My fellow Millenials...
Cast your mind back to the early Noughties, when the days of Bebo were long gone and we revelled in the glory of Myspace – a time of profile songs, choosing close friends to become your 'top six' and deciding which background layout truly reflected your super-quirky-not-generic-at-all personality.
Of course, no Myspace profile was complete without the perfect bathroom mirror selfie – a 45-degree titled head, an emo fringe straightened within an inch of its life and a teapot-arm on the hip.
Nowadays, we look back on that era with embarrassment and nostalgia.
But fast forward 10 years and it looks like we really haven't learned anything, as you can hardly scroll through Instagram at the moment without a selfie of a celebrity pouting with their hand hovering over their lips.
I kind of get it. After all, it worked for Britney Spears, when she seductively bit her lip during the video for 'I'm A Slave For You'. Heck, Kristen Stewart deserved a blummin' World Record for the amount of times she managed to do it throughout theTwilight saga. But, it's a seriously unflattering pose.
Half of the people who do it look like their pondering the deep existential questions of life, while the other half look as if they're covering up a cold sore.
And, if it is the latter, take it from one cold sore sufferer to another – a slathering of Zovirax for the fortnight and the job's a good'un.
You don't need to use your hand to cover your face, hun.
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I'm all for women wanting to feel confident on social media – I too have been guilty of the occasional hand-on-hip pose for the camera – but this hand to lip pose just makes you look like you're making up for a dodgy spot, smudged lipstick or regrettable lip piercing.
Those who do it might as well just plant a big old hand in front their faces at this rate.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
