American beauty recycled : the celebrity machine

This work examines the 'machine' of celebrity suggesting that the value assigned to celebrity and the function of celebrity n our society has to do with surplus desire and fluid identity. This work gtakes the video within the movie American Beauty and reframes i as an installation with gold leaf commenting on the ephemeral and trahs-lie, throw-away nature of celebrity and the way in which celebration can be extracted from the lottery of celebrity production.

Toddlers and tiaras : American beauty pageants in Australia

Little Miss Perfect, otherwise known as the Supreme or High Point title pageant winner stands in line with five ‘full glitz’ runners-up. These Perfect Misses all have fake tans, false eyelashes, hairpieces, flippers (a dental plate of fake teeth), acrylic nails and a full face of stage make-up. Before the pageant they have had their legs, eyebrows and armpits waxed, many have had facials and pedicures and a few mothers have even injected their daughters with Botox. Finally, these little girls have been coached on the perfect way for a female to walk and talk and have had classes to hone their ‘talent’, which is most often dancing or singing. Displayed within a portfolio of photoshopped photographs, these Stepford children are touted as the epitome of female perfection.

Beauty in imperfection

Review: Casus

The Brazilian class C women perception regarding premium mass products in the beauty industry

Recentemente, os mercados emergentes se tornaram um alvo potencial para a indústria da beleza e o Brasil está se tornando um mercado lucrativo para os produtos cosméticos Premium (Euromonitor International, 2013). A população de baixa renda no Brasil representa 70% de seus habitantes ao considerar as classes C, D e E (Barki e Parente, 2010), sendo a classe C representada por 56% da população (Neri, 2012). Este é um mercado potencial para as empresas multinacionais (MNCs), que enfrentam desafios de fazer negócios no país, visto que a classe C opta por gastar parte de sua renda com produtos relacionados a beleza (Silva e Parente, 2007) e ainda há um pouco conhecimento sobre o comportamento de consumo na base da pirâmide. Portanto, o objetivo deste estudo é investigar e descrever o comportamento de consumo das mulheres brasileiras da classe C no setor de beleza, em relação aos produtos Mass Premium, melhorando o conhecimento no que diz respeito a essa população e ao tema proposto. Para atingir esse objetivo, o autor utilizou uma metodologia baseada em uma análise descritivas qualitativa em que foram entrevistadas 20 mulheres de todas as faixas etárias, que pertencem à classe C brasileira e citações foram usadas para fornecer a confirmação dos resultados da análise. Os resultados sugerem que, ao longo dos anos, houve de fato um movimento de trade up no consumo de produtos de beleza. Além disso, foram identificados cinco aspectos principais, que conduzem decisão de compra das mulheres de classe C, no setor de beleza: confiabilidade, qualidade, status, autoestima e bem-estar. Apesar das limitações de um estudo exploratório, espera-se que a pesquisa aumente o conhecimento sobre o mercado da base da pirâmide, especialmente no que diz respeito à indústria da beleza.

Can deviation from standard beauty become appealing?: an age perspective

When exploring new perspectives on the impact of non-idealized vs. idealized body image in advertising, studies have focused mainly on body size, i.e., thin vs. heavy (Antioco et al., 2012; Smeesters & Mandel, 2006). Age remains largely unexplored, and the vast majority of ads in the market depict young models. The purpose of this research is therefore to investigate which images in advertisements – young or mature models – are more persuasive for older women (40+ years old). In this investigation, two studies were conducted. The first part was an exploratory analysis with a qualitative approach, which in turn helped to formulate the hypothesis tested in the subsequent experiment. The results of the in-depth interviews suggested a conflict over notions of imprisonment (need to follow beauty standards) and freedom (wish to deviate). The results of the experiment showed essentially that among older consumers, ads portraying older models were as persuasive as ads portraying younger models. Limitations and future research are discussed.