Fashion has always been a powerful force, shaping beauty standards and redefining what is considered attractive or desirable. It has the ability to normalize even the most extreme trends, making them seem not only acceptable but essential. Over time, we become so immersed in these beauty ideals that we fail to question their logic or practicality—only to look back years later and wonder how we ever embraced them. This phenomenon, often referred to as "beauty blindness," has repeatedly influenced how we perceive and modify our faces and bodies, subtly dictating our sense of aesthetics without us even realizing it.

In the 1990s, it was eyebrow blindness. At the time, razor-thin eyebrows were the epitome of beauty, a trend seen on every celebrity and model. Women plucked their brows mercilessly, believing that the more they erased, the better they looked. It wasn’t just about following a trend—it was about being so immersed in it that the alternative seemed wrong. The idea of a fuller, more natural brow was completely dismissed, and many who lived through this era still struggle with sparse regrowth today. What seemed like the height of sophistication then is now viewed as a regrettable beauty mistake.

As the new millennium dawned, the blindness shifted. The early 2000s were ruled by foundation blindness—an obsession with matte, full-coverage skin that completely erased any natural texture. The goal was to appear flawless, but in reality, faces often looked heavy and mask-like, with stark contrasts between the foundation-covered skin and the bare neck. People caked on layers of powder and liquid foundation in pursuit of an airbrushed effect, unaware that their complexions had lost all dimension. It wasn’t just about hiding imperfections; it was about eliminating all traces of real skin. Looking back, the unnatural, flat finish of the era’s makeup trends seems extreme, yet at the time, it was simply how beauty was defined.

The 2010s brought a new kind of blindness, yet in some ways, it was a repeat of the past. Eyebrow blindness returned, but this time, in the opposite direction. Instead of erasing their brows, people were filling them in with an intensity that bordered on theatrical. Inspired by celebrities like Cara Delevingne, thick, dark, sculpted brows became the standard. Pomades, powders, and gels transformed barely-there arches into bold statements, often in shapes and sizes that didn’t naturally suit a person’s face. Once again, the trend was so dominant that few questioned its extremity until it started to fade. As the decade ended, people began to recognize that their brows, though bold, sometimes appeared cartoonish.

Then came highlighter blindness, a moment when glowing skin was taken to such an extreme that it went beyond radiance and into something almost metallic. The late 2010s were filled with makeup tutorials demonstrating how to layer highlighter on cheekbones, noses, and even collarbones until they reflected light like glass. Instead of looking dewy and fresh, many faces took on an artificial, almost wet appearance. The goal of luminosity turned into an obsession, with blinding highlights becoming an Instagram staple. While a subtle glow remains a beauty ideal, the overly reflective, almost greasy look of this period has faded, with many realizing they had overdone it.

Now, we’re experiencing blush blindness. Unlike past decades, when blush was a mere finishing touch, today’s beauty culture has turned it into a dominant feature. Heavy applications of blush stretch from the apples of the cheeks to the temples, even across the nose, creating a sunburned or feverish effect. What once would have been seen as excessive or theatrical is now mainstream, encouraged by TikTok trends and viral beauty hacks. As with past trends, the extreme use of blush feels natural in the moment, but in a few years, we may look back and wonder why we embraced such an intense flush.

This cycle of beauty blindness keeps repeating itself, driven by social media, celebrity influence, and our collective desire to fit into whatever aesthetic is currently in fashion. It’s not just that trends come and go—it’s that they consume us so completely that we fail to see their extremity until they’re over. The psychological forces behind this phenomenon are powerful. When we see the same look repeatedly, our perception shifts, normalizing what once seemed excessive. The more we’re exposed to a trend, the more we accept it as the standard, and before we know it, we’re convinced that something unnatural is the ideal.

Social media has only amplified this blindness, accelerating the speed at which trends rise and fall. In the past, beauty standards evolved over decades; now, they can shift within months. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube flood our screens with new beauty ideals, often making extreme techniques look effortless and aspirational. Filters and editing tools further distort reality, creating unattainable standards that encourage even more exaggerated beauty practices. The cycle moves so quickly that by the time we recognize our collective blindness, a new trend is already taking over.

Of course, fashion is, at its core, about freedom. Everyone has the right to express themselves however they choose, and beauty trends should be seen as tools for creativity rather than rigid rules. There is no single correct way to look, and if someone enjoys a certain aesthetic, they should feel empowered to embrace it. But even in this freedom, it’s common to look back and realize how much we were influenced by the moment, how trends dictated our choices in ways we didn’t fully see at the time. Fashion allows for reinvention, but it also reminds us of our past illusions.

The key to escaping this cycle isn’t to reject fashion and beauty trends altogether but to approach them with awareness. Instead of mindlessly adopting every new look, we can pause and ask whether a trend genuinely enhances our features or if we’re just caught up in the moment. Moderation, individuality, and self-awareness can prevent us from falling too deeply into any single aesthetic. While fashion will always be extreme, we don’t have to let it make us blind.