Neo Grunge is a contemporary fashion statement that displays a lack of acceptance of the status quo, and a healthy dose of rebellion against an otherwise conformist society.
STEPS
Dress down. It starts with a burst of inspiration to be unmotivated in your dress. Neo grunge is a beautiful paradox. Think elegantly disheveled hair. Bed head that you gel into place every morning.
Take all your clean clothes and add a little something . A patch, a wallet chain, whatever. Or subtract: rip those Levi's just a bit to show just how street you are.
Plaid=win
Find some creative colors . Grunge was about the dull and the street
Neo grunge is about making that disheveled look a clear choice. And how better to do that then with some vibrant colors for your plaid button down?
Get the attitude down . Neo grunge fashion is not just a clothing style, it' s a way of life. Be the mess you perceive in the world. People will get it, and they'll love you for it. Think a cross between Cobain and Ghandi. We are the generation of change. Rock it.
TIPS
Don't take tips from others. Pave the street that lies ahead of you and walk that street in style.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Younger Skin At Any Age
Three high-tech derm treatments are turning back the clock with little pain or downtime.
By Jessica Prince
Forget the old axiom that beauty is pain. Surgical face-lifts and aggressive lasers that keep you under house arrest and on strong meds are taking a backseat to procedures that promise to help you age gracefully with minor recuperation. "Not only are we seeing better results with the latest generation of minimally invasive technology, the amount of downtime required with these treatments is also shrinking considerably," says Mitchell Chasin, medical director of Reflections Center for Skin & Body in New Jersey. "We can now deliver dramatic results without people missing a beat out of their busy lives." Read on for the most buzzed- about options.
SKIN ILLUMINATOR: CLEAR + BRILLIANT
Think of this new gentle laser as a facial on steroids. Clear + Brilliant uses fractional laser technology to create microzones of energy, causing a wound- healing response underneath the skin's surface that stimulates collagen production, which boosts radiance and plumps lines. "The big advancement with this laser is that it's safe on all skin colors and you don' t have to rearrange your social or professional life" for recovery, says New York City dermatologist Anne Chapas. Investment: $250 to $500 per treatment.
Ideal candidate: A patient (between the ages of 30 and 40) looking for a preventative antiaging treatment stronger than over-the -counter topicals but gentler than intense lasers "who wants smoother skin but doesn't have time to be red and swollen for days," details Chapas.
Problems targeted: Fine lines and wrinkles,blotchiness, uneven tone and texture, and sun damage. "But this would not be my laser of choice for treating deeper lines and wrinkles," says Chapas.
Treatable areas: Face, neck, chest, and hands.Treatments needed: Six treatments spaced two weeks apart.
Treatment length: A topical anesthetic is applied for 15 to 20 minutes and is followed by the 20- minute laser treatment.
Pain: "Patients may feel a light tingling or mild prickling, but most don' t feel anything at all," Chapas says. A small handheld laser-beam device is run up and down the skin.
Downtime: The skin is pink immediately after treatment (similar to post workout or a mild sunburn) but fades within a day. Dry skin can last for a couple of days.
Results: Smoother, more radiant skin, with improved tone and texture and a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles with a visible difference in how your skin feels after one treatment, promises Chapas.
Risks: Prolonged redness, hyperpigmentation, and scarring are possible but "very rare," says Chapas Maintenance: Touch-ups are advised every three months.
WRINKLE ERASER: eMATRIX
Whereas Clear + Brilliant helps prevent signs of aging before they appear, this device is aimed at eradicating fine lines and facial scars using fractionated bipolar radio- frequency technology.
Translation: Heat energy is delivered beneath your skin's surface to trigger collagen production without damaging the epidermis (top layer), which means no recovery time necessary. "The beauty of eMatrix is that it spares the top layer of skin and deposits 95 percent of the energy into the dermis," says Chasin. Imagine an inverted ice cream cone, says Nashville dermatologist Michael Gold. The tip of the cone represents the energy on the surface, and the scoop is the remainder, which spreads out underneath the skin. Investment $750 to $1 ,200 per treatment.
Ideal candidate: "A patient [age 35 to 45] who has early signs of aging—fine lines, some wrinkles. It's wonderful for acne scars and surface-texture issues," explains Chasin. Safe for all skin colors.
