ourselves more than ever to achieve picture perfect beauty?
With the advancement of artificial intelligence, some AI generated beauty filters are becoming more and more popular. However, innovations like these might be doing more harm than good.
Trends aren’t always worth following, but one trend consumers should subscribe to is sustainability. Consumers have taken a newfound interest in eco conscious actions, and stores are taking notice.
Our definition of beauty is subjective, and it can grow and change to include a diverse range of features, traits and ethnicities. The first step is to get rid of the seemingly harmless trends that perpetuate Eurocentric beauty — they’re clogging up my “For You page.”
In light of the racial and societal strains that recent events have augmented, as well as the added pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences, here are several Boston-based Black-owned businesses and creators to check out.
