Esther Honig, a journalist, sent her photo to graphic designers around the world and ask them to make her ‘look beautiful’. The results were astonishing!

Esther said

‘Photoshop allows us to achieve our unobtainable standards of beauty, but when we compare those standards on a global scale, achieving the ideal remains all the more illusive.’

Here is the original picture Esther sent to graphic designers.

This is what she got back

1. Bulgaria

Clearly, Bulgaria likes the fair-skinned blue-eyed concept.

2. Israel

In Israel, a slight tan and puffier lips were preferred.

3. Kenya

Kenya showed Esther that make-up can do the trick!

4. Pakistan

In Pakistan, we decided to give Esther a nose-job, a (reverse?) lip-job, a tan and more prominent features. And she has no eye-bags.

5. Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka makes Esther fairer, gives her lighter coloured hair and applied a tad bit of make-up to her eyes, lips and cheeks - perhaps to make her features appear softer.

Please note the change in beauty standards worldwide. Imagine being a child being told what all is WRONG with his/her sense of beauty?

6. UK

In Britian, Esther would be fairer, have sharper eyebrows, no eye-bags, more hair and generally a more defined face. The eye-colour too, was changed.

7. India

In India, Esther’s collar bones disappear, her eyebrows are regrown, she is made skinnier and is given Kajol and lipstick.

8. Phillipines

In the Philippines, Esther has clothes and a sun-set. Apart from that, her photo was stretched a tad bit, but that’s is all the difference we could spot.

9. Vietnam

In Vietnam, Esther has been made fairer and has been given sharper features.

10. Argentina

Argentina, however, takes the cake! And gives her cake back too. Esther has been given a fairer skin-tone, she has tonnes of makeup and a background to match!

11. Australia

Australia applied a little bit of blush on her cheeks, changed her eye colour, applied some lipstick and made her skin-tone slightly fairer.

12. Ukraine

Ukraine did what everyone else did too, made her fairer. Her eye-bags were removed, her nose was made skinnier and her hair was made darker.

13. Morocco

Morocco gave her a hijab, clothes, eye make-up, lip stick and gave her a fairer skin-tone.

14. Bangladesh

In Bangladesh, Esther has been given a hair-do, a dress, little earings, light make-up and more prominent features.

15. Germany

Germany made Esther ghostly white, changed her hair colour to red and took away her eye-bags.

16. Greece

Greece found Esther to look beautiful with lots of eye-makeup, lip colour, a darker hair colour and a slightly tanned skin-tone.

17. Venezuela

Here Esther has been given pinker lips, no eye-bags, slightly fairer skin-tone and darker hair.

18. Indonesia

Indonesia made Esther fairer, gave her pink lips, darker hair and clear skin.

19. Italy

In this picture, Italian Esther has eye-makeup, pink lips and a fairer complexion.

20. Serbia

In Serbia, Esther would be considered ‘beautiful’ with bigger eyes, smaller ears, a fairer complexion and a fuller face. We aren’t sure what the little spots below her collar bone are supposed to be…

21. USA

The US recreates Esther altogether and win the ‘most Photoshopped’ prize from us! We just can’t even bother to comment on this picture.

Hopefully, this post will make us rethink our standards of ‘beauty’. Not one country seems to have sent back Esther her original photo - which we think is beautiful as it is. Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder - my foot. Beauty lies in the subjective eyes of every person and therein lies the problem. Let us appreciate the unique beauty of every person on this beautiful planet. Let’s not tell people they need Photoshop or plastic surgery to look beautiful. Whose standard of beauty would you uphold anyway? The worlds? You are beautiful just the way you are - don’t let anyone tell you anything different!