Problems targeted: Fine lines, surface irregularities, pigmentation, wrinkles, and scars from acne, trauma, chicken pox, or surgery.Doctors praise this device for its scar- banishing abilities, "and if I can get scars to go away, I can get wrinkles to go away," Gold says.
Treatable areas: Face, neck, chest, and hands. Treatments needed: For lines and wrinkles, two to three treatments spaced four weeks apart; for scars, three to four treatments spaced two to three weeks apart.
Treatment length: A topical anesthetic is applied for 15 to 30 minutes and is followed by a 20- to- 30- minute treatment.
Pain: "There is very little discomfort with this machine," says Gold. Patients feel a prickling or tingling sensation. "Sometimes they don't even need numbing," he says. A handheld device (imagine a toy gun) with an electrode tip is placed onto the skin to deliver heat energy below the surface.
Downtime: "Patients are generally red for a day or two max. That's it," says Gold.
Results: Look for improvements in skin texture, fine lines and wrinkles, scars, and pore size after week three, with continued benefits (like skin tightening) for up to three or four months.
Risks: Hyperpigmentation and/or scarring is "extremely rare" but possible with any energy-based system, says Gold.
Maintenance: Lines and wrinkles are continuously affected by the sun, so follow up with a treatment after a year.
NONSURGICAL FACE-LIFT: ePRIME
"Face lifts are great at tightening at tightening, but they don't address thinning skin and volume loss," explains Chasin. Enter ePrime, a new system that conquers all three and, according to a clinical study coauthored by Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, dermatologist and assistant clinical professor at Yale University School of Medicine, promises significant skin tightening—37 percent of what you'd get with a face-lift . How? Derms are able to customize energy delivery to specific locations and depths, and "we can get away with that because we are able to measure the energy and temperature in real time and adjust it," explains Chasin. Using small sensored needles, doctors are able to bypass the top layer of skin (where most complications occur) and deliver bipolar radio- frequency energy below the surface to safely maximize results. "This is a tremendous advance," explains Alexiades-Armenakas . "Before, we were guessing the temperatures in the skin and this led to lack of effectiveness and burns."
And ePrime doesn't boost just collagen: "This is the first technology proven to stimulate elastin and hyaluronic-acid production," says Chasin.
Investment: $2 ,500 to $4 ,500 per treatment Ideal candidate: "A patient [age 40 to 55] with volume loss, hollowing and dips in the skin, deep wrinkles, acne scars, and sun damage," says Chasin. "We use it to restabilize the whole supporting structure of the skin." Safe for all skin colors.
Problems targeted: Deep lines and wrinkles, acne scars, and loss of supporting facial structure. Treatable areas: The face. Evaluations are under way for use on the neck, arms, and stretch marks on the abdomen.
Treatments needed: One. Treatment length: Local anesthetic is administered (the doctor may inject a low concentration of lidocaine and epinephrine through a cannula threaded under the skin to constrict blood vessels and prevent bruising caused by punctures) and is followed by a 45- to- 60- minute treatment.
Pain: "Pain is a zero on a scale of one to 10," says Chasin. A handheld device is equipped with five pairs of tiny, hair- thin needles that puncture the skin to deliver radio-frequency energy.
Downtime: Superficial bruising, redness, and swelling may last up to 48 hours, and the majority of patients return to regular activities in one day.
Results: "An overall improvement in skin tone and volume, with significant tightening of the skin and reduction in lines and wrinkles," says Chasin. He adds, "Patients look younger and more vibrant, but they still look like themselves."
Risks: No serious complications have been reported to date.
Maintenance: Doctors advise waiting one to three years before considering a second treatment.
By Jessica Prince
Forget the old axiom that beauty is pain. Surgical face-lifts and aggressive lasers that keep you under house arrest and on strong meds are taking a backseat to procedures that promise to help you age gracefully with minor recuperation. "Not only are we seeing better results with the latest generation of minimally invasive technology, the amount of downtime required with these treatments is also shrinking considerably," says Mitchell Chasin, medical director of Reflections Center for Skin & Body in New Jersey. "We can now deliver dramatic results without people missing a beat out of their busy lives." Read on for the most buzzed- about options.
