EP05 | Beauty in 2025: Is “Natural” Beauty Really Natural? | 2025 的美：「自然美」真的是自然的嗎？

2025 年的美妝文化看似追求「自然」，卻變得越來越極端。本集Miss Y提到低維護美感背後的高維護療程、狗狗美容、外表通膨，以及甚麼叫「 full bush」帶來的身體接納討論。一起思考，美究竟是自由，還是壓力？ In this episode, we explore beauty culture in 2025 using clear, learner-friendly English. From “natural” looks that need high-maintenance treatments to dog beauty, appearance inflation, and body acceptance, this episode helps you understand modern beauty trends—and reflect on what beauty really means. Leave a comment and share your thoughts: https://open.firstory.me/user/cmilgpemw00i201yvfrduavyf/comments Transcript: Hey guys, I’m your English teacher, Miss Y! Welcome to the podcast made for intermediate English learners who want to listen to English, and learn about different topics in a fun and easy way. Today we’re talking about something that sounds fun… but is also a little crazy: beauty culture in 2025. I’m using a CNN report that looked back at the year and asked three beauty writers to describe the biggest moments. And honestly, the report’s message is simple: beauty in 2025 was full of extremes. extreme 就是極端. Beauty in 2025 was extreme! It’s too much! On one side, people said, “I want a low-maintenance look.” maintenance 就是維護 維持, low-maintenance 低度的維護, 就是不用花太多心力維持. A low-maintenance look is a beauty style that you don’t need to work hard to get. On the other side, that “low-maintenance” look often needed high-maintenance treatments, high-maintenance 就是要花高度心力維護的, a high-maintenance treatments are ****like lash lifts 燙睫毛, laser hair removal 雷射除毛, or cosmetic procedures 美容療程. And then—yes—beauty expanded in some surprising directions. Like… beauty products for dogs. And skincare products for very young children. And a big conversation online about pubic hair and body acceptance. So today, let’s explore: Why “natural” beauty sometimes isn’t natural at all Why dog beauty became a real thing What “appearance inflation” means—and why it matters How the “full bush” conversation became a symbol of body positivity Don’t worry—I’ll explain vocabulary along the way, and I’ll keep the language clear and comfortable. Let’s get into it. Let’s start with the biggest contradiction of the year. In 2025, many people wanted a “low maintenance” routine. Low maintenance means: not much effort, not much time, not many steps. For example: no mascara, 睫毛膏, no heavy makeup, maybe even no makeup at all Some people pointed to celebrities who appeared makeup-free. makeup-free 不是說makeup自由, … free 表示“沒有某個東西的”. makeup-free 就是沒化妝的 But here’s the twist. To look “effortlessly” fresh, many people used high maintenance treatments. High maintenance means: time, money, and regular appointments. Think about it: If you want to skip mascara… you might get a lash lift. If you want “perfect skin”… you might do laser treatments. If you want “no makeup”… you might still do teeth whitening 牙齒美白, fillers 就是臉部的那種填充, Botox 鼎鼎有名的肉毒, or other procedures. So the style looks simple, but the process can be complicated. This creates a strange feeling: You look “natural,” but your natural look might be supported by technology, clinics, and money. And brands were sending mixed messages. Some brands said: “Redefine beauty on your terms.” Redefine 重新定義, on your terms 就是用你自己的“話”, 自己的方式. “Redefine beauty on your terms.” That sounds empowering—like, “You decide. Be yourself.” But at the same time, other brands sold products like compression face shapewear— Do you know what it is? I didn’t even know that existed. Basically, it’s a tight piece of cloth you wear on your face to make your face shape look better. So beauty culture in 2025 was pushing two ideas at once: “Be yourself.” and “Also, please change yourself.” If you feel confused… you are not alone. In the report, actress Kate Winslet, Kate Winslet就是Titanic鐵達尼號女主角, she said something about modern beauty standards: It’s chaos. chaos 就是災難. And honestly, that word fits. So that’s our foundation: beauty culture felt more intense, more expensive, and more confusing. Now, let’s go to the next surprising trend Okay. Let’s talk about beauty for dogs. In 2025, the beauty industry didn’t only focus on humans. It started selling beauty products for pets—especially dogs. This trend is sometimes called canine cosmetics. Canine means “related to dogs.” Cosmetics means beauty products or makeup. So canine cosmetics is the beauty products for dogs: dog shampoo, dog coat oil, dog fragrance… even dry shampoo for dogs. One writer in the report, Jessica DeFino, described dog beauty as a breakout category—meaning it grew fast and became very noticeable. Some products were described with luxury language: “vegan” 素食, “pH-balanced”, “infused with vitamins”, vitamins 維他命, “signature fragrance”, fragrance 是香味 “Signature fragrance” means: it has a special smell that represents