al categories. First is the idea of beauty. Generally about 85% of each magazine is devoted to the beautification of women's hair, face, and body. Women are bombarded with airbrushed, perfectly lit, constantly happy pictures of gorgeous models that portray every ideal of our society. The themes that I collected over and over again in my observations were the following: makeup, perfume, breasts and cleavage, and lots of skin. First is the makeup. Women are not expected to be presentable without the help of the latest chemical technique to remove blemishes, darken eyes, lengthen lashes, coat the lips, and remove shine. Regardless of one's natural features, they will never be good enough without these alterations. The company that typified this attitude the best was Maybelline: "maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline" Some women have LIPS as SMOOTH as they talk. So SUPPLE so luscious they make anything sound fascinating. Gift of nature? Get real" The quotes could go on, but I think the message is clear; one could never be naturally attractive to society without the help of makeup. Next is the depiction of perfumes. The basic concepts behind perfume ads are of sex, intimacy, exotic drugs, and escape from reality. Without the use of perfume one could never attract a man. By portraying the scents as some sort of exotic pheromone they seem to insinuate that one will be completely irresistible. Names such as: Opium, Spellbound, Knowing, Escape, Poison, etc. . . are typical examples. Then there are those examples utilizing a different but no less potent theme as with Estee Lauder's Beautiful. These ads target the less wild side of women and depict the beautiful serene young bride in an affluent house, often with a small child gazing admiringly at her. No base human desire is left unexplored in this industry. Then there are the actual models. These women break the school girl norm that the average women was brought u...
