Trends | Oct 10, 2019
‘Perfectly me’ – why Avon is embracing a new definition of beauty
Consumers have been surrounded by overly perfected images for many years now, with the rise in social media use contributing to this greatly.
Take selfie culture for instance. With Google reporting that 93 million selfies were taken per day in 2014, on Android phones alone, it is easy to see how people’s sense of self will have been affected by the pressure to look more perfect and more beautiful than everyone else. The obsession with filters and face-tweaking apps is proof of this.
But so-called ‘perfection’ – based around traditional beauty ideals – is not achievable nor realistic. “For me, the traditional concept of ‘perfection’ is losing its relevance,” writes Louise Scott, Avon’s Chief Scientific Officer. “It implies a standard of beauty which is unattainable; the pursuit of which can affect self-esteem.”
So it’s not surprising that recently the mood in the beauty industry, and among its fans, has changed.
With so many ‘body positivity’ campaigns telling us that we should feel positive and grateful for our bodies because they are perfect, these messages have gathered pace and support around the world. While that’s a good thing, it’s also a huge and unrealistic expectation for women to always view themselves as perfect, and to feel comfortable in their own skin at all times.
In its new whitepaper, Beauty, Happiness and the Rise of the 'Perfectly Me', Avon explains: “Constantly striving to see ourselves as ‘perfect’ feels as untenable as the overly retouched images we’re objecting to. The once-niche ‘body positivity’ movement has infiltrated the mainstream to such a point that we are now looking for a new definition of beauty, which allows for the constantly-evolving state of our own happiness, to help us find a new beauty confidence in the idea that every one of us is just ‘perfectly me’.”
Avon has defined – and will stand for – a new approach to beauty, which will allow consumers to enjoy and embrace modern, on-trend and newly innovated beauty products, while maintaining an upbeat sense of self: ‘perfectly me.’
Avon – which recently signed up to the Changing Faces campaign that calls on brands to feature models with a visible difference – believes beauty is about positivity, not perfection. It’s about being your best you … about being ‘perfectly me’. The self-love body positivity movement is moving into a new space of self-acceptance, and Avon is at the forefront.
“We’ve re-reframed this idea in a new way to better reflect the ideals of modern beauty which we, as a company, believe our customers can both relate to and be inspired by,” adds Louise in the whitepaper. “’Perfectly me’ is about the idea of self-affirmation, and celebrating who you are authentically.”