She's On The Money - The Price of Pretty: Exploring the Cost of Beauty Standards

Starting point is 00:00:00 My name is Natasha Bamblett, I'm a proud First Nations woman, and I'm here to acknowledge country. Tii, gilinyan ganya, nianakaka yao yinbina waka, nianakai nianbina yakarumja, duminyagumiga dumiga ithawaka nirawamundamun imalan. Mumu bangada boma ininyalan waka, gaunan yakarumja, wutunarana. Hello beautiful friends. We gather on the lands of the Aboriginal people. We thank, acknowledge and respect the Aboriginal people's land that we're gathering on today. Take pleasure in all the land and respect all that you see. She's On The Money podcast acknowledges culture, country, community and connections,

Starting point is 00:00:41 bringing you the tools, knowledge and resources for you to thrive. She's on the money. She's on the money. Hello and welcome to She's On The Money, the podcast that takes a closer look at how we earn, save, and spend our finances. My name is Bec Syed, and joining me today is the brilliant Jess Rickey. While Victoria's out getting the scoop on extra special financial news, we'll be doing a deep dive on a topic that affects a lot of our community.

Starting point is 00:01:08 It's a big one. We're talking the cost of beauty standards. Whether we like it or not, our society has some ideas about how women should look. From treatments to products and double standards, we're exploring the price of pretty. gosh jess where do we begin i have lots of thoughts and feelings i have so many thoughts and feelings i have a little bit of anger okay that's allowed we're gonna work through it all in this episode but i did want to say right up the top i think it's important to say i we yes fully 100 support people doing whatever the heck they want with their bodies absolutely surgery filler

Starting point is 00:01:45 piercings tattoos if you're happy i'm happy that's not what this is about but i do think it's really important that we look at these things with a bit of a critical eye because i do really personally believe that it is driven by a bit of a gendered lens yeah a little bit of patriarchy coming into play and that's what i'm excited to kind of unpack today because not only does it take a toll on us from a mental perspective but there is a real financial price that we're paying as well. Before we get into it though. Amazing. Welcome back to She's on the Money. This week, we are getting into the particularly heated topic of the cost of beauty standards. What first inspired this episode was actually a comment from one of our community members,

Starting point is 00:02:29 Lakin, who wrote, I really struggle with my investing and my beauty goals. I often find that I am so torn between do I invest more or do I save up for big beauty treatments? I really hate that society's attitude towards how women should look has impacted my perception so much and that I'm not investing as much as I should. When this message got sent in our team Slack, I was already livid. I'm so glad that this is the episode that I got to join for because this is a dilemma I think a lot of us really struggle with. I think it's a really good one for the two of us and, you know, VD is out of town and

Starting point is 00:03:03 we can go rogue here. It's, again, one of those episodes where maybe we have a substitute teacher, we're just watching a movie, it's raining outside, and we can kind of just do whatever we want. But I think it's also, I think we're very much on the same page in this area of the world. When it comes to, like, societal anything, it's like, where did it come from? Why does it exist? And why are we paying the price for something that is arbitrary, made up, plucked from thin air, you know? I think a good place to start is probably talking about those beauty standards. Yes.

Starting point is 00:03:34 Who sets them, who sustains them. I think they're really deeply tied to gender expectations. Yeah. Particularly around women being expected to look a certain way, to be perceived a certain way. I totally agree. And I think it is a shame and it's something that I wish didn't exist because when it comes to like gender issues and stuff,

Starting point is 00:03:54 and I know that like still in 2026, even though it's pretty obvious by now there is a double standard and there are unrealistic expectations. I think that everyone wants to be heard and seen. I know that the same thing applies for men, but we have to acknowledge that it's probably a little bit like more strict for women. So it's an uncomfortable thing to address. But I think when it comes to like who sets and sustains these social norms, I really want to talk about like also in which social iteration are we talking? There have been so many different types of social norms over the centuries millennia millenniums whatever and I'm thinking like now it's unfortunate we're in this one it's just completely made up but here we are

