Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • 2013
  • Chapter
  • Globalizing Beauty: Consumerism and Body Aesthetics in the Twentieth Century

The Global and the Local in the Beauty Industry: A Historical Perspective

By: G. Jones
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

This chapter explores the impact of the global beauty industry on beauty ideals. It shows that as the industry internationalized from the late nineteenth century, there was a homogenization of beauty ideals and practices around the world. Western and white beauty ideals emerged as the global standard. The momentum of this standard was reinforced by the impact of Hollywood and other drivers of an international consumer culture from the interwar years. However the study shows that the drive for homogenization, although powerful, was never complete. The local was never entirely subsumed by the global. Convergence and homogenization were stronger in aspirations than in preferences for particular products and scents, which remained more persistently local despite the spread of global brand names. The more recent era of globalization since the 1980s has coincided with a strong revival in interest in local traditions and practices, which is particularly noticeable in some of the fastest growing emerging markets such as China.

Keywords

Business History; Globalization; History; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America; South America

Citation

Jones, G. "The Global and the Local in the Beauty Industry: A Historical Perspective." Chap. 1 in Globalizing Beauty: Consumerism and Body Aesthetics in the Twentieth Century, edited by Hartmut Berghoff and Thomas Kuhne, 25–40. Worlds of Consumption. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2013.

About The Author

Geoffrey G. Jones

General Management
→More Publications

More from the Author

    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Deep Responsibility and Irresponsibility in the Beauty Industry

    By: Geoffrey Jones
    • 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

    By: Geoffrey Jones
    • March 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Ghassan E. Nuqul: Establishing the Core Values of a Family Business

    By: Geoffrey Jones
More from the Author
  • Deep Responsibility and Irresponsibility in the Beauty Industry By: Geoffrey Jones
  • Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership By: Geoffrey Jones
  • Ghassan E. Nuqul: Establishing the Core Values of a Family Business By: Geoffrey Jones
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College