SKIN ILLUMINATOR: CLEAR + BRILLIANT
Think of this new gentle laser as a facial on steroids. Clear + Brilliant uses fractional laser technology to create microzones of energy, causing a wound- healing response underneath the skin's surface that stimulates collagen production, which boosts radiance and plumps lines. "The big advancement with this laser is that it's safe on all skin colors and you don' t have to rearrange your social or professional life" for recovery, says New York City dermatologist Anne Chapas. Investment: $250 to $500 per treatment.
Ideal candidate: A patient (between the ages of 30 and 40) looking for a preventative antiaging treatment stronger than over-the -counter topicals but gentler than intense lasers "who wants smoother skin but doesn't have time to be red and swollen for days," details Chapas.
Problems targeted: Fine lines and wrinkles,blotchiness, uneven tone and texture, and sun damage. "But this would not be my laser of choice for treating deeper lines and wrinkles," says Chapas.
Treatable areas: Face, neck, chest, and hands.Treatments needed: Six treatments spaced two weeks apart.
Treatment length: A topical anesthetic is applied for 15 to 20 minutes and is followed by the 20- minute laser treatment.
Pain: "Patients may feel a light tingling or mild prickling, but most don' t feel anything at all," Chapas says. A small handheld laser-beam device is run up and down the skin.
Downtime: The skin is pink immediately after treatment (similar to post workout or a mild sunburn) but fades within a day. Dry skin can last for a couple of days.
Results: Smoother, more radiant skin, with improved tone and texture and a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles with a visible difference in how your skin feels after one treatment, promises Chapas.
Risks: Prolonged redness, hyperpigmentation, and scarring are possible but "very rare," says Chapas Maintenance: Touch-ups are advised every three months.
WRINKLE ERASER: eMATRIX
Whereas Clear + Brilliant helps prevent signs of aging before they appear, this device is aimed at eradicating fine lines and facial scars using fractionated bipolar radio- frequency technology.
Translation: Heat energy is delivered beneath your skin's surface to trigger collagen production without damaging the epidermis (top layer), which means no recovery time necessary. "The beauty of eMatrix is that it spares the top layer of skin and deposits 95 percent of the energy into the dermis," says Chasin. Imagine an inverted ice cream cone, says Nashville dermatologist Michael Gold. The tip of the cone represents the energy on the surface, and the scoop is the remainder, which spreads out underneath the skin. Investment $750 to $1 ,200 per treatment.
Ideal candidate: "A patient [age 35 to 45] who has early signs of aging—fine lines, some wrinkles. It's wonderful for acne scars and surface-texture issues," explains Chasin. Safe for all skin colors.
Problems targeted: Fine lines, surface irregularities, pigmentation, wrinkles, and scars from acne, trauma, chicken pox, or surgery.Doctors praise this device for its scar- banishing abilities, "and if I can get scars to go away, I can get wrinkles to go away," Gold says.
Treatable areas: Face, neck, chest, and hands. Treatments needed: For lines and wrinkles, two to three treatments spaced four weeks apart; for scars, three to four treatments spaced two to three weeks apart.
Treatment length: A topical anesthetic is applied for 15 to 30 minutes and is followed by a 20- to- 30- minute treatment.
Pain: "There is very little discomfort with this machine," says Gold. Patients feel a prickling or tingling sensation. "Sometimes they don't even need numbing," he says. A handheld device (imagine a toy gun) with an electrode tip is placed onto the skin to deliver heat energy below the surface.
Downtime: "Patients are generally red for a day or two max. That's it," says Gold.
Results: Look for improvements in skin texture, fine lines and wrinkles, scars, and pore size after week three, with continued benefits (like skin tightening) for up to three or four months.
Risks: Hyperpigmentation and/or scarring is "extremely rare" but possible with any energy-based system, says Gold.
Maintenance: Lines and wrinkles are continuously affected by the sun, so follow up with a treatment after a year.
