Compared to 10 years ago? Definitely more open minded to beauty. CoverGirl has seen more women of color appear in magazines, TV ads, etc. then when I was growing up. Queen Latifah, Ellen Degeneres, Beyonce, Rhianna, etc. Singers, actresses, and entertainers -- it's not just a pretty face, those women have talent to back it.

LOL. Ellen Degerenes isn't a woman of color but she is 50 ~ so she's a rare older lady to be seen in a makeup ad (who wasn't a supermodel -- aka Laura Hutton). She is an open lesbian and I love how Middle America is cool with that. I'm glad to see a representation of a woman whose lifestyle and even physical appearance is not the typical ones you see ad execs dream up.

Easy, breezy, beautiful Cover Girl? Watching Top Model, I recall that Tyra Banks always stressed that CoverGirl was a Girl Next Door, All-American type of brand. Not skin and bones at all. Tyra's pick of winners -- who range in multiracial backgrounds -- from Season 3 through Season 12 of America's Next Top Model have landed CoverGirl contracts. 

I'm still surprised that Queen Latifah got a contract considering her plus size and all.

As a man, I'd have to say almost all models are skin and bones. CoverGirl or not. Size 0, Size 2 are not sizes found in nature for most Americans. Queen Latifah was a token that CoverGirl gave to the masses -- if America's getting fatter (which it is -- look at this 2009 report), CoverGirl knows that financially, it's a smarter move to cater to that growing population.

1. Percentage of obese or overweight children is at or above 30 percent in 30 states.

2. Adult obesity rates now exceed 25 percent in 31 states and exceed 20 percent in 49 states and Washington, D.C. Two-thirds of American adults are either obese or overweight

CoverGirl needs more cover models who are reflective of the different shapes and sizes that American women come in.

Although I do enjoy the wide array of ethnic faces and the odd older or plus sized woman that Cover Girl has recently showcased, I still find that they are mostly very young and emaciated and a poor example of what their average clientele are.

@kananen

I think that CoverGirl more then any other makeup company has reached out to the non-typical model and prettied them up. Case in point: Queen Latifah, Ellen Degeneres. By showcasing them with their makeup, I think they make a good point and saying this makeup look can be applied to you and is humanly doable -- you don't have to be a model to sport a good makeup look.

Course -- I like looking at pretty models -- has anyone noticed that the America's Next Top Model winners get a 1-year contract and seem to blip off CoverGirl's radar? Why can't CoverGirl use more diverse models in longer running campaigns (aside celebs)?

I welcome a bit more diversity in the way beauty is presented. I've seen so many skinny blondes advertising things to me that I can't help but to think of them as a bit plain now. The advertising industry that has for so long propped them up as the definition of beauty has robbed me of the ability to find them remotely attractive. To me, the average girl just walking down the street is more "exotic" and attractive compared to the norms the fashion industries seem to be obsessed with. If CoverGirl is branching out, then good on them.

Covergirl should take a page out of the Dove playbook, having used "real" people in their ads, suggesting that one didn't need to be annorexic to use their products.  Unfortunately, as a narricistic society, we will forever cling to glorified images of beauty, instead of authenticity.

We still dont see REAL ppl everyone is still like size 2! Real women have curves!

Real women do have curves -- they should cast Ugly Betty as a spokesperson. She looks like she'd fit into the Dove ad campaign.