Too Niche? Plastic Surgery Summer & The Current State of Beauty with Jessica DeFino
Aug 28, 2025
In this discussion, beauty culture critic Jessica DeFino unpacks the complex landscape of beauty standards today. She critiques Skims’ chin-shaper as a gimmick and explores the summer's facelift craze, shedding light on celebrity aesthetics' uncanny aspects. The conversation dives into Goop’s influence and the tension between wellness and beauty politics, including how societal shifts impact women's perceptions. DeFino highlights upcoming beauty trends to watch, from a backlash against fillers to the hopefulness of research-informed beauty practices.
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Goop Gave Wellness A Marketable Look
- Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop gave wellness an aesthetic, turning health into a marketable visual style.
- Jessica says that aesthetic helped mainstream ingestible beauty, clean beauty, and the 'clean girl' look.
Labor Displays As Beauty Credentials
- The trend of high maintenance to look low maintenance mirrors American hustle culture and proves labor is aestheticized.
- Jessica connects this to Protestant work ethic and beauty as proof of worth.
Harmony Language Masks Racist Origins
- Facial harmonization and 'proportion' language in procedures trace back to racist measurement histories.
- Jessica warns these terms repurpose eugenic ideas into modern cosmetic norms.