NONSURGICAL FACE-LIFT: ePRIME
"Face lifts are great at tightening at tightening, but they don't address thinning skin and volume loss," explains Chasin. Enter ePrime, a new system that conquers all three and, according to a clinical study coauthored by Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, dermatologist and assistant clinical professor at Yale University School of Medicine, promises significant skin tightening—37 percent of what you'd get with a face-lift . How? Derms are able to customize energy delivery to specific locations and depths, and "we can get away with that because we are able to measure the energy and temperature in real time and adjust it," explains Chasin. Using small sensored needles, doctors are able to bypass the top layer of skin (where most complications occur) and deliver bipolar radio- frequency energy below the surface to safely maximize results. "This is a tremendous advance," explains Alexiades-Armenakas . "Before, we were guessing the temperatures in the skin and this led to lack of effectiveness and burns."
And ePrime doesn't boost just collagen: "This is the first technology proven to stimulate elastin and hyaluronic-acid production," says Chasin.
Investment: $2 ,500 to $4 ,500 per treatment Ideal candidate: "A patient [age 40 to 55] with volume loss, hollowing and dips in the skin, deep wrinkles, acne scars, and sun damage," says Chasin. "We use it to restabilize the whole supporting structure of the skin." Safe for all skin colors.
Problems targeted: Deep lines and wrinkles, acne scars, and loss of supporting facial structure. Treatable areas: The face. Evaluations are under way for use on the neck, arms, and stretch marks on the abdomen.
Treatments needed: One. Treatment length: Local anesthetic is administered (the doctor may inject a low concentration of lidocaine and epinephrine through a cannula threaded under the skin to constrict blood vessels and prevent bruising caused by punctures) and is followed by a 45- to- 60- minute treatment.
Pain: "Pain is a zero on a scale of one to 10," says Chasin. A handheld device is equipped with five pairs of tiny, hair- thin needles that puncture the skin to deliver radio-frequency energy.
Downtime: Superficial bruising, redness, and swelling may last up to 48 hours, and the majority of patients return to regular activities in one day.
Results: "An overall improvement in skin tone and volume, with significant tightening of the skin and reduction in lines and wrinkles," says Chasin. He adds, "Patients look younger and more vibrant, but they still look like themselves."
Risks: No serious complications have been reported to date.
Maintenance: Doctors advise waiting one to three years before considering a second treatment.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Become a Couture Girl
Few of us will ever be able to afford to be true couture girls. Couture, or Haute Couture is the highest level of fashion possible, and refers to clothing that is custom made and fitted by the top designers in the world. A single Haute Couture outfit can cost upwards of $60 ,000, as much as a college education or a home in much of the country. Couture clothing is chosen by the very rich, the very vain and the very influential. For example, couture dresses are often given to movie stars to wear to the Academy Awards to promote a designer's new line or seasonal look. That said, by understanding and following fashion it is possible to cultivate a couture look without spending a great deal of money.
STEPS
1. Understand fashion categories . Before you can aspire to a certain fashion you have to understand how the fashion market works. The market is broken into several categories that are defined, somewhat, by how styles filter through the market. Haute Couture is, of course, the top, and where the styles originate. Three categories are here to keep it simple, however the market can be broken up into many different categories.
Haute couture. Also known as "made to measure" couture refers, traditionally, to a garment made to fit a specific individual. Generally though, haute couture refers to the latest styles, those that are shown on the catwalks and change each season. Typically, this means couture clothing refers to the styles and fashions chosen by the world' s top fashion designers, or labels.
Couture garments are made from fine materials in the highest quality possible. Interestingly, fashion houses lose millions of dollars on their couture lines as nobody buys them. Since nobody (or very few people) dress in true couture, if you can follow the fashion yourself you have as much a chance as anybody in achieving this look.
Ready- to- wear is where designers and fashion houses make money from the new styles defined in couture. Invented after World War II, ready- to- wear first brought couture looks and styles to the "everyday" person. Today, generally, ready- to- wear refers to the most expensive designer brands and labels.
Mass market. The mass market refers to everything else. These are the everyday clothes most people wear, but they too are influenced by the styles created by couture seasons. It might take several seasons for mass market designers to adopt a style or trend from an influential couture line. Mass market clothing tends to be made of cheaper materials in a factory or production setting to keep the costs of manufacturing low.
