Uploaded February 2024 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
Why do some of us slather ourselves in fake tan and others paint their lips red? And what can culture and history tell us about the looks we find beautiful?
Author, sociologist, and beauty enthusiast, Emma Dabiri unveils the stories behind the tools in her beauty bag, shedding light on the origins of modern-day beauty standards.
By looking at the cultural and historical roots behind compact mirrors, pin-tail combs and other tools used in our beauty regimes, Dabiri dives into the stories that give shape to our personal feelings about beauty.
This video has been made to accompany The Cult of Beauty exhibition, showing at Wellcome Collection until 28 April 2024.
Find out more about The Cult of Beauty: wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/ZJ1zCxAAACMAczPA
Buy Emma Dabiri's book, Disobedient Bodies: wellcomecollection.org/books/ZO7vDxEAACYAjU5t
0:00 - Intro
0:47 - Fake tan
1:50 - Compact mirrors
2:51 - Lipstick
3:57 - Pintail comb
4:50 - Conclusion
#TheCultOfBeauty #WellcomeCollection
Music: Nkisi, Lament II (instrumental)
*Artist credits:*
An Algorithmic Gaze II, 2023, by Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm: instagram.com/artificialmind_ai
'It makes no sense to be beautiful if no one is ugly', 2023, by Makeupbrutalism, commissioned by Wellcome Collection instagram.com/makeupbrutalism
Ancient Egyptian bronze mirror, 800-100 BCE, Wellcome Collection / Science Museum Group
Islamic glass convex mirror, 901–1000, Wellcome Collection / Science Museum Group
Narcissus and Echo, Engraving by F. Bartolozzi, after Luti, Benedetto, 1791, Wellcome Collection
Diane de Poitiers in her bedchamber, Louis Hague, after William James Müller
1841, Wellcome Collection
Auxerre Goddess, and Auxerre Goddess restored, original c.640 BC, Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge
Untitled (Mkpuk Eba) Untitled (Adebe) Untitled (Onile Gogoro Or Akaba)
J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, 1974–75, printed 2012. Courtesy of Estate of J. D.'Okhai Ojeikere / Foto Okeikere and Tate
Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/wellcomecollection
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/explorewellcome
See us on Instagram: instagram.com/wellcomecollection
Why do some of us slather ourselves in fake tan and others paint their lips red? And what can culture and history tell us about the looks we find beautiful?
Author, sociologist, and beauty enthusiast, Emma Dabiri unveils the stories behind the tools in her beauty bag, shedding light on the origins of modern-day beauty standards.
By looking at the cultural and historical roots behind compact mirrors, pin-tail combs and other tools used in our beauty regimes, Dabiri dives into the stories that give shape to our personal feelings about beauty.
This video has been made to accompany The Cult of Beauty exhibition, showing at Wellcome Collection until 28 April 2024.
Find out more about The Cult of Beauty: wellcomecollection.org/exhibitions/ZJ1zCxAAACMAczPA
Buy Emma Dabiri's book, Disobedient Bodies: wellcomecollection.org/books/ZO7vDxEAACYAjU5t
0:00 - Intro
0:47 - Fake tan
1:50 - Compact mirrors
2:51 - Lipstick
3:57 - Pintail comb
4:50 - Conclusion
#TheCultOfBeauty #WellcomeCollection
Music: Nkisi, Lament II (instrumental)
*Artist credits:*
An Algorithmic Gaze II, 2023, by Cecilie Waagner Falkenstrøm: instagram.com/artificialmind_ai
'It makes no sense to be beautiful if no one is ugly', 2023, by Makeupbrutalism, commissioned by Wellcome Collection instagram.com/makeupbrutalism
Ancient Egyptian bronze mirror, 800-100 BCE, Wellcome Collection / Science Museum Group
Islamic glass convex mirror, 901–1000, Wellcome Collection / Science Museum Group
Narcissus and Echo, Engraving by F. Bartolozzi, after Luti, Benedetto, 1791, Wellcome Collection
Diane de Poitiers in her bedchamber, Louis Hague, after William James Müller
1841, Wellcome Collection
Auxerre Goddess, and Auxerre Goddess restored, original c.640 BC, Museum of Classical Archaeology, Cambridge
Untitled (Mkpuk Eba) Untitled (Adebe) Untitled (Onile Gogoro Or Akaba)
J.D. ‘Okhai Ojeikere, 1974–75, printed 2012. Courtesy of Estate of J. D.'Okhai Ojeikere / Foto Okeikere and Tate
Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/wellcomecollection
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/explorewellcome
See us on Instagram: instagram.com/wellcomecollection
