Beauty Bytes: May 18, 2012

By Meli | Published: May 18, 2012

Has the “Most Beautiful Woman in the World” gotten too fat? Aishwary Rai went from Former Miss World title holder to Bollywood Actress, L’Oreal Cosmetics model, and possible global representative for the UN’s girl child campaign. She’s also a new mother to a baby girl, and at 38, hasn’t yet shed the “baby weight”. In a country where starvation is still common, she was one of the first Bollywood stars whose proportions were closer to supermodel thin than to curvier tradition. The backlash is especially interesting in that there are many Indians who expect her to keep up with Western icons such as Victoria Beckham or Angeline Jolie. Also, Bollywood actresses are generally not welcomed back on screen after motherhood, and while that attitude is changing, it remains to be seen whether the change will come “Hollywood style” with an expectation that these women return to their pre-baby bodies, or if Indian audiences can accept that women do often mature into different forms as they age. The Sydney Morning Herald.

 

  • Fiji’s Miss World pageant has even more problems: first, Miss World Fiji 2012 winner Torika Watters come under scrutiny first for her age (she’s 16) and then her ethnic background (she’s half European). And then she was deemed too young for the intenational pageant, even though there had supposedly been pre-approval. Now, one of the judges, Fijian fashion designer Hupfeld Hoerder, says the pageant was a sham, and that the judges were not given criteria to judge on, and that they were pressured to name Watters as the winner. A new winner has been announced, 24-year-old Koini Vakaloloma, who will represent the country in China. San Francisco Chronicle.

 

  • The Miss Universe Canada pageant is underway with the first transgender contestant taking the spotlight. Jenna Talackova, who received gender reassignment surgery four years ago, fought hard to be included, and is not only sharing the stage with the other contestants, but bringing in lots of extra publicity. CBC News.

 

  • Also from the Pageant world: Miss England hopeful Kirsty Heslewood says that modelling and beauty pageants helped her overcome extreme shyness ans selective mutism. Know in her school as “the girl who wouldn’t speak”, Kirsty did not speak at all outside her home until she was seven years old. The Daily Mail.

 

  • Morgan Spurlock, of “Supersize Me” fame, takes on the rapid rise of the men’s grooming industry, and men’s image issues. Featuring bodybuilders, competitive beard growers, and actors Jason Bateman and Will Arnett, it pruports that men are more vain in 2012 than in any point in history. The Boston Globe takes them seriously, while The New York Times does not. The Boston Globe. The New York Times.

 

If Spurlock and company really think 2012 is the most vain time ever for men, maybe they should visit a museum and check out some portraits from the eighteenth century. These guys didn’t have to wax their backs, but the wigs, silks, stockings and face powder were over the top. Here’s a link to a gallery of some very pretty rogues: The Portrait Project.

 

Pin It
Email
Posted in Beauty Bytes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Makeup as Performance: Cindy Sherman

By Meli | Published: May 16, 2012

Do we create our own identities, or are they created for us? In the age of seemingly infinite aesthetic choices (including surgery), are our physical identities truly fluid, or are they dependent on the stage upon which we perform?

 

Visiting the Cindy Sherman retrospective at MOMA, there’s a lot to be divined on these questions. Sherman, who has famously cast herself as various personas in self portraits for the past thirty-seven years, has used the genre to explore perception and roles of self, especially for women. The characters she invents seem to inhabit their own worlds – sometimes believable, often outlandish, and occasionally macabre.

 

In her more subtle, “believable” self portraits, she illustrates different outcomes of age and class, dress and makeup in feminine identity. And looking at the contrast between her early work series Untitled Film Stills (1978-1980) and her recent “Socialite” self portraits (2007-2008), there seem to be two different ideas regarding modern feminine identity, and how performance of self change with age and class.

 

Untitled Film Stills

 

Cindy Sherman first came into prominence with her Untitled Film Stills, a series of black and white portraits of herself playing young women. These characters, created with makeup, wigs, and props, were reminiscent of characters in realist movies. There’s a certain voyeuristic feeling to them, as if the camera is spying on these women.