the brand. And here’s an interesting detail: Some dog products are marketed not only for dogs, but for humans to enjoy the smell. So it’s almost like: the dog is wearing perfume, 香水, the dog is wearing perfume for the owner’s happiness. Now, why would dog beauty become popular? The report gives a few reasons. Reason 1: treating animals like humans Human tend to give human traits, emotions, intentions, or characteristics to a non-human thing. And in this case, we now view our pet as our children. For example: The owner now celebrate a dog’s birthday like a child’s birthday. Some buy clothes for a dog, and they would say, “My dog is my baby” As some people choose not to have children, they may treat dogs like kids. So dog beauty becomes like “baby skincare.” Reason 2: People see themselves in their pets The report mentions something fascinating: dogs communicate with facial expressions 臉部表情, and over time they developed facial muscles to connect with humans better—like muscles that help them raise their eyebrows. The dogs can do expressions that human can understand more. So maybe we feel emotionally connected when a dog “looks” expressive. And beauty brands take advantage of that emotional connection. Reason 3: control and “domestication” Jessica DeFino also introduces a more serious idea: that dog beauty might reflect how society controls beings which it “loves.” She references a scholar who discussed how, historically, pets and women were both expected to be “good,” “well-behaved,” and “controlled”—like being kept on a leash, metaphorically. leash 繩子, 被繩子綁住, being kept on a leash. This is not a simple topic, and the writer is not saying “this is definitely true.” She’s suggesting that maybe dog beauty is connected to deeper cultural feelings about power or control. Whether you agree or not, it’s an interesting question: If we love something, why do we still want to shape it, style it, and “improve” it? And there’s also an economic reason: pet grooming is a growing industry, and businesses follow money. So dog beauty shows us something important: The beauty industry tries to expand. Once it sells everything to humans, it looks for the next market. And in 2025, that market was… your dog. Now let’s shift to the next major theme: people talking more openly about procedures. procedures 原本是流程, 但這裡指的是醫美療程. Another writer, Sable Yong, described 2025 as a year of cosmetic transparency. Transparency 最原本的意思是透明. Transparency here means: being open, honest, and not hiding information. In the past, many celebrities avoided talking about surgery or treatments. There was stigma. A stigma is something people judged you negatively for it. Something you should be shamed for. But in 2025, more celebrities and influencers openly said what they did. The report gives examples like: a celebrity sharing details of cosmetic surgery results. The public are curious about specific facelift techniques, facelift 就是拉皮那種手術. And there is an athlete discussing procedures and saying social media isn’t real, so being transparent can help. This openness changed the culture. Instead of “Ew, plastic surgery,” people often reacted with: “Wow, they look great.” That sounds positive, right? But here comes the key idea: appearance inflation. Let’s unpack that phrase carefully. What is “appearance inflation”? In economics, inflation means prices go up. 通貨膨脹, inflation. So appearance inflation means: the “price” and “standard” of looking good goes up. In other words: The baseline expectation for how good you should look becomes higher and higher. And to meet that higher baseline, you might need: Botox, fillers, lasers, professional nails, expensive skincare, skincare就是皮膚保養品, or frequent treatments. treatments跟procedure一樣可以翻成療程. These things become “normal.” But not everyone can afford them. So appearance inflation can increase inequality 不平等: the beauty “standard” becomes expensive, and people with less money feel excluded. It can also make people more worried and suspicious. suspicious, 有疑心的. It makes people suspicious. You might look at someone online and think: “Are they naturally like that? Or did they get treatments?” And then you might feel pressure, like thinking “Do I need to do that too?” Plus, social media makes it worse because: photos are edited, edited 被編輯過的, lighting is controlled, lighting就是照相的時候的打光, and angles are chosen carefully, angles就是拍照的角度. Moreover, sometimes AI is involved So we can start doubting everything we see. Sable Yong ends with a hope: Maybe because AI makes online images less trustworthy, people will return to appreciating real human qualities, like the imperfection, uniqueness, or individuality. That’s an optimistic idea: in 2026, maybe people will get tired of perfect faces and remember that real humans are not perfect, we all have pores 毛孔, lines 紋路, asymmetry 不對稱的地方, and age, of course, because people grow old. Now we’re moving into a topic that might feel a little awkward—but we’ll talk about it calmly and respectfully. It became a big cultural conversation in 2025. The third writer, Alex Peters, discussed what she called “the full bush agenda.” Here, bush 原本的意思是樹叢, here it refers to pubic hair — hair in your private part, 就是在私密處的毛髮. 