Amelia McEvoy
Amelia recently completed her history degree at Queen Mary University, London. For her dissertation she focused on the developing impact of British beauty culture on women in the post-war years 1950-80. Here she describes the process of shaping her dissertation and the part that the AMSR has played.
How did post-war British beauty culture construct youthfulness as a duty for women through advertising, 1950-80?
When I began my History degree at Queen Mary University of London in 2022, I knew I loved asking questions about the past, but I didn’t yet know what kind of historian I wanted to become. At sixth form I studied History, Philosophy and Ethics, and Psychology. Although they were all very different subjects, each encouraged me to think critically and analyse evidence. What I enjoyed most, however, were case studies, particularly those from the twentieth century, and I found myself becoming increasingly interested in women’s history and the experiences of ordinary people. Looking back, I don’t think I always enjoyed education in the traditional sense, but I did enjoy investigating evidence and uncovering the stories hidden within it.
By the time it came to choosing my dissertation, I already knew I wanted to research women’s cosmetics advertising in post-war Britain. My notebook quickly filled with ideas: comparing magazines such as Woman and Honey, exploring branding strategies used by companies like Max Factor, Yardley and Revlon, and also looking at seasonal advertising and nostalgia. The problem wasn’t finding a topic, but it was finding the right question. Once I began reading the existing scholarship, I realised that many of my original ideas had already been explored. It was frustrating at first, but it also encouraged me to think more creatively about where I could make my own contribution.
The turning point came when I discovered the Archive of Market and Social Research (AMSR). While exploring the collections, I came across a 1979 qualitative study commissioned by Max Factor, which investigated how women aged 25 and over perceived different makeup brands and cosmetic products. Reading the responses completely changed how I viewed beauty advertising. I had already observed from modern day examples that makeup advertising was detrimental to how women viewed themselves, but it further became clear that these weren’t simply adverts selling lipstick or foundation; but that they reflected wider ideas about ageing, appearance and what society expected from women. That single source sparked the question that became the foundation of my dissertation: How did post-war British beauty culture construct youthfulness as a duty for women through advertising, 1950–80?
Once I had my question, everything else began to fall into place. The AMSR became central to my research, and more importantly to my love of research. I additionally used the British Library to analyse issues of Woman magazine from 1950-80. My research looked at brands including Max Factor, Yardley, Revlon and Rimmel, looking for recurring tropes surrounding ageing and youthfulness. Across three decades of advertising, I found repeated messages linking youthfulness as women’s duty for beauty, while ageing was often presented as something women should resist. Combining market research with magazine advertising allowed me to explore not only how products were promoted, but also how companies understood their consumers and tailored their messages accordingly.
Like most dissertations, mine went through plenty of drafts and revisions. As my research developed, so did my argument, and I found myself refining chapters as new patterns emerged from the sources. Throughout the process, I was incredibly fortunate to have people around me who inspired and encouraged me. My sister, who was completing the final year of her History Master’s degree while I was writing my dissertation, was an invaluable source of support. I was also grateful to Phyllis Macfarlane at the AMSR, whose enthusiasm for the Archive was captivating. Her passion for the collections reminded me that archives are far more than shelves of historical material – they are places where new questions and new discoveries begin.
If I could offer one piece of advice to anyone starting a dissertation, it would be not to worry if your first idea doesn’t become your final one. Some of the most rewarding moments come from changing direction, asking new questions and allowing the sources to guide your thinking. For me, the Archive of Market and Social Research didn’t simply provide evidence for my dissertation, it helped me discover why my dissertation mattered.
Having completed my degree, I’m now beginning an internship with a magazine publishing company. Admittedly, it produces corporate magazines rather than the women’s magazines filled with beauty adverts that I spent my dissertation analysing; however, it still feels like a fitting next step after spending so much time researching the history of magazines and advertising. Looking back, it’s rewarding to see how a curiosity about women’s history and twentieth-century case studies developed into a dissertation that has now found a home in the AMSR Archive.
Amelia McEvoy
August 2026