Photo Retouching: Creating "Beauty"

You might recognize this gorgeous photo from the latest Sephora catalog. This being a beauty blog, it is helpful every once and a while to step back and examine what we think of as beautiful. What constitutes a pretty face or a beautiful body? Research on aesthetics and psychology can give us a general laundry list of "attractive" qualities - facial symmetry, a certain waist-hip ratio, skin clarity and tone, blah blah blah. You can guess how I feel about all of this.

True beauty is so much more varied than our narrow conceptualization allows for, and driven as much by our internal lives as our external features. Of course I'm not the first person to say this; just see the immensely popular Dove ads for an example of this idea driving a whole media campaign.

Even so, I don't think most of us realize how idealized most advertising images are. Take a look at these photo retouching websites and be amazed. The first one, Greg Apodaca's Digital Portfolio, has some of the most dramatic examples of retouching I found on the internet. The second, Glenn Feron - The Art of Retouching, has tons of additional examples.

I'm not saying that no one has perfect skin or an amazing body - of course there are lucky people out there who do, without retouching. But just remember that the flawless skin in the makeup ads, or the proportions of the gal on the cover of your magazine, are very likely digitally enhanced to look even more perfect than any real person could. Hopefully this helps us all go a little easier on ourselves in our quest for beauty.

Have fun with the photo retouching sites! Were you surprised?

Lip gloss heaven

I think I hit the lip gloss jackpot. Just in time for my seasonal gloss craving, I came across this new Super Shiny Lip Gloss from Burt's Bees in the grocery store. Hmm, I thought, the natural brands are never quite as shiny as the bad-for-you, petroleum-based, super shiny glosses I usually favor. But for $6.49 I decided to give it a try.

And I love it! The gloss is super moisturizing and shiny due to a mix of natural oils and some teensy light-reflecting particles. The Sweet Pink shade is exactly right for spring. Is it as shiny as, say, Mac Lipglass? Almost, actually. And the fact that I'm not lapping up petroleum all day makes up for the tiny bit less shine. It still looks great - go get some.

Can meditating make you look better?

I'm betting yes. I woke up this morning feeling wretched, worried about everything, having had bad dreams and a generally crummy outlook for a few days. Needing help, I went over to the bookshelf and picked up this book, When Things Fall Apart, by Pema Chodron. The way that she talks about handling fear and pain is so soothing, and so comforting, that I felt better within a few pages. I put the book down and practiced some deep breathing and mind-calming exercises and felt even better.

So my life isn't falling apart or anything, but of course we all have worries. So before your stress turns into a breakout or drives you to drink or eat too much, why not try a nice meditation practice? I'm signing on for at least one week.

Hello and welcome!

Hello, fellow beautyphiles. Welcome to my new blog, Kiss Kiss, where we will journey together through the wilds of the beauty jungle and come out happier, calmer, more refreshed, and, of course, prettier! I believe that beauty stems from a consistent commitment to self-care, combined with the support of carefully-chosen products. I favor natural and organic products whenever possible. Having said that, I believe that judicious use of other, shall we say, less-natural products is sometimes necessary for desired results. Join me on this journey and please feel free to drop a comment and say hello!