One day natural, the next sophisticated or sexy… women play with their appearance. Between freedom and paradoxes. Mirror, tell me who I am.
Remember. In September 2022, Gucci held a parade of 68 twins and twins in Milan. A dizzying play of mirrors that resonates with our ambivalences as the apparently timeless feminine “leads it.” Who is today’s woman? Social media filtered, retouched, hypersexualized, even caricatured? Or the pure and hard feminist who rejects all outward signs of “beauty.” “All women at the same time,” replies Stephanie Joliot, director of luxury Business Intelligence at Publicis Media. It is freer, more diverse, more inclusive, even if it has to constantly defend its rights. The beauty industry can contribute to this in its own way. Hence the importance of the word sisterhood. It is not only a trend, but also a form of positive feminism that does not exclude men, an increase in vitality. It is true that the muses in the advertisements feel less and less alone, as in the latest campaign of Lancome La Vie est belle, where Julia Roberts has many girlfriends.
In the video: Lancôme’s new perfume campaign “La vie est belle”.
To introduce his latest perfume, Ego Stratis de Juliette has a gun, Romano Ricci quotes Virginia Woolf: “I’m not like that. I am a lot,” adding. “It won’t take me a lifetime to discover the complexity of a woman.” Behind the words emerges a portrait of a more and more exciting womanhood, where everyone is trying to build their own identity, even if it means constantly reinventing themselves.
Paradoxical instructions
“Women today can play with their appearance as they please,” comments psychoanalyst Sophie Brown (1), and the game is still fun and enjoyable, but at the same time more challenging. The less collective norms there are, the more we are in self-control, with the associated guilt. Sure, I feel like it’s easier to be a little fat or old than it used to be, that women are a little less miserable, but I still feel like they’re lost, especially the young ones. They belong to groups that set such strong standards. Freud was already talking about the narcissism of small differences. There are two movements at the same time. More freedom on the one hand and more intolerance on the other with many paradoxical instructions. Our expert says he’s very impressed by the phenomenon of influencers who put a premium on physical appearance (and money). A form of regression, according to him. The ultimate symbol of this constant reinvention is makeup, which has a great love affair with social media.
Makeup has moved out of the realm of seduction, but is now subject to our own gaze, which has never been so sharp.
Valentin Petri
In his book Makeup. Makeup is on (2), which has just been published, journalist Valentin Petri captures these paradoxes very well: makeup is a tool of both emancipation and alienation. “Over the years, makeup has been sold as a way to be a sexier, prettier, less tired woman,” she writes, “and then as a means of self-confidence, self-expression, self-repair, a weapon of ’empowerment.’ Accusing her of hiding her natural beauty, her true self, or even killing the planet. Too much makeup, you are vulgar; not enough, not feminine. Meanwhile, everyone should be allowed to wear makeup or not as they wish and without judgment.
In the west, we would be halfway there. “Makeup has moved out of the realm of seduction, but is now subject to our own gaze, which has never been so sharp,” the author continues. According to her, we no longer put on makeup for others, but to succeed in life and look happy. “We mustn’t confuse identity with appearance,” Sophie Brown resumes. We really want to know who we are. I consider this question absurd. Identity is not built once and for all. He is always on the move. Life is so much more fun if you’re constantly discovering things about yourself. We need to embrace the idea that everyone represents a part of femininity that there is no ideal or model to reach.
(1) Member of SFPA (French Society of Analytical Psychology – CG Jung Institute) and author. “ The temptation to withdraw “, Editions du Mauconduit.
(2) Editions Les Pérégrines, 240 p., €19.
Source: Le Figaro