因為不好意思直接說pubic hair, 所以英文與微婉的用bush “樹叢” 來講這個地方的毛髮. People online started discussing it more openly, especially on TikTok, with humor, memes, 迷因, and supportive messages. In Western countries, even more and more common in Asian countries, it has been a trend to completely remove your pubic hair. But in 2025, there is a phrase like “full bush in a bikini” became a catchphrase— it becomes a popular sentence. It represented resisting pressure to remove body hair, to not shave the body hair. And then the trend became bigger: there are some influencers, 網紅, some influencers post about it. Memes are spreading. And some Tiktok influencer joked about “bush aura reading”. Aura reading 就是像是找靈媒讀你的靈氣, aura. This influencer predicts the style or design of a celebrity’s pubic hair based only on their vibes, and of course, it just a joke, to talk about this topic in a funny way. But also, this was not only a joke. It was also about acceptance.接受 For a long time, pubic hair has been taboo— 一個禁忌, taboo. So some people felt that openly accepting it was a form of body positivity. Body positivity is a way to say, “My body is normal. I don’t need to hide it.” The idea of body positivity can also be found in fashion and pop culture: designers used pubic-hair-inspired looks, and the idea appeared in entertainment and music. Now, why did this matter in 2025? Because many people felt beauty culture was having a dark future — a future that looks extreme, controlling, or inhuman. There are new surgical trends appear every week. The procedures become harder to detect. And very young people feel pressure to do treatments. It seems that beauty becomes more conservative in some ways, conservative 保守. Beauty seems to return to strict standards. 標準更嚴格. So in that environment, accepting something natural—like body hair—felt like a small rebellion. 像是一種反抗, a rebellion. Not a rebellion with violence or anger, but a rebellion with humor and self-respect. The writer calls it self-preservation. Self-preservation means: protecting yourself, mentally and emotionally, so you don’t get destroyed by pressure. So the “full bush” conversation, for many people, was about saying: “I don’t want to be controlled by impossible beauty standards. I want to feel okay in my real body. My opinions on the beauty trends When I look at beauty trends today, I feel both curious and careful. As a teenager, I didn’t like my appearance. I didn’t like my body. I always noticed my “flaws,” and I compared myself with others. But little by little, I became more relaxed, more comfortable, and even more affectionate toward myself. Now I see that trends and treatments keep growing, and they can be interesting—but I have some reminders to myself to make sure I’m still me, and I want to share them with you, especially my young listeners. First, I focus on health. A healthy person can never be “ugly.” If I eat well, sleep enough, and exercise regularly, I already win half the game. Second, I build confidence. I try to find someone who truly appreciates me as the way I am, or a role model who inspires me to accept myself. I used to think my butt was too big, but my partner actually liked it. That taught me something: beauty is different for everyone. Find someone who likes the real you, accept yourself, respect yourself, and enjoy your own style. In the end, happiness matters most. If I decide to do anything on my body, it should be because I like it—not because I’m afraid. I’m not saying I will say no to the beauty products or beauty treatments. But with these principles in my mind, principles 就是我的原則, I have these principles in my mind, so I can try to make sure not to get lost in all these beauty gimmicks. gimmick 常用來指宣傳的花招. Let’s end with something practical. Beauty culture will keep changing. Trends will rise and fall. Algorithms will push certain looks. Brands will sell new solutions. So here’s one gentle idea: Instead of asking, “What do I need to fix?” Try asking, “What helps me feel like myself?” Because beauty can be a tool. You can use it. But it shouldn’t control you. I’m Miss Y, and I hope you enjoyed learning English with me. If you liked this episode, come back next time for another fun 15 to 20 minutes of simple, clear English and a brand-new topic to explore. Stay curious, learn the World in simple English with Miss Y, I’ll talk to you again soon. Happy new year and happy 2026! Powered by Firstory Hosting