“Nothing in the world resembles the luminous, untouchable smoothness an idea can hold in the mind, and nothing in the world satisfies the desire to find that idea and touch it”
Photo: Getty Images Perfection is a moving target. This week, the Cut explores the allure of trying to achieve the impossible.
Once when I was 19 years old, my mother came back from a trip to Japan with a gift for me: a small plastic container full of some milky-white liquid, which looked and smelled faintly like Elmer’s Glue. With my stunted grasp of Japanese characters, all I could read was the symbol for bright, a sun and a moon set side by side. “What is it?” I asked her, shaking the small vial. “It’s very popular right now,” she assured me. “It’ll help your freckles.
Lightness and brightness had always been at the center of the Asian ideal of beauty that I encountered growing up: The Mandarin word for pretty literally means “polished bright.” My mother’s Taiwanese-American relatives and friends would cup my face in their hands and tell me hen piao-liang , a phrase that I also saw applied to vases, bracelets, and small fluffy dogs. I knew to stay out of the sun, to wear wide-brimmed hats, and to seek cover whenever possible.
Reader, is it any surprise that I tried all of these products? Standing in the first floors of department stores, surrounded by cosmetics counters, I rubbed one thing or another onto my skin under the bland gaze of salesladies. I bought the tubes of grit and scrubbed them into my face, then went to my internet browser and Googled whether or not it was normal to feel a burning, stinging sensation afterward.
The trouble with perfection is that it doesn’t exist, but it can be imagined. Nothing in the world resembles the luminous, untouchable smoothness an idea can hold in the mind, and nothing in the world satisfies the desire to find that idea and touch it. Nowadays I try not to worry about my skin unless it feels itchy or otherwise alarming.
日本 最新ニュース, 日本 見出し
Similar News:他のニュース ソースから収集した、これに似たニュース記事を読むこともできます。
The Aspirational Fantasy of the Perfect PlayroomA handful of life-size miniature horse toys to ride. A sleek, tiny ball-pit and accompanying slide. A stage with karaoke microphones and enough instruments to support a professional band. These are just some of the toys in the white-walled Kardashian-West playroom, which Kim Kardashian recently posted on Instagram.
続きを読む »
8 Easy DIY Face Masks You Can Do at Home for Bright, Glowing SkinSo your skin can thrive while you're inside.
続きを読む »
Handwashing Tutorials Are What We Watch NowMargaret Qualley’s energetic handwashing tutorial, which was filmed and directed by Cara Delevingne, involves some dancing, some stretching, some clapping, and washing your entire forearms to break up the monotony
続きを読む »
Trust Me: The Invisible Man Is the Perfect Movie to Watch While Self-IsolatingIn our uncertain times, maybe an invisible monster is the perfect form of escapism.
続きを読む »
9 Hydrating Sheet Masks to Moisturize Your Skin While You #StayHomeFrom SK-II’s cult Pitera infused solution to Farmacy’s coconut water formula, here are the 9 best sheet masks for better skin in minutes.
続きを読む »
My Boyfriend Watches Gross Porn. Should I Be Concerned?Are your partner's sexual fantasies degrading or just plain weird? Here's what you need to know.
続きを読む »