Have Irish women became obsessed with looks/beauty etc

bigpink

In the last 2 years with social media bloggers new fitness and beauty crazes have people become more shallow or is it just me

Milly33

I defo think there is a change, and people get sucked into it without even knowing.. People are very much today about looks and clothes and material items..

There are so many makeup styles out there tis crazy no one looks like themselves anymore. Which is a shame as there are some beautiful faces out there.. I feel bad for the kids in school now with pressures about how you look...

intheclouds

I think people have generally become more groomed in Ireland.

When I was 19 years old I would go out on a night out in a pair of jeans, a penneys top and some rimmel eye makeup. Id let my hair down and put a bit of hairspray in it (it was home dyed). Usually I was wearing whatever boots were my everyday wear. I may have accessorised with cheap jewellery.

Average 19 year olds that I see today will have her nails done professionally, her hair done professionally, will be fake tanned, wearing expensive clothes, designer handbag, good quality costume jewellery, wearing designer perfume and sky high good quality shoes (the days of white plastic stilettos are behind us thankfully). On top of this she will have her eyebrows plucked, be wearing a full face of make up, carrying an expensive mobile phone and will probably have better teeth.

People seem to have more disposable money these days, the cult of celebrity has arisen, people are "plugged in" to the internet through phones, devices etc 24/7.

Its just a different world. I look back at old pics and wonder how I ever scored!

sullivlo

intheclouds wrote: »

I think people have generally become more groomed in Ireland.

When I was 19 years old I would go out on a night out in a pair of jeans, a penneys top and some rimmel eye makeup. Id let my hair down and put a bit of hairspray in it (it was home dyed). Usually I was wearing whatever boots were my everyday wear. I may have accessorised with cheap jewellery.

Average 19 year olds that I see today will have her nails done professionally, her hair done professionally, will be fake tanned, wearing expensive clothes, designer handbag, good quality costume jewellery, wearing designer perfume and sky high good quality shoes (the days of white plastic stilettos are behind us thankfully). On top of this she will have her eyebrows plucked, be wearing a full face of make up, carrying an expensive mobile phone and will probably have better teeth.

People seem to have more disposable money these days, the cult of celebrity has arisen, people are "plugged in" to the internet through phones, devices etc 24/7.

Its just a different world. I look back at old pics and wonder how I ever scored!

That's still how I go out...

I rarely wear makeup. Don't use tan. Don't care about eyebrows. Sometimes shave my legs.

I don't care about the beauty thing.

intheclouds

sullivlo wrote: »

That's still how I go out...

I rarely wear makeup. Don't use tan. Don't care about eyebrows. Sometimes shave my legs.

I don't care about the beauty thing.

Ive upgraded a bit but I still home dye my hair, paint my own nails (mid you thats an upgrade from bitten ones), dont use tan, wear very little make up.

Id probably straighten my hair these days or wear clip on hair. I definitely own better quality jewellery and while I might not have a designer handbag I will have a nice handbag. I do keep my eyebrows neat and I actually apply brow make up - which is kinda new to me but I like it!

And perfume isnt just a body shop perfume oil these days.

Milly33

haha I was just thinking the same.. That my like night out look. Even for the wedding didn't do fake tan, lush makeup or fancy eyebrows..

Im all for look wow when you want to or for a ball or something but for all the time your good... Havent gone to a hairdresser in years, cut and dye it myself. Legs wax haha nothing wrong with an old razor, brows im not getting the scary muppets look at all at all very scary!!

The things I would do is makeup but not caked or tanned stuff light enough but still there, would love to not wear it and feel better in myself to not but it happens, and the nails I do take pride in having nice nails but not painted just nice looking plain ones..

Id love to go back to the days of fallen for a dancer look so much easier but yet pretty

fatknacker

Is it a bad thing?
I mean, fair enough the huge eyebrows and orange tan look clownish, but there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your appearance, trying different hairstyles and pushing yourself a bit in the gym....minus the pouting #irishfitfam poses in front of the mirror.

intheclouds

fatknacker wrote: »

Is it a bad thing?
I mean, fair enough the huge eyebrows and orange tan look clownish, but there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your appearance, trying different hairstyles and pushing yourself a bit in the gym....minus the pouting #irishfitfam poses in front of the mirror.

