Is ethnic beauty the new 'it' factor?

[alienlovechild 75]

There was a time when the Caucasian girl-next-door looks of Christie Brinkley, Cindy Crawford and more recently Kate Moss dominated the fashion pages. Then came new fashion icons: Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Lopez, Beyonce - and then Giselle, Kim Kardashian and Shakira.

More voluptuous figures, fuller lips and darker skin, features traditionally associated with women of African, Latin and Asian cultures, are "in." Over the past decade, an appreciation for ethnic beauty has been on the rise, and these natural features are becoming popular among Caucasian women who desire to look more "exotic."

Dr. Nancy Etcoff, a Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital psychologist who studies the science behind the brain and beauty, believes that the shift in our perception of beauty is a sign of the times.

"Our standards of beauty are changing and ethnic women are at the forefront today," she said. "It emulates our growing sense of cultural awareness."

Etcoff, who also authored "Survival of the Prettiest," adds: "If you study plastic surgery textbooks, the notions of an ideal feature have changed. In the 50s, the ideal look featured thinner lips, upturned noses, smaller eyes, and paler makeup," Etcoff said. "Now you see broader noses, darker skin, and larger eyelids. All these attributes suggest shifts in demographics and an appeal to a more multicultural look instead of an overly Caucasian appearance."

With companies earning over $3 billion between 2005 and 2009 in the US multi-cultural beauty market, it seems ethnic women are not just embracing the trends -- they are setting them.

"What's not to love, embrace and emulate about ethnic beauty?" said Us Weekly fashion director Sasha Charnin Morrison. "The use of curvier, more rounded figures looks refreshing."

Celebrities and the media, Etcoff said, have helped promote ethnic beauty. One trait in particular is the larger bottom.

Susan Bloomstone and Lisa Reisler, co-creators of Booty Pop panties, a form of padded underwear used to give an illusion of a larger rear, said their product was inspired by ethnic women in Hollywood, such as entertainers Beyoncé Knowles and Jennifer Lopez.

Lip plumping and injections, techniques used to achieve fuller lips, remain popular among Caucasian women, said Dr. Ashkan Ghavami, a plastic surgeon based in Beverly Hills, California.

"Fuller lips are definitely associated with ethnic cultures and I don't think these trends are going to fade away too quickly," Ghavami said. "What we are starting to see now is that curves on the body and fuller features on the face -- traits that were once deemed unappealing in our society -- are becoming more attractive."

Bottoms and lips are not the only ethnic features women are raging about, according to Ying Chu, Marie Claire beauty and health director. An obsession with rich, brown-skin complexions have boosted the sales of self-tanning products, and aspirations for bouncy, silky straight hair has attracted women to Brazilian and Japanese hair straightening, said Chu.

The desire for individuality leads people to embrace the image of ethnic women over typical "cookie-cutter American beauties," said Chu.

Dark, thick eyebrows, most notably associated with Indian women, have become more desirable and natural brown hair tones, as opposed to bleached and platinum blonde hair colors, are among the features highlighted in today's culture, she said.

The practice of sewing in wefts of hair extensions, a technique popularly used for African-American hair, is being adopted by Caucasian females, according to Roy Teeluck of Roy Teeluck salon in New York.

Linda Wells, editor-in-chief of Allure magazine, said ethnic beauty is being embraced because of changing demographics of America.

Between the years of 2000 and 2008, the mixed-race U.S. population grew by nearly 32 percent to nearly 5 million, said Wells - citing US census bureau estimates.

Sasha Muradali, author of littlepinkbookpr.com, a blog that follows pop culture and beauty trends, believes that the need to achieve certain standards of beauty has little to do with race and ethnicity and more to do with the obsession of perfection.

For Muradali, a 25-year-old working woman of South Asian descent, the current standard of beauty is still a bit blurry.

"We have definitely come a long way because people are embracing Middle Eastern, African-American and Latin looks and no one wants to just look like the quintessential American girl," Muradali said. "But I think we are subtly staying in the past."

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/09/13/ethnic.beauty/

[Jenn! 918]

I've always said that J Lo was the best thing to happen to me in terms of my love life.

[thongd4me 69]

My Japanese-American older daughter likes to flaunt "I love being Asian"

on her facebook page, but the truth is that while she does have some

subtle Asian features, she doesn't have the eyes; her eyes are more

western like mine, as well as her facial features. The Asian part of

those features do make her look attractive, but children of mixed race

are almost always knockouts even if both parents' features are pretty

much ordinary.

[The_Dude 1,142]

I've always said that J Lo was the best thing to happen to me in terms of my love life.

Sounds kinky.

[Jenn! 918]

Sounds kinky.

You don't know the half of it. =P

[SMR 368]

A fine article except for a couple things. What is "ethnic beauty"? I sort of get what the author is getting at based on context but the term is a crude mixture of political correctness and pop culture that just sounds ignorant.

White people are ethnic, too. It reminds me of a great movie quote. "You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Also, Asian and Latin features may be in. Half black ala Halle Berry is in. But traditionally African features really aren't seen as attractive by mainstream male America. That's obviously just my perspective and I welcome any of you guys to dispute it. But from what I've seen African is still not seen as beautiful.

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

A fine article except for a couple things. What is "ethnic beauty"? I sort of get what the author is getting at based on context but the term is a crude mixture of political correctness and pop culture that just sounds ignorant.

White people are ethnic, too. It reminds me of a great movie quote. "You keep on using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."

Also, Asian and Latin features may be in. Half black ala Halle Berry is in. But traditionally African features really aren't seen as attractive by mainstream male America. That's obviously just my perspective and I welcome any of you guys to dispute it. But from what I've seen African is still not seen as beautiful.

I think they mean what's popular in the fashion model world. I wouldn't doubt if models are ordered up by color. So there's a supply/demand number to look at.

P.S. I love my enthic wife!!

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I've always said that J Lo was the best thing to happen to me in terms of my love life.

[mawilson 2,133]

I've always said that J Lo was the best thing to happen to me in terms of my love life.

Why, you have a big butt too?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Sophia Loren was hawt back in the day.

Same with Lena Horne...

[Jenn! 918]

Why, you have a big butt too?

No, but I look like I could be Puerto Rican.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

YOWZA! I agree. Give me Ukrainian women any day!

J Lo has an incredibly big azz, maybe she could make more selling it for billboard space. Not attractive at all. Kardashian has a face like a horse, and an azz like a mare. Say what you will, but more than 50% of top models are FSU chicks.

[SuperDuper! 230]

I've always said that J Lo was the best thing to happen to me in terms of my love life.

I'm calling a TMI and Overshare on this one!

[The_Dude 1,142]

YOWZA! I agree. Give me Ukrainian women any day!

J Lo has an incredibly big azz, maybe she could make more selling it for billboard space. Not attractive at all. Kardashian has a face like a horse, and an azz like a mare. Say what you will, but more than 50% of top models are FSU chicks.

That's a matter of your narrowly defined opinion Gary. That figure is also very bullsh!t. Sorry, but catalogue models and don't count as "top models"