Hello everyone
Once again it is the international creative writing challenge set up by my friend Gail of Is This Mutton. We bloggers taking part in this challenge can be found living around this planet in America, Portugal, Tasmania, Australia, and the UK. Do be sure to look at the end of this piece for the links to their interesting blogs.
Well, this time the subject nearly flummoxed me as, actually, I found it quite difficult to write about it. The subject is Beauty. Oh, my, goodness. Where to start? Because of course, one thinks, beauty is in in the eye of the beholder. What one person thinks is beautiful, or what one era (see below) thinks might be beautiful, is another person’s gasp of ‘what! You get my drift.
Now, who was the first to say that phrase? I thought it might be Shakespeare, but his wording was that ‘beauty is bought by judgement of the eye’ (Love’s Labours Lost). And indeed, the idea of beauty being subjective was discussed over the centuries as far back as Plato’s time, and I’m sure even before that. But he did not pen those words, in fact Plato thought the opposite, that beauty was objective. He thought beauty existed regardless of others’ interpretations and feelings. And that is quite a thought – sounds right to me.
No, apparently, someone called Margaret Wolff Hungerford, was first to use these immortal words, in 1878, in her book Molly Bawn when she wrote, ‘It’s an old axiom and well said, that beauty is in the eye of the beholder’.
Beauty is of course, all around us: in the gardens of England, in all aspects of art, in a concise and apt turn of phrase, in a baby’s first smile, in a cloudless blue sky, in ones small grandchildren (and the older ones too!) in nature and in the spider webs that twinkle with drops of rain (I see them as nature’s diamonds).
And then there’s the idea of beauty and women. Ah ha! For me, and I expect for you, female beauty has been a moveable feast as I can remember fashions and styles of beauty that are just a vague memory and would look ridiculous now – that very electric blue eyeshadow, pink lipstick and that block of mascara that you spat in to get those very spiky black eyelashes whether it was good for your colouring or not, anyone?
And what about eyebrows? They were certainly part of the ‘look’ in the 1950s and 60s, but today? Over the years I’ve plucked them to extinction, grown them, got them back again and now think I have a good sense of what my eyebrows should look like. And yet everywhere I go I see young and not so young women with very odd-looking eyebrows.
I think Instagram has a lot to answer for (Instagram is an entire debate waiting to be had) but there does seem to be a current craze (influenced by who knows but especially Instagram) for women to get rid of their actual eyebrows and get what I think are tattoos that look, to me, so very artificial. But actually, who are we to criticise or point our fingers at this, as eyebrows have always been a moveable feast. Indeed, as long as history has been recorded, the shape of eyebrows has changed and then changed again.
In ancient Egypt, for instance, both men and women wore makeup especially around their eyes, and they elongated their brows by painting on carbon and black oxide substances. Think Elizabeth Taylor and her portrayal of Cleopatra – yes it was very much a glossy Hollywood production, but her eye-makeup wasn’t far from the truth.
Apparently, in Ancient Greece a uni-brow was considered a beautiful trait, as it was in ancient Rome, so Frida Kahlo wasn’t the first to promote that look. Married women in those times had a more natural look but those who were unwed touched up their eyebrows with black incense, rather like Cara Delevingne I guess!
And then in complete contrast we have the medieval times with wealthy women following the trend set by Queen Elizabeth I to pluck their eyebrows heavily, leaving them barely there. They apparently also dyed what eyebrows they had left reddish brown to match the colouring of their Queen.
That look emerged again in the 1920s with many film stars paving the way for women to severely pluck and then pencil in their brows. This fashion extended into the 1930s and my mother never had any eyebrows to speak of having plucked her eyebrows severely in her youth. Here are a few photos of her to show you how she looked in the 1920s and 30s.
Eyebrows became thicker in the 1940s and 1950s with film stars such as Lauren Bacall and Sophia Loren having exquisitely shaped brows. But the shape of an eyebrow has changed and changed again with fashions moving towards more plucked brows and back again to the full-on bushy eyebrows of Cara Delevingne.
So, nothing is new, eyebrows have been many different shapes, and I must just bite my tongue and say nothing at the very oddness of the modern tattooed look that appears so artificial. Who am I to criticise anyway as I also like quite a made-up-eyebrow look. While the eyes are the window of the soul, the eyebrows are certainly the window-frames of ones face!
And now it is time to introduce to the lovely women bloggers who are taking part in this challenge starting with Gail who blogs at Is this Mutton. She began this writing challenge – thank you Gail! She looks at the concept of beauty over the ages and how women still suffer to conform to society’s expectations. Click here to read this.