Starting point is 00:04:41 we have these social norms and I think that like it really I mean everyone is victim to beauty standards and things like that but I think that because we are we're born women and we are women and we have an experience as women that we will probably talk a lot about that today but I'm sure there are men too who have fallen victim to this as well yeah there's definitely pressure on men I don't think they're denying that but the financial and social burden still absolutely is falling I think disproportionately on women agreed and statistically too so it's not just like oh I feel like of course we feel like we are women but statistically speaking like when you look at the amount that maybe women spend on this kind of thing and all that kind of stuff and we can see

Starting point is 00:05:23 that that actually is a thing so let's talk about like the double standards and how it's not only double standards it's like it double stands when it comes to men and women but but a lose-lose situation a hundred percent oh and i think this is exactly what you were kind of saying with how the goalposts have changed over time i think that is such a relevant point because even within you know our lifespan within let's say the last 20 to 30 years think about how many trends you know when we were young, it was that heroin chic, you know, Hollywood, smokes a cigarette, hasn't eaten a thing a day in their life kind of vibe. And then we kind of moved into this phase where it was the curves are in, Kim Kardashian, people getting BBLs and all those sorts of things. And then we're

Starting point is 00:06:06 moving again back into that cycle of thin is in. And it's really scary to observe, but it's like, no matter how you look at some point in time, you're going to be out of trend. And I think that's so applicable to the expectations and the way that they then play out whether you lean into them or not yeah you know if you care about how you look too much you're vain but if you don't care at all she's so sloppy yes exactly and it's like you know you'll hear like guys be like i like a woman who's like natural and stuff like that but really if you had a woman who's natural it's like oh no not like that like yeah you still have to be perfect to some extent you have to be like and also the you know and we'll get into it but like aging how there's a big double standard there

Starting point is 00:06:49 it's like there's you're kind of only relevant for a short window of time yeah and so I think that like what's natural is very different to what we are fed and so yeah there is this pressure to like to be like perfectly natural in the most like unrealistic way and that can really damage people's like I don't know their self-esteem and yeah you get these targeted ads you end up spending a lot of money and before you know it you're just like yeah you're falling victim to this and you might have invested so much in yeah it is such a double standard it's really a shame yeah I think a lot of it the thing that's really interesting to me is how much of it is internalized too if I reflect on myself for example I'm not the most confident person in the world you know but

Starting point is 00:07:34 I try and I think that I'm very conscious because we work in marketing I'm very aware of the tricks I'm very aware of the trends. I would consider myself pretty across those things. And yet I really do still find myself falling victim to the marketing and the pressures that are placed on us. I feel bad about myself. And then because of that, I go, well, should I be doing this or should I be changing this or should I be looking like this? And you get stuck in this loop. Totally. And I've spoken about this before when we had Emma Edwards on the show. And I said, the beauty industry and the fashion industry really thrive on making women feel like shit about themselves. And I think that is so, so true. And a lot of the time we don't realize it's happening because we are internalizing

Starting point is 00:08:16 all of these external expectations, all of these external standards. I would consider myself a feminist, strong, independent woman, all of those fantastic things. But I can't sit here and tell you with a straight face that I haven't bought into all different kinds of trends in the hopes that they would make me feel prettier, more appealing, more intelligent, whatever that looks like. For sure. It's honestly a really confronting thing to unpack it in the way that we're going to today. Yes.

Starting point is 00:08:46 I want to talk about who sets the standards. So historically, traditional media, magazines, television, celebrities, those sorts of things have been, you know, the gold standard. Nowadays with social media, our exposure and our expectations, I think, are just blown out of the water. We're seeing idealistic and trend-based beauty standards more frequently than ever. Influencers are pushing trends. Marketing teams are really leaning into these things. Think about the aesthetics that we see on TikTok. There was clean girl, then there was mob wife. Every new aesthetic, every new trend comes with a series of products or treatments that you

