When American gymnast Jordan Chiles took the floor at the 2024 Olympics, the world watched as she launched into a Gogean. In near-perfect form, every muscle in sync, she lands and throws her arms up in a final salute. Two things were clear: the power and grace she just showed to the world, and the fact that she did it all with a full face and long, squared-tip claws. Such is the spirit of a woman in beauty, unwilling to choose between strength and style. This Women’s Day, we celebrate that same energy across beauty, from athletes in full glam to the rise of hyper-feminine aesthetics, and other beauty news that empower women.
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Record-Breaking Beauty
At the last Paris Olympics, beauty sprinted, flipped, and served in style. Sha’Carri Richardson blazed down the track with bedazzled stiletto claws, Jordan Chiles performed with long nails and a set of diamond grills, and Suni Lee sported the ultimate snatched look. Strength and self-expression have never been more mutually exclusive.
Beauty for a Better Life
To some, beauty is a lifeline, and L’Oreal gets this. Now in its eighth year, Beauty for a Better Life is an annual program in Malaysia that offers free training in hairdressing and makeup to women from vulnerable backgrounds. With 53 new graduates in 2024 and a 90% employment rate, it’s beauty making social change.
Queens of Transparency
Earlier this year, Filipino beauty queens proved that perfection takes work, and they’re not afraid to say it. Catriona Gray, Celeste Cortesi, and Michelle Dee openly shared their liposuction experiences at Belo, embracing the help that makes them feel their best and confidently representing the country. Candor is becoming the real crowning glory.
Beauty’s Leading Monarch
The mother of makeup is taking her throne at Louis Vuitton as Creative Director of Cosmetics. This is a win not just for luxury beauty, but for women who lead, create, and redefine the industry on their terms.
Wellness as the New Nightlife
Girls’ night out is looking more like an early-morning Pilates class. The shift from cocktails to cold plunges, hot yoga, and living the hyper-feminine ‘pink pilates princess’ life is only getting stronger. While this is less of a trend piece, it’s nonetheless a win for longevity and women choosing to feel good.
Culture in Color
Huda Beauty’s new Ube Collection, inspired by Huda Kattan’s birthday tradition of ube cake, puts Filipino culture front and center with makeup in the rich purple hue of the yam. This is a perfect example of women leading with meaning, representation, and storytelling.
Trendy Makeup Metamorphosis
From Lee Hyori’s ‘10 Minutes’ to Asoka and the latest Latina makeup craze, transformation trends continue to take over the feeds. Andrea Brillantes’ takes have even racked up nearly 20 million views. But beyond the virality, these videos celebrate women’s skill, creativity, and ability to reinvent their appearance as they please.
What Influence Smells Like
The House of Mugler has named Heart Evangelista its newest Mugler Fragrances Regional Ambassador for Southeast Asia, marking another win for Filipina and Southeast Asian representation in luxury beauty. Known for her ability to turn anything she touches into gold, her influence extends beyond fashion, now bringing Mugler fragrances to a new and broader audience.
Glamour in the Grotesque
‘The Substance’ just snatched the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling at the 2025 Academy Awards, proving that the most memorable looks aren’t always the pretty ones, but the ones that make you look twice. A rightful win, with Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli finally getting their flowers for their chilling prosthetics and eerie transformations—all to push the extremes of beauty, identity, and the obsession with perfection.
What Past Wins Reveal About Future Victories
Beauty is officially trading its well-behaved veneer for something much more audacious. But that doesn’t mean it’s throwing all sense of girliness or soft femininity out the window. On the contrary, it’s embracing it all—the power, the grace, the bold, the soft, the loud, and the subtle. Beauty isn’t just one note anymore.
What once terrified us now intrigues us. The once-taboo confessions of aesthetic procedures done by models liberate us. We’re no longer flinching at the mention of Botox, fillers, or liposuction. We celebrate hyper-femininity, wearing our all-pink ensemble to a wellness class without fear of judgment. Instead, we’re applauding these choices for what they truly represent: freedom of expression.
All these wins are part of a bigger picture: the freedom to define beauty on our terms, with the world finally cheering us on.
Photos: SUNI LEE, THE ACADEMY, HUDA BEAUTY, JORDAN CHILES, SUNI LEE, ALO (via Instagram), SCENT AND BEAUTE, LOUIS VUITTON PHILIPPINES, L’OREAL, BELO MEDICAL GROUP
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