 

These portraits were noted for their subversion of mass media archetypes of women – archetypes that were created mostly by men. They seem to suggest that if our female iconography is molded by men, perhaps we can take it over ourselves – and in doing so, mold our own images.

 

Socialite Portraits


The Socialite series comes much later in Sherman’s career, after years of success – and exposure to wealthy art patrons.The characters in these portraits are older, wealthier, and with the use of Photoshop as well as props, more diverse in their looks. And unlike the naifs from the Untitled Film Stills – who are being watched without their knowledge – the Socialites are addressing the camera directly, even confronting it.

 

This later series suggests that the question of identity is not as simple as re-appropriating male-created archetypes. Yes, these women matured within a social space that is defined by men. But they are also women with power and wealth, and presumably have access to the props and technology to mold their images in the way they desire. And Sherman’s portraits of them suggest that there is more to their image than just money and will – the demands of nature and society have also made their marks.

 

Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still, 1980
Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still, 1978
Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still, 1978
Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still, 1978
Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still, 1978
Cindy Sherman: Untitled Film Still, 1978
Cindy Sherman: Untitled, 2008
Cindy Sherman: Untitled, 2008
Cindy Sherman: Untitled, 2008
Cindy Sherman: Untitled, 2008
Cindy Sherman: Untitled, 2007
Cindy Sherman: Untitled, 2008

 

What Roles are We Playing?

 

That the same person is portraying all these people is illuminating – how many different people could we be? Obviously it’s not just hair and makeup. All our roles are dependent on others – and not just in the ‘male gaze’ way. A socialite becomes who she is in relation to society – even a movie character is dependent on her story. And these roles add up into a more pronounced persona. We curate our identities in the face of our individual lives and our audience.

 

How we view beauty is also dependent on subtle gradations of social conduct. Hippies are expected to view it in certain ways, as are feminists, makeup artists, or art critics. Feminism’s promise is that that we have full freedom of expression, if we can just throw off the shackles of male hegemony. And Capitalism’s promise is that we have full freedom of expression, if we can just buy enough stuff to make ourselves over. We assume that our identities are fluid in the modern world, and we remake ourselves over into new people regularly. But ultimately, we may have only so much control over the roles we play, and over the “identity” through which we play them. And by making herself over into all these different women, Sherman shows us the fragility of those choices, and the unconscious display of that which is underneath the effort.

 

Cindy Sherman retrospective at MOMA, through June 11, 2012.

Pin It
Email
Posted in Beauty and Art | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Who’s Afraid of Wrinkles?

By Meli | Published: May 9, 2012

Recently I met a Celebrity Dermatologist who gave me quite a lecture on exfoliation, and how I should do more of it. This isn’t the first time a Committed Skin Professional has told me this – I’m a very lackadaisical exfoliator. But amidst the talk of clear pores and light-reflective skin surfaces, I started to wonder: What is this current obsession with shiny-smooth, super exfoliated skin? Does it really look “young”? And really, what is so scary about getting wrinkles?

 

Now, I’m as vain as anyone else, but let’s look at this for a minute: as modern women, we’ve probably got 70-90 years to live on this earth, and some of those years – the majority of them – are going to include wrinkles. Is our fear of looking old rational? Is it in our best interests? Or is it, perhaps, outdated?

 

There are very real fears about growing old: pain, sickness, loss, and death all become more constant companions. But I don’t think that’s all of it – those things exist worldwide, yet we in the affluent world worry so much more about the visual effects, and many try, at any cost, to look young.

 

Youth is beautiful – it holds so much promise. And as women we are historically valued for our youth and  fertility – and our future value as labor. But so much of our work in the modern world is done by our minds – minds that are more developed and discerning after a few decades out in the world. Can we give up our old wives tales?

 

Well, that may depend upon how we view ourselves. We live in a consumerist society, with new and shiny things everywhere, available for purchase. Just about every material thing in our lives is replaceable. Are we replaceable?

