Refreshing news. There's a makeup company that's trying something new with advertising. The standard makeup ads we've seen before generally feature a product that suggests porcelain doll-faced results. Skin that looks literally flawless. Now, I'm sure people find this appealing but I, for one, have pores and know better. Sure you want to look flawless... but let's be real. Aiming for something that doesn't really exist is seriously unhealthy. So, as a result, I'm kind of digging these ads. They're not retouched at all meaning the skin actually looks like skin. (Crazy, right?)
I won't lie. Photoshop retouching, though amazing, scares the shit out of me. Especially when media produced images have such an influence on our culture and ideologies. It's outrageous the way a face can be completely transformed yet presented as the "norm". I mean, seriously, when did freckles become so unappealing?? M. Seth Jones has some amazing Photoshop skills, no doubt, but his gallery is enough to make your jaw drop with concern.
The brand, Makeup For Ever, has produced an interactive (and pretty creatively shot) video that reminds you of a masquerade ball as well as some print ads that remind you of your friends' self-taken Facebook photos.
Now, don't get me wrong. The models in these photos and videos have pretty damned near flawless skin to begin with. It's easy to go natural when you look as if you've never had a blemish in your life. Or hey, perhaps that means the make up is actually doing it's job. Unfortunately, a product that is designed for the sole purpose of helping us attempt to achieve a feigned and unnecessary version of perfection isn't really what we need to better ourselves. But makeup can also be looked at as art, I think. And realism isn't the only style out there.
Regardless, I think this campaign takes us a step closer to advertising that's a bit more interested in treating consumers as real people rather than could-be's and should-be's. And I'm happy to recognize that step.
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