“God made people in his own image” is a common phrase just like “Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.” These phrases, and most like them, allude to the external physical features of a human being. Focusing on the external features, however, overshadow the internal ones of human beings, which are equally important aspects of beauty. Essentially, there are two different types of beauty, inner and outer beauty. The former deals with the internal attributes of a person, while the latter focuses on the external ones. Being a controversial concept, any perception of beauty depends on the judgement of the beholder, and what informs it. It is difficult to expressly say which type of beauty is better than the other because either of them describe important characteristics of a human being. Physical beauty describes elegance, while inner beauty describes traits; physical beauty involves symmetrical facial features while inner beauty involves intellect; in comparison, inner beauty would be more preferable than physical beauty.
Physical beauty generally concerns a person’s outer appearance, including their bodily elegance and complexion. Concerning complexion, for instance, depending on where a person comes from, they would consider a white, brown, or black complexion as beautiful. Apart from this definition being highly dependent on a person’s opinion and their cultural background, it can also be manipulated. According to McCabe, Timothy and Antonella (1), women have embarked on using make-up to transform their outward appearance in a manner that suits them and their understanding of physical beauty. On the other hand, inner beauty concentrates on a person’s unique traits. For example, their behavior or even sense of humor. Regardless of their physical features, a person with high a sense of humor or one that is well-behaved is considered beautiful.