They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder - and when I read women's magazines, I behold beauty product ads on almost every other page. The creams, lotions and oils have various money-back guarantees - some are celebrity endorsed, some are supposedly newly revealed, European secrets and some are meant to be scientific breakthroughs. Although all of them are meant to get rid of fine lines, what women really want is a product that gets rid of unfine lines.
Women who don't want to spend a small fortune on facial treatments can supposedly make their own. Massaging the face with 1 tablespoon of honey is meant to free it from common skin problems because honey is antibacterial. If honey isn't available, 1 tablespoon of yogurt can be used instead. Yogurt contains lactic acid, which can dissolve dead skin cells. Then there's a mixture of 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup vinegar and 1/4 cup water that can be used instead of expensive night creams. The olive oil moisturizes and revitalizes the skin, while the vinegar takes care of bacteria, dead skin and skin discoloration. If nothing else, these treatments will make women look good enough to eat.
Unfortunately, only 2% of the world's women think they look beautiful; and 8% of U.S. women think media and advertising have set unrealistic standards of beauty. This is what motivated the Dove Company to launch its 2004 "Real Beauty" campaign. The campaign is meant to be a starting point for a wider definition of beauty. It's meant to help free the next generation of women from self-limiting, beauty stereotypes and to build both self-esteem and healthy body images. In the U.S. Real Beauty is in partnership with the Girl Scouts, working with girls ages 8 to 17. Since the start of the campaign Dove has conducted approximately 2,700 self-esteem workshops around the world. Soon the words "Beauty Bar" on Dove soap could be changed to "Self-esteem Bar".
For 30 male barn swallows beauty was in the color of their feathers. Evolutionary biologists at Arizona State University used a $5.99 marker to darken the swallows' rust-colored feathers. One week later the birds' testosterone levels had increased 36%. The biologists attributed the change in the swallows' libido to the increased attention their darkened feathers were getting from female barn sparrows. This could mean that thinking clothes make the man is a bird-brain idea.
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