Starting point is 00:09:22 should have. The BBL of it all. Girls were getting them to look like Kim Kardashian or Cardi B or whoever. And then all of a sudden those people are pulling them out. So it's like, well, is the everyday person in a position financially to do that? What are the health implications of doing those sorts of things? And again, I'm so pro do whatever you want with your body. Like I don't want people to think that I'm criticizing people who get work done or criticizing people who dye their hair or do whatever. I'm really not. But I think that it's no longer just celebrities that we're comparing ourselves to it's also our peers and that means that the pressure is just constant and it's not just our money that we're spending we pay the cost of the treatments but also the

Starting point is 00:10:05 time that you spend in the appointments the amount of time that girls spend getting ready every day you know the euphoria that soundbite Cassie knew exactly who she was from a young age and she sent four hours getting ready every morning like yes that's the reality for a lot of people that is so true for me to get up in the morning to get ready to come into the studio it takes me maybe half an hour. And I think that's with me cutting that route right down. That's a lot more time than my partner is spending getting ready. I can tell you that. Totally. I heard about this thing that Facebook were doing. Facebook were doing this thing where particularly teenage girls, this is really messed up. You know, if you like post a photo and then you delete it after a little while,

Starting point is 00:10:45 I would kind of do that if like when I was a teenager, if I didn't get more than say two likes. Yeah. And so Facebook targeted teenage girls who they maybe noticed that they posted something and then deleted it. It could be anything, but usually it's like a picture of themselves. They're like, oh, I actually don't like it anymore. And then they will be flooded with ads about weight loss, about a dead ass. I'm so serious. And skincare products, all this kind of stuff and so targeting like vulnerable young women men or people who are just like not feeling good about themselves and they knew that and they were like they're in the most vulnerable position we're gonna like throw all this stuff at them which is insane so I think that yes and now we

Starting point is 00:11:29 do live in this time where like you know social media like the targeted ads and things like that and I know I've mentioned before I'm like there is one thing dedicated to me and my wants and needs I'm so stoked but when it comes to taking advantage of vulnerable people and people that maybe have a lower self-esteem or people that are looking for I don't know ways to like find confidence in themselves and then you're just being fed all of this stuff it's it's it's wild and but yeah I just I just remembered that one thing and I'm like man I just know and I'm guilty of it too just like being like I really want to look better or feel better and you google one thing and then you're just like flooded with all this all this information this overload of

Starting point is 00:12:17 information and then before you know it maybe you're a few hundred in the hole yeah and not actually feeling that much better about yourself big companies have unlimited resources to dedicate to figuring out the best way to make people buy things totally there are teams with psychologists and teams of people who their job is to go, well, how do we make people feel a certain way? How do we elicit a certain response or feeling to then prompt somebody to take an action with that action always being buying our product? Cosmetics and makeup, I think is a really good example of that. Traditionally, people may want colors to denote cultural affinity. You think about the beautiful, the moldy tattoos, things like that. It was an expression of culture. It also wasn't

Starting point is 00:12:56 always gendered either. If you look back to Elizabethan times and things like that, the men also wore the wigs the makeup yeah it was you know they were doing just as much as maybe not just as much but you know a lot yes fast forward to today there's a lot of judgment around who wears what what kind of impression that gives of those people who isn't isn't allowed to wear it I often think like chicken or the egg when it comes to this kind of situation you know like I think a lot of things are completely arbitrary I don't know why men stop wearing makeup men used wear high heels like I wonder where that stopped or what what happened there but when it comes to like you know the whole double stance when it comes to aging it's like men are silver foxes

Starting point is 00:13:40 and a man who is like 20 years older than a woman that's just like a normal relationship a woman who's one second older than a man is a cougar or whatever and so I think like I wonder if it like at some point when men stopped wearing makeup and it was like the pressures on women to maintain a youthful quote unquote look that never really faded it's like is that when women were kind of like seen as less i really need to stress that all of this is in quotes like less valuable as they age and men quite the opposite do you know what i mean i'm like is it chicken or the egg where women fall like kind of pressured to look a certain way and then this started happening it is interesting to know that men were kind of participating in this as well at a certain point

