Now more than ever we are questioning the idea of beauty. What was beautiful 500 years ago is not the same as what is considered beautiful in 2016, and we can expect it to keep evolving.
When we consider traditional Western ideas of beauty, we see a very Aryan figure. Blonde hair, blue eyes (and thin and petite for women). However, we are slowly moving away from this look, towards a darker more "exotic" look, as we learn more about aesthetics in other cultures.
Personally, I've always preferred a dark haired beauty to the light Californian look (in both males and females). I have often wondered if this is because 1. I'm a brunette and 2. I've always been fascinated with Egypt; thus I found this article very interesting. It talks about how the "beauty aids" were most likely functional rather than cosmetic, our (mis)perceptions of ancient Egyptian beauty, and how they were possibly formed.
https://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160204-how-ancient-egypt-shaped-our-idea-of-beauty
Image attribution: 20th Century Fox