 

The very notion of the trophy wife is that of woman as lifestyle accessory, like one of those Italian sports cars that spends most of its time in the shop. It’s not a new idea – traditions of women as decorative accessories have existed for eons in any society large and wealthy enough to afford such specialization.

 

But what if we compare ourselves not with inanimate objects, but with living things that grow and change over time? Look at trees, for example. When’s the last time  you heard someone looking at a grand old oak tree who said “that bark is too thick and gnarled…it should be smooth like a young tree!” We don’t. We marvel at the tree’s majesty, imagine how that tree has witnessed events throughout its life, and wish it well for surviving through all the changes that have unfolded around it.

 

No one is going around advocating the stripping of bark from old trees, so they can have the smooth, clear bark of their younger cohorts. We love the texture of bark on a great old tree. Yet we’re going through this obsession with having super smooth, shiny new skin cells at the very surface of our faces at all times. Is this good for us? I know dermatologists and estheticians will say yes, it is, but I’m not so sure. Maybe we build up those extra cells for a reason.

 

And while super smooth, shiny skin looks clear and reflective, does it really look young? When I look at young skin, it’s not super shiny and new – teenage models don’t chemically exfoliate their skin much, and children don’t need to. As I look at women who have joined this trend, I see the great care they take of their skin, but I’m not fooled. The slickness gives the game away.

 

I’m not advocating the abandonment of skin care or anti-aging treatments – I’m a beauty professional myself after all – it’s my job to embellish outer beauty. And I wear my sunscreen. But fearfully going full blast down the path of anti-wrinkle treatments as though we’re cars that need refinishing – without asking “why” – might not be in our best interests. Perhaps we can model ourselves after those living creatures that we feel deserve to wear the texture and majesty of their age. And in doing so we can acknowledge that our lives take different forms at different times, and our choices in view of cosmetic and aesthetic care might be less in line with fear of wrinkles and whatever trend we’re being pitched – and more in line with the fullness of our lives in the long run.

 

Photo of Ao Naga Woman from Chuchuyimlang village, India by Walter Callens. Used with permission.

Pin It
Email
Posted in Beauty and Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beauty Bytes: April 27, 2012

By Meli | Published: April 27, 2012

There’s trouble for newly crowned Miss World Fiji: first she gets flack for her age (she’s sixteen years old), and now she’s being slammed for her racial background. Torika Watters, the contest winner of mixed European and Fijian heritage, has drawn ire from nativists who say she’s not Fijian enough. Nasty comments left on the Facebook site (since deleted) also included attacks on her hair, which critics say should be worn in the naturally fuzzy “buiniga” style. Perhaps ironically, portraits of the five full-blooded Fijian runners-up in the pageant on the FB site feature them wearing current “pageant” hairstyles.  The News Tribe. Miss World Fiji 2012 Facebook Site.

 

  • More trouble in Pageant Land: Carlina Duran, the newly crowned Miss Dominican Republic, must give back her crown because she has been married. The 25-year old, who was married in 2009, has since stated that she is in the process of getting an annulment, and lives as a single woman. But pageant rules clearly state that a contestant must not be married – you’ve got to be available, ladies! International Business Times.

 

  • How to succeed in business? Bribery helps, unless you get caught. Avon Products has been investigating allegations of bribery following a 2005 report that suggested that employees were bribing Chinese officials. The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission and the Justice Department are also involved, looking into whether the company executives turned a blind eye to the report. Five executives have been fired since January of this year, and a sixth, group vice president Kerry Carr, has left the company this week. Ms. Carr, who was head of internal audit from 2003 to August 2005, declined to comment on the departure through her lawyer. The Wall Street Journal.

 

  • A study funded by an upscale clothing manufacturer in England found that women over 35 have more confidence in their personal style and beauty image than when they were younger. UK’s Daily Mail also attributes mature confidence to “mastering the perfect roast dinner”. Good thing Nigella Lawson made the Top Ten List in the article, or we’d be really confused…  The Daily Mail.

