Body image: The skinnier the better?

About a couple of weeks ago, I was just surfing on the internet updating myself on the latest news on Korean singers. Mostly this news is about their music and performances, but there’s also news on things like fashion or funny/beautiful pictures they took from themselves. However, when I ran across this picture, I did not find it funny or nice to look at, at all.

Brave Girls’ So-Ah uploaded this picture on her groups twitter account. Some people commented on how her abs are ‘killer’, while a lot of other people said that she is way too thin. And I cannot help but to agree with the latter.

Now I have nothing against people whose bodies are naturally tiny, but I highly doubt that this girl is naturally this skinny. The lack of body fat made her abs pop up and her arms literally look like skin and bones. She is smiling brightly in these pictures, almost as if she is promoting being underweight. The fact that young girls can look at this picture and believe that this is how a woman’s body should look like, makes me cringe.

A couple of days later, news popped up about SNSD’s Yuri. In a group that consists of 9 members, she has always looked like the most healthy one. You can also say that she was the biggest one, but really, this girl is far from being overweight or anything. When I took a look at these pictures, I kind of felt disappointed.

From a more defined body with curves, she went to an almost fatless and fragile body. Now I won’t call her ugly, or less pretty or anything, but I do think she looks kind of sick in the newer picture. This just got me wondering, did she really think she had to lose all that weight to feel more pretty? Yuri looked fine before, she was never close to being overweight. Something must have pressured her to start losing all that weight.

Is it really okay for our society and media to give more pressure on getting a thinner body? Because in every girls/woman’s magazine you’ll find an article on how to get rid of your belly, how to get your body summer ready or even on how ripped a celebrities body looks like. Instead of focusing on the appearance of our bodies, let’s try to look at the health of our bodies. In my opinion, every girl looks the prettiest when she has that healthy glow around her. Because I believe in when you live healthy, you will also look healthy, not too thick not too thin. 

Looking like a natural beauty

With all those celebrities appearing in the media, a lot of us girls and women try to achieve their looks by applying make-up the way (we think) they did. Every day, we apply all sorts of stuff on our face for a flawless skin, seductive eyes and pouty lips. Too bad that this look often goes wrong, and in a lot of cases we end up looking ridiculous. Instead of the ‘sexy celebrity’ look, let’s try something a bit more natural.

As an example, I’m taking Korean celebrities. Above, you can see f(x)’s Sulli and SNSD’s Jessica. Somehow their faces look a lot more natural, fresh and not caked with make-up. These girls look wide awake, thanks to their flawless skin, open eyes, and rosy lips. With a couple of tips and a little bit of make-up, let’s go ahead and try to achieve this look!

1. (Almost) flawless skin

With saying flawless skin, I’m not giving you the cue to apply a butt load of foundation on your face. Instead, try to take good care of your skin. Because trust me, when your skins condition is at its best, your make-up will apply a lot nicer too! So after cleansing and moisturizing your skin, apply a light foundation/tinted moisturizer all over your face. Now remember, you’re not trying to erase your flaws, the foundation is purely to even out your skin tone. However, if you do have a stubborn problem area, add a tiny bit of concealer. Next step is to set your foundation (and concealer) with a little bit of powder. Don’t use too much of it, because your skin will look too matt and not natural. If you like the dewy look, skip the powder.

2.Enhanced eyebrows

A lot of ladies out there neglect their eyebrows, which is really a shame because brows really do frame your face. Make sure you don’t over pluck your eyebrows, because thin brows will give an older and much harsher look. After giving your brows the right shape, it’s time to fill them in with a shadow or pencil. Don’t draw them on, keep a light hand. After filling them in, brush them out with an eyebrow brush to get rid of all the excess powder/pencil.

3.Defined eyes

You don’t need any crazy colors, try to go for natural ones like brown or grey. You can also use black, but this can be a bit too harsh. Taking any type of eyeliner of your choice (pencil, liquid or gel eyeliner), start tight lining your upper lash line.  Tight lining means coloring between your lashes, instead of on top of your lash line. This will give an illusion of thicker lashes. After that you can also line your upper lash line regularly. The trick here is to not apply anything on your lower lash line, as this can drag your eyes down. With the help of an eyelash curler, curl your lashes and apply mascara. Don’t overdo it with the mascara, one – two coats is enough.

4.Rosy lips

All you have to do now is to get the soft rosy lips. First of all, it’s important to moisturize your lips with a nice lip balm or lip conditioner. Personally I  just like to use a bit of balm, so my lips won’t look chapped. If you have really pale lips, and you want to add some color, take a nice pinky lip stain or stick and apply this lightly on your lips. If you have more pigmented lips, try to look for a color that looks like your lips, but better.

Of course, if you want to, you can skip some of these steps if you think you don’t need them. Instead of having to wake up early in the morning just to do your make-up , sleep a little bit longer and try this look. I hope that some of you girls like this ‘less is more’ look,  and try to sport this look for a change!

My definition of beauty

Just recently I realized how many 'Make-up gurus' there are on YouTube, and how many beautybloggers here are active on the internet. Most of them talk about how to improve your looks, by showing you how to do make-up, hair and telling us the latest fashion trends. Now this got me thinking, can you only be beautitful if you look gorgeous on the outside? 

Because ever since I was a little girl, I've learned that the inside matters. Teachers told us that we shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and I agree. If a gorgeous woman treats everyone around her like trash, and only cares about herself, then I can honestly say that I do not find her beautiful. 

But on the other side, your outer appearance is how you introduce yourself. It almost acts like your business card. Like if you were in a room with just strangers, they are going to judge you on your appearance. Based on how you look, people will decide if they want to talk to you, if they want to get to know you better. 

Then again, based on the way you act and who you are as a person, people can decide whether they want to hang out with you, be friends with you. 

So my answer to that question? Absolutely not! Even though the outside attracts people, inner beauty is what makes people want to stay, what they are going to love you for eventually. But hey, if improving our outer appearance means that we can let our beauty shine through, then why not work on that too?