Starting point is 00:14:29 in time the chicken and the egg thing is really hard because it you know when i think about makeup for me it's it's that idea of is it self-expression or is it performance as well because i know i personally hate wearing foundation i find it so heavy i don't like the feeling of it on my skin i tend to opt out of that but i also have friends who feel so good and so confident and so happy when they've got a full beat and they love doing a crazy eyeshadow look and using all these bright-coloured lipsticks. Gorgeous. For them, that's their form of self-expression,

Starting point is 00:14:59 which I think is very positive. But it's interesting to think about the fact, well, do we feel good having the makeup on because we think it makes us look the way we should or do we think it makes us look more appealing? Yeah. Or do we think that it is just a fun way for us to show who we are? It's a really hard line to draw. and again like reflecting on my own journey because i don't want to speak for anyone else but

Starting point is 00:15:23 i think this branches out into for me the fashion space as well it's like well i like clothes and i like finding outfits that feel like me but then i go but am i buying into the trends and buying into these things because i think it makes me look like a certain kind of person or feel a certain type of way i do think there is a pressure on women and i think there's a it's definitely possible for both to be true that you it does make you feel good and all this kind of stuff but really also when it comes to working and I would always get this when I worked in an office I was always everyone would laugh because they said that I had quote-unquote a uniform because the other women they would come in every day with beautiful new outfits not always new they would recycle them

Starting point is 00:16:08 obviously but like maybe one you would see every fortnight and they just always had different clothes every day and I'm like but everyone knew me as someone who quote-unquote had a uniform and I'm looking around at all the men wearing the exact same white shirt the exact same suit pants the exact same shoes every single day there was no changing they didn't have a uniform yeah I had a uniform because I did the exact same thing as them and so there's a lot of pressure of like you know I I cannot wear the same thing every single day I I'm not worried about it I actually just like it's an uncomfortable thing but I'm like I don't care I'm gonna wear the same thing every day but we're really are shown in everyday life you you've got to change it up you can't

Starting point is 00:16:49 wear the same thing every day it's really it's almost like embarrassing to say wear the same thing every day you can't wear the same wedding dress to one wedding then wear it to the next wedding it's like a man just needs to buy a suit I don't know maybe I'm wrong no you're totally right and I think those expectations in the workplace especially like you were saying are really interesting because I know that I've signed contracts historically when I worked corporate it that said, I must turn up to work presentably. And it specified that meant with makeup done, with hair done, with nails done. It's like, are you paying my bills? Totally. And then there's the whole conversation around as well. You mentioned the natural makeup look. Men love

Starting point is 00:17:26 a natural makeup. When I went to an office, the natural makeup is what would be deemed appropriate. it. The natural makeup, in quotation marks, is often very lengthy, very expensive, very time consuming to put together every day. It's like, well, if you want me to look natural, let me just turn up as I look. Yes, exactly. Why am I contractually obliged to turn up looking like your perception of a put together person, not to mention all of the bias and the racial profiling that then underlies all of those things as well. I think I do have a bit of like the luxury, I guess, like quote unquote of being more of like a masculine presenting woman.

Starting point is 00:18:07 I'm not subject to the male gaze because I don't care about the male gaze. I've never felt it. I don't know what it feels like. I'm just kind of living as a woman in a woman's world. And so I also don't wear makeup because I, and I never really have. It's ridiculous that that's like a luxury for me to not wear makeup. It's absurd. It's absurd.

Starting point is 00:18:26 it's like it should be like acceptable to every single person everywhere in the entire world but I don't wear makeup and so I could be wrong but I think that like for that more like natural that's probably more like a high quality very expensive type of makeup that's very specific it's like you it's like a second skin like that doesn't sound cheap at all no and I think it comes back to that conversation that Victoria mentions a lot around lifestyle creep and around as we get older and as we have more disposable income we graduate maybe from you know supermarket makeup products, to Priceline makeup products, to Mecca makeup products, and they get more and more expensive as you go. And I think this is the other really significant implication of social

