IN 2015, YOUTUBER and director Em Ford released a video called ‘You Look Disgusting’.

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With the video, Em wanted to challenge people’s perceptions of beauty in the digital age and expose the reality of leading a life online with acne.

Em was subjected to hundred upon hundreds of negative comments whether she chose to go bare-faced or wear makeup on her social media platforms. 

However, she also received just as many emails and comments from those affected by a skin condition like acne. 

“I wanted to create a film that showed how social media can set unrealistic expectations on both women and men,” she said upon releasing the video, which now boasts over 29m views.

One challenge many face today, is that as a society, we’re so used to seeing false images of perfection, and comparing ourselves to unrealistic beauty standards that It can be hard to remember the most important thing – You ARE beautiful.

You are beautiful – no matter how flawed you feel, no matter how upset you may about the way you look or how hard you find it to make friends, or be confident. Believe in yourself, and never let anyone tell you’re not beautiful – not even yourself.”

Now, she’s looking to take the conversation one step further with her new film, ‘Redefine Pretty’.

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With Redefine Pretty, Em asks: “If we change the standards of beauty… Do we change how we see ourselves?”

She brought together more than 20 women to share their journey with skin positivity, with cast members showing off their acne, vitiligo and scars.

Speaking to a range of experts, including dermatologists and professors of human brain researcher, Em wanted to look at how the group reacted to pictures of their own faces and other people’s faces with and without makeup to explore the negative perceptions of oneself on the brain.

Regardless of how your skin looks, this is well worth a watch, with some interesting results. 

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