Life — February 14, 1930 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine, February 14, 1930 This is a cover featuring a portrait labeled "The Look of the Month" credited to "W. T. Benda: Conception of the Ideal American Beauty." The image shows a woman in profile with 1920s-style finger waves and what appears to be pearl jewelry, exemplifying the fashionable aesthetic of that era. The headline "DO YOU KNOW A GIRL WHO LOOKS LIKE THIS?" suggests this represents the contemporary ideal of feminine beauty—likely reflecting both advertising conventions and social expectations of the period. Rather than political satire, this appears to be a lifestyle/fashion-focused magazine cover typical of Life's content in 1930, priced at 10 cents. The "satire" may lie in Life's characteristic gentle mockery of beauty standards and modern consumer culture.