Starting point is 00:19:03 media because I have a niece. I have two nieces, but the older one is year eight this year. And I am observing in real time the impact that social media is having on her self-perception, on her buying habits, on all those sorts of things. She's 13, 14 years old and it's the Sephora kids of it it's a big joke but really what the beauty industry has done is they've opened up a whole new market when I was 13 14 years old I was not allowed to wear makeup I remember fighting my mum to shave my legs because she thought that that was something that you you're too young you don't need to totally I was like mum I feel like a woolly mammoth please oh but Jeremy like that was not a thing whereas now my niece can log on to any social media platform yes there are age

Starting point is 00:19:50 restrictions and yes I do back them up but like let's be honest they're getting around them you know and people are showing these huge makeup collections with expensive products you know for her birthdays and christmases she's asking for beauty and skincare she's like oh i'd love a retinol i'm like babe you have skin that i would kill for totally nobody's buying you retinol that's crazy totally brands this new world this new market has opened up because those kids they're getting money from their parents they're getting money from their aunties they're buying these things that they don't need yeah you know i'm not going to sit here and say when I was young, I didn't want to be older and mature and cool, but I just didn't have the access

Starting point is 00:20:27 or the pressure that they do now. And to hear her talk about how kids get made fun of because they don't have the name brand things or, you know, she has a collection, a really popular example for anyone who's got girls, the Sol de Janeiro, the body spray mists. They all want to collect those. They're like 50 bucks a pop. And there's like a, do you know what I mean? Like they're Growing these collections of products that they don't really need, that are costing them or the people around them hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for what? I know. And the last thing I want to say on that note, I guess, is just the trend cycle of it all,

Starting point is 00:21:06 which again is very social media. And I don't want to seem like a social media hater. I love social media. I love a little bit of mouse time on my TikTok. We exist on social media. I think there's a lot of positive things happening there, but it is also driving these trends. And for brands, it's great because they can capitalize on that virality, that momentum

Starting point is 00:21:20 to sell us products and products and products. How many people are listening right now that have more than 10 lip products? Because I know I do. Lip balms, lipsticks, lip glosses, I've got it all. This is a personal challenge for myself at the moment. I'm not allowed to buy any more until I use up some of what I've got. Yeah. Because like you only have one set of lips.

Starting point is 00:21:40 True. How many products are you? so i'll have a couple i'm only applying lipstick to one set of lips got you got you okay got you i'm only using if i am using you know a foundation or concealer i'm only using one at a time totally so much product waste that's contributing to the world there's so much money and because you're buying them incidentally Like you go, oh, well, I want to buy the new trendy, the road tinted lip treatment, nearly fell victim to that. Very proud of myself that I didn't.

Starting point is 00:22:19 Proud of you. That's $40. $40 here, $40 there. By the end of the year, you have spent thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars on products that you're probably not going to finish before they expire. And you don't even realize it's happening. Yeah. Yeah, I see. That's so wild.

Starting point is 00:22:38 I did fall victim to the red light face mask. Oh, I do really want one of those. I know. Well, you can use mine. I did. It was a while ago and I've only just really started using it because for those who don't know, I'm going through a breakup and so I'm trying to like rejig my whole life. And so I'm like, let me pull that out of the woodwork.

Starting point is 00:22:54 I think, can you see a difference? I mean, your skin always has looked nice. Thank you so much. That's really sweet. It's hard to say. It probably takes a few weeks, but you can use mine if you like. I think that try before you buy because they are quite expensive. And so I think, yeah, there you have it.

Starting point is 00:23:08 Like even like people that, you know, I'm not really a makeup girly, but anyone can fall victim to these kind of things. And who knows, it might work, it might not. But watch this space where I'm really selling a product on a beauty standards podcast that we're really describing. The irony is not lost. I know. I'm so sorry, everyone.

