Toward the end of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s 1922 novel, The Beautiful and the Damned, a poignant line captures a central theme:
“Each night when she prepared for bed she smeared her face with some new unguent which she hoped illogically would give back the glow and freshness to her vanishing beauty.”
This line describes Gloria, one of the main characters, and her desperate attempts to recapture her fading youth, reflecting the novel’s themes of vanity, the relentless passage of time, and the futility of resisting ageing. Throughout the novel, Fitzgerald returns to this motif, later referring to Gloria’s “tragic unguents1.”
In striking contrast, today, the beauty industry heavily promotes the idea that youth and beauty can (and should) be preserved or restored through the use of products and treatments. Advertisements and marketing campaigns suggest that with the right regimen, creams, and serums, one can maintain a youthful appearance indefinitely. This contemporary narrative stands in opposition to Fitzgerald’s portrayal of the inevitable decline of beauty, highlighting a cultural shift towards a more optimistic (yet unrealistic) view of ageing and beauty maintenance.
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- An unguent is a soothing preparation applied to wounds, burns, rashes, abrasions, or other topical injuries; it’s similar to an ointment, although typically oilier and less viscous.
- Milia, also known as milium cysts or milk spots, are small, pearly-white bumps that form just beneath the skin’s surface. These tiny cysts contain keratin, a protein found in skin tissues, hair, and nails. Milia can appear on various parts of the body, including the face, lips, eyelids, and cheeks. They are usually not itchy or painful but may cause discomfort for some people. While they’re often confused with baby acne, milia are distinct and don’t cause inflammation or swelling.
- As an aside, unlike Vaseline, which is purely occlusive, Aquaphor also contains other ingredients like glycerin, which makes it a partial moisturiser.
- Occlusives are moisturising ingredients that create a physical barrier on the skin to prevent transepidermal water loss and lock in hydration. Occlusives come in the form of petroleum jelly (Vaseline), mineral oil, silicone, dimethicone, waxes, and lanolin.
- Anaphylaxis is a severe and potentially life-threatening reaction to a trigger, such as an allergy. Symptoms of anaphylaxis include feeling faint, finding it hard to breathe, a fast heartbeat and feeling anxious. Anaphylaxis needs to be treated in hospital at soon as possible.
- “The Double Standard of Aging” is an essay written by Susan Sontag and was published in The Saturday Review on September 23, 1972.
- The Remarkable Life of the Skin
- A small piece of towelling, also called a facecloth in Britain; known as a washcloth in other places