The UK's Advertising Standards Authority has been cracking down on misleading beauty ads lately, and a Nivea spot is the latest to get guillotined. Apparently, the ad indirectly suggested that 37 percent of Nivea Visage Anti-Wrinkle Q10 Plus ($20) users "felt more attractive now than they did 10 years ago." In reality, the data, which was completely unconnected to the product in question, came Read more

On the latest episode of Mad Men, there was a lot of talk about marketing beauty, and of course the guys at the agency had some very retro ideas of what women want. (Hint: we're all marriage-crazed hysterics.) While we're glad the days of that kind of overt advertising are mostly over, there are still things about the way beauty products are sold that can rub you the wrong way. I, for example, Read more

While watching Top Model last night, I was surprised to see this text flash on the bottom third of a Cover Girl mascara commercial: Lash inserts used prior to application to add fullness but not length. You could have knocked me over with a feather! That's the kind of full disclosure that some people are calling for, especially in the UK. But it hasn't been required of cosmetics companies yet Read more

A new year, a new banned advertisement in Britain. The Advertising Standards Authority has had this Clean & Clear commercial removed after two viewers complained about the before-and-after photos. In the "before" shots, the women are wearing only eye makeup; in the "after" pictures, they're wearing powder. It's pretty easy to tell, too: "We considered that, in order to make the before and Read more

I know that marketing in schools is nothing new, but a program in Australia is taking things to a new level. A program called Fashion Roll Call, which is sponsored in part by makeup brand NP Set Cosmetics, is touring all-girl schools around the country. Their goal is to educate girls in fashion and beauty industry careers by presenting a "lunch-time fashion parade" followed by makeup application Read more

Looking at a rack of magazines, it's hard to find a cover that hasn't been photoshopped in to perfection. Now PhD computer science students at the University of Dartmouth have developed a software tool to rate photographs based on how much digital alterations were made. The tool, which is part of recently released research in the National Academy of Sciences is intended to bring a level of Read more

America the Beautiful II is the new chapter in the much-lauded documentary series that explores attractiveness, self-perception, and weight in America. For its release, filmmaker Darryl Roberts spoke with us about what working on these films has taught him about beauty, what really makes someone attractive, and what keeps him happy with his own appearance. For the interview, keep reading. Read more