Chicago studios. I'm Lauren Magrino. And this is the why. Where we explored the reasons and the facts behind the headlines. Do you remember the days when Tweedy's lashes were all the rage or when graphic eyeliner and a red lip meant you were one step closer to looking like Madonna. Whether you re created these looks yourself or knew someone who supported every trend for better or worse, every generation has its own definition of beauty when it comes to makeup, but beauty is business one that's expected to rake in over $570 billion $115 a month. Nearly $1400 a year on makeup according to a survey from Groupon. So why do we spend our hard earned money on makeup correspondent and scripts News makeup enthusiast Alex Miller explains the motivation. Easy, breezy, beautiful covergirl. The messaging is
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everywhere from toys for daytime makeup to bedtime routines so clean and you can sleep in it if you want. Why rely on natural beauty when you could use makeup to color correct and conceal, but thousands of years ago and fertilizers and influencers weren't telling us how or why we should wear makeup instead. It was philosophers, poets and royalty who decided what was in or out 6000 years ago in ancient Egypt hieroglyphics and painted coffins show how both sexes heavily lined their eyes with Kohl not only enhancing their features but protecting their eyes from the glare of the desert. Sun makeup also had ritualistic and symbolic meaning. According to the Natural History Museum of Utah colored eyeshadows represented different gods and women would mix their makeup with animal pigments to take on the animal's power. But once the ancient Roman empire
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rolled around makeup then came with stigma. While women were encouraged to wax their hair and moisturized makeup like rouge was associated with sex workers, historians point out the Romans, negative views of makeup were likely influenced by stoicism, a popular form of philosophy that believed true beauty wasn't about the physical body, but moral goodness. Fast forward to the renaissance era. For the elite wearing makeup was an elaborate and sometimes deadly process to showcase wealth and nobility. Women use lead and other toxic substances to lighten their skin and either hair, which sometimes poisoned them. At the same time, male writers, including Shakespeare ridiculed women for trying too hard to fit the Arabs beauty standards while hair, white skin and rosy lips. The 18th century, wealthy men and women donned makeup from white powders and rouge to silk patches that covered blemishes or decorated their faces, but the end of the century also
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brought what's called the Great Male Renunciation. Men declared embellished clothes and cosmetics were too effeminate and decided beauty routines should be left to women for decades. The mark of a true lady was no makeup at all until cosmetics roared back to life. By the 19 twenties, the glamorous Hollywood movie stars brought cosmetics into the spotlight and for the first time, the mass merchandise market. Women of all ages clamored to emulate the new Hollywood style with dark red lips eyeliner and mascara. According to the Smithsonian, large corporations capitalized on the fervor by buying up small cosmetic companies, mostly run by women. By 1930, a small group of male dominated corporations controlled 40% of the cosmetics industry, selling thousands of similar products under different brand names. The Smithsonian Institution says cosmetic spending skyrocketed during World War II as millions of
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women entered the workforce and embraced newfound purchasing power advertisements and recruitment campaigns took notice and asked women to do two things support the war effort and wear makeup makeup became so popular. The federal government even lifted rationing restrictions on cosmetics companies. When the war ended up to 90% of American women wore lipstick, a new symbol of American femininity. That's what we're doing today and the question, why do we wear makeup will bring about plenty of answers. Naomi Wolf, author of the beauty myth, argues, corporations capitalize on women's insecurities and sell makeup as a necessity to reach physical perfection, but there are seemingly endless Youtubers and Tiktokers who use makeup as an art form. Evelyn Costa uses highlight and contouring to transform into a new person like Harry styles. While artists like Tara Mayhew can turn into an avatar character with just paint and powder makeup styles can also show what
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social groups we align with, from goths to drag queens to kiss fans. Evolutionary psychologists also say we wear makeup to amplify desirable qualities that make us attractive from filling in eyebrows to achieve facial symmetry or dotting on blush to look healthier. Or we might wear makeup simply because it makes us feel good. In a survey from one pole and grand cosmetics, 91% of women said beauty regiments are key to boosting their confidence using different paints and colors and techniques not just to hide insecurities, but highlight what makes them feel beautiful Alex Miller scripts, news thanks Alex, a report from the NPD Group, Market Research company proves our love of cosmetics isn't slowing shoppers earning over $100,000 a year, spent nearly $9 billion on beauty products. Get this just in the first six months of 2022 Martha. Laham is the
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author of made up, which explores the way advertisers promote realistic beauty standards. She's a professor of business at Diablo Valley College and is with us now to tell us how marketing and advertising changes the way we wear makeup Martha off the top. We have kind of Which one is it kind of situation Do we wear makeup because advertisers Mayor society's desire for makeup Or is it because advertisers shape our desire for makeup itself What's happening here Well, it's probably both. Advertising both reflects and shapes society's values, but in the case of why we wear makeup, uh are we attempting to satisfy some culturally rooted norm about appearance Such as the feminine beauty ideal Or for example, our women in particular persuaded even manipulated, some critics say, into believing what cosmetic products offer after all, There very well
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could be beauty in a bar or hope in a jar. Who sets the standards in makeup advertising Well, now we have to actually look at beauty standards that are reflected in beauty advertising and it's really largely dictated by culture and the media. And then those standards are reflected from About it and reinforced in advertising. Okay. And advertisers are relying heavily on beauty influencers, you know, but not without controversy. Michaela Nogueira, who has over 14 million followers recently made headlines for this makeup review on Mascara. Let's watch this really quick. This looks like false. This is how what Okay, so viewers accused her of using fake lashes to get the look we just saw and others were angry. She wasn't clear that this was a paid partnership between her and Loreal. Does
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influencer marketing make it easier to get away with potentially deceptive makeup marketing Uh Well, Lauren many beauty companies as we know, use beauty influencers because generally women tend to accept what beauty influencers say as being trustworthy and genuine and not just out for endorsement dollars. Although many beauty influencers are paid to develop content. Now there are a set of laws develops under the Federal Trade Commission, the ftc, that's a regulatory body that oversees marketing, communications, including advertising. And under the law, advertising claims must be truthful and not mislead or deceive consumers in one appropriate be evidence based. So in this particular situation with this, it looks like an Instagram ad. It would have been appropriate for the influencer to
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disclose whether they were using actually lash extensions somewhere in the ad or in the pitch. Okay, So, I mean, given the fact that the law exists, there's protocol around this, do you think that its application when it comes to social media and these influencers is a little more lax than let's say an ad you see in a magazine, I'm going to have to say not now, because if you visit the F.T.C. Website, there is a web page just for influencers with at least three or four handbooks or guidelines for influencers to follow. A lot of influencers have gotten into hot water for not disclosing for um implying that the ability or efficacy of the product is simply based on the product itself when in fact maybe there may have been an enhancement
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such as mascara product as like last extension. Alright, so it's, it's definitely the law is caught up with all things with social and influencers. It even has its own section. I learned something new there, Professor of business at Diablo Valley College. Martha Liam. Thank you so much for joining us on the Y I appreciate it. My