2. Understand designers . Fashion designers define the latest couture look, but are also savvy marketing professionals. Just because they call their clothes couture doesn't mean they are. Many designers do not even bother with a couture collection, these days. Understand how your favorite designers introduce new looks and styles into their fashions. Be warned that many designers and labels use the word couture to advertise, not to describe.
3. Stay on top of fashion. The best way to be a couture girl is to keep up with the latest style changes in each season's new designer lines, and then imitate those style changes. There are many ways to keep up with fashion including:
Look at designer shows online.
Read trend reports.
Read and look at the pictures in fashion magazines including Womens Wear Daily , Vogue , Harper's Bazaar and Elle.
Read fashion blogs
Follow celebrities. Find a celebrity you admire, or who has a similar body type or look as you and find out what couture designers they prefer. Avoid Madonna. Discover Edie Sedgwick.
Follow the news about Fashion Week in various cities. Fashion weeks are where new couture styles are introduced.
4. Stay on top of accessories. The savvy couture girl knows that accessories change as much (if not more) than clothing styles. By keeping a careful eye on the latest accessories you can often get a couture look with your existing clothes. For example, when white belts started to be popular you could have bought a white belt and used it with your existing jeans and been quite couture for about 2 seasons before it hit the mainstream.
5. Stay on top of styles. With each fashion season styles in clothing and accessories change, but so do many other styles. These include hair cuts, body types, makeup and much more. The savvy couture girl knows that the latest haircut can go a long, long way to achieving a couture look.
6. Know the fashion cycle . In fashion, what goes around comes around. Couture is where new fashions or styles are introduced, and sometimes it can take a long time for those fashions to filter down through the market. Other times, the new styles change very quickly. The whole thing is known as the fashion cycle. For example, the length of a woman's skirt has cycled dramatically over the last few decades and even years. The cut of a jean's leg is another example of a fashion style that changes a great deal. A savvy couture girl can often find the latest styles in old clothing that represents the last time that style was in fashion.
7. Understand color. Every season the colors change. So it is with fashion. One of the great keys to fashion is color and knowing what colors and textures are currently fashionable. If you are looking for a couture look on a limited budget just understanding and wearing the current fashionable colors will go a long way.
8. Learn to mix&match . The greatest difference between the way the average person dresses and the way that models are dressed in fashion editorials is that magazines present unexpected combinations of clothes and add plenty of accessories. However, many fashion editorials cross the fine line between "unexpected" and "weird". Distinguishing what crosses this line and what doesn't requires a very refined fashion sense. To make the difference between them, follow these rules:
The colors have to match. Too many colors in an outfit clash. Imagine this outfit: little black dress, bright orange leggings, bright pink shoes, and a huge, yellow&green handbag- sorry for the person who designed this outfit, but it just doesn't look good.
The volumes don' t have to be exaggerated. Anything that hides your body line is a big no- no. The clothes have to enhance your body, not the other way round (no matter how slim and beautiful your figure may be; an outfit isn' t supposed to be focused on clothes alone and hide your body). The ideal shape you have to achieve is the hourglass- shaped body; anything that makes your torso look square, exaggerates your shoulders, creates an unnatural leg line and so on must be avoided.
The clothes have to be symmetric and cover your more... conventional body parts. Go for simple lines and curves instead of complicated designs. As for symmetry, this rule applies mostly to volumes.
TIPS
By definition dressing couture means being ahead of everybody else in fashion. This involves a certain amount of risk, after all, you may well be wrong. Be warned that if you really dress couture you will not look like everybody else, and you may be teased for it.
Don't be afraid to be original. That's what couture is all about.
Couture clothing is modeled and presented to us in magazines and other locations adorned over the bodies of the most striking models in the world. These models are good at making the clothing look good. Simply dressing in their clothing is not going to make you look like the models, or make the clothes look good.
STEPS
1. Understand fashion categories . Before you can aspire to a certain fashion you have to understand how the fashion market works. The market is broken into several categories that are defined, somewhat, by how styles filter through the market. Haute Couture is, of course, the top, and where the styles originate. Three categories are here to keep it simple, however the market can be broken up into many different categories.
Haute couture. Also known as "made to measure" couture refers, traditionally, to a garment made to fit a specific individual. Generally though, haute couture refers to the latest styles, those that are shown on the catwalks and change each season. Typically, this means couture clothing refers to the styles and fashions chosen by the world' s top fashion designers, or labels.
