Brazil

Think of Heidi Klum with straight blonde hair and a bright lip and you’ll get the current Brazilian idea of what is beautiful. The South American country considers Northern European women – Germans in particular – to be the ideal. Cue the trend for cool ‘bronde’ shades, turning their typically dark wavy hair a blonde-brown hue similar to Brazilian-born supermodel Gisele and a boom in chemical hair straightening treatments with hair-friendly amino acids (such as carbocisteine).

The constant colouring and straightening combined with sun exposure and humidity means Laurent Attal, executive vice president of research and development at L’Oréal, has identified Brazil as the number one market for damaged hair – inspiring the deeply repairing Elvive Full Restore 5 range.

Brazil is also infamous for its body fixation – cosmetic surgery is tax deductible and free for many lower income women as it’s considered a legal right to boost self-esteem. In lieu of the once ubiquitous and now prohibited diet pills like Sibutramine, it’s common to consult endocrinologists (hormone specialists) to aid slimming. They prescribe tailored metabolism-boosting aids, custom-made using a finely tuned cocktail of thermogenics (which raise body heat in order to burn more fat).

The average temperature in Brazil hits 27˚C so while a natural tan is de rigueur, Brazilians know the importance of SPF. Because Brazil was colonised by different countries there are myriad skin-tones among its population, but all wear sunscreen to protect from high UV index.

Brazilians have no qualms spending on the best make-up available either; Brazil is the biggest beauty market in the world after America and Japan with women spending more than 11 times more of their annual income that UK women and it’s the bold shades that sell the best.

Vogue Brazil’s beauty editor, Victoria Ceridono, says: “bright red and pink lipstick are in everyone’s make-up bags, especially products by MAC, which has a cult following. The bestselling shade is the vivid red, Ruby Woo.”

What is beautiful? Stylist investigates the beauty habits of women all over the globe