 

  • A Swiss woman had died following an attempt to live as a “Breatharian”. After seeing a documentary film about 83-year-old Indian yogi Prahlad Jani, who claims to have lived for 70 years without food or water. The unnamed woman decided to try to live entirely on sunlight, having also read a book by Australian breatharian Jasmuheen, and starved to death. Wild Beauty editorial comment: there may be (or not) yogis who can do this stuff in the Himalayas, but this is not the South Beach Diet. Don’t try this at home, kids! Herald Sun.

 

  • Pack your bags: and head to the Czech Republic, where you can take a beer and mineral bath at Chodovar Beer Wellness Land. The spa, which is part of a family brewery, offers treatments based on local mineral water, hops, and malt. Their dark beer and mineral bath is reputed to help with psoriasis and acne, as well as being very relaxing. They also offer a “drinking cure”, which is based upon the mineral water they use to brew their beer, but if you’re looking to try a more escapist “drinking cure”, they also offer tours of the brewery. Chodovar Beer Wellness Land.
Pin It
Email
Posted in Beauty Bytes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Makeovers in the Movies: Vertigo

By Meli | Published: April 19, 2012

Makeovers in the movies are so often about brightening up the place: prettifying a nerdy girl, replacing a boring wardrobe – even spicing up a lifeless movie plot.

 

But the makeover takes a darker, more sinister turn in Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo. Here, the makeover is weaponized – looks are fuel for the war between the sexes, psychosexual redemption, and even murder.

 

The bulk of the movie shows us San Francisco detective John “Scotty” Ferguson’s attempt to decipher the mysterious Madeleine Elster – the beautiful, haunted wife of college acquaintance Gavin Elster. Scotty’s acrophobia has already prevented him from saving the life of one of his police colleagues. And in spite of his attempts to help Madeleine, her disease sends her running up the stairs of a mission bell tower, where his fears prevent him from following, and perhaps saving her life.

 

After a year’s hospitalization, Scotty is functional but not well. He is obsessed with the dead Madeleine and his failure to help her, and it is while revisiting her old haunts that he discovers Judy Barton. He stalks her, following her back to her residence hotel and convincing her to have dinner with him.

 

And here is where the makeover goes to a very un-fun place. Judy, who knows exactly what happened to Madeleine, is in love with Scotty, and wants him to love her back. Unfortunately for her, he’s not really into the tacky shopgirl from Salina, Kansas, but rather the mysterious dead socialite Madeleine.

 

This tug-of-war between Scotty’s need for closure and Judy’s need for love battles out over every aspect of the makeover. Judy pleads: “Couldn’t you like me just the way I am?” But no, he couldn’t, and he drags her to the “right” store, for the perfect suit, and the perfect hose, and the perfect shoes. And when the time comes to change her hair, she resists, knowing that he will never love her for herself.

 

Scotty’s fetishistic makeover of Judy extends to every detail – he can’t even bring himself to kiss her until she has exactly replicated Madeleine’s yonic hairstyle. And then, there is love…sort of. Scotty can now love Judy as Madeleine, and Judy can have Scotty – as long as she looks like Madeleine. She might even convince him to love her as herself. Things go well for a time, until she puts on an old piece of jewelry…

 

 

What’s so creepy about this makeover is that it’s entirely based on deception and coercion. Scotty and Judy’s attraction is based on so many levels of betrayal and emotional damage, that there is no truth to their love. The memory of Madeleine is not going to be enough to sustain their relationship.  And when Scotty finds out that he’s been had, both by Judy and by Madeleine’s husband Gavin – who has not only outsmarted him, but also done a better job creating the ideal woman out of Judy – things cannot turn out well.

 

Unlike many makeover subjects, Judy herself is not improved by her makeover. She is merely used by the more powerful men in her life as they make her over to play out their own ambitions. She never finds power of her own through these transformations, and her love – based on appeasement of Scotty’s demands – will never be truly returned. Betrayed by promises of money and love, Judy’s makeover is ultimately tragic. And even though we learn of Judy’s involvement in the crime, we can’t help but feel sorry for her.

