Cookie Cutter Beauty and Milkshakes

Although the 90's were not kind to fashion, hair, nor music, in my not so humble opinion, it was the most innovative time for the cosmetics industry. One of those innovations was the influx of makeup artist lines for those not content with Lauder, Lancome, and Clinique. The notion of somehow taking the artist home appealed to customers. In retrospect, it is ironic to me that perhaps the most successful makeup artist line of this very creative time was built on perpetuating same old same old cookie cutter beauty. The story goes that BB launched her line with 10 lipstick colors on a table at Bergdorf Goodman that consistently sold out. Voila! A makeup line is born. BB's line had a modest start with a tiny 4 foot case in the back of the Neiman Marcus Beverly Hills cosmetic department. My boss, the department manager, told BB's business partner it would amount to nothing, my coworkers scoffed at the black boxes made from seemingly cheap cardboard, and customers thought that Whitney Houston's husband created a line of cosmetics for her! Why anyone thought he would have named it after himself was a mystery, but, I digress.  The line grew. BB became the "Every Woman Beauty Guru."  Those neutral matte eyeshadows and brown toned lipsticks were snatched up by the handful. Women ate up her every word. It became the hottest line in every Neiman Marcus cosmetic department, seemingly overnight. 

My favorite memory of BB is from one of her yearly events. Women would line up for the chance to have BB look at them and tell them what colors they should be wearing. A personalized consultation by The Leading Beauty Expert who marketed herself as understanding the needs of the average woman! Except it wasn't so personalized. During these events my job was to do whatever needed to be done to facilitate the event and keep BB happy. This particular year, I was monitoring the line, making sure it moved smoothly. By this time it was well known by management that BB recommended the same colors for everyone. We were told what colors to stock up on weeks before the actual event. She had become the poster child of cookie cutter beauty. Every unique face was a fresh palette for her uniformly neutral colors. Customers were starting to catch on. I could hear them whispering to each other, "She's saying the same thing to everyone!" "She's not even looking at the people sitting in front of her!" "Each person only gets 30 seconds with her!" Etc. Etc. Etc. My job was to dissuade them when what they were saying was true. It was "bone, taupe, walnut" for everyone! Cookie cutter at its best! Just as I ran out of false encouragement for these women, BB's regional manager rushed over to me. "Mimi! BB wants a protein shake! Do you know where to get one?" he asked/pleaded. My answer was no, but, I offered to ask around. None of my coworkers knew either. It was the 90's and protein shakes were not yet common. After 10 minutes or so Mr. Regional Manager came back to me with sheer terror in his eyes. The sheer terror part is only half humor! "We've got to get her a protein shake NOW!" He and I were friends and I didn't like seeing him so tortured.  "Well, I could get her one of those yummy milkshakes from the cafe upstairs and we can just say it's a protein shake?" I offered. "Yes!" He responded as relief washed over his face. Up and down 2 flights of escalators I ran returning with the "protein" shake.  It probably took the same amount of time as telling 20 women they were "bone, taupe, walnut." Fast forward one year. The day of another BB event. Mr. Regional Manager and BB have arrived and are being greeted by the store manager who is Mr. Burns from The Simpsons come to life. Mr. Regional Manager smiles upon seeing me and runs toward me. By the time we meet in the middle he is giggling hysterically.  "What?" I ask. After regaining his composure he said, "As we were getting out of the car BB said to ask you to get her one of those protein shakes that you got her last year. She said it was the best she has ever had!" We both stood there squealing like fabulous girls. 

My point? I don't care what decade it is. In a cookie cutter world of "bone, taupe, walnut " be "fuchsia, green, yellow, tangerine, even chartreuse!" 

Why Be Pretty When You Can Be Fabulous?