Starting point is 00:23:27 Ignore all of that. We're going to take a quick break, reset, refresh eyes on the prize. We've got a lot more to unload on you guys, so don't go anywhere. Welcome back everyone. Today's episode is I think one of my favourites. It's a really interesting one where you're unpacking the, I guess like the beauty standards, societal expectations for men and women, but statistically, maybe societally, mostly women and the cost of that. I forgot how it related to finance because I'm just so obsessed with the societal side of it. I really want to talk about, because before the break we were discussing body hair

Starting point is 00:24:04 and things like that. And you were talking about how you would ask your mum if you could shave your legs. And I certainly did the same thing, but I wonder how many boys, and I'm sure there were some for sure, were kind of thinking, oh, I'd love to shave my legs because I feel really like a woolly mammoth. I'm getting teased for my hairy legs. It's just very normal for men to have hairy legs, hairy armpits. It is interesting. I don't shave my legs anymore. As you know, I very rarely shave my armpits too. And I know it's like, because we don't see it, That's the only difference between men and women is that we don't see it on women as much. And that's why it's so jarring.

Starting point is 00:24:38 It's almost like if you didn't know me, you'd put me into a box. If you saw my hairy legs, my hairy armpits, whatever, you'd be like, oh, she's one of those, you know, very like left, which is true. But almost like, you know, you might just have a different image of me. But it's the only difference is that we just don't see it as much. But we all have the same body hair and it is there for a reason. it's questionable to me i'm gonna go down a conspiracy hole if i'm not careful but the fact that like there are some parts of us obviously that women are expected to care for and groom and have luscious like the hair on our head the hair eyebrows etc but in the rest of our body

Starting point is 00:25:15 it's like they want us to be sphinx cats i totally agree that's so weird i should really quickly just call myself out this doesn't apply to like people with alopecia or if you struggle to grow body hair or hair in general, I totally know what you mean. It's like the, yeah, the eyebrows, the eyelashes, the head hair. But God forbid a woman have a bush. That's all I'm saying. I know. Absolutely.

Starting point is 00:25:39 Some people do like it. So it's like it depends on the personal. You better be a mind reader. You better make sure that you know exactly who you're about to meet and what their personal likes are because some people like a bush. Some people don't like a bush. Some people want short hair. Some people, it's like let us be, let us live, you know.

Starting point is 00:25:55 it's just hair it's hair who cares and i'm interested to know where that standard came from i know i'm really interested i don't know i feel like it leans into that again that ageism that we were talking about before they like women to appear youthful almost prepubescent some might say and do what makes you feel good like am i going to sit here and tell you i don't get a brazilian no i'm not but it's like again like that's me internalizing expectations and precious it's like i remember when i was i would have been like 18 and i bought a thousand dollar laser pack it was like 10 so and this laser was really new yeah it was like 10 things it was like a hundred dollars per laser session which is actually like not a bad deal i feel like

Starting point is 00:26:37 but a thousand dollars to me at that point in my life was an astronomical amount of money totally And I felt like it was worth spending it on laser to be hairless. And it's, again, like, do what you want with your body. Do I still shave? Yes, I do. But I was prioritizing that expectation, that perception of what people would see when they were, you know. And I said, well, that's more worth it than my financial stability. Yeah.

Starting point is 00:27:08 Like, should I have had $1,000 in emergency fund? Absolutely. Like, this is at the point in my life when I was coming back from holidays with literally no money. And so it's interesting because I think that these expectations then sometimes put us in positions where we're making choices that are not good for future us. Yes. To bring it back around to the original message we got from Lycan,

Starting point is 00:27:26 you shouldn't feel bad about prioritising putting financial you first. Totally. We encourage you and anyone listening to investigate where these feelings are coming from. Like I like to think of it like if there was no one else on this planet, would you be doing the same things? Or would you kind of be like, oh, I don't care. You don't care.

Starting point is 00:27:45 Who cares? I don't shave my legs as much in winter because no one's looking at my legs. And that is the perfect. Totally. Exactly. I'm so curious about why barbers and regular, like women get a trim and men get a trim. And I just, I mean, I haven't really been a hairdresser, but one is way more expensive for the exact same thing.

