Beauty Bytes: September 28, 2012

The underground Japanese body modification practice of bagel-shaped facial saline injections has hit the mainstream press. “Bagelheads“, as they are known, are happy to stand out among more traditional Japanese, and usually get the injections before going out clubbing. The whole swelling is assimilated back into the body within 16-24 hours, so it’s a pretty high maintenance body mod. Now that there’s a pretty model photographed with the look, American media is all over it as a trend. It is not.  Japan Daily Press.

• Political makeup – especially the makeup gaffes – has gotten tons of media coverage this electoral season, probably because there are so many blogs with endless need for stories to cover. So here’s a collection of links about Mitt Romney’s dark powder, how to avoid Condoleeza Rice’s lipstick on the teeth, and an article about the work of doing makeup for politicians.

• Along with all the drama and rancour that hyper-polarized politics can bring into an electoral race, there’s….marketing! Not wanting to miss out on the fun, Bliss Labs has released two limited-edition body lotions. The two-ounce lotions – “Mint” Romney and “O”bama, which smell like mint and orange respectively – retail for $6 each. Blissworld.com.

• Internet bullies are a special breed, and most of us dread the day we might become their victim. But a Sikh girl whose photo was posted on Reddit took the opportunity to educate a forum about her culture, and even got an apology! Balpreet Kaur found that a candid photo of her was posted by a guy named european_douchebag with the title “I’m not sure what to conclude from this.” Kaur, like many women, has quite a bit of natural facial hair. However, as a Sikh, she is prohibited from cutting, trimming, or removing it. What’s more, she doesn’t care that some guy on the Internet does or doesn’t like it, and wrote a response detailing her reasons for not worrying about what others think. Quote: “Just as a child doesn’t reject the gift of his/her parents, Sikhs do not reject the body that has been given to us. By crying ‘mine, mine’ and changing this body-tool, we are essentially living in ego and creating a seperateness between ourselves and the divinity within us.” The original poster apologized, saying, “Put simply, it was stupid.” Jezebel.

• How’s your Twitter? How many followers do you have? Is the number high enough to impress? The practice of buying fake followers on Twitter is generally considered gauche, but the need to appear popular on the Internet hasn’t stopped many fashion and beauty brands from doing it. Chelsea Burcz at Independent Fashion Bloggers looks into the numbers of a few brands whose numbers rose suspiciously quickly. And if you’d like to see how many fake followers you (or your friends) have? There’s a Fake Follower Check app you can use to find out! Independent Fashion Bloggers.

Beauty Queens on the subway? From 1941-1976, about 200 New York women who rode the subway were scouted for the Miss Subways program. Each monthly winner had her photo and a blurb about her life and ambitions featured in the subways, gaining her local fame. Photographer Fiona Gardner and journalist Amy Zimmer have tracked down 50 of these serendipitous beauty queens to find out what their lives have been like. Since many of them were working outside the home in times when fewer women did, it’s not surprising that their lives and accomplishments are pretty interesting. The project, which includes a book, will be featured in October at the New York Transit Museum. The Mary Sue.