On Friday, November 21st, four of my group mates and I went to L’Oreal at 5th Avenue and 47th Street. We talked with Martha Brooks about the way that they changed women’s bodies using computers to make an “ideal beauty.” Martha spoke about how the models that were shooting for their products were already gorgeous, young, and didn’t need a lot of retouching,

Our group standing in front of the ‘Media wall’ at L’Oreal

it was just that they wanted them to look somewhat differently for their products to make a statement. Something that we found interesting was how celebrities were in complete control of how much retouching that this company did and whether they wanted it published or not, and how the models that work for L’Oreal had no say in how much retouching their faces got. Of course, this is part of a contract that they have to sign, but it still goes to show that in this industry, a little fame goes a long way. Martha later claimed that there was not much retouching going on at L’Oreal at all, and showed us some before-and-after pictures of what the models looked like. Some of them were almost exactly the same, but some had some more drastic changes–and not ones that made them look like a different person with their facial structure. For example, one girl was put in a blonde wig and had her head tilted another way, all with the power of editing. Another interesting point made was one that had to do with mascara advertising and how much they could legally change the model with photoshop and other editing applications. The rule was that they weren’t allowed to alter the model’s eyelashes in any way, shape, or form, because that wouldn’t stay true to what the product could do. Also, the model could not wear false eyelashes without saying that they were clearly on the advertisement. These new rules have definitely changed the type of person that a girl will compare herself to, and for the better. Say you’re a teenage girl and have just purchased the mascara that you have seen on television, and you try it on. Now you will look more like the advertisement, because they have started to come to more realistic standards of “what women should look like.” Of course, this is only a start of making women and girls feel better about themselves. Overall, this trip was a very educating one that showed us how important self confidence really is. If you are happy with your body as a whole, which is harder than it seems with advertisements throwing unrealistic body images at you, then you will lead a more successful life knowing that you are doing something right.