In December last year, a one-minute video called 100 Years of Beauty went viral. It showed beauty looks across decades—from the flapper waves and thin lips of the 20s to the hair-crimping and tweezed eyebrows of the 90s. It was followed by other videos, such as 100 Years of Korean Beauty, which showed how the split between North and South Korea resulted in different ideals of beauty, and 100 Years of Iranian Beauty, which traced how women moved from a unibrow look in the 20s to bouffants and bright lipstick in the liberal 60s and then full chador in the 80s.
One thing is clear, beauty is a reflection of its time and the spirit of the age. India, too, has undergone a dramatic transformation in the last 25 years—in economic and social freedoms, in aspiration and opportunity. Women (and men) are no longer content to accept the habits of generations before them. They want to forge their own fate. And looking good is an essential aspect of this new sense of power.
Twenty years ago, women had a choice between a couple of brands of cold cream, and perhaps lipsticks. But for today’s selfie generation, age-defying and lifting is an advanced art. Today, creams are years of R&D in a little glass bottle, filled with antioxidants, retinols and provitamins. Women and men walk in to VLCC Wellness Centres asking for ‘smart lipo’, ‘correction’ and ‘contouring’. Botox has become as common as Xerox.
Cosmetics and personal care, diet and fitness entered popular consciousness after the international beauty pageant victories of the 90s, and the media explosion and the proliferation of beauty products. One can also not ignore the influence of popular culture. Movies like Hum Aapke Hain Koun...! and Dil Chahta Hai brought about a shift in beauty and fashion. Madhuri Dixit’s purple sari and Preity Zinta’s hairstyle were coveted and emulated.
In the 2000s, the advent of the international fashion glossies was the inflection point. Suddenly, women were talking labels. One wanted to look good enough to be in a Vogue spread, and wear an LBD with as much panache as a sari. And then Instagram and Pinterest happened. “Tips for selfies” was among Google’s top searches last year. Urban women no longer consider it vanity or indulgence to seek help with honing their bodies, their skin, their hair. Some luxuries became essentials. They know that beauty needs no apologies. Fifty is the new thirty, as women and men successfully extend their best years with a disciplined beauty and health regimen.
Now, young people are not merely following social cues on how to look good, they are actively redefining them. A new generation of young women, assertive in homes, streets and workplaces, demands to be accepted on its own terms. They seek to inhabit strong, capable bodies, not merely look pretty. They want the clarity of their skin to reflect the health and well-being of their lifestyles. At our vocational training institutes, we have women from different economic strata opting for courses in beauty and nutrition. For some, it is a promising career. For others, it is the desire to look good and feel good. The idea of beauty has come a long way, even though the desire to look beautiful has been constant. Beauty is now considered a space for empowerment. The makeovers may be external, but to my mind, they reflect an inner boost in self-esteem. I have had clients walk up to me and say, “Vandana, I have I found myself again.”
The author is founder of the VLCC Group