Couture garments are made from fine materials in the highest quality possible. Interestingly, fashion houses lose millions of dollars on their couture lines as nobody buys them. Since nobody (or very few people) dress in true couture, if you can follow the fashion yourself you have as much a chance as anybody in achieving this look.
Ready- to- wear is where designers and fashion houses make money from the new styles defined in couture. Invented after World War II, ready- to- wear first brought couture looks and styles to the "everyday" person. Today, generally, ready- to- wear refers to the most expensive designer brands and labels.
Mass market. The mass market refers to everything else. These are the everyday clothes most people wear, but they too are influenced by the styles created by couture seasons. It might take several seasons for mass market designers to adopt a style or trend from an influential couture line. Mass market clothing tends to be made of cheaper materials in a factory or production setting to keep the costs of manufacturing low.
2. Understand designers . Fashion designers define the latest couture look, but are also savvy marketing professionals. Just because they call their clothes couture doesn't mean they are. Many designers do not even bother with a couture collection, these days. Understand how your favorite designers introduce new looks and styles into their fashions. Be warned that many designers and labels use the word couture to advertise, not to describe.
3. Stay on top of fashion. The best way to be a couture girl is to keep up with the latest style changes in each season's new designer lines, and then imitate those style changes. There are many ways to keep up with fashion including:
Look at designer shows online.
Read trend reports.
Read and look at the pictures in fashion magazines including Womens Wear Daily , Vogue , Harper's Bazaar and Elle.
Read fashion blogs
Follow celebrities. Find a celebrity you admire, or who has a similar body type or look as you and find out what couture designers they prefer. Avoid Madonna. Discover Edie Sedgwick.
Follow the news about Fashion Week in various cities. Fashion weeks are where new couture styles are introduced.
4. Stay on top of accessories. The savvy couture girl knows that accessories change as much (if not more) than clothing styles. By keeping a careful eye on the latest accessories you can often get a couture look with your existing clothes. For example, when white belts started to be popular you could have bought a white belt and used it with your existing jeans and been quite couture for about 2 seasons before it hit the mainstream.
5. Stay on top of styles. With each fashion season styles in clothing and accessories change, but so do many other styles. These include hair cuts, body types, makeup and much more. The savvy couture girl knows that the latest haircut can go a long, long way to achieving a couture look.
6. Know the fashion cycle . In fashion, what goes around comes around. Couture is where new fashions or styles are introduced, and sometimes it can take a long time for those fashions to filter down through the market. Other times, the new styles change very quickly. The whole thing is known as the fashion cycle. For example, the length of a woman's skirt has cycled dramatically over the last few decades and even years. The cut of a jean's leg is another example of a fashion style that changes a great deal. A savvy couture girl can often find the latest styles in old clothing that represents the last time that style was in fashion.
7. Understand color. Every season the colors change. So it is with fashion. One of the great keys to fashion is color and knowing what colors and textures are currently fashionable. If you are looking for a couture look on a limited budget just understanding and wearing the current fashionable colors will go a long way.
8. Learn to mix&match . The greatest difference between the way the average person dresses and the way that models are dressed in fashion editorials is that magazines present unexpected combinations of clothes and add plenty of accessories. However, many fashion editorials cross the fine line between "unexpected" and "weird". Distinguishing what crosses this line and what doesn't requires a very refined fashion sense. To make the difference between them, follow these rules:
The colors have to match. Too many colors in an outfit clash. Imagine this outfit: little black dress, bright orange leggings, bright pink shoes, and a huge, yellow&green handbag- sorry for the person who designed this outfit, but it just doesn't look good.
The volumes don' t have to be exaggerated. Anything that hides your body line is a big no- no. The clothes have to enhance your body, not the other way round (no matter how slim and beautiful your figure may be; an outfit isn' t supposed to be focused on clothes alone and hide your body). The ideal shape you have to achieve is the hourglass- shaped body; anything that makes your torso look square, exaggerates your shoulders, creates an unnatural leg line and so on must be avoided.
The clothes have to be symmetric and cover your more... conventional body parts. Go for simple lines and curves instead of complicated designs. As for symmetry, this rule applies mostly to volumes.