Starting point is 00:28:02 That's very confusing to me. I agree. While we're on the topic of hair, the one other thing I do want to say. Yes. We kind of alluded to it earlier was a little bit of racial profiling. Yes. That I feel goes into things as well. we talk about there's a certain perception of what is polished or put together or appropriate

Starting point is 00:28:18 in the workplace yeah and more often than not those things are not conducive to textured hairstyles yeah or people who do have cultural tattoos or things of that nature and i think that these standards that we are fed most of the time are very white leaning to call a spade a spade yes yes I think that there are so many people diversity is so beautiful people looking different feeling different embracing who they are is such a wonderful thing and I think it's really sad I think about a lot of Asian cultures where whitening products are super popular in our culture tanning products are super popular so we're all chasing something that isn't who we are yeah and again if it makes you feel good I'm not going to sit here and say don't do it but the goalpost is

Starting point is 00:29:07 always moving away from us yeah we're never going to get there and so we're constantly going to be spending our money on these products to help us get a little bit closer yeah and I feel like I'm being very doom and gloom in this episode and I'm so sorry I love it but I do think it's important to tackle another area of like beauty standards and things like that things that are more like I guess like beauty within you know supplements and things that we take like I used to be big on nootropics which is not the same as you know changing my skin or my appearance but things that we think will help and you know there are some things out there that are great but have you taken something that you thought would like enhance your appearance or your beauty or maybe

Starting point is 00:29:49 your hair or something like that yeah i think wellness is like a rapidly growing space it's like you can take collagen for your skin you can take hair and nail growth tablets and there's jury is definitely out on how effective these things are sometimes they might have the right ingredient but it's not able to be absorbed orally or it's not in the right proportion or it's not the right type yeah there's lots of different things i will say as i get older i'm definitely happy to pay for things that fix my problems you know i think about like i'm a stomach issues girly and so you know if there are supplements that can help with that great but i think a lot of it is also the aesthetic of it all you know it's it is sold as a wellness category item that

Starting point is 00:30:29 does lean into how you look you know these girls that are selling these products they're not bloated they have clear beautiful skin and they're skinny and they're happy and they're healthy and if you just take this vitamin three times a day you can feel like that too and i just think a lot of it is not backed by science and it's not regulated as tightly as it should be yeah because we don't have proof a lot of the time that these things particularly the beauty-focused supplements, that they are successful, that they do work. Obviously, I shouldn't be talking about another podcast while we're on this podcast, but there was a Science Versus episode about skincare and things of this nature,

Starting point is 00:31:05 you know, collagen, taking orally and whatever else. And I just found it really interesting because I think there are a lot of things we might not realize. They don't, like, break the blood-brain barrier or they don't break the skin-something barrier. A lot of products out there really are kind of useless. And so we want to believe. And that's okay, too, because sometimes placebo is just as effective as the real thing. But yeah, I think when it comes to what we're buying and what we're taking, not only figuring

Starting point is 00:31:34 out if the product is useful or if it's good quality or whatever, but I think first step is to investigate why we want to do that and what it's really bringing to us. Are we doing it for ourselves? Are we doing it for everyone else? What are we doing it for? It's going to be a slow journey. It's not going to change overnight to unlearn years and years, a lifetime of brainwashing almost from like society.

Starting point is 00:31:57 But I think just investigating that is a really good first step. Yeah. Yeah. Last space in the beauty wellness upkeep, if you will, that I wanted to tackle was cosmetic procedures. I think a lot of them today are marketed as upkeep or preventative. Have you heard of preventative Botox? things like that's like that's just botox like there's there's nothing preventative about it

Starting point is 00:32:23 you're just getting botox but we're marketing and packaging it up in a more palatable way sure to encourage people maybe to use it younger yeah things of that nature i think again to reiterate people should have total autonomy over their bodies we're not questioning that absolutely but i do think we should be questioning why we are pressuring women to appear younger and younger and younger these treatments are really normalized on social media but again it's damned if you do damned if you don't yeah like I've seen creators you Victoria spoken about getting Botox on her Instagram very publicly and it's you know I think on one hand it's really great that people are transparent because when we would look at celebrities or influencers or these people

