Maríanna Pálsdóttir, beautician and make-up artist and owner of Snyrtistofa Reykjavíkur, is a columnist for DV. She comes to the door while dressed and writes candid articles about the beauty industry and other things related to it.
See also: Maríanna with an important message for victims – “I have regained the strength I lost when I was just a fourteen-year-old babysitter”
In this week’s column, she reflects on the concept of beauty.
What is beauty?
Beauty for me is being a good person, respecting others, the land and their life. I’m a beautician myself and a lot of people think I’m a glamorous guy, especially judging by the pictures. But the pictures don’t say it all, I don’t think I’m much more peasant than the decorative feather that I’m sometimes told! I love being barefoot in nature, feeling the moss, wading in rivers and feeling the power of the current. This is how I realize how small we humans are compared to nature.
So we come to this, what is beauty? Is it possible to compete for beauty?
Human beauty pageants seem to me to be a child of their time, and in my opinion they should be stopped. I’m not going to write much about it, but we all know how it goes, and most of us have to agree that the formula used to rate the most beautiful person doesn’t exist. When I lived in the countryside, I remember the ram shows that were held regularly, and then the ram that was considered the best was rewarded. The lucky owner of the ram received a ram statue as a reward. I think it has a lot in common with beauty pageants, except ram shows are a bit smarter and I don’t have to explain why!
Maybe I’m on the wrong shelf and should go back to the countryside, be the farmer I once was. Actually, I never signed up for the Hraungerðishrepp women’s club, I guess I’m still a valid member?
But joking aside, beauty cannot be defined as one thing. Each of us is beautiful in our own way and what I see, maybe no one else sees. Can a fool be considered beautiful in every way or is a little person who bullies others very beautiful?
Let’s stop competing for beauty, period……