TIPS
By definition dressing couture means being ahead of everybody else in fashion. This involves a certain amount of risk, after all, you may well be wrong. Be warned that if you really dress couture you will not look like everybody else, and you may be teased for it.
Don't be afraid to be original. That's what couture is all about.
Couture clothing is modeled and presented to us in magazines and other locations adorned over the bodies of the most striking models in the world. These models are good at making the clothing look good. Simply dressing in their clothing is not going to make you look like the models, or make the clothes look good.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Plop Your Hair
Plop: v. to put wet hair up into a cloth; n. said act of putting hair up; also plopping, plopped.
STEPS
1. Gather the needed materials listed in the Things You'll Need section below .
2. Wash and style your curly hair. Add any mousses or gels to the hair before plopping.
3. Lay your plopping cloth on a flat surface . Good places include the toilet seat (with the lid down!) , chairs , and low beds or shelves.
4. Bend over at the waist and position your hair
on top of the cloth, near the edge closest to you . Move your head until it is pressed firmly against the surface
5. Take the far edge of the cloth and drape it over the back of your head.
6. Grab the sections of the towel on either side of
your head and twist them tightly away from your
face in two "sausage rolls ."
7. They don' t have hair in them, because your hair is plopped on top ofyour head, remember? The sausage rolls are just a convenient way to secure the towel. Move up slowly from the bent over position .
8. Twist the sausage rolls to the back of your head near your neck and secure them . You can tie them together with a hair tie, or pin them with clips. If you used a long sleeved t- shirt, or if you have ample fabric, you can simply cross the two rolls and pull them tight.
9. Leave the plop on for as long as you like. If you notice frizzing after you remove the plop, add a little gel to your hair then and try plopping for less time. 15 to 20 minutes is a good amount of time to try.
10. Remove the plop . Let your hair air dry, or blow-dry with a diffuser so as not to disturb the
curls. Do not touch the curls while they are wet or they will frizz.
11. Rock those curls
STEPS
1. Gather the needed materials listed in the Things You'll Need section below .
2. Wash and style your curly hair. Add any mousses or gels to the hair before plopping.
3. Lay your plopping cloth on a flat surface . Good places include the toilet seat (with the lid down!) , chairs , and low beds or shelves.
4. Bend over at the waist and position your hair
on top of the cloth, near the edge closest to you . Move your head until it is pressed firmly against the surface
5. Take the far edge of the cloth and drape it over the back of your head.
6. Grab the sections of the towel on either side of
your head and twist them tightly away from your
face in two "sausage rolls ."
7. They don' t have hair in them, because your hair is plopped on top ofyour head, remember? The sausage rolls are just a convenient way to secure the towel. Move up slowly from the bent over position .
8. Twist the sausage rolls to the back of your head near your neck and secure them . You can tie them together with a hair tie, or pin them with clips. If you used a long sleeved t- shirt, or if you have ample fabric, you can simply cross the two rolls and pull them tight.
9. Leave the plop on for as long as you like. If you notice frizzing after you remove the plop, add a little gel to your hair then and try plopping for less time. 15 to 20 minutes is a good amount of time to try.
10. Remove the plop . Let your hair air dry, or blow-dry with a diffuser so as not to disturb the
curls. Do not touch the curls while they are wet or they will frizz.
11. Rock those curls
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Visual Kei
Visual kei (ヴィジュア ル系 vijuaru kei ? , literally "visual style" or "visual system") is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up , elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics . Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its own particular sound, related to glam rock , punk rock and heavy metal . However other sources state that visual kei' s unique clothing, make-up , fashions, and participation in the related sub- culture is equally as important as the sound of the music itself in the use of the term. Visual kei (ヴィジュア ル系 vijuaru kei ? , literally "visual style" or "visual system") is a movement among Japanese musicians, that is characterized by the use of make-up , elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics . Some sources state that visual kei refers to a music genre, or to a sub-genre of Japanese rock, with its own particular sound, related to glam rock , punk rock and heavy metal . However other sources state that visual kei' s unique clothing, make-up , fashions, and participation in the related sub- culture is equally as important as the sound of the music itself in the use of the term.
