Journalist Esther Honig "before," and after photo manipulation by an artist in the Philippines to make her beautiful.

Journalist Esther Honig “before,” and after photo manipulation by an artist in the Philippines to make her beautiful.

What makes a woman beautiful? It’s no secret that the overuse of Photoshop in American media has helped to create an impossible standard of beauty. But is it a U.S.-only phenomenon?  That’s what human-interest journalist Esther Honig set out to discover with her project “Before and After.”

Honig sent nearly 40 individuals from 25 countries—from Sri Lanka to the Ukraine—an unedited photo of herself and asked them simply, “Make me beautiful.” The results reveal both personal and cultural concepts of beauty as seen through the eyes of each designer and how vastly different standards of beauty are across the globe.

See the photos and a compelling interview with Esther Honig at Bustle.