💄 From Powdered Noses to Dewy Glow: The Evolution of a Look

Simply Flava | Beauty & Culture Reflection

Yesterday at work, I was talking with Olivia. She’s one of those women whose skin just glows — healthy, hydrated, shiny in the best way. I told her when I was coming up, we kept a compact powder in our purse to “powder our nose.” We weren’t chasing shine — we were running from it. A matte, powdered face was the sign of class, polish, and control.

It made me ask out loud — when did we stop powdering and start glowing?

Turns out, that shift didn’t happen overnight. Back in the day, from the Victorian era through the ’90s, a matte face meant refinement. Shine was considered messy or unkempt. That compact was every woman’s sidekick — right next to her lipstick.

Then, in the 2000s, the world started to change. Makeup artists like Scott Barnes introduced creams that gave skin a glow, and then came K-Beauty — that famous “glass skin” look from South Korea. Suddenly, shine wasn’t oil; it was youth. It was health.

By the 2010s, with selfies and ring lights everywhere, “dewy” skin became the new standard. Social media made glowy complexions the face of modern beauty — natural, hydrated, and full of light. Even the pandemic played a role, with people spending more time bare-faced and focused on skin care instead of layers of foundation.

Now, we live in a world that celebrates both: matte when you want polish, glow when you want freshness. But I smile thinking about how we used to tuck those little compacts in our purses, dabbing our noses with care.

Every era defines beauty differently — but at its best, beauty is about confidence.

Whether you’re matte, shiny, or somewhere in between — the real glow comes from how you feel in your skin. 🌻