The Beauty Business / Craze / Hunger
- Part 1 -

Sundari Yumnam *

Bala Hijam with Make-up artist Jenny Khurai

Since time immemorial the virtue of beauty has dominated and captured the world in a dramatic way. Hollywood beauty queens like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor have mesmarised and paralysed audience with their invincible charm and symbolic beauty. They have been great source of entertainment and stress–reliever for the body and mind especially for the eyes. Bollywood queens like Aishwairya Rai, Hema Malini or Rekha and our Manipuri tinsel town stars like Maya Choudhury or Bala Hijam, by virtue of their dewy fresh and young looks, have the tremendous power of turning heads and inviting admiration wherever they go.

So the intriguing thing is what is it in beauty that people craves for, what role does it play in the social scenario and what are its powers and credentials. What is about it that fascinates everyone? According to the Pythagorean School, objects which are symmetrical and proportioned according to the golden ratio seemed more attractive and beautiful. Aristotle saw a relationship between the beautiful (to kalon) and virtue, arguing that "Virtue aims at the beautiful."

The characterization of a person as "beautiful", whether on an individual basis or by community consensus, is often based on some combination of inner beauty, which includes psychological factors such as personality, intelligence, grace, politeness, charisma, integrity, congruence and elegance, and outer beauty (i.e. physical attractiveness) which includes physical attributes which are valued on an aesthetic basis.

Physical attractiveness is the degree to which a person's physical traits are considered aesthetically pleasing or beautiful. The term often implies sexual attractiveness or desirability. A strong indicator of physical beauty is "averageness", or "koinophilia". When images of human faces are averaged together to form a composite image, they become progressively closer to the "ideal" image and are perceived as more attractive. This was first noticed in 1883, when Francis Galton, cousin of Charles Darwin, overlaid photographic composite images of the faces of vegetarians and criminals to see if there was a typical facial appearance for each. When doing this, he noticed that the composite images were more attractive compared to any of the individual images.

Beauty and the Beast is a 1991 American animated musical romantic fantasy film based on the traditional French fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont. Starring Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson, the film focuses on the relationship between the Beast (Benson), a prince who is magically transformed into a monster as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle(O'Hara), a young woman who he imprisons in his castle.

In Malena, a strikingly beautiful Italian woman is forced into poverty by the women of the community who refuse to give her work for fear that she may "woo" their husbands. The documentary Beauty in the Eyes of the Beheld explores both the societal blessings and curses of female beauty through interviews of women considered beautiful.

Evidence suggests that we have very good reason to worry about our looks. According to scientific research, people deemed beautiful have certain advantages in life. Cute babies receive extra attention from caregivers compared to more ordinary looking babies. Beautiful children tend to be teachers' pets, and good looks seem to help us get ahead in the workplace.

Economists posit that attractive women earn 4 percent more than their less attractive counterparts. Even in searching mates and during marriage proposals, one of the most important criteria existent still today is good looks apart from educational qualification and family background. Men, on average, tend to be attracted to women who are shorter than they are, have a youthful appearance, and exhibit features such as a symmetrical face, full breasts, full lips, and a low waist-hip ratio.

We are ready to go any length to acquire/buy this priceless virtue sometimes even starving ourselves for days to get the slim-trim figure or enduring indescribable pains by going under the knive to erase/correct our imperfections. We go to parlours for eyebrow-threading, hair styling, skin facials etc . We go buying for the best brands in fairness creams, hair colouring dyes and age-defying products. We invest in thousands and lakhs of rupees in nose reconstruction, facelift, liposuction and botox injections. All these activities leads to a common goal-to be more beautiful. There is no end to our desire to grow young and good-looking. If we apply brilliant economist Adam Smith's Theory Of Human Wants (human wants are unlimited), it turns out to be true.

Why do some people make our hearts beat a little faster? And why is it that they still remain simply irresistible? For centuries it has been an unresolved mystery. We have been told that standards of beauty and attractiveness are arbitrary-in the eye of the beholder. But scratch below the surface and the thumb-rule emerges: the ultimate litmus test for great beauty is age.

It was believed that ancient legendary beauty Egyptian queen Cleopatra used to have milk and honey bath and acquainted with subtile skills of seduction, she could turn so many heads of men. Mata Hari, an exotic dancer and beautiful courtesan who was convicted of being a spy ,was executed by firing squad in France under charges of espionage for Germany during World War I. Considered the most notorious woman spy in history, Mata Hari caused the deaths of thousands of French soldiers. It was alleged that 1984 Miss India Pamella Singh Bordes was somewhat an Indian version of Mata Hari.

Elizabeth Taylor still is synonymous to words like Beauty, Diva and Fashion icon. She was often referred to as the most beautiful woman on this planet, courtesy her flawless skin and extremely beautiful features. Swimming and walking were key exercise routines for Liz, which helped her to stay in shape. During her debut, she was put on a strict high protein diet and rigorous exercises.

Angelina Jolie has the most irresistible lips in Hollywood and a body to die for. Her subtle and elegant looks can be attributed to her English, Czech and French ancestry. Former Miss Universe Alicia Machado used to live on a diet comprising of spinach and fluid to lose weight.

Gayatri Devi was also celebrated for her classical beauty and became something of a fashion icon in her adulthood. She has been counted in 'The Ten Most Beautiful Women of the World' along with actress Leela Naidu by Vogue Magazine. Rekha is an eternally gorgeous woman and her beauty transcends the bounds of time and with each passing year she is turning more and more beautiful.

Actress Aishwairya Rai depends a lot on her home-made kitchen recipes like milk, multanni mitti, besan and cucumber and avoids chemical non-organic products as far as possible to keep her skin glowing at all times. Katrina Kaif relies on gymming and swimming as her beauty weapons.

Shahnaz Hussain is a wellness and cosmetic guru, who has given us some of the best beauty tips over the years. After spending many years studying the various fields of skin care and beauty, she reverted back to the ancient studies of Ayurveda and its herbs. She used her knowledge to set up a brand new name in the world of beauty treatments. These were specifically created by combing the ancient years of knowledge with the latest technology. The end result gave rise to some of the most effective natural treatments ever.

To be continued