My Flawless Advertisement Analysis

An initial glance at this ad would yield little deep thought. A flawless looking Halle Berry smiles softly at the reader next to a bottle of Revlon ColorStay Mineral Mousse Makeup in exactly her shade. While flipping through a magazine, I probably would have glanced quickly at this ad and then continued on my way- I have never been self conscious about the colour consistency of my skin and I tend not to use foundation or cream makeup. However, most young girls, the target audience of the Teen Vogue magazine I found this ad in, are searching for ways to look “flawless” like the superstar Halle Berry. And many girls with predictably blotchy pubescent skin- would be attracted to this ad, believing that their faces and supposed to look the same way as a photoshopped actress in her 30s. Looking at this ad through the lens of a girl on the cusp of teenagerdom-which I was in 2009, when I bought this magazine- I would immediately notice several things. Firstly, I would see the slogan in black right under Halle Berry’s flawless chin; “Still looking for your perfect matte?” While matte is, of course, a type of face makeup, the sentence is perfectly structured to encourage a double meaning. “Matte” is so easily read as “Mate;” as in romantic partner. The ad purposefully equates the achievement of beauty to the winning of love, two things which media culture and gender culture place as the woman’s top priority in life.  On the preceding page, their is another Revlon ad with Halle Berry- this time advertising lipstick- the ad has a similar style; with the slogan “Feel the love” underneath Halle Berry’s perfectly pink lips. This ad campaign has made its theme clear. A girl looking at these ads would believe that Revlon makeup is not only the answer to their quest for “flawless” skin- but that the use of makeup to cover their imperfections is the only way they can get the love they have been so desperately seeking. 

To any vulnerable, pubescent, self conscious girl- this is the dream. All I have to do is buy this makeup, and I’ll “ get a flawless matte finish with minerals in a refreshingly light air-whipped mousse?” And as a bonus, with my skin sculpted to photoshopped actress perfection, I will finally find my perfect mate and get all the love I deserve? Perfect! Screw middle school drama- I now know that they key to getting a boyfriend only costs a few dollars....it’s makeup! The language of the ad just bolsters my confidence in the product. I am worried that although I need makeup to look pretty and get a boyfriend, I also don’t want to look desperate and over the top- I don’t want anyone to know about my secret trickery, Don’t worry! -says the ad. The medium sized text above the product clarifies that the makeup is “For a soft, seamless matte look. Minus the mess.” Not only will I fool everyone with my flawlessness, I will also look like I achieved it effortlessly, without “messy” makeup smudges and “seamless” application. The secrecy of the event is thrilling. However, I am also concerned that my carefully crafted facade will come crumbling down after only a little while- revealing my deceit! The ad ensures this wont happen, with an official looking bullet point on the bottom corner of the advertisement claiming “16-hour ColorStay Longwear for lasting perfection.”

This ad is quietly destructive. It trains young girls to look for love with makeup, and makes them believe that perfection and flawlessness are their ultimate goals. As a 13 year old girl just starting to recognize the pressure to be pretty, I would have felt desperate to look like Halle does- I wouldn’t ever be able to accept my “flawed” face.