Gyms - theres a thing.

In my youth gyms were places that grizzled old boxers went to train.

People interested in a particular sport went to "clubs".

The rise of the recreational gym has been spectacular.

Milly33

No there is nothing wrong with really but as such tis just covering up and everyone ends up looking the same as everyone else.. makes the world a very boring place

sullivlo

fatknacker wrote: »

Is it a bad thing?
I mean, fair enough the huge eyebrows and orange tan look clownish, but there's nothing wrong with taking pride in your appearance, trying different hairstyles and pushing yourself a bit in the gym....minus the pouting #irishfitfam poses in front of the mirror.

Not a bad thing. Just putting across a point that there are a few of us out there yet to be gripped by the #fitfam craze. I take pride in my appearance, I just don't need makeup/tan/stilettos to feel like I look well, if that makes sense.

intheclouds

sullivlo wrote: »

Not a bad thing. Just putting across a point that there are a few of us out there yet to be gripped by the #fitfam craze. I take pride in my appearance, I just don't need makeup/tan/stilettos to feel like I look well, if that makes sense.

I often wish I could be a stylish classy looking lady but I just dont care enough about it to be making the effort daily.

Judge Trudy

I think it's great to look after your wellbeing and appearance and make the most of yourself but when it's bordering on obsessive it's becomes very boring. I know some people who live their lives around their appearance and it's literally all they talk about. It's about how 'beautiful' they are and not about what kind of person they are or their achievements in life. Every second person seems to have a vlog, blog or is an MUA these days.

I really wish the world hadn't become so shallow. I do worry for when my daughter is older, I don't want her to spend her life dolling herself up and posting selfies with dog filters. There's a big world out there, go explore and enjoy it, not become obsessed with your appearance and looks. Some people I don't recognise because they look so different with minimal make up. Too much vanity is a terrible thing in my humble opinion.

eviltwin

It's nice to look nice but it's important to be happy in your skin too. Nothing worse than seeing someone feel they are ugly if they don't have make-up on.

Sunny Dayz

I do think Irish women have become for obsessed with their looks (speaking as an Irish woman in her early 30's).


I remember in my teens, I didn't wear make up during the day, only for a night out or a little bit for going into town on a Saturday afternoon. I worked part time so my money was spent on phone credit, cinema trips, clothes and sweets. Nowadays I see teens with a full face of makeup heading into school each day and make up done far better than I could even do now.


I personally would spend more money now on make up compared to say 10 years ago and that's down to having more disposable income. 10 years ago for me there was little of it as I had a smallie, was just out of college and into my first career job, hadn't much time for make up apart from the usual bare minimum face in the morning and also I wouldn't have done any online shopping.


Nowadays I have a bit of spare cash and I value my time more. So it's of more value to me to get my legs waxed as opposed to shaving, to get a good haircut and colour which saves me time fighting to style it, to sometimes get gelish nails done rather than spend time in the evening painting my nails.


As much as I love following most beauty bloggers, the hype of the next eyeshadow/contouring palette, it's easy to get swept along with it. That's the beauty of marketing and advertising - it's to get you to buy the product! There seems to be a lot more stages to putting on your make up, more "must have" products like different primers for different parts of your face, different colour concealers for all your "discolourations". It doesn't seem to be enough to have one or two foundations anymore, you need to have the different finishes: matte, dewy, full/med/light coverage, bb, cc, shades for wearing with/without tan etc

intheclouds

Sunny Dayz wrote: »

As much as I love following most beauty bloggers, the hype of the next eyeshadow/contouring palette, it's easy to get swept along with it. That's the beauty of marketing and advertising - it's to get you to buy the product! There seems to be a lot more stages to putting on your make up, more "must have" products like different primers for different parts of your face, different colour concealers for all your "discolourations". It doesn't seem to be enough to have one or two foundations anymore, you need to have the different finishes: matte, dewy, full/med/light coverage, bb, cc, shades for wearing with/without tan etc

Ah yeah Id never be bothered keeping up with any of that. I dont even wear foundation!

meeeeh

I think too many people are bored and they fill their time shopping for stuff they don't need and that doesn't suit them. Then there is the whole blogger world which is mostly just dumber following dumb. It's not limited just to Ireland but I think it is more boredom than people becoming obsessed with looks. And I am not excluding myself from that I just don't click buy as often as some. Too much money and time isn't always a good thing.

