From Flawless to Fearless: How Confidence Is Becoming the New Beauty Standard
- Dec 22, 2025
- 3 min read
By Cari Hall
Back in the early ’90s, I worked at the Prescriptives makeup counter in an upscale department store. I was in college so I was young in comparison to most of my clientele, but I remember that the goal back then was transformation — helping women go from ‘okay’ to ‘flawless.’ Perfection was still the beauty standard, carried over from earlier decades, and covering up was part of the process. (Prescriptives had 56+ shades of foundation to help you hide it all!) Being flawless felt empowering at the time, but it was also rooted in the idea that we had to fix ourselves and be perfect to be seen.
A few years later, I worked as a graphic designer for the in-house agency at a prominent MLM cosmetics company. The company spokesperson was a literal supermodel, and she had full veto power over every image we published. I remember one campaign where we had to airbrush out her lip lines — not because the image was unflattering, but because any sign of age or texture was considered unacceptable. I met her once in person (she was probably early 40’s at that time, after her successful modeling career). And she was still perfectly perfect in real life! But she wouldn’t tolerate any image of herself that had any sort of age signs (or realism for that matter). That kind of control wasn’t unusual — in fact it was pretty much the industry standard. That’s just what beauty looked like back then.
Fast forward a few decades, and now as a professional headshot photographer, I’m watching that narrative shift in real time. I work with executives and entrepreneurs — often women who have grown into their success and know who they are. Today, in 2025, my clients still want to look polished — and of course we still use great lighting, professional hair and makeup, styling support, posing guidance, and a little artistic retouching to get those great shots. But more and more, what they want most is to feel confident and look like themselves. Not a “perfect” version of themselves. Just themselves, at their best... because when you feel confident, it shows. And that kind of confidence can’t be photoshopped.
Ironically, I used to hate being in front of the camera myself. My camera-avoidance is actually why I became a photographer in the first place (so I could be on the "good" side of the camera — Behind it!).
But I wanted to understand how to make people feel more at ease, and I knew I needed to be able to show up confidently in front of the camera too.
Over the years, I’ve studied how to guide people into genuine confidence — not fake smiles, but real presence. And in helping others feel good on camera, I learned to be more confident in front of the camera myself. I still don’t aspire to be a supermodel, but I also don’t dread being photographed anymore and I understand the importance of showing up for myself, my family and my business. That shift — learning how to be seen and be OK with it — changed everything. And I see it in my clients too when I teach them how to let their confidence shine through.
To me, the real glow-up isn’t about flawless skin or perfect symmetry. It’s about showing up for yourself as yourself — fully, confidently, and without apology. That’s what people connect with. That’s what makes you magnetic.
Confidence really is the most attractive thing you can wear — and it’s the one thing that never goes out of style.
Connect With Cari
Comments