*Vinietha Veloo, Siti Ezaleila Mustafa

Abstract:

The established concept of “ideal fair skin” where only fair-skinned models are used in beauty advertisements became one of the most influential aspects of socialisation in the modern society (Esquivel, 2022). This concept focuses on how the emphasis on fair-skinned models strongly influences women’s beliefs that they need to be fair to be considered beautiful. In this respect, this study conducts an analysis on female opinion and the psychological effect of beauty advertising on female millennials. A focus group discussion was held with 20 female millennials in Klang Valley, Malaysia to discover their perceptions on how “beauty” is portrayed in local beauty product advertisements on Instagram. The participants were given six local beauty advertisement handouts and were told to refer to specific advertisement brands to avoid the focus on international beauty brand advertisements. The accuracy of information on local beauty advertisements was observed when participants were encouraged to give their perspectives regarding the local beauty product advertisements.

Keywords: Beauty advertisements, cosmetic, female millennials, Instagram, psychology