The BTS Sorcery at Beauty Shoots

Ever looked at a beauty campaign and thought either/all of the following to yourself: 

  • How does he/she have such long + thick lashes
  • Are there really no pores on that models skin
  • Baby hairs seem non existent on everyone except me
  • This model doesn’t seem to sweat. Ever
  • How is not a single eyebrow hair out of place? 
  • IS THIS FOR REAL?!
  • WILL I EVER BE THIS PERFECT?

Well - you’re not alone, we’ve all had some version of these thoughts run through our minds when looking at ‘beauty’ campaigns in magazines, on tv, on social media, or in stores. The feeling of inadequacy that is induced in a lot of our minds as a result of the depiction of beauty in mainstream media is not unjustified - but it’s important to realise that it’s IMPOSSIBLE to hold yourself to a standard of perfection that is unrealistic, and fabricated for the cameras. To help you understand, were breaking down some of the tricks MUA’s on sets use to give their models/muses the illusion of ‘perfection’ - the hope is that this realisation helps you understand that perfection is not what one must aim to achieve, but comfort, and acceptance of oneself is what should be the means to feeling beautiful.


Lashes - Those unbelievably long, voluminous lashes you see on mascara campaign imagery - they are FAKE! Yep, no ones born with such illustrious, ott lashes, and MUA’s across the world accentuate lashes by adding rows of fake individual/row lashes, or performing artificial lash extension services on their clients before a shoot. This is followed by dozens of layers of different types of mascara to achieve that unbelievable OTT look. So please, give yourself and your lashes a break - they are perfectly healthy + voluminous. And if you do feel like they need some help, use some vitamin e/castor oil on them before going to bed daily and see them growwwww


Perfect Skin...DOES NOT EXIST! Any campaign that makes you believe otherwise is selling you a murky version of reality - which is that even people with glass skin, no wrinkles, and pore-less faces have off days, dull days, acne days, eye bags on fleek days and more. What you see on campaigns is more often than not highly airbrushed, retouched skin. MUA’s often rely on the abilities of extremely talented editors to give their models the appearance of poreless, flawless skin. So please, don’t buy into this narrative - it is perfectly normal to have dark spots, blemishes, sun damage, pigmentation, or wrinkles on your skin. 


Brows - ever felt like a model you follow ALWAYS has their eyebrows done? Never has a single hair out of place? Not a trace of facial hair? Well think again - as Sonam Kapoor once very aptly put it - these individuals constantly have a team of people, MUA’s to be precise, plucking and picking at their eyebrows before every shoot, giving viewers the illusion that their models eyebrows magically only grow in perfect shape/symmetry. So please, don’t beat yourself up for your ungroomed/groomed/unruly/thin/unibrow/thick brows. They look great. 


Now that you know some of the trickery people might be up to at shoots, please stop yourself from being overly critical. Give yourself a break - and think about what might be real v/s augmented reality. 


Until Next Time,
Stay Curious. Stay Freequal.

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