The long hard look in the mirror

It's difficult being an ordinary-looking human in a world where one no longer has the option of whether or not to be advertised at. You may have been recently subjected to marketing which has forced you to confront an example of the ideal human form, as paraded by a digitally enhanced model. You may have been unable to resist comparing yourself alongside and subconsciously noting that if you invest in product x, you too might be beautiful and happy with a massive gleaming shiny white smile. You unfortunately get no say in this matter, a pre-packaged thought has been seeded into your mind, and whether or not you want it there, it's there. Sometimes it's barely possible to have an internal monologue for more than a few minutes before one's train of thought is interrupted by a bright picture bellowing down at you from a billboard, the side of a bus, the pages of your newspaper; chipping away at your self-image, brazenly suggesting to you that there is probably room for improvement.

Reflecting on this got me thinking about they whys and wherefores of some of the long-winded and probably ultimately pointless beautification rituals I have been persuaded to follow. Here are some of my sketchbook doodlings on this subject anyway.