 

Judy’s makeover serves as both a thrilling plot device and a frightening realization that sometimes other people really do hold all the cards. This makeover, based on deception, greed and appeasement rather than the usual life-affirming reveal of  a truer, stronger self, is a tragic and frightening reminder that we can get caught up in deceptions way beyond our control. We all want to be loved for ourselves, not just for what others think they can create out of us or get from us. And when things aren’t what they seem, a makeover won’t necessarily make things better – or brighter.

 

Pin It
Email
Posted in Makeovers in the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beauty Bytes: April 6, 2012

By Meli | Published: April 6, 2012

San Jose, California: Former beauty queen Saman Hasnain (she was Mrs. Pakistan World in 2008), has been charged with 18 felony counts of conspiracy to commit grand theft. With her husband, she allegedly placed fliers and ads in ethnic grocers promising cheaper rates for home mortgages. As many as 80-100 people signed up for lower rate mortgages, placing deposits in an escrow account. When the loans failed to materialize, the victims found that the fine print on their contracts allowed Hasnain and her husband to withdraw the money, leading to several losing their homes. The couple have fled to Pakistan, which has no extradition treaty with the United States. ABC News.

 

  • Indian Islamic university Darul Uloom Deoband has issued a fatwa against Muslim women running beauty parlors, stating that Sharia law does not allow adornment. Muslim women, who have been both frequenting and running beauty parlors, mostly disagree. Seema Mohsin, the first woman member to be nominated to the State’s Wakf(holy land trust) Board, states:” I think such fatwas on trivial issues are unnecessary….We all respect the Darul Uloom Deoband but such fatwas are wrong.” The Hindu.

 

  • We in the United States know Tupperware as snap-lid-containers-for-leftovers, but in Latin America it’s home sales representatives sell beauty products first. Realizing that consumers in the region spent 20 times as much on beauty products than they did on leftover containers, and taking advantage of the lack of retail outlets outside major cities, the company spent $557 million buying up beauty brands. With a growing middle class and women wanting to earn money, the direct selling model is popular, and now about half of Tupperware’s $711 million annual sales in Latin America comes from beauty product sales. The Wall Street Journal.

 

  • Asian airlines are famous for their service, and also for the exquisite beauty of their flight attendants – a quality attained by exacting near-Hollywood standards on applicants during their hiring process. The strict codes of physical appearance aren’t just young, beautiful, and graceful, though. At Asiana Airlines, there is a Head of Image Making who teaches new hires how to smile, act, and how to apply their makeup and do their hair, so as to keep the company’s brand image. Some women’s rights activists are criticizing these rules as outdated and sexist, but other women see this as part of superior customer service. Says a flight attendant named Jade: “It’s a unique experience that some people are less accustomed to in the West.” Korean Herald.

 

  • Toddlers in Tiaras in Australia? No thanks, say a group of concerned parents and MP’s. While there have been a few child beauty pageants there already, parents are growing concerned that entering children in pageants so young just isn’t in their best interests. Pull The Pin (on Child Beauty Pageants) organizer Catherine Manning, puts it this way: “I always ask people, would you stand your two daughters side by side in the lounge room and tell one of them that she’s more beautiful than the other?” ABC Australia.

 

  • In Pictures: The ephemeral nature of beauty, both in humans and in the natural world, are the focus of “A divining Lens”, a photography exhibit at Public Pool in Detroit. The exhibit, which runs until April 28th, features three photographers whose work features the evanescence of physicality. Of special note: Lauren Semivan, whose self-portraits in front of drawings in her studio both reveal and conceal. The Detroit News.
Pin It
Email
Posted in Beauty Bytes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beauty Bytes: March 30, 2012

By Meli | Published: March 30, 2012

Gothic Lolita beauty is heading West, and already there are YouTube stars: Venus Palermo (pictured), a London teen known as Venus Angelic to her fans, has amassed over 8 million views on her YouTube channel which features extreme doll-like makeup and hair tutorials. And Dakota Rose Ostrenga, who as Kota Koti features less extreme versions of the baby-doll look, has garnered over 13 million views on her channel. News outlets worry loudly about teens infantilizing themselves, but as a former suburban subculture warrior, I have to admit it looks way cool. Hollywood Reporter.

