Why are all young girl suddenly good looking?

[PodcastFunFair]

I'm 40 in the 90s I was reasonably attractive by 90s standards.
I was a size 12 blond curly hair, outfit deom topshop and put on nice make up with some Charlie perfume.
I look at my nieces all identikit long smooth hair, make up perfectly put on with false eyelashes, tiny sized, super stylish all could be models from their insta accounts as could their mates is everyone better looking these days or better tools?
Do I need a make up tutorial from one of them so I'm not such an old dog 😂

Birds of a feather flock together. Your niece and her friends might not be an unbiased sample.

Yeah I look at my daughter at 17 and I certainly didn't look as good or as good as my 12 year old. They are all living up to such high standards now. I think its why there's so many mental health problems, the pressure on them to have their nails, eyelashes, hair done, make up perfect, be slim, where the nicest clothes. Its all thanks to social media.

Why is it s good thing that girls secondary school age teens look gorgeous in s grown up way though?

What's wrong with girls puberty hormone age being spotty, having hair that gets greasy etc?

That's normal. It's hormonal. Yes it's not something they like often, but. If generally girls you know look flawless then it's even more pressure and upsetting surely if your body face hair don't comply no matter what you do iyswim.

Back in the day when secondary school younger ages did makeup etc, they still looked like kids generally. Not like flawless older/ adult women.

I said earlier and I know it's fashion, the current look etc. That's s given. I understand totally why lots of girls do this.

But to women, mums of girls that sort of age. I would be interested to understand why this is seen as such s good thing, it feels different to me. And I'd really like to understand why I am out of step with majority!

Looking “good” is all a matter of opinion though isn’t it. I genuinely think a lot of them look absolutely awful. I look at some of the popular influencers and think they look appalling. All fake, swollen and caked in makeup. No concept of natural beauty at all. I’m so thankful I wasn’t expected to look like that! (I would obviously NEVER say this to any of them).

Shamoo true.

I found the obvious heavy contouring thing just bizarre. Seemed to involve painting really blatent dark stripes on face.

The baffling thing to me was that it came from drag I am pretty sure.

So men who contoured to make face appear more like female structure.
Became a fashion for girls/ women.

Meaning young women were applying makeup according to methods men used to try to look more like women... ???!

You only have to look at the studio audiences of Top of the Pops in the 1970s to see that young women back then didn't have the money or the techniques available to them to be the polished Instagram models they are today. No such thing as hair extensions, hair straighteners or even hair styles back then - the hair styles were non-existent.

Nowadays, to appear on A TV programme they will have spent a day at a beauty salon, back then I expect they just rocked up in their work clothes after doing a day job at Woolies.

But I mean I'm nearly 50.

My mum thought the looks girls attempted in the 80s were... Not flattering!

So anyone on the thread over about 25, I mean. Inevitably how teen girls look is going to be ???? It's a given!

In fact, that so many girls appearance gets thumbs up from mums is a sign things aren't quite right in itself... Probably?

@daisychain01

You only have to look at the studio audiences of Top of the Pops in the 1970s to see that young women back then didn't have the money or the techniques available to them to be the polished Instagram models they are today. No such thing as hair extensions, hair straighteners or even hair styles back then - the hair styles were non-existent.

Nowadays, to appear on A TV programme they will have spent a day at a beauty salon, back then I expect they just rocked up in their work clothes after doing a day job at Woolies.

In the 70s?

Low maintenance? Rocked up? Lololol.

Have you ever tried to make your hair into a solid Mohican?
Dye it multicoloured?

Makeup (and more importantly attitude!) like Siouxie Sioux or toyah?!

The new romantics, end of 70s just getting through maybe...

Two Tone revival just getting going, the emergence of hip hop...

All had looks. And executed to varying degree obv!

But to look at the girls, AND the boys on TOTP and say yep. Looked rubbish full stop...
!!!

Google pics of back then. Clubs etc.

It was way more free to express yourself, way more fun, and an era which went on into 80s with a huge explosion in music, fashion, youth culture.

Imo. Obv! Others may disagree and that's aok, everyone's different!

That's so true.

Maybe we were all more beautiful than we realised at the time?

I think it depends on what you define as attractive and also how obsessed they and their peers are with their looks. My DD is 15, she’s naturally very pretty with huge eyes, tall and slim. She wears no makeup nor does she straighten her hair though occasionally she will put a colour through half of it - something bright like pink or purple. Her friends are similar, doc martens instead of heels, sometimes baggy t shirts sometimes fitted tops with cleavage showing, depends how they feel. They go to an academically selective school so maybe that makes a difference? More interested in things other than looking a certain way. They’re all very into sports and music too, can’t imagine DD spending hours in front of makeup tutorials, yawn.

But to women, mums of girls that sort of age. I would be interested to understand why this is seen as such s good thing, it feels different to me.

