Beauty

Beauty standards and personal style give students a lot to discuss, from makeup and skincare to bigger questions about appearance and confidence. Works well for opinions and cultural comparisons.

Questions are organized by level from beginner to advanced. A printable PDF of all the questions is available at the bottom of the page.

Beginner (A1-A2)

1. Who is the most beautiful or handsome celebrity in your country? What do they look like?
2. What do you do to look good every day? What takes the most time?
3. Do you like makeup or no makeup? What’s good about it?
4. Do you use perfume or cologne? What kind do you like?
5. What do you think is beautiful in nature? Where can you see it?
6. What part of your body do you take the most care of? What do you do?
7. Do you spend more time on your hair or your skin? What’s good about each?
8. What colors do you like to wear? Do those colors look good on you?
9. Do you like long hair or short hair? Why?
10. How much time do you need to get ready in the morning? What takes the longest?

Elementary (A2)

1. What is the most common plastic surgery in your country? Why do you think so many people get it?
2. What kind of beauty contests are popular in your country? Do they have beauty contests for men too?
3. What celebrities do you know of that have gotten plastic surgery? What did they change, and do you think it looked better?
4. Who is the most beautiful person you know in real life? What makes them stand out?
5. Is there a beauty product you use every day? How did you start using it?
6. What is the most popular makeup or beauty product in your country? Who uses it?
7. What do you do to take care of your skin? Why?
8. Have you ever changed your hairstyle or hair color? What did you think of it?
9. What beauty trend don’t you like? Why?
10. Do you follow beauty influencers online? What do you learn from them?
11. What’s the hardest part of your beauty routine? Why is it difficult?
12. What beauty advice did your parents give you? Do you follow it?
13. What is the strangest beauty trend you have ever seen? What made it so strange?
14. Have you ever tried to copy a celebrity’s hairstyle or look? What did you do?
15. What do people in your country generally do to look good for a special event? Why those things?
16. Have you ever gotten a haircut you did not like? What did you do about it?

Intermediate (B1)

1. Do you think beauty is the same for every person? Why or why not?
2. What do you think of plastic surgery? Would you ever consider it? Why or why not?
3. What does the saying ‘Beauty is only skin deep’ mean? Do you agree with it? Why or why not?
4. What makes someone beautiful?
5. Do you think science can measure beauty? Why or why not?
6. Should people spend a lot of money on beauty products? Why or why not?
7. Do you think beauty standards are changing? How so?
8. What do you think about anti-aging products? When are they worth it?
9. Should beauty products be tested on animals? Why or why not?
10. Who do you think decides what is beautiful in society?
11. Should schools have rules about makeup and appearance? Why or why not?
12. Should parents let their children wear makeup? Why or why not?
13. What makes someone’s personality beautiful? Give me some examples.
14. How much does the way someone looks affect how successful they are at work? Is that fair?
15. If your best friend wanted to get plastic surgery, what would you say to them?

Upper-Intermediate (B2)

1. How do different cultures think about beauty? Can you give some examples of how beauty standards vary around the world?
2. How has social media changed beauty standards? What do you think about those changes?
3. How has the definition of beauty changed over the last 50 years? What caused those changes?
4. What is the relationship between health and beauty? How much do they affect you?
5. How has the beauty industry responded to diversity movements? What do you think about those changes?
6. What role do genetics versus lifestyle play in how people look? How often have you thought about this?
7. Compare how people in your parents’ generation approached beauty with how young people approach it today. What has changed the most?
8. How does the pressure to look a certain way affect young people’s mental health? What could schools or families do about it?
9. What are the upsides and downsides of beauty filters on social media? How do they change the way people see themselves?
10. Have you ever visited a country where beauty standards surprised you? What was different, and how did it make you think about your own standards?
11. Some people say that natural beauty is disappearing because of technology and cosmetic procedures. Do you agree? Why do you think so?

Advanced (C1)

1. To what extent does the beauty industry profit from people’s insecurities while also claiming to promote self-confidence? How do consumers navigate this contradiction?
2. How do political movements and social change reshape what a society considers beautiful? Can you think of historical or recent examples?
3. In what ways do beauty standards reflect deeper power structures in society, such as wealth, race, and gender? How are these connections changing?
4. How does the push for inclusivity in beauty advertising sometimes become just another marketing strategy? What would genuine inclusivity actually look like?
5. Why do different eras produce such different ideas of beauty, and what does that reveal about the values and anxieties of each time period?
6. How do economic inequality and access to beauty products and procedures create a two-tier system of appearance, and what are the social consequences of that divide?
7. To what extent should governments regulate the beauty industry — from cosmetic surgery to misleading advertising — and where should personal freedom take priority?
8. What does society’s obsession with youth and beauty reveal about underlying assumptions regarding aging, mortality, and human value?
9. What tensions exist between the body positivity movement’s embrace of diverse beauty and commercial interests in maintaining narrow standards?
10. To what extent is the globalization of beauty standards a form of cultural imperialism versus a celebration of universal ideals?

PDF: Download a PDF of all the questions