There is also a bit of cultural difference, where French women (or women from countries with strong fashion tradition) would buy one good quality jacket, here buying 10 dresses in Penny's for same money would be preferred choice. I know I am on a bit of a rant but I really despise disposable culture.

Milly33

very true, all guilty with me no. 1 for it.... I wouldn't say tis to blame for it all but it has a lot to do with it

Hillmanhunter1

As someone who visits Ireland once a year or so I've got to say that its certainly not the obsession with looks/beauty that I notice - its how fat everyone is. It really is shocking!
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/ireland-set-to-be-most-obese-country-in-europe-who-says-1.2201731

KikiDee

I'd wear make up every day but not because I feel I can't go out without it, I just love doing it. Make up is almost a hobby for me. In saying that, while my make up might me done, the rest of me could look like I've been dragged through a ditch. I do make an effort for nights out and that. Just to differentiate.

The whole #fitfam wrecks my head. The whole gym selfie things...why?????? Why go to a gym to take a selfie?! As an add on, why go to the gym in a full face of make up too?? As much as I love my make up, there's exceptions!

It's like an insecurity has to be promoted about some area of female skin or hair, and a product promoted as the answer. Like the eyebrows thing, it's the last bit of female facial real estate that didn't require a battery of products to tame, so the market was created. You surely know you're being exploited when a product like a lip scrub exists - I've even seen hand scrub, because your hands need a different scrub to your face, body, lips, eyeballs, whatever else they can think of to justify flogging yet another product. And it seems to work, the array of products available and the prices people will pay for them is mind boggling.

I do think people are much more looks conscious and up to a point that's not a bad thing, but you need a balance between making the most of yourself and spending vast amounts of time, money, thought and effort on your looks. The beauty you have on the outside is ephemeral, what you have on the inside is yours forever and needs attention too.

Dial Hard

Candie wrote:

The beauty you have on the outside is ephemeral, what you have on the inside is yours forever and needs attention too.

They're not mutually exclusive, though. I know plenty of women who are very into their looks and grooming etc and are still awesome, kind people.

It seems to be a bit of a Boards truism that people who are into their appearance are all vacuous slaves to their ego. It has always puzzled me, tbh.

Dial Hard

Dial Hard wrote: »

They're not mutually exclusive, though. I know plenty of women who are very into their looks and grooming etc and are still awesome, kind people.

It seems to be a bit of a Boards truism that people who are into their appearance are all vacuous slaves to their ego. It has always puzzled me, tbh.

Nope, and I never said they were, because they absolutely aren't. Nor did I imply that anyone was a slave to their ego.

Some of the nicest and cleverest people I know would be very into their grooming and looks. Balance is everything in life.

Faith

I don't see what the problem is with wanting to look your best. If I wasn't so cripplingly lazy, I'm sure I'd put a lot more effort into my appearance. But as it is, with the minimum of effort on my part, I get my hair highlighted and cut every 8 weeks, I put on makeup every morning, I shave my legs and armpits and get brazilian waxes, I occasionally get my nails manicured and I love browsing Sephora and fantasizing about buying all the makeup.


Some people take it to an extreme, yes, but that's true of everything in life. I personally think it's great that we're embracing our appearances.

sullivlo

Faith wrote: »

I don't see what the problem is with wanting to look your best. If I wasn't so cripplingly lazy, I'm sure I'd put a lot more effort into my appearance. But as it is, with the minimum of effort on my part, I get my hair highlighted and cut every 8 weeks, I put on makeup every morning, I shave my legs and armpits and get brazilian waxes, I occasionally get my nails manicured and I love browsing Sephora and fantasizing about buying all the makeup.


