With doing research on makeup and skincare within the last month or so, I came across something interesting, and that is how we perceive the color of our skin and the way we look.
Initially, I was looking for new makeup, specifically foundation on YT, searching for reviews and such. In the West the makeup is heaving with contouring, thick lashes/fake lashes, matte lipstick usually in red or brownish nude, and smokey eyes. The foundation are usually at skin color and then powdered with a tanned powder or contoured with a tan color. The body is tanned either on a tanning bed or out in the sun to get the supposedly good glowing tanned look.
In the East, the makeup is mostly on the lighter colored side, lipstick is pink and put on to look like you've licked a lollipop. Eye makeup is minimal and shimmery, eyeliner is winged to make the eyes appear larger, and blush looks like cheeks are just naturally flushed. The East put a lot of effort in protecting their skin so that it doesn't tan so they have super high SPF sunscreen with the UVA/UVB and PA+4. They wear hats and sunglasses and long sleeves to protect their body from the sun's damaging rays.
When I read the reviews on how the Koreans have whitening products (to whiten the skin), the Westerners comments would say things like, "Don't whiten your skin and be like white people. You should love your natural tanned or darker skin." YET, in the West, people are tanning and loving tanned skin and no one is saying, "Don't tan your skin, you should love your natural pale skin and not want to be like dark skinned people." They are saying, "Love your tan!" or "What products did you use?" etc. Why is it wrong to whiten your skin and not wrong to tan? If there was a medication or cream that could turn a Western white skinned person tanned forever, I'm pretty sure a ton of people would take it. Yet, when a dark skinned person takes medication to whiten, it's wrong.
Also, where cosmetic surgery is concerned, a lot of Koreans have gone under the knife to get the small nose, v-shape jawline, and big eyes and the Westerners complain that they are trying to look like Americans when Americans themselves have done serious teeth surgery (veneers) and orthodontic surgery to have beautiful perfect straight teeth, not to mention, they also do stuff like botox, juvaderm, rhinoplasty, yet the Western people judge the Koreans for their cosmetic surgeries. And, why is it such a bad thing to have breast augmentation? It's like gossip when someone learns that someone had breast surgery, yet it's okay to straighten our teeth or get tanned or remove the fat from our bellies after losing a ton of weight?
We are a people of vanity and I think if the procedure is there to make one feel good about themselves, go for it. People shouldn't judge one type of procedure over the other.