Reality Retouched

Before you even open a magazine, your eye is caught by a beautiful woman with features that appear flawless. Her beauty strikes you as remarkable, and you think to yourself why can’t I look like that. You slowly begin comparing yourself to her, realizing that you, in no way, shape, or form, can be as perfect as she is. But then again, is she really as perfect as she seems?

As society has progressed, it is my view that we have lost sight of what is real. So many individuals see images, that have greatly been altered by photoshop, and believe them to be a true account of beauty. Photoshop has grown to be more than just a way to edit photographs, it is a virtual pill that provides you with the body type and features you aspire to obtain. Is it a technological diet? 

The media has drained that which is natural and has replaced it with artificial images and ideas of beauty. Young women and men suffer from self esteem issues as a result of the unnatural beauty portrayed in magazines, ad campaigns, etc. Retouching has also contributed to severe illnesses, like anorexia nervosa. These individuals have developed a severe fear of developing a distorted body image, in other words becoming fat. Their ideologies of what is “fat” derives from these faulty images presenting ideal body types, face shapes and features. Why would society want to do this to its people? One might argue that they are unaware of this, however I believe that to be complete rubbish. 

The people of society are also to blame. I say this as I strongly believe we should not let anyone define what is beautiful. Why have we allowed the media to set these standards? We need to resist that which the media feeds us, and create our own standards for beauty, I cannot stress this point enough. 

I am tired of seeing countless men and women suffer at the hands of the media. Life is beautiful, as are all of you in your natural form. You do not need to change anything about yourselves, as you have been created the way you have for a purpose. Health and happiness should be your only focus, and happiness will never come as a result of conforming to societal standards of beauty. Be you; be true to yourself. 

You may now consider this question, has retouching gone out of control? My response, most definitely yes.

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Where Candy Lives

This is an assignment we had to do for school. It was chosen to be in 60 foot window display at Humber Lakeshore next Spring! This season it's all about colour blocking and fun accessories. Our inspiration came from the board game Candy Land and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

Just incase you can't see the credit text:
Photography by: Paul Chmielowiec, Art Direction: Bobby Raffin, Wardrobe styling: Allison Noel, Hair & Makeup: Vanessa Ciavoliello and Jannyl Van Der Eyken Props and set design: Stephanie Mercuri
Layout design and post production: Vanessa Ciavoliello

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Impossible Conversations

Next month, The Metropolitan Museum of Art is opening an exhibit called"Schiaparelli and Prada: Impossible Conversations." I'm not an expert on Schiaparelli or Prada, but it's very interesting to see and learn about how this exhibit unfolds.

When researching the 20s a couple of years ago for a high school project, I heard of Elsa Schiaparelli. Unfortunately, when researching the 20s, there is a lot of emphasis on Chanel and not enough on Schiaparelli. As much as how I love Chanel, it's interesting to learn about Schiaparelli and what put her on the other end of the spectrum, and made her different from Chanel.

The exhibit displays the fundamental similarities between the 2 women, from they're expression of ideas, their influences, and their unconventional ideas of beauty and femininity. It's divided into seven themed galleries:

1. Waist Up/Waist Down
2. Ugly Chic
3. Hard Chic
4. Naif Chic
5. The Classical Body
6. The Exotic Body
7. The Surreal Body

The different galleries feature videos by Baz Luhrmann, of the "impossible conversations" between these women from two different eras. For more information, visit The Metropolitan Museum of Art

It's exciting to see how similar the women are in their approach to fashion as a platform to present their much more complex ideas on life. I'm very keen on learning more about Schiaparelli and Prada, and how it seems as if fashion is so much more to them than just an artistic expression and visual appeal. It saddens me to not be able to see for myself this wonderful exhibit, but the good thing is that I can still learn more about the two women and their impact in their respective fashion houses and the fashion world.

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The Little Black Jacket

I am in love with all things Chanel. Learning about Coco Chanel and the fashion house is one of those small joys I have in life. I like reading books, and the Chanel books are some of the things I want.

In the next little while, Karl Lagerfeld and Carine Roitfield can add to the line Chanel books available with "The Little Black Jacket: CHANEL's Classic Revisited." It's a coffee table book featuring the Chanel LBJ, and how versatile it is. Pretty much everyone can wear it, no matter who you are and what your style is, the LBJ works for everyone.