Then Debbie who writes the blog Debs-World has asked some special women in her life for their thoughts on beauty, which may be cheating in some ways but… their words are all heartbreakingly beautiful and make for inspiring reading. Click on this link to read these thoughts on beauty.
Mary Katherine who blogs at MK’s Adventures in Style reflects on the importance our society places on ‘beauty’ for women, and how she wrestles in her own life to balance having gravitas and glitter at the same time. Click here for her take on this subject.
In this month’s edition of Tell Us About Beauty, Suzy Turner delves into the journey of self-love and embracing beauty, wrinkles and all. Click here for her thoughts on this theme.
The iconic Jill who blogs at GrownUpGlamour tells us that she has looked at beauty in its many forms. Click here to read more.
Marsha who blogs at Marsha in the Middle says that while she proposed the theme of beauty, she’s not talking beauty in the fashion world. Instead, she’s writing about the beauty we can see all around us. Click on this link to read more on her thoughts.
Sue from Women Living Well After 50 explores beauty in all forms and discusses how can thrive by putting the focus on our inner beauty as well as the beauty that surrounds us. Click here to read more on this idea.
And finally Leslie of OnceUponATimeHappilyEverAfter shares with us some of the things that make her world a more beautiful place. Click here for Leslie’s thoughts on this theme.
And that really is all for now. Thank you for reading to the end.
With love, Penny, the Frugalfashionshopper
P.S. The skirts blog will arrive early next week 😊
It’s fascinating to see how styles like eyebrows have changed over the years. I’m glad I never had the urge to pluck mine away lol! I have neither thick nor thin brows but I have considered having them ‘done’ to be honest…only because I have a couple of friends who’ve done it and they look fab. I don’t know…perhaps I’ll leave it and see what happens to them over the next few years lol!
Great post, as always, Penny!
Big hugs
Suzy xx
It sounds as though you have perfect eyebrows. I think there must some good eyebrow artists and if you have a recommendation of a good aesthetician that would be fine, but there are some very odd looking eyebrows out there. I’d say buyer beware!
Thanks so much Suzy – off to read your post right now 😊
Isn’t this all great food for thought, Penny? I LOVE the photos of your mom – what a beauty she was!!! (although I’m sure there was much more to her than that….)
It was such an interesting theme. It is always so stimulating to do this writing challenge. My mother was lovely but life……. and marriage……. to my father……. I’m trying to write about her and her travails. Very difficult as I need to get away and do nothing else but write.
Anyway, thanks so much MaryK, I did love your contribution. Have a great weekend 😊
I enjoyed your take on eyebrows. It seems we have similar views on the homogeneous nature of young women on IG with their tattooed brows. I used to have quite strong eyebrows but they’ve been plucked to death so now I have to draw them in. I do regret that. Your mother was very beautiful, and those thiner eyebrows are far more flattering in my view.
IG is so peculiar and artificial anyway – I still get 99% men wanting to follow me!!!! Who the heck are you, I say, before deleting them!
My mother was lovely but life did indeed get in the way…. one day I shall finish that memoir I am writing!
Have a great weekend – the weather is definitely getting better 😊
Such an interesting topic Penny. Your mother was a beauty and you take after her. Eyebrows. I had such lovely ones as a young woman, dark full and well shaped. Years of plucking and age have taken their toll. Now I always have to fill in the gaps with a pencil. I was wondering if the trend here for eyelash extensions is a thing in the UK or other part of Europe. Even my seventy year old friend won’t do without them. To me they look false and I just don’t get it. Going to check out what the others have to say. Love, Darby
suSuch an interesting
It was an interesting topic and one that could go anywhere. And yes my mother was a beauty but I actually look more like my father than my mother!
Oh yes the plucking! Like you I did so much of that in my youth. They almost disappeared. But because of my strong overall hair growth the eyebrows did recover when I stopped, and I still have to pluck them to keep them under control. Now though there are the white hairs so I do use a pencil as well as a brow plumper – perhaps I’ll write a blog on how I do my eyebrows!
Thanks so much Darby 🙂
Penny, I really loved this post! First, I think your mother had fabulous eyebrows in that first photo! It’s funny because eyebrows are one of the first things I notice about women these days. It’s all because mine are quickly becoming non-existent. I never had really full eyebrows, and tweezing hurt like crazy. So, I went with the natural look. In my later years, hypothyroidism took away most of my brows. I have what any good drag queen would consider starter brows! I have thought about having them done, but I just really don’t want to look like everyone else! So, I pencil them in and hope to get them looking like at least distant cousins!
I am so enjoying the Global Writing Challenge. It’s always fun to see what everyone thinks!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
Your theme was fascinating and could have gone anywhere as your blog did!!! So enjoyed it!
