FitSugar

Test Run: Panasonic's New Beauty Retouching Camera

Allure — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 