Cosmetic Magic and Wizard Attitudes - No Wizard Cosmo

[jrober4211]

No: HPFGUIDX 35031

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "uncmark" <uncmark at y...> wrote:
>wondered how 
> different attitudes towards physical beauty were in the wizard 
world.
> 
Obviously, they aren't that much different as the girls at Hogwarts 
thought Cedric Diggory was handsome, and the guys were falling all 
over Fleur, the babe.
> 
> 
> My point is there is no mention of a Wizard eqivalent of 
Cosmopoliton 
> or Vogue and no mention of beauty magic. Hermione uses Sleekeasy's 
> Hair Potion to style her hair for the Yule Ball in GofF but says it 
> was too much work for everyday. She straightens her teeth 
> by  'tricking' Madame pomfrey into overshrinking them after a curse.
> Hogwart's girls. Slytherin specifically, are described as plain and 
> the witches of Diagon Alley are are described closer to the crones 
of 
> scary stories than Elizabeth Montgomery in Bewitched.

The bar maid in Diagon Alley is described as attractive.As for the 
girls in Slytherin, as they say here in the muggle world , "Beauty 
may be skin deep but ugly goes to the bone". Perhaps you have to have 
a smidgin of inner beauty present for a cosmetic spell to work.  
Gilderoy does say something in CoS about starting his on line of 
wizarding beauty products, and he does mention robes and fashion when 
discussing someone, but I have forgotten who he was referring to now. 
Whether there is a wizarding version of cosmo or not, is debateable. 
You have to keep in my mind that the story is told from Harry's point 
of view, and I don't suppose a fashion magazine would grab a 14 year 
old boy's attention. 
> > 
> Molly Weasley, a powerful witch and mother, does use magic for her 
> housework. In GofF she cooks for 11 people before the World Cup, 
yet 
> she doesn't use magic to resemble a model.

I can't explain this one as obesity and wizarding cures for it have 
never come up in the books.
> 
> I think the witching community simply does not stress looks as much 
> as the muggle world. I've heard the Wizard described as in the past 
> century in much of its culture. I'm sure some of the upper crust 
> spells away blemishes, but by and large its not first prority in 
most 
> wizards' lives. 
> 
> > The majority of wizards probably do not develop new spells but 
merely 
> do the magic out there. Most humans just use new appliances but 
don't 
> build them.

Who knows? It just really hasn't come up much in the books, and as I 
said before, It might have alot to do with the PoV being Harry's. But 
human nature is human nature and I think there is enough examples in 
the books to point to the fact that we share the same standards of 
beauty.

Jo Ellen
> 
> Jo Ellen