What makes a nose beautiful? According to the internet, the answer is “balanced proportions and symmetry” – all of which came from plastic surgery sites. Traditional beauty standards like these make it hard to appreciate the features we are gifted. For me, learning to love my nose has been an ongoing tug-of-war, but after reaching out to others over social media, I found that their stories encourage me to love my nose a little bit more.
During these conversations with my peers, stories unfolded of nightmare plastic surgery appointments, at-home “reconstruction” methods (pinching, tugging, pushing, etc.), deviated septums, and well…noses that just run in the family. As we continued to chat about our experiences, I asked how do they practice loving their noses, but there was no particular answer. Everyone is still working on accepting what they’ve been born with, which made me feel like I wasn’t alone, despite everyone having different issues with their noses.
I found it healing listening to these experiences. With my nose, in particular, I always forget that it is a symbol of my Peruvian heritage, moving forward in our journey, it’s important to realize that we all come from a lineage of unique family features, so let’s be proud of that.
Creative Direction by Daniela Guevara, Alessia Giha, and Kendra Frankle
Words by Daniela Guevara.
Photography by Kendra Frankle.
Modeled by Tav Hayon, Apple Zhao, Bella Rousseau, Gilda Chestney, Ray
Kendra Frankle, Alessia Giha, Nicole Mitchell.