 

  • Organic babies spend more on skincare than you do: The New York Times reports that sales of upscale natural baby products are on the rise, with parents spending up to $200/month on products. Lots of new ecoluxe babycare lines have sprung up, with fewer chemicals and more herbal and organic ingredients. And major companies are getting into the market as well – Johnson & Johnson has launched their own natural baby line (through Aveeno), which is touted as 70 percent organic. The New York Times

 

  • Do “beer goggles” work? Well maybe, if you’re looking in a mirror. A French study looked into the effects of drinking and attractiveness, and found that people who think they’ve been drinking alcohol think of themselves as more attractive and funnier than before. Interestingly, the actual amount of alcohol consumed had no effect – many of the subjects who rated themselves more highly had been given an alcohol-free drink that they were told was alcoholic. News 24.

 

  • Movie cross marketing into cosmetics isn’t just for “girly” movies anymore. The Hunger Games and Twilight are obvious choices for makeup tie-ins, but now the summer blockbuster is in it too. OPI is launching shades in May to tie in with The Amazing Spiderman, with one shade called Your Web or Mine. The Sydney Morning Herald.

 

 

Pin It
Email
Posted in Beauty Bytes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Makeovers in the Movies: Grease

By Meli | Published: March 26, 2012

There’s nothing like the vicarious thrill we get when we see a makeover in a movie. In the blink of an eye, a made-over character reveals a transformation that would take months, even years, in real life – and we thrill at the possibility of such dramatic changes in our own lives.

 

The first movie in this series of reader-suggested makeovers is Grease, a favorite for its 1950′s nostalgia, its song and dance numbers, and especially, its makeover of Sandy Olsen. Sandy, the fresh-faced Australian cutie whose dreamy summer romance with greaser Danny Zuko ends with the fear she’ll never see him again, finds herself at the same high school as Danny, who has returned to his rude-boy ways.

 

The high school cliques of boys and girls bluffing their way through teen sexuality almost succeeds in keeping Sandy and Danny apart. His cool act at school keeps his group of Greasers together, and the Pink Ladies are not sure they want to help Sandy out anyway.

 

 

Grease actually treats us to two makeovers: as Sandy and Danny try to work out how to be together, it’s Danny who gives in first. His repeated attempts to prove he can be a “jock” of sorts show that he’s really giving his all. But his “letter in track” makeover is nothing compared to Sandy’s. And Sandy is not going to be sidelined as a little girl. If she has to be a bad girl to get her man, then so be it. And she does it with gusto, getting Frenchy and her friends to help her:

 

 

What’s so thrilling about this makeover is that it’s a rock’n'roll feminine coming of age story: yes, Sandy’s getting herself made over to get her man, but in the end, she’s powerful as well as stunning. As a leather and stretch satin-clad badass, she is overpoweringly sexual, and Danny had better work to keep up with her in her new role. No more clumsy bluffing about, he’d better man up and fast! Having likely been coached by Frenchy and the Pink Ladies in far more than hair and makeup changes, Sandy is not an immature high school “bad girl” that might get “talked into” sexuality – she’s the one in charge. And the girl bonding and teamwork involved are an affirmation that coming of age can be more than awkward and painful.

 

Sandy’s makeover in Grease is an ultimate feel-good makeover. We all want to be Sandy: the good girl who gets to be badass, bond with her girls, and get her man as well. All women have to make the transition from naif to seductress – if only we could all do it as successfully (and via a slumber party makeover!) like Sandy.

 

Grease Poster at HollywoodMegaStore.com.

Pin It
Email
Posted in Makeovers in the Movies | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Beauty Bytes: March 23, 2012

By Meli | Published: March 23, 2012

The Body Shop has found the perfect role model in Lily Cole for its new message “Beauty with Heart”, designed to inspire its customers to do good as well as look good. In addition to her modelling, Lily has actively campaigned for sustainable clothing production with the Environmental Justice Foundation, and she co-founded the locally sourced knitwear company The North Circular. Grazia UK.