Starting point is 00:32:59 you go well why don't I look like them and yeah but maybe they don't look like them either and so I think transparency is really positive but the double edge of the sword is that you're exposed to things that maybe you hadn't know you needed to tweak totally I never thought anything was wrong with my eyelids until all of a sudden i decided one day that i needed an upper bleph because everyone's talking about it yeah well i find it such a funny word is that the is the eyelid thing which i haven't had obviously i got you got you got you got new insecurity unlocked yeah because it was all everybody on my social media feed was talking about yes and so it's a real catch-22 because again if people are transparent or if they're not transparent i

Starting point is 00:33:36 think the impact ultimately is negative no matter what that's not necessarily the responsibility of any individual but it is the flow on effect of all what impact does that have on all of us as consumers this space absolutely there is like no winning here because nothing makes me sicker and more like angry than when like you let's say we're watching i don't know a tv show and someone has has had work done it's like they in their perception they look beautiful and i think that literally what we're always told that's all that matters is that you feel beautiful and someone saying that like they look quote-unquote plastic or they're just like people receiving hate for doing things to their body or to their face or whatever

Starting point is 00:34:19 is the most diabolical thing because yeah I'm sorry but the world has told them that they need to look a certain way they went and did that and they made themselves feel beautiful so there's no even if they if they followed the route of do what makes you feel beautiful and they did that they didn't win, follow the route of this is what will make you beautiful. And they did that. It's like the world is telling these people to do all these different things, or maybe they're just living for themselves. I think either way, commenting on what someone else is doing with their own body, diabolical. Don't do it. Completely agree. It's ridiculous. We just want everyone to investigate where, why, how, when,

Starting point is 00:34:58 where are these ideas coming from? And just know if it's societal, if it's arbitrary, we can release them we can release them really whatever makes you feel good is important exactly but also you are beautiful and wonderful and smart and capable and worthy of being exactly as you are and i know that it's a really hard balance to find but we believe in you we have so much to say in this space and i think it's really nice that we were allowed to do this episode so thank you all for staying with us this whole time before we wrap it up we asked you guys on instagram what was and wasn't worth spending on and the clearest overarching theme is that women becoming far more intentional about beauty spending and are increasingly prioritizing things that feel

Starting point is 00:35:41 functional, confidence building, preventative or time-saving over purely aesthetic or trend-driven purchases. The categories most consistently considered worth it were good skincare, sunscreen, evidence-based or medically formulated products, hair appointments, Botox, brow treatments and some laser treatments, particularly when they improved confidence, reduced maintenance, or delivered reliable long-term results. So I think there is a little bit to say that, yeah, if you feel good, then you do good and you can kind of like move through the world better. So there probably is in some indirect way or direct way it can improve your quality of life. Sure. Yeah, I totally agree. I'll have a chat to the team and see maybe we can pop a wrap up on

Starting point is 00:36:24 Instagram with some of your thoughts and feelings because there was a lot to unpack and it is such such a complex topic guys we run out of time we're pushing it to the wire we're gonna get out of the studio we've got more to say but we're being kicked out so thank you guys so much for joining us i think my final thought is that there is a real privilege in opting out of beauty standards and i just want you all to think about what would women do with the money the time the mental space if beauty stands were loosened and we didn't have all of those things taking up room in our brains yep just think about it a little bit but thank you so much for joining us for another juicy deep dive if you've got a topic that you're dying to hear us discuss on the podcast please send it in

Starting point is 00:36:59 join the facebook community if you haven't already or follow us on instagram where you can send us dms check out the posts all kinds of fun things thank you so much for being a part of our community we will catch you later in the week for friday drinks but until then take care of yourselves bye guys the advice shared on she's on the money is general in nature and does not consider your individual circumstances. She's on the Money exists purely for educational purposes and should not be relied upon to make an investment or financial decision. If you do choose to buy a financial product, read the PDS, TMD and obtain appropriate financial advice tailored towards

Starting point is 00:37:39 your needs. Victoria Devine and She's on the Money are authorised representatives of Money Sherpa PTY LTD ABN 321 649 27708 AFSL 451 289.

She's On The Money - The Price of Pretty: Exploring the Cost of Beauty Standards

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