The naked truth of beauty
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
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The internet democratized beauty, but now we all are kind of treating ourselves as these project managers of our faces and our bodies.
Hello, hello. I'm Brittany Luce, and you're listening to It's Been a Minute from NPR, a show about what's going on in culture and why it doesn't happen by accident.
Brooke, welcome to It's Been a Minute.
Thank you so much for having me, Brittany. I am so excited to be on. Longtime listener, longtime fan. And I always credit you with two things. One, you were a very early champion of naked beauty way back in like 2016, 2017, early days. You gave me great feedback. And you put me on to Alicia, my favorite hairstylist in New York. So forever, thank you for that.
the best you're welcome literally literally oh my god shout out to alicia luciano at the way salon away in soho in new york city You have been hosting the Naked Beauty Podcast for like a decade.
Decade plus.
Yeah. And so, I mean, you are a literal beauty expert and you're not just somebody who I think people go to for like product recommendations or you did kind of, you kind of like shook social media with the braid sewing combo.
How did beauty culture shift from self-expression to optimization since 2016?
Yes. You're always coming up with new things, I think, to try and do. But also, you have a really great, I think, mind for thinking about beauty and how it actually affects us materially, how it makes us feel. Yes. Things have shifted a lot in the past 10 years that you've been hosting the Naked Beauty Podcast. Like the height of beauty expectations... We're like the 12 step skincare routine and like contouring. What are some of the biggest changes in expectations around beauty that you have seen in the past decade?
You're absolutely right. It has changed so dramatically. And looking back at what we were talking about in 2016, it all feels very quaint and cute compared to like... The full stack protocol that people want to, you know, deaccelerate aging. So when I first started in 2016, I really think beauty was about expression. And now increasingly, it's about optimization. So people have kind of moved from like, how do I want to be how I want to express myself to how do I fix myself? How do I optimize? How do I look smacks? I think the algorithm is a big part of that. In 2016, TikTok did not exist, right? So I think beauty conversations were much more seasonal. Now they're very algorithmic, right? So you get these trends of shedding and mouth taping and...
you know, wrapping your entire body at night, essentially. So the things that you're seeing in terms of beauty trends and beauty standards are often dictated by what has the highest engagement, you know, the internet democratized beauty, but now we all are kind of treating ourselves as these project managers of our faces and our bodies.
project managers of our faces and our bodies. That feels so accurate. That feels so accurate. Every feature is like an opportunity to like get 1% better every single day, as opposed to, I don't know, like, you remember the wavy eyebrow trend of like 2017, 2018, somewhere in there. Yes, like, it wasn't for me. But I mean, there was somebody out there who wanted to wave their eyebrows because they had something to say. I thought that was beautiful.
Yes. And I've noticed the questions that I get from my audience change over the years. It used to be like, what's your favorite moisturizer? You know, like, very, now it's like, what system are you using for aging? Like, are you doing peptides? Are you doing preventative Botox? People have become much more extreme in their pursuit of perfection. And now it seems like a simple cream doesn't cut it anymore. But I also have to acknowledge that in the past 10 years, I've aged 10 years.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:48
2
How did beauty culture shift from self-expression to optimization since 2016?
1:48–11:54
3
How has the algorithm and TikTok changed beauty trends and expectations?
11:54–16:36
4
What treatments and injectables are audiences asking about now?
16:36–28:40
5
What is PRF/PRFM and why are people choosing it over traditional fillers?
28:40–39:12