Examining regional beauty standards through Photoshop

Buzzfeed's content has been going downhill lately, but this post is a refreshing exception. It tells the story of Esther Honig, a self-described "human interest reporter" based in Kansas City.

Ms. Honig sent her raw portrait (above) to 40 people in 25 different countries with one simple request: "make me beautiful."

Here a few results:

Germany (via Buzzfeed)

Morocco (Via Buzzfeed)

India (1 of 3, via Buzzfeed)

USA (1 of 2, via Buzzfeed)

It's interesting to note that while several PSers lightened her skin, few darkened it much. The participants were not all professionals. Hired through Fiverr, an international freelancing website, they were each paid a maximum of $30 for the work. Some of the results are quite weird. And there is no indication whether the "artist" was male or female.

What are we to take from this? Ms. Honig leaves it up to the viewer, simply stating that "each one is a reflection of both the personal and cultural concepts of beauty that pertain to their creator." But cycling through all the images at her site is both fascinating and disturbing.

Check out the whole project, "Before and After," here.