1. A Changing Landscape of Beauty

The beauty industry is an ever-evolving landscape, with new trends, products, and services redefining what beauty means for modern generations around the world. Every day, someone is using existing technologies or inventing a new one, all in the pursuit of looking and feeling beautiful.

From skincare to makeup, people’s beauty routines are constantly in flux as product offerings and marketing campaigns become more inclusive and innovative. A skincare routine might start with the basics- cleanser, toner, and moisturizer- but in recent years it has grown to include serums, exfoliators, boosters, and more. A makeup routine no longer relies solely on foundation and mascara- now you can find eyeliners, primers, highlighters, and eyebrow products of every kind.

While techniques and products may continue to evolve, the core idea of beauty doesn’t have to. Beauty can still mean whatever it is for you; it’s just the manifestation of that ideal that has changed. Today’s beauty landscape is one in which:

Everyone is celebrated for their unique beauty.
Inclusivity reigns over unrealistic standards.
Natural products are preferred to harsh and unnatural chemicals.
Looking and feeling beautiful is a right, not a luxury.

The beauty industry is in an exciting time, and everyday is bringing new definitions, products, and ideologies for what it means to be beautiful. It’s inspiring to see such a dynamic and creative community come together over the shared ideal of loving the skin they’re in.

2. Embracing Diversity and Inclusivity

As a 21st century organisation, is something we take seriously. It is not just a moral obligation, it is essential to our success. We must create an environment where everyone can feel included, valued and respected.

In order to achieve this, we must:

Understand Implicit Bias: We must be aware of our own biases – acknowledge them, and make intentional efforts to address and correct them.
Involve Everyone: We must be intentional in involving people of all backgrounds. Encourage participation by actively finding ways to be more inclusive.
Break Barriers: Make sure language and workplace tools are available in the language of people who work in the organisation. Take into account religious observances and cultural celebratory holidays.

Equality means that everyone is treated with respect and have equal opportunities. We must ensure everyone has access to the same resources, regardless of their background. This could mean offering the same benefits to staff members, making sure everyone has equal access to professional development opportunities and providing support to adapt their workspace accordingly.

It is our job to create an atmosphere where everyone can feel at home and be successful. Diversity brings us the ideas and perspectives that help us to better serve our communities and customers. Inclusivity plays a direct role in the success of an organisation.

3. Uncovering Cultural Marginalization

Throughout history, the voices of neglected subcultures have been too often forgotten, overlooked, or pushed to the margins of society. These cultures are vibrant with unique stories and hidden traditions, and only with the effort to seek them out can these narratives come to light.

One of the best ways to uncover cultural marginalization is through the power of interview. By engaging in open-ended conversations, people on the peripheries of society can be heard. Whether it’s for a research project, independent film, or just out of curiosity, interviews can deepen your understanding of backgrounds different from yours and promote knowledge shifting. Giving a platform to discuss one’s experiences can provide clarity and release from confinement of invisibility.

Filmmaking is a particularly adept tool to explore cultural alienation. Images, rhythms, and music can be compelling ways to bring a narrative to life. Documentaries can be used to transmit diverse stories to a larger audience, and reshape popular representations of subgroups. Additionally, digital filters, juxtapositions and other effects can effectively call attention to problems like microaggression, alienation, and other forms of discrimination.

By using the resources available to you, like technology or traditional methods, it’s possible to expose these worlds and revitalize communities made to feel unheard or deemed unworthy. Here are some methods to uncover cultural marginalization:

Interview experts on topics related to the subculture
Make a documentary or short film
Photograph or paint local scenes
Gather oral histories from members of the subculture
Engage with the wider cultural evidence around you

Cultural marginalization sometimes gets left in the dark, but with the right effort and respect, these stories can be seen and heard.

4. Celebrating Beauty in All Forms

We talk a lot about beauty in our daily lives, but rarely do we think about how we can celebrate it in a wider sense. Beauty is found in all walks of life, and if we take the time to appreciate it, we can widen our views of the world. Here are some ways we can acknowledge beauty in all forms.

Appreciate art. Art can be seen everywhere, an expression of beauty in many forms. From sculptures to photographs to drawings, explore the value of art and see what you can learn from it.
Explore nature. Nature offers so much that we can appreciate, from the huge rolling hills to the intricate patterns of the rainforest. Take the time to be still in nature and observe how its beauty can enrich your life.
Share stories. In our everyday lives, we are part of many different stories. Through these stories, we can understand and celebrate beauty in different perspectives and cultures.

does not mean discounting our own perspective, but rather broadening our horizons. Appreciating the variations of beauty around us opens us up to so many possibilities that we may have never known. So instead of just looking at what’s immediately around us, why not pause and appreciate the beauty that can be found in any form.

5. Reclaiming the Narrative of Beauty

Beauty has always remained in the hands of certain groups since the dawn of civilization. Women have been taught that thinness is beauty, denial of food is essential, and cosmetic enhancement is necessary to look acceptable. It’s time for the narrative of beauty to be reclaimed – beauty shouldn’t begin and end with the expectations of others. Here are a few pieces of advice for :

Scrutinize the fashion standards you are being bombarded – take a step back to identify the beauty standards being propagated in the media and recognize the theories being pushed on you. Beware of the subtly embedded messages of what is classified as ‘beautiful’.
Stop comparing yourself – most importantly, you need to stop comparing yourself to other people and celebrities featured in magazines and ads. Everyone’s unique features make them beautiful, and they are created to be cherished and loved.

Push the boundaries of the narrative and be open to the possibility that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes. We need to accept that beauty is customizable, no one size fits all. Although there are messages of beauty being pushed constantly, it’s time to create our own definitions of beauty and stand up against the stereotyped beauty standards being enforced. When you take ownership of your own narrative of beauty, you can start to feel empowered. When you feel empowered you can start to create a more inclusive world of beauty, free of judgement and ridicule.

As the beauty industry moves forward, it’s clear that diversity and inclusivity are here to stay. This new focus on beauty redefined is a step towards true inclusion and acceptance of people of all backgrounds, beliefs, and lifestyles. Let’s continue to explore and celebrate these differences that make us unique and redefine beauty together.

- A word from our sposor -