Many people excitedly await the yearly Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. I am not one of them. Sports? Please, not my game. Women in swimsuits? I don’t need to wait for a yearly magazine to look at scantily clad women if the desire hits me. However, this year I did take notice and Cheryl Tiegs is to blame. The magazine decided to include Ashley Graham, a “plus size model” as one of three cover models. As a woman who ranges between sizes 14 and 16 I was happy to see this development but really paid it no time or energy. Until Cheryl Tiegs. She spoke up against this forward movement stating that it promoted an unhealthy lifestyle. I followed along and experienced a few different thoughts, emotions, and reactions to her words. My opinions were shared on Facebook and I thought it might even motivate me to finally create a blog and start writing again. Time moved on. I thought the topic was dead and decided new inspiration would someday arrive to motivate me. Until Cheryl Tiegs. This past week she decided that she still needed to speak out on the topic and defend her short sighted views (in my not so humble opinion). I took this as a sign from The Universe to get off my ass and start blogging. So here goes…

Current society has many issues related to image. Self-image, body image, all images are called into scrutiny. The media is often blamed. The continuous expectation that women fit a certain ideal that is fed to us all day long via many channels is often blamed for women experiencing unworthiness, eating disorders, and body dysmorphic disorder, to name a few. As an adult I have had a tendency to not buy into blaming the media. I have taken the stance that we should all be strong enough to not buy into the game. I have had many unsympathetic thoughts for women who allow themselves to be governed by television, magazines, the internet, movies, etc. Until Cheryl Tiegs opened her mouth about Ashley Graham and my inner child demanded some attention.

Born in 1965, my junior high and high school years spanned the mid-seventies through 1984. I was half Thai and half white but grew up being told I was half Mexican and half white (a whole other blog entry). My skin was fair, my hazel eyes were almond in shape, my lips were full, and my hair was dark brown. Oh, and I was chubby. I was never told I was pretty. In junior high I discovered Teen and Seventeen magazines. The notion that I was not pretty was reinforced by images of Cheryl Tiegs, Christy Brinkley, Jerry Hall, etc. There was not one single image I could relate to. At some point, perhaps in the 7th or 8th grade, Teen magazine put a model on the cover with fuller lips, a rounder face, and brown hair. I was stunned! I took the magazine into the bathroom and held the cover up to my face and I gazed long and hard at the reflection in the mirror. Perhaps there was hope for me after all! This memory is what Cheryl Tieg’s words stirred up in my psyche. The feelings of inadequacy and pain of not being good enough washed over me as if I had traveled back in time to that bathroom, looking in the mirror. That is when I realized the reality of what the media can do to us. I was made to face up to the fact that I had been affected and still carried some of that pain with me.

We are fortunate to be in a time when the ideal beauty standard has expanded. A variety of cultures and ethnicities are represented in beauty and fashion magazines, different body shapes and sizes are starting to receive more positive exposure. Yes, obesity does pose certain health risks. I am not denying that and at the same time I am not here to talk about that. It brings me joy to know that young girls and young women have a broader range of role models than I did when I was their age. This is why Cheryl Tiegs needs to keep her mouth shut and not contribute to the negative body issues many young women face today. This wave of body positivity is not hers to take away.

 Eventually I grew out of the feelings of inadequacy. I started to accept my looks and even appreciate them. Perhaps this was because I cultivated other parts of my life. My favorite ironic twist is that at the age of 19 when I worked in a department store I asked to transfer to the cosmetic department. I was told that I wasn’t pretty enough to be in cosmetics. Less than 2 years later I was hired back at the same store as the Clinique counter manager! Here I am, just about 30 years later, with a solid career in the beauty industry. A chubby girl selling beauty products to the masses. This would surely make Cheryl Tiegs clutch her pearls!  After spending most of my life feeling ambivalent about my looks and body image, somewhere in my mid 40’s I had the realization that I felt pretty. Do you want to know what my next realization was? IT DIDN’T FUCKING MATTER. That’s right. I finally felt pretty and it didn’t change a damn thing because I knew I was FABULOUS. And that, my friends, is what I dedicate this blog to...transcending pretty and all the different ways to navigate being fabulous.