Putting a human face on beauty
Wanda Hennig spoke to Kanchana Moodliar and Yasmin Kathoria on the changing face of the beauty industry
IF BEAUTY is in the eye of the beholder, the good news is, the eye of the beholder is changing. For years, beauty standards were defined and manipulated by advertisers and marketers.
“Beauty has typically been Caucasian-specific for a long time: white skin, straight hair, skinny body,” says Kanchana Moodliar.
Transformation has been happening. Slowly. We’ve seen gorgeous black women on magazine covers. Some fullerfigured bra models. Older women on glossy glamour mag covers: if they are famous and called Meryl Streep.
Now, thanks to Johannesburgbased Moodliar and Durban-based Yasmin Kathoria, this “human face of beauty” trend is on track to become a tsunami.
Their goal, with the launch of @Beautyrevolution_za this month, on the heels of a trip to The Big Apple for inspiration, is to shift “the eye of the beholder” away from the stereotypes of the old branding messages to one where individual differences and an “I see myself and appreciate my own uniqueness” approach is embraced.
The spin-offs? Among other things, self-acceptance; selfappreciation; self-confidence.
As part of their quest to redefine the ideals of beauty and reinvent the South African beauty industry, Moodliar and Kathoria headed last month to New York to Beautycon, a mammoth beauty festival that is on the cutting-edge of international beauty, beauty products and beauty trends.
At Beautycon, they got to learn from the likes of Rihanna, who had representatives there with her instantly hugely successful Fenty Beauty range. Paris
Hilton was there, as was Kim Kardashian with her new KKW range, to mention two of scores of household names, celebrities and influencers; including Orange Is The New Black actors Danielle Brooks and Laverne Cox; Pretty Little Liars star Lucy Hale and Spider-man: Homecoming star Zendaya Coleman.
In a discussion with Uber’s chief brand officer, Bozoma Saint John, Zendaya “talked about being a real model vs being a role model,” says Kathoria.
“She talked about authenticity. She stressed she does not wish to be seen as a role model. She is just being herself. She made the point that everyone belongs. That everyone needs to just ‘be yourself ’.”
This “be the human you are— be yourself ” was a major theme at Beautycon. Appropriate in these times of pop politics (where popular culture and political culture have merged like never before); of the millennials who spurn stereotypes and are into creative self-expression and eliminating gender distinctions; and the teen Gen Z “pivotals” who embrace self-expression over materialism. Not to forget the #Metoo movement, which is seeing women standing up and making more of a stand than at any previous time in history.
“The whole beauty market has transformed,” says Moodliar. “People look to Instagram, Youtube, Facebook and other social media platforms these days for trends and what to buy. The successful brands are those embracing minorities and diversity. And if you think about it, minorities these days are, in fact, the majority.”
“And where better than South Africa to tap into diversity; to work with and encourage diversity?” asks Kathoria.
Who better to spearhead change than these two “business humanizers” who are both selfconfessed beauty addicts and also the South African face of the global Innate Motion Group whose focus is helping Fortune 500 companies and startups around the world to apply “human sense” in the corporate world.
Kathoria and Moodliar have started to build their online communities, on Facebook and Instagram. In April next year they will hold their first live “happening”: their South African version of the Big Apple festival they attended.
@Beautyrevolution_za is “a place we celebrate what makes us beautiful, different and special in every way. Our inspiration comes from breaking down beauty standards and reshaping them to include the previously excluded,” their social media tagline message reads. “Humanizing beauty,” is what Kathoria and Moodliar call it. And about time too! Follow Kathoria on Instagram @yasminkathoria and Moodliar @ kanchanamoodliar
Wanda Hennig is an awardwinning travel, food and lifestyle writer, a life coach with a niche focus on life transitions, and the author of Cravings: A Zeninspired memoir about sensual pleasures, freedom from dark places, and living and eating with abandon (Say Yes Press, 2017). Visit her website www. wandahennig.com, e-mail her at wandahennig@gmail.com or connect on Instagram @wanda_ hennig