Some people take it to an extreme, yes, but that's true of everything in life. I personally think it's great that we're embracing our appearances.

Nope. No issue with people wanting to look their best. It's just down to personal choice what level their best is.

I think that there is too much pressure in society for people to be perfectly groomed. I think that this is fuelling the "obsession" that people have with beauty.

I work in a lab. I wear a lab coat. I have to have my hair tied up in the lab for safety reasons. I'm on my feet a lot but am required to wear "sensible" shoes. So in work I tend to wear jeans and boots & some form of top. On the weekends I dress for the occasion - I'm not gonna put on a full face of makeup to go to tesco. If I have a reason to, I wear makeup, I straighten my hair, I put in the effort to be a girl, and I enjoy it! But I would not be able to do this every day. Takes too long!

Each to their own though. I'm not in a position to judge anyone about their appearance. It's really down to personal choice and comfort.

But the #fitfam thing does bug me :pac:

intheclouds

I don't know what this #fitfam thing that ye are referring to is?

I googled and got:

#FitFam is a hashtag for fitness lovers who support one another to reach their ideal fitness goals

Is this a bad thing?

Obsessed? I wouldn't say so particularly in comparison to some other places
Looking after your appearance is a ok with me. If I could look half as glam as some women I'd be happy

dudara

intheclouds wrote: »

Is this a bad thing?

In theory no. In reality, after seeing millionth photo of avocado on toast, or the millionth "inspiring quote", yes.

(Or should I say #avo #fitfam #irishfitfam #healthy #happy ....:))

intheclouds

dudara wrote: »

In theory no. In reality, after seeing millionth photo of avocado on toast, or the millionth "inspiring quote", yes.

(Or should I say #avo #fitfam #irishfitfam #healthy #happy ....:))

Well considering id never even heard of it I obviously haven't been bombarded with annoying pics.

Where are you seeing the pics? Is it Twitter? Is it your own mates pics you see or strangers?

I don't use Twitter or Snapchat or Instagram etc.. So perhaps ignorance is bliss in this case?

dudara

It's mainly on Instagram where I see it. I've unfollowed anyone who does too much of that cr*p (my opinion) as I have zero interest.

sullivlo

I see it on Instagram also. I am 100% behind the idea of #fitfam and supporting people to reach their fitness goals: in the past two years I have gone from a size 24, couch potato, can't run for the bus, to size 14ish, active, cycling across the country. I did this with the support of people, yes, but I didn't feel the need to advertise every. single. workout that I did. I still don't. Unless I have a major achievement (in my eyes) in terms of what I do, it goes nowhere near social media.

The reason fitfam bugs me is that it seems pretty exclusively used to show off duck face, new make up, new gym gear... It's more the notion / action of taking selfies in the gym, Instagramming your #healthyeats #paleo #lowcarb kale and chicken dinners. It feels more attention seeking than fitness seeking.

I also have a friend who leads a double life - her Instagram is #fitfam #healthyeats. Her Facebook is #bulmers and #mcdonalds.

One eyed Jack

sullivlo wrote: »

I see it on Instagram also. I am 100% behind the idea of #fitfam and supporting people to reach their fitness goals: in the past two years I have gone from a size 24, couch potato, can't run for the bus, to size 14ish, active, cycling across the country. I did this with the support of people, yes, but I didn't feel the need to advertise every. single. workout that I did. I still don't. Unless I have a major achievement (in my eyes) in terms of what I do, it goes nowhere near social media.

That's incredible! :eek:

Oh, well done btw!

I also have a friend who leads a double life - her Instagram is #fitfam #healthyeats. Her Facebook is #bulmers and #mcdonalds.

Your friend is a legend

meeeeh

There is nothing wrong with wanting to look good until your looks are the only thing that defines you. When you have to wake up before your bf to put make up on so he doesn't see you without or when girls wear so much foundation over spots that it destroys their skin, when women use sun beds to achieve that dried prune look and sometimes get cancer, when some get so much work done on their face that they loose the ability to express anything... It is their body and all that stuff but as much as they have the right to do it I have the right to think it is stupid.

