All hail the Pretty Filter on Snapchat. No like… this filter is the best thing that’s ever happened to me. I use it every time I snap, and I even use it whenever I want to take a good pic (and just save it from Snapchat).
Look. My nose is thinner. My eyes are bigger. my skin is even and jawline smaller. This filter is LIFE.
But then I realized this Snapchat filter had really fxcked me up. It’s messed with the way I see myself, and the way I want to see myself. I didn’t realize how small I wanted my nose until I saw myself without it; I didn’t notice how much I wanted my jaw line thinner until I tried to take a snap sans filter. Nahhhh b – this filter was the only way.
Then I started wondering if I was the only person that felt this way. So naturally, I asked 6 people in my office; 4 girls, and 2 boys. Every girl I asked knew exactly what I meant about a filter making them feel some sort of way – they all had one they preferred and thought they looked “better” in. I asked them to send me a non-filtered pic, and then a pic of them with their favourite filter. These were the results:
THE WOMEN
VANESSA
Obviously I like the pretty filter one better because of the colouring and my skin definitely looks more flawless. If it’s possible I also have a tad more cleavage which is a little alarming if it’s because of the filter.
What’s interesting is that as soon as I put the filter with the flower crown on, I wanted to smile because I felt prettier.
PAULENA
The “pretty” filter makes my skin look flawless, which it isn’t. My eyes look slightly bigger which is a BIG win! Also the filter makes my face look more slim.
The “pretty” filter makes my skin look flawless, which it isn’t. My eyes look slightly bigger which is a BIG win! Also the filter makes my face look more slim.
I love the flower filter because it instantly makes me feel prettier. My face looks flawless, and I feel like I’m on an island vacation.
PASANG
This is my favourite filter because it makes me feel better about myself. As you can see I look a lot happier with the filter on and I feel more confident. This is probably because my skin looks flawless and my nose looks slimmer with the Snapchat filter.
ARIANA
I love using the snapchat filters because they make my eyes look brighter, my skin smoother, and my nose slimmer. It’s basically a free FaceTune without actually being that girl who facetunes her selfies.
THE MEN
PATRICK
I don’t use filters to make myself look better – for me they’re more so to have fun and act like a goof. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t search for better lighting and tried to post interesting stuff on my story to impress people following me.
DOMENIC
I have never been someone to go crazy with Snapchat filters or take a lot of selfies (but don’t get me wrong, I have had a lot of fun with some of the filters). I think that for myself, if I post selfies, I usually take them to document moments – if I’m away on vacation or celebrating a friend’s birthday – and I think in that sense I can capture more realistic version of myself.
THE VERDICT
Women love filters, men… not so much. Each girl I asked mentioned the fact that they love how flawless their skin looked, and almost all of them preferred how their eyes and nose looked when they added the filter.
It’s funny, because (not to say men can’t have self-esteem issues), but it’s no surprise that a lot of us women have moments where we don’t feel the best about ourselves, or have things we want to change about our face or bodies. Which I gotta say, is a sad reality.
But I really can’t seem to make up my mind about how I feel about this. 10% of me thinks we should accept and love the “real you”; but 90% of me says F-that – if a Snapchat filter always-on makes you feel better about yourself, who says you should stop. I know I’m not stopping anytime soon – it makes me feel too good about myself. And really, how different is that than putting on makeup every morning? Yup – pretty filter for life. Until they take it away. Snapchat don’t take it away. Plastic surgery is too expensive.
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