Yes, like you I always notice eyebrows. Sorry to hear about the issues you have but I bet you’ve mastered the techniques and look really good. I think eyebrows are really quite tricky on a lot of people. But eyebrows these days, the ones that are ‘done’ are so very artificial, not sure why they want to look like that.
Great theme, Marsha, thank you 🙂
This was a great take on beauty Penny, you’ve raised a few issues – eyebrows and Instagram! I’m lucky to have dark eyebrows and have never had to draw them on my face, but understand that this is necessary for some women. My mother has very pale hair and eyebrows and her eyelashes need to be tinted to show up at all. I totally get what you say about some eyebrows being very interesting these days – quite chunky and shaped. It was a good prompt and I’m enjoying everyone’s take on it – as always!
Hi Debbie – yes, it is great when eyebrows are just right – I think they’re tricky for so many women. Wasn’t it an interesting theme! Loving everyone’s take on beauty. Thanks Debbie 😊
I wonder if the eye brow plucking started as a lice thing? Back from the plague days…. YOur mother looks like a movie star, so she was def on trend!! Beautiful indeed! #TellUsAbout
That’s a possibility – will have to look it up! My mother was lovely and I am grateful I have those photographs and many more actually.
Thanks Lydia 😊
Hello Penny, I really enjoyed reading your post and your thoughts on beauty. I agree with Plato that ‘beauty existed regardless of others’ interpretations and feelings’. As for eyebrows, how they change. These days it is all tattooed or hennaed brows. I recently tried the henna brows and frightened the life out of my husband they were so dark and thick! Your mother looks beautiful and I always think women of her generation were so much more refined and classic. Thanks for an interesting look at eyebrows over time, a very creative take on the beauty prompt. #TellUsAbout Have a lovely weekend. x
Yes, having always thought of beauty as in the eye of the beholder, I’m rather taken with Plato’s view that beauty just is, regardless of whether it is seen or not.
Those eyebrows and wow, you’ve actually tried henna brows! Actually I used to have mine dyed, but then I got a bit allergic to the product so I sort them out myself now.
You also have a lovely weekend and many thanks Sue 😊
This was an interesting one Penny and I did enjoy your take on it.
Your mother certainly was a very attractive women and the photos are just lovely. Eyebrows and their shapes are an interesting indicator of beauty fashion over the ages aren’t they.
Mine have always been on the thin side and fair and getting more so , so product is always needed. I am not a fan of the heavy tattooed brow(they remind me of caterpillars).
Well done Penny < I am in awe of your writing skills.
Those tattooed brows are so artificial and it is getting to the point where so many young women have them.
I too need some product, and I also have to pluck them as the hairs are both very prolific and long if left to themselves (!) and a lot of the hairs are now white. I was wondering whether to do a short video on my eyebrow technique.
My mother was very beautiful especially when she was younger. However, all through my childhood she wore very large horn-rimmed glasses and I just didn’t see her beauty. I do now though.
Thanks Jill 😊
Was so interested in what you would share after I read your summary for this month’s post. Eyebrows!! I never gave them much thought until I had teenaged daughters. One plucked hers into extinction or at least endangerment in the 1990s and early 2000s. Thank goodness, they have come back in and now shehas pretty brows that are ‘just right.’ The other daughter has fairer hair and her brows and lashes don’t show up enough for her satisfaction, so she is always using something to fill in her eyebrows. She had a baby who had practically a unibrow in her first months, and Lauren plucked those in between hairs. Finally she realized that was not okay and Lucia’s eyebrows seem to be more to her liking now. Little sister Cami has eyebrows like the Cara actress/model you mentioned (had to look her up). Thank goodness, mom is leaving hers alone too.
Tattooed eyebrows are very big here in El Paso. I don’t get it at all. Everyone I know who has them looks wild-eyed like they been shocked or electrocuted. They have them shaped in such significant arches.
I get my brows shaped up at a threading salon once a month. The gals there tell me I have ‘good’ eyebrows. Who knows. But I am certainly not interested in doing one thing more with them.
Very interesting read. Thank you!!
Oh Leslie, I love your description of the tattooed eyebrows looking as though they’ve been electrocuted 🤣
So true! Honestly they look so false! Glad to hear that your daughter’s eyebrows came back. Natural dark eyebrows are great – it’s a strong look but stylish so I’m thinking your grandbabydaughters will be beauties.
And you’ve got good eyebrows – yay and three cheers!
Thanks Leslie 😊
What a fascinating history! I don’t understand the strange-looking eyebrow trends either, but it’s interesting to see how the standard of beauty for eyebrows has gone from thick to thin and back again so many times. I remember being so grateful for Brooke Shields and her heavy brows changing the standard when I was in high school, because my brows are dark and on the heavy side and I didn’t have the patience to pluck them. 😉