Ugly: Giving us back our beauty standards

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Travel trends suggest that many in Asia see middle age as being the prime of your life and the ideal time for those big bucket-list trips. I was angry at myself, too – I was well versed in how the capitalist patriarchal agenda has used beauty standards against women as a means of controlling us. Its the kind of book I wished I could have read as a teen, because so much of it described how I was raised to view, observe and consume beauty culture growing up. And before I invest in anything expensive (or even invasive), I question why I really want it: why is this being sold to me? With tenures at Stylist and Glamour UK – and a proliferation of freelance gigs – Bhagwandas is at the forefront of beauty commentary.

I’d feel its piercing criticism when I swiped on layers of concealer to cover my dark circles or when I blotted furiously at my oil-drenched skin with too-pale powder. Sometimes, if we stop for a moment… we might realise that as we fix ourselves, we tell ourselves we need fixing. So if you're feeling like crap about yourself or are extremely judgemental about other bodies grab this book and help yourself understand why is that so. What I loved most about Barbie was combing through her glossy blonde hair (there were very few non-white Barbies to be found in the 80s), which was the opposite of mine.The author’s pre-set experience has added value to the writing process: ‘I’ve worked on the inside of the industry, I’ve got a very unique insight into how so many parts of it work. What I also liked about the book is the author's raw honesty and the practices she offers to gain more confidence and be more mindful of the beauty products and manipulations we purchase. Send her, she can walk it over,” one of the many sinewy blond editors said, gesturing towards me as if I was a pot plant. So, it’s no wonder that appearing ageless has become one of the few ways women have to battle against a force that wants them to just ‘disappear’ (with the anti-ageing and cosmetic surgery industries only too happy to offer their services in exchange for our cash).

Even counting that as lucky seems at odds with everything else I believe in—after all, luck should be finding surprise leftover Christmas chocolate when you’re in need of a sugar fix, or avoiding the muddy splash from a car driving through a puddle. I learned a lot of new things in each paragraph and started to dismantle some of my own thought processes the same way I did with “Stolen Focus”. And to be a little bit more – I hate the overuse of this word, but – mindful of the way that you use beauty products, and the messaging that you take in and give out about beauty and what that could mean.Just take a look at some of the trends that have emerged on TikTok, the newest ‘vanilla girl’ look which has amassed 744. I never felt pretty (what doesn't help, I was the ugly sister) and I was bullied for not being as attractive as my fellow female friends. Then I try to create an action around it: by filling my social media feed with women who live life unrestricted by arbitrary definitions of age for inspiration. In Ugly , Anita uncovers where these beauty standards started, unpicks why they've been perpetuated and unmasks the structures that continue to support them.