Do you believe professional pretty people when they tell you that they don’t do anything to maintain their dashing good looks? I don’t. At all. Consider the following:
Vogue Paris sat down for a quick chat with Blake Lively, the newly-minted face of L’Oreal. Here’s what Blake replied when asked if she follows a special diet or a fitness routine (I’m translating here, so bear with me and my slightly rusty French):
“Nope! I’m fortunate to have a very active life. I’m always on the go, so I don’t need a personal trainer, or to be very careful about what I eat. I can’t start my day without a cup of hot chocolate or finish without crunching a few squares of dark chocolate. It’s good for my morale.”
…I don’t know, Bettys. I’m skeptical. Maybe she doesn’t use a personal trainer, and maybe she indulges in a treat every now and again (dark chocolate, after all, has a ton of amazing health benefits); but I find it very difficult to believe that, as someone working in an industry where looks matter so very much, Blake doesn’t work out and doesn’t watch what she eats. Not to be too much of a critic—she always looks healthy, which is awesome—but let’s face it: No one looks that perfect without a little effort unless they are not of this Earth.
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And just to be clear, the big issue I have with sound bytes and interviews like this doesn’t spring from jealousy or anything. What bugs me about it is that it’s REALLY not helping with the whole “impossible standards of beauty” problem that’s plaguing the world these days.
I read this piece yesterday about the digital image editing that’s become the industry standard not only for photographs and ads, but also for music videos and Hollywood movies—and yeah, it’s a little sensationalist, but the issues it addresses are very, very real. There’s a reason we have such skewed views on what people look like; it’s all the rampant Photoshopping combined with interviews from actors, models, musicians, and so on claiming that they don’t do anything to look as fabulous as they do. “If THEY look that amazing without putting in any work, then clearly I am required to do that, too,” the message says. “Look! Here’s photographic evidence! And everyone knows the camera doesn’t lie!”
Except that with the aid of a skilled technician, it does. And it’s hurting us. A LOT.
So, Blake? It’s great that you’re so comfortable in the wacky environment known as showbiz that you can say stuff like this without a second thought—but you might want to scale back on it a bit. And it’s not just you; it goes for everyone, both in the entertainment industry and outside of it. We can only change for the better if we’re all in it together.
Lucia Peters is BettyConfidential’s senior editor.
Photo Credit: StarTraks Photo