The book features many different people from Georgia May Jagger, Elle Fanning, Kanye West, Yoko Ono, Sarah Jessica Parker, and Claudia Schiffer among others. I think this book only highlights the genius that is Coco Chanel in the world of fashion, and how her style is everlasting. It's a true testament to the mark of Chanel, and how designs from almost a century ago still work today. And they work for every type of person and every style. Chanel always blurred the lines. Between rich and poor, men and women---it's amazing to see it to this day.

 

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3D Nails? Why not!

There have been many nail trends over the last couple of years. Lately I've seen a couple that I just have to try. It's not just about coloured nails, but 3D nails!

1. Caviar Nails
The thought of caviar makes me sick, but I was very interested in hearing about these caviar nails. The look is said to have come from Ciate, when its creative director wanted 3D nails for the cover. At first I was a little bit repulsed by them, because I hate hate hate fish eggs. But then they started to look real cool, but it doesn't seem like it'll last longer than a night. Still, I need to try them on my nails. Maybe for the upcoming wedding I'm attending...

2. Feather Nails
I've grown to love feathers over the years, so I was ecstatic when my twitter feed was going crazy about these nails during the Lucian Matis show in the Toronto Fashion Week. And I have to say how much I love them. I don't know if I'll ever get to try them, but it would be great to have them on my nails!

3. Lace Nails
I've heard of them before, but I've never actually seen them until the Lucian Matis show (again, from TFW 2012), but I wasn't a fan of them. After some research, I found examples from other people that pulled of these lace nails very well. Unlike the other 2 nails above, this is something I would do to my nails again and again. Definitely not just a one time thing!

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Anti-Aging the Right Way

Everywhere you look, more and more women are going to get their faces pumped with collagen, lifted, pulled and pricked to look younger than they do. Most of these women never cared for their skin when they were younger, and are now paying the price. Why not love your skin and age gracefully without having to spend thousands of dollars on cosmetic surgery? How can you do this? Start taking care of your skin now! While you are still young!

In the economy we are in now, I know it feels like it’s not worth it to spend money on some skin care, but it’s better to put down a little bit of money every couple of months on skin care, rather than dropping around $8,000 all at once with the risk of the procedure messing up your face permanently. Think of this as one of the best investments you will make, where you are guaranteed to see a return later on in life.

How to avoid spending $8,000

1.      Cleanse

2.      Tone

3.      Moisturize

Do these 3 easy steps daily and it’ll make all the difference in the world and the way your skin ages. Don’t be afraid to get a good quality cleanser. It is better to spend a little money now than a lot later. I really do not recommend using cheap brands like Clean and Clear or Nivea, as these products are basically just harsh soaps. There is a reason these products are so cheap, people! If you are on a modest budget, I would suggest the Vichy line. Vichy can be purchased at Shoppers Drug Mart and is mid-priced. I especially recommend Vichy’s Aqualia moisturizer. It is really light and does not make your skin feel sticky or heavy. Don’t forget to moisturize your neck. By moisturizing your neck when you are younger, you prevent it from sagging and wrinkling.

Apart from the 3 basic steps, you should definitely get into the habit of exfoliating your skin once in a while. Your skin needs a good exfoliating in order to get rid of dead skin and dirt that gets deep down into your pores. There are a lot of great masks you can get that just require 10 minutes of your time and really work quite well in making your skin look visibly healthier. This is something you can do even just twice a month as a skin treatment. You can also consider going to get a facial once every couple of months to really give your skin a nice treat.

In terms of actual anti-aging products, don’t think you are ruled out if you are twenty-five years old with good skin. There are products out there to actually slow down your skins aging and make you look younger longer. I am twenty-one and have already started using some of Vichy’s Aqualia Antiox products such as the eye cream (highly recommended to brighten up and tighten up baggy under eye skin), and the Antiox day cream. This specific line is made particularly for young women who want to prolong the aging process of their skin.

So go visit a skin care professional and start taking steps to ensure that you are as beautiful when you are sixty as you are now.

 

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