Beauty is often defined as a subjective, aesthetic quality of objects which makes these objects aesthetically pleasurable to see. These objects could be nature, human works of art. Beauty, along with art and aesthetics, is the most significant part of aesthetics, among the many branches of psychology. According to some psychologists beauty is a mental state while others believe in its importance as an aesthetic quality of the object itself.
Many psychologists subscribe to the subjective view that beauty is a personal state and is therefore influenced by how we feel on a day-to-day basis. This means that what make a beautiful face on a woman, or a handsome man on a man, or a blemished skin on a child are given little importance when a person enters a room. In fact beauty is often given a totally different significance in various cultures and countries. Thus it is found that beauty varies greatly from country to country and can even differ between cultures within the same country.
According to the subjective view, beauty is a matter of how we look at ourselves and in this view beauty is seen to consist mainly of physical attributes. This is not necessarily to say that beauty consists only of physical attributes but such things as the shape of one’s eyes or the color of their skin tone, are given great significance by people in varying degrees. The cosmetics industry, however, makes use of such things as white lead, a toxic substance, in order to create the illusion of beauty. White lead is a cheap and toxic alternative to the precious metal platinum.
One of the most famous uses of white lead in cosmetics was in the manufacturing of false hair. The belief was that white lead was able to add shine and life to the hair. It became extremely popular with the manufacture of hair sprays and was often used to give hair an attractive color, which in turn gave the person who wore it a sense of youth. White lead also had some demerits, as it tends to cause skin irritation in sensitive skin, especially in young children and elderly people, and may cause hair to fall out.
Ancient Greek philosophy considered beauty to be a way of life, and was closely linked to the culture of Greek women. Greek women were deeply concerned with beauty myths in ancient times often involved sexual activity as the ultimate goal. The most common myth associated with Greek beauty was that women had beautiful faces. Women wore makeup to enhance the beauty of their faces and body and also decorated their hair and clothes. Greek women were prized for their beauty and were known to be highly respected. Greek women were also famous for their great facial features and were sought after for their beauty and intelligence.
Greek women, being beautiful and young at heart, were prized for the fact that they did not worry too much about grooming and clothing. They adhered to a simple lifestyle and yet became one of the most fashionable people in the Mediterranean region. Greek fashion was known for its simplicity yet was innovative and varied. The clothing was colorful and exquisite, but did not include any excess material or needless embellishment. Greek fashion has been popular throughout the years and still continues to be popular among the many Greeks of different generations.
