Zhao Qing, 28, prefers cherry or wine lipstick to glossy pink. Her eye sockets are padded with earthy color, and a thick layer of light gold is spread in the middle of her eyelids. She deliberately emboldens the width of the eye ends, making sure they look long and slightly curved upward at the corners.

She retouches her makeup to match her natural caramel skin, an effective and quick way for her to look delicate yet assertive, especially at the beginning of a long workday.

She is young with a calm face whose lines now exude confidence and a certain strength. Last year she was no longer obsessed with whitening, and "the new tanning look helps me drop the pretense and discover the real me", she says.

In 2018 the popular online talent show Creation 101 allowed a group of young women to compete for 11 places in a women's pop band; the 25-year-old model agent Wang Ju, sturdy and swarthy according to media descriptions, was almost eliminated at the beginning of the season and seemed unlikely to succeed. However, by June Wang ranked second among the 22 finalists, gaining increasing public attention.

The other women in the show had snowwhite skin, slender figures and sweet smiles, complying with the prevailing aesthetic standard, in fact the beauty standard that most young women all over China today pursue. Wang's unexpected overnight popularity provided an opportunity for the Chinese public to reflect on the concept of Chinese women and their beauty standards. Ultimately she failed to win, but her dramatic ups and downs triggered debate on issues such as body image, social status and women's empowerment.

It is not so much that women such as Wang are promoting a new trend of beautiful and black; rather, they have been trapped by the trend and are now accepting their dark skin and finding the beauty that suits them.