HISTORY
Visual kei emerged in the mid 1980s , pioneered by bands such as X Japan , D'erlanger , Buck- Tick and Color . The term visual kei was created with one of X Japan's slogans "Psychedelic violence crime of visual shock". Color vocalist "Dynamite Tommy" formed his record company Free-Will in 1986, which has been a major contributor in spreading modern visual kei outside Japan. Under Code Production, a sub-label of Free-Will founded by Kisaki, since its formation in 2003 has had a definite influence on newer independent visual kei bands, particularly in Osaka.
In 1992, X Japan launched an attempt to enter the European and American markets, but it would take another 8 years until popularity and awareness of visual kei bands would extend worldwide. In the mid 1990s, visual kei received an increase in popularity throughout Japan, and album sales from visual kei bands started to reach record numbers. The most notable bands to achieve success during this period included X Japan, Glay , and Luna Sea ; however, a drastic change in their appearance accompanied their success. During the same period other bands, such as Kuroyume , Malice Mizer, and Penicillin , gained mainstream awareness, although they were not as commercially successful. By 1999, the mainstream popularity of visual kei was declining; X Japan had disbanded, and in 2000, Luna Sea decided to disband.
In 2007 the genre was revitalized, as Luna Sea performed a one-off performance, and X Japan reunited for a new single and a world tour. With these developments, visual kei bands enjoyed a boost in public awareness, described by some media as "neo- visual kei". New bands still use visual kei to describe themselves, so examples of current mainstream bands are Versailles, Nightmare , and The Gazette .
POPULARITY
Visual kei has enjoyed popularity among independent underground projects, as well as artists achieving mainstream success, with influences from Western phenomena, such as glam , goth and cyberpunk. The music performed encompasses a large variety of genres , i.e. pop , punk , heavy metal and electronica. Magazines published regularly in Japan with visual kei coverage are Arena 37° C, Cure, Fool's Mate and Shoxx . Noted bands who at least at some point sported a visual kei theme include Dir en grey , Luna Sea and Malice Mizer. The popularity and awareness of such groups outside of Japan has seen an increase in recent years.
HISTORY
Visual kei emerged in the mid 1980s , pioneered by bands such as X Japan , D'erlanger , Buck- Tick and Color . The term visual kei was created with one of X Japan's slogans "Psychedelic violence crime of visual shock". Color vocalist "Dynamite Tommy" formed his record company Free-Will in 1986, which has been a major contributor in spreading modern visual kei outside Japan. Under Code Production, a sub-label of Free-Will founded by Kisaki, since its formation in 2003 has had a definite influence on newer independent visual kei bands, particularly in Osaka.
In 1992, X Japan launched an attempt to enter the European and American markets, but it would take another 8 years until popularity and awareness of visual kei bands would extend worldwide. In the mid 1990s, visual kei received an increase in popularity throughout Japan, and album sales from visual kei bands started to reach record numbers. The most notable bands to achieve success during this period included X Japan, Glay , and Luna Sea ; however, a drastic change in their appearance accompanied their success. During the same period other bands, such as Kuroyume , Malice Mizer, and Penicillin , gained mainstream awareness, although they were not as commercially successful. By 1999, the mainstream popularity of visual kei was declining; X Japan had disbanded, and in 2000, Luna Sea decided to disband.
In 2007 the genre was revitalized, as Luna Sea performed a one-off performance, and X Japan reunited for a new single and a world tour. With these developments, visual kei bands enjoyed a boost in public awareness, described by some media as "neo- visual kei". New bands still use visual kei to describe themselves, so examples of current mainstream bands are Versailles, Nightmare , and The Gazette .
POPULARITY
Visual kei has enjoyed popularity among independent underground projects, as well as artists achieving mainstream success, with influences from Western phenomena, such as glam , goth and cyberpunk. The music performed encompasses a large variety of genres , i.e. pop , punk , heavy metal and electronica. Magazines published regularly in Japan with visual kei coverage are Arena 37° C, Cure, Fool's Mate and Shoxx . Noted bands who at least at some point sported a visual kei theme include Dir en grey , Luna Sea and Malice Mizer. The popularity and awareness of such groups outside of Japan has seen an increase in recent years.
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