I will also say that I prefer more natural looking make up and a lot of stuff especially pushed by bloggers looks very tacky and cheap. It's equivalent to putting drinks bar in your house.

Tigger99

Ah Sullivlo you are gas

Fair play on all the fitness. Sorta speaking of which I hardly ever drink these days, partly for fitness reasons so my body's tolerance for alcohol is pretty low at the moment. I was out last night and now I'm dying. Absolutely hanging. Couldn't get dressed and even drive to shops. Epic night tho. My stomach muscles are sore from all the laughing and dancing

Tigger99

Haha wrong thread. Oops. Sorry.

Dial Hard

meeeeh wrote:

It's equivalent to putting drinks bar in your house.

Whut?

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

Candie wrote: »

It's like an insecurity has to be promoted about some area of female skin or hair, and a product promoted as the answer. Like the eyebrows thing, it's the last bit of female facial real estate that didn't require a battery of products to tame, so the market was created. You surely know you're being exploited when a product like a lip scrub exists - I've even seen hand scrub, because your hands need a different scrub to your face, body, lips, eyeballs, whatever else they can think of to justify flogging yet another product. And it seems to work, the array of products available and the prices people will pay for them is mind boggling.

Times a million for women of colour too. There's a multi-million dollar industry in the states running on telling African-American women that the hair coming out of their head is wrong and ugly.

As long as this beauty stuff is framed as a choice and not a basic standard, it's fine, but there is no such thing as a 'must-have' beauty item, you do not 'need' (in any possible sense of the word) five, ten or fifteen make up brushes. If people enjoy doing that, grand, but because someone doesn't partake doesn't mean they're less feminine or their appearance is less presentable. From the perspective of most people who aren't interested (like me) they just have much more interesting and rewarding things to spend their time and money on.

meeeeh

Dial Hard wrote: »

Whut?

They used to be popular decorating addition among new rich (very often criminals). A loud statement that you have money but also lack of taste.

intheclouds

meeeeh wrote: »

They used to be popular decorating addition among new rich (very often criminals). A loud statement that you have money but also lack of taste.

This is nonsense, I know people with one and it's because they socialise a lot at home. There's nothing loud about it, you wouldn't know they had a bar unless you were at an event in it. They're not rich either.

sullivlo

meeeeh wrote: »

They used to be popular decorating addition among new rich (very often criminals). A loud statement that you have money but also lack of taste.

Sweeping generalisation much? :rolleyes:

bluewolf

bluewolf wrote: »

Obsessed? I wouldn't say so particularly in comparison to some other places
Looking after your appearance is a ok with me. If I could look half as glam as some women I'd be happy

I'd love to be glam. Then I remember the work it takes.

meeeeh

Crist, and I picked that one because it would be less controversial. I've should have gone with fake Georgian mansions.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

meeeeh wrote: »

Crist, and I picked that one because it would be less controversial. I've should have gone with fake Georgian mansions.

Think it's probably the bang of judgement off your posts rather than the specific things you're mentioning that's controversial

meeeeh

Liberty Orange Plane wrote: »

From the perspective of most people who aren't interested (like me) they just have much more interesting and rewarding things to spend their time and money on.

People in glass houses and all that...

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

meeeeh wrote: »

People in glass houses and all that...

Yeeah, I've said I'm not interested in beauty but don't mind the people who are as long as the whole thing remains framed as a choice, and I've criticised the industry. You've said they look tacky and cheap, implied they're interested in beauty because their lives are boring, and that their tacky cheapness reminds you of the tacky cheapness of the houses of the nouveau riche. Come on.

One eyed Jack

meeeeh wrote: »

I will also say that I prefer more natural looking make up and a lot of stuff especially pushed by bloggers looks very tacky and cheap. It's equivalent to putting drinks bar in your house.