Maybe because as teens, some women who are now mothers felt they were at a disadvantage compared even to peers of the past when it came to makeup, control of their hair, and a general air of poise?

Speaking here as the daughter of a very hippie-ish 'soap and water girl' mother. Many of the girls I went to school with were able to achieve Farrah Fawcett hair every morning using blow dryers. I still can't blow dry my hair without ending up looking like Worzel Gummidge. I've learned to do makeup but rarely wear it, and natural curls have become more acceptable anyway.

I encouraged my girls (teens from the early 2000s to just recently) to learn other skills they would need in the workplace, so why not makeup application?

It's all the contouring etc with make up plus better hair care, nails etc. (I had a home perm!)

Growing up my parents were very strict do I didn’t wear makeup till I was in my late 20’s. I always felt (still do) that I wasn’t as polished or trendy as the other girls. I think it’s affected my self esteem as I still feel I look “messy”. Having young kids I don’t have time to sit and watch tutorials or spend hours on my hair. I do wish my mum had let me take more pride in my appearance.

What is the most important thing anyone would suggest I do to feel I don’t look messy?

Math totally get where you're coming from!

Some of the girls at my school looked incredible.

And results aside, spending s lot of time on hair makeup is hardly new!

Thing is, now I'm thinking about it. Looking back to the girls who looked incredible, even without makeup, and done up gorgeous. They even in school uniform no makeup looked much older than they were.

Some were doing whole scene of the 'wild child' stuff- clubs in town at 13 and everything that came with that. It was Amanda de cadanet etc era.

News shocker girls as young as X going to 'debauched 'massive ticketed parties. Mandy Smith recent thing all over media.
Sam fox page 3 still recent.

Why did they get in? How were they going to this stuff. Because they looked older 16, maybe 18, maybe over 20.

I think my ideas about this are related to that.

And the feeling of mild concern I had for my DDs schoolmates primary school yr 6. Who had the height, faces, bodies that would be seen by many as much much older. Essentially 'old enough'. Although only 11.

I think the discomfort I have is essentially to do with how achieving a look which is skilled like a grown up. To successfully look older, and in a way that is apparently seen as great to their mums. When in the past it was a given that young people generally had styles etc that grown ups were ??!! and that's normal and the way most teens naturally are... And still looked pretty young because well they were too young to have got the hang of it etc.

What does that mean in terms of society (men), sex, harassment etc?

She looked older, etc. And the judge jury say. Yep. Totally not your fault...

I mean I could be worrying over nothing.

But that's how I feel.

Sorry heavy post, not what thread is for!

They do look fabulous but also identikit on the the whole. I feel quite sorry for them , they’re under pressure to achieve perfection. When I was a teen in the 80s we could be more individual, all my friends had their own style. Although we did all have the perm though!

I don't think that this look gets a thumbs up from mums....dd is like this and i dont like it but I don't tell my dd how to look. I always say she is beautiful just as she is but does she listen? ..no!
Same as if she wanted to embrace a more alternative look which i would prob like more....its up to her.

Also on another point I always considered that the 60’s were a time when everyone looked good and wore lots of make up, so probably not just nowadays. Maybe seems like it’s more now due to social media and sharing tips quicker.

I'm so glad my teens and 20s were back in the 1990s. The pressure via SM must be huge to look a certain way. I think so many girls really trowel on the makeup, they look like drag artists close up. Along with fillers, lip enhancers, hair extensions etc.

Back in the early 90s my make up was mainly Boots 17, hair was in a corkscrew perm. I've still got the dress I wore on my 18th,it was a size 12 and the waist is tiny on it. My DD is a size 12 now and it won't go near her. I still thought I was chubby back then though.

Ha ha it's your age! You see the true beauty of youth!

Yes I agree with you. We didn’t have straighteners or the make up the girls have now which enhances certain features. We had perms and wore baggy shirts and wide leg jeans. If we had all of the above I’m sure many of us would have looked a lot better too!

@NightLight2

What I don’t get is why big bums are considered a desirable feature nowadays. Just how did that happen?

Yes when I was growing up being told you had a big bum was an insult!

Oh and math

When I was young most mums didn't help etc with hair makeup.

We learnt experimented with each other and how to from j17 etc!

I'm also not sure why a girl secondary school age needs poise?

In fact I'm pretty sure I don't know anyone who has poise, I'm not entirely sure what you mean though. Attitude? Confidence? That I'm here! Thing?

I don't think it's done anyone I grew up with anything detrimental (although I'm not sure what it is, maybe we have it and don't know!).

Having said that. It's how you feel and due to your experiences. I'm not in any way implying you're wrong. We all do the best for our children.

I'm just interested, don't have to reply if don't want to :)

Yes fake and filters.

The eyelashes, nails,lips, hair, breasts, teeth, eyebrows all topped off with a generous dose of filter, and in some cases accessibility to easy credit to fund it.