Beauty blindness is a good thing, actually

The year was 2019. I was out in California to film with none other than Anastasia Soare of Anastasia Beverly Hills—a living legend. After we wrapped filming, Anastasia took my virgin brows into her skilled hands and turned them into twin masterpieces. I remember thinking: Oh my God, my brows have never looked so flawless. Sharp, angular, with every errant hair glued and blank space filled. But looking at these photos five years later makes me laugh. Why were we all so obsessed with having geometric eyebrows?

The year was 2011. I was a sophomore at New York University, and I was on a mission to become a Tumblr cool girl. All the blogs I loved were writing about something called Black Shatter, a new top-coat innovation from OPI that left a distinct black, fractured-glass design on your nails. This was the height of indie sleaze, mind you. I got my hands on a bottle and used it weekly, until it turned to dried-out goo.

                                        My Black Shatter nails from 2011, captured by a webcam in my dorm room

The year was 2012. Kate Middleton–style polished blowouts were all the rage. The only things more ubiquitous in New York City than cupcake and froyo shops were Drybars and Drybar competitors. I spent an hour on my hair each morning, trying to coax it into soft, shiny waves. The resulting look was not unlike what the kids today try to achieve with hot rollers and the Dyson Airwrap, which wouldn’t debut for another six years. Beauty trends are reliably cyclical, and I don’t regret chasing a single one.

                                       These bold, too-perfect brows mark a moment in time—specifically, early 2019.

These are examples of what’s now being called “beauty blindness”—our inability to see past the beauty standards of a particular era until that era ends. On TikTok, people post humorous videos showing what their exaggerated brows, highlighter, lashes, and more looked like when they thought it looked great. And I find all of this entertaining, sure, but also wholly endearing. Though some people might feel genuine embarrassment over aesthetic choices they made in the past, I am here to argue that you should never feel remorse or shame for experimenting with your look. You simply cannot learn about yourself without making a few beauty blunders along the way. We’ve all been there.

My job requires me to have a firm grasp on the culture of beauty—but even I am surprised at how quickly trends are moving these days. I would never advise someone to participate in all or even a fraction of them. But some beauty trends inevitably grow beyond the confines of your peers or the internet and go on to become hallmarks of a decade. Regrettable beauty choices can mark an era. We know a 1920s look because of the finger waves and Cupid’s bows, from the ’50s because of the coiffed hair, and from the ’60s because of the eye shadow and lashes. We recognize looks from the ’80s because of the oversize volume, and from the ’90s because of the muted tones and skinny brows. We remember the 2000s because of the frost and hair poufs, and the 2010s because of the lash extensions, bobs, and matte lips.

                                 My attempt at a Kate Middleton blowout in 2012, since I couldn’t afford a trip to Drybar.

Beauty trends don’t emerge from a vacuum—they are a direct result of our collective lived experience of the trends that came before. The only reason we can recognize our past “brow blindness” today is because we all had to endure a culture obsessed with Cara Delevingne’s naturally lush arches. Our current preference for fluffy, lightly groomed brows is a consequence of the preceding era of YouTube brows, which was only a thing because of the over-plucked brow trend before it. Trends are all connected, and we’re all connected by the beauty choices we make day to day. For better or worse, contemporary standards of beauty are a sign of community and offer a sense of belonging.

This is all to say that you shouldn’t let the fear of being “blind” to something right now stop you from doing your hair or makeup the way you want. I’ve seen a few videos of people saying they’re scared of being a victim of blush blindness. Honestly, who cares? Excessive blush—dewy, not powdery in an ’80s kind of way—will undoubtedly be one of the beauty hallmarks of our current decade. But trust me: You’ll want to look back in a few years’ time and know you took chances with your makeup, and not all of them are going to be winners. Only through play and experimentation in both fashion and beauty can we collectively write the history this decade will be remembered for. And only through play and experimentation can you hone your DIY skills, learn what works for your features, and find the techniques that make you feel the most confident. Frankly, I welcome my own trend blindness with open arms.

And if there’s anything I’ve learned in my 30-something years, it’s that certain hair and makeup preferences will always come back around. So, while you may cringe a little now while scrolling through your camera roll, one day, you’ll look back and marvel at the risks you took, with an overwhelming sense of nostalgia.

 

This article originally appeared in harpersbazaar.com/us, in June 2024. 

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