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The science, business and culture behind beauty.

Three women looking at a phone at a candlelit table, in a still from Why Don’t Photos Look Like You?
The Modern Question · 6 min 12 sec

Why Don’t Photos Look Like You?

The face in the photograph is yours. So why can it feel like a stranger?

Mirrors, camera distance, lighting and a moment frozen in time: a closer look at the picture we think we know.

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How does skincare work, and what does that label actually mean? Explore The Science Question, The Industry Question and The Deeper Question: how beauty works, how it is sold and how it shapes us. History joins the conversation when the past helps explain the present.

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