There is nothing new about the expectation that women will change their appearance to suit fashion trends in a manner that is never expected of men. It's also not new that changes to women's clothing or to their actual bodies generally mean they are constrained from some activities, or even that their health is compromised.
Girls of the more privileged classes in China had their feet broken and bound to form the desirable "lotus shape" until the early 20th century, which meant they were barely able to walk unaided. Until the same period, European and American women wore tightly laced corsets that restricted their breathing and permanently deformed their internal organs (and those who didn't follow this were often described as "loose" sexually as well as clothing wise.)
Women in the past century have endured toxic beauty treatments, constricting clothing and increasingly, pressure to surgically alter their physical form (or diet to attain an ever-changing ideal shape.) There is a racist as well as misogynist layer to this pressure. Black and brown women were encouraged to use toxic "lightening creams," and use painful often harmful hair straightening chemicals and techniques to achieve something closer to an ideal of "white" beauty.
Nail extensions and high heels, like the bound feet and tight corsets of our great grandmothers, are meant to give the impression that a woman is of high enough status that she doesn't have to do things for herself. She doesn't have to work for a living and has others to tend her daily needs (even if that's not the case - it's important to give that impression of flawlessness.)
Even things that don't necessarily impede movement or activities - like make up and eyebrow shaping - still take up alot of time and cost money. Men are not expected to devote very much of their time to their appearance and less of their disposable income is spent on these things. If anything, men who do spend time and money on grooming may be viewed as "not being very masculine." Products and services are marketed to men to show how they will enhance their masculinity as a way of getting over this.
So yes, this is a means of social and economic control over women and girls. They are socially conditioned to believe their bodies, their appearance are inadequate and only with expensive, time consuming, painful and often permanently damaging interventions can they ever hope to be socially acceptable. The message also encourages women and girls to police the behaviour of other women and girls - condemnation can be severe if you "let the side down."
So the companies make more money from goods and services by keeping women and girls in a constant state of paranoia and wider society also benefits because while they are spending their time and money on beatification and unable to undertake many functions that men can because of the impact of these measures on their lives, they stay "in their place."