The drinks bar in the house probably wasn't the best example, though I get what you mean about them looking tacky and cheap, and how that relates to your point about some "MUA" vloggers using cheap make-up to create looks that just look tacky. Personal taste of course is a big factor in this (just like some people like their tacky make-up, some people like their in-house bars).

I do think that there's pressure on women to look their 'best selves', and the reason for the inverted commas is because some of the young girls I see are succumbing to all sorts of eating disorders, body confidence issues like not fitting an ideal, and this pressure is on top of everything else they have going on in their lives.

I don't think it's gotten any worse in the last two years though than it always has been. Women and young girls are just more exposed to the influence of social pressures than they were before is all with the advent of social media and exposure to celebrity culture.

meeeeh

Liberty Orange Plane wrote: »

Yeeah, I've said I'm not interested in beauty but don't mind the people who are as long as the whole thing remains framed as a choice, and I've criticised the industry. You've said they look tacky and cheap, implied they're interested in beauty because their lives are boring, and that their tacky cheapness reminds you of the tacky cheapness of the houses of the nouveau riche. Come on.

I'm not going to argue about other stuff but I included myself in bored bit. I will keep the conclusion why you misrepresented that to myself.

sullivlo

MOD

1) Be civil to each other - attack the post, not the poster.

2) Get back on topic. This is about women and their beauty, not about how tacky certain house decorations are or are not. If you wish to discuss the issue further, take it to PM.

pq0n1ct4ve8zf5

One eyed Jack wrote: »

I don't think it's gotten any worse in the last two years though than it always has been. Women and young girls are just more exposed to the influence of social pressures than they were before is all with the advent of social media and exposure to celebrity culture.

I'm 27 but in terms of being able to understand or relate an 18-20 year old's experience I may as well be 40, I just about missed out on an adolescence where social media was the defining factor.

We live in a visual, digital, capitalist society and the monetisation of people's appearance is just a fact of life, but the changes over the past five years or so are interesting. I remember when I was a teenager, looking at images in the media the implicit message or at least the inferred message was 'this is what you should look like to be beautiful' whereas for younger women today it seems it's more along the lines of 'this is what your photos should look like'. They're all well aware of the filters, the make-up time, the carefully chosen poses and so on.

And I think Ireland is probably one of the least image obsessed western countries really. The global level has gone up and we've risen with the tide, but the difference between us and say France, Italy or the States is still pretty much the same.

Parchment

I think looks/image have become far more important in Ireland but i hate that this means younger women are coating themselves in very heavy makeup. It never looks good. When i travel to Scandi countries and i see the much more natural look teenagers wear its so gorgeous and fresh looking.

I think many Irish women are slaves to trends and fast-fashion (Pennys etc).

eviltwin

I'd take what bloggers say with a heavy dose of cynicism. They are often paid to promote certain products.

bridgettedon

Parchment wrote: »

I think looks/image have become far more important in Ireland but i hate that this means younger women are coating themselves in very heavy makeup. It never looks good. When i travel to Scandi countries and i see the much more natural look teenagers wear its so gorgeous and fresh looking.

I think many Irish women are slaves to trends and fast-fashion (Pennys etc).

I personally don't care how much make up is on a person's face. I care what's going on in the woman's head. Like why they feel need to wear such heavy make up. It may be because they think that's a good look, we all made beauty or fashion errors when we were younger, or it may go much deeper then that. I do feel women nowadays feel under a lot of pressure to look a certain way. I was always a self conscious teenager but to be honest I'm glad that occurred before social media made me feel even worse. As I'm older now I know to take a step back when I find I get in that zone. For example earlier I was considering getting a facial to reduce my blackheads. Then I saw they did eyebrow threading which I wanted. Then I saw they did lip threading. That's only one example but it shows how easily you can get caught up in the vast array of treatments, make up and clothes that are available to us. Luckily my wallet can't afford all those treatments at the moment. I manage to do my own eyebrows and don't need lip threading. But it's almost like I'm strange if I don't do this mentality because everyone else seems to be doing it. I think one of the most important messages to send to young girls is that there is much more to life than how you look.