 

  • Word amongst hair salon owners is that the economic recovery is underway. They are seeing clients coming in for their regularly scheduled visits, rather than stretching times between cuts and coloring appointments. Forbes.com has the charts. Also mentioned: hairdressing is the 12th Best Job for 2012. Forbes.com.

 

  • In Brazil, beauty is seen as a woman’s right. It is also seen as key to her emotional wellbeing: at more than 220 clinics, poor women can get free Botox, laser hair removal, and dermatological treatments. Says Dr. Nelson Rosas, head of The Brazilian Society of Aesthetic Medicine’s Rio clinic: “…when we treat the wrinkle, that unimportant little thing, we’re actually treating something very important: the patient’s self-esteem.” Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.

 

  • Men face weight issues at the same rate as women, but the “girly” image of dieting often deters them from joining plans such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, and Nutrisystem. Now the weight loss companies are tapping into the male market with a rush of new advertising. (In case you haven’t seen the ads, they feature less chocolate and more burgers.) CNN.

 

  • If you just want to look at perfect bodies, the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles will mount a Herb Ritts retrospective next month. But don’t expect the usual roundup of celebrity portraits: the exhibition will focus on his work with fashion, athletes and dancers. Paul Martineau, who organized the show: “I was interested in the most elegant work rather than the most whimsical.” The New York Times.

 

  • “Beauty is where you find it,” and you can find it within. Tamara Gerlach, author of Cultivating Radiance, shares a few of her techniques for developing the inner beauty of self love. Her mantra? “As my outside ages, my intention is to become stunningly beautiful on the inside.” Martinez Patch.
Pin It
Email
Posted in Beauty Bytes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Beauty Bytes: March 16, 2012

By Meli | Published: March 16, 2012

Jennifer Aniston’s $8000/month beauty budget gets the breakdown at The Daily Mail. While her regimen allegedly includes a $450 neck cream containing crystals from the planet Mars, most of it is the usual dietician-facialist-private-yoga-teacher stuff we’d all have if we had that much cash to spend. The Daily Mail.

 

  • Julia Roberts’ beauty regimen is decidedly more bizarre, at least in the upcoming movie Mirror Mirror, where she plays the Evil Queen in a retelling of Snow White. Her attempts to retain her youthful beauty include fresh bird poop facials, maggot earwax removal, truly bee stung lips, and something involving a scorpion. Video at the link. US Weekly.

 

  • “I’m a Barbie Girl, in a Barbie World.” The Daily Mail has found a promotional model whose dream it is to look like Barbie. Charlotte Hoffman is getting close, and has spent £10,000 so far. The Daily Mail.

 

  • Miss America Kirsten Haglund struggled with body issues and anorexia as a ballet dancer, and says that beauty pageants helped her focus on being healthy by giving her a platform to support other recovering anorectics. She shares her story in detail as part of CNN’s series on the perception of beauty. CNN.

 

  • Up-and-coming beauty queen, Debbie Ebben, who is headed to the Miss Alaska pageant as Miss Chugiak-Eagle River, has chosen to shave her head for “St. Baldrick’s Day”. Having chosen children’s cancer research as her platform, Miss Ebben raised more than $4,000 for the charity, and is considering competing in the Miss Alaska pageant without wigs: “I don’t see it as anything negative. Girls wear extensions. Girls wear weaves. Girls wear wigs. There’s no difference. The true beauty is what you emanate yourself.” FoxNews.com.

 

  • The Museum of Cultural Arts, Houston is showing 40 Over 40, a collection of nude photos of women over forty, designed to “dispel the myth that age and beauty are mutually exclusive”. Photographer Jeff Myers began the project by photographing nudes of a friend as a favor. The black and white photos in the exhibition are of non models, mostly from the Houston area, who found out about the project by word-of-mouth. http://mocah.org/headlines/mocah-presents-40-over-40-a-collection-of-black-and-white-nudes-during-fotofest/
Pin It
Email
Posted in Beauty Bytes | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment