Beauty Tag
New Romantics in the 1980sGallery / 16 images
2023 was officially the ‘year of the girl’ with the blockbuster success of the Barbie movie and endless calls to ‘girlcore’ via girl math, girl dinner and girly-girl aesthetics. In make-up and beauty, this meant pops of pink blush, up-dos adorned with ribbons and bows, strawberry girl aesthetics and a determination to look as doll-like as possible as we glazed ourselves like coquette cinnamon sugar cookies. But these days, the trend cycle is ever-evolving and the glow of girlcore is already starting to lose its lustre. So, where do we go from here? What does the post-girlhood aesthetics look like and what beauty trends are in store for 2024?
One thing’s for certain –...
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Beauty is terror. The pursuit of beauty can be terrorising. Flesh pulled back and cut open, bodies constricted, poison injected, hair burnt, skin bleached. Our biggest insecurities magnified, our natural bodies sold back to us for profit. The history of the industry is just as horrifying; tales of exploitation, discrimination, fascism, deforestation, unpaid child labour.
When they were first conceiving of their debut book, The House of Beauty, Arabelle Sicardi turned to horror stories and haunted houses as a lens through which to navigate the world of beauty. “Horror houses are always alive; they’re actively trying to harm you. And that is ultimately how I also see the beauty industry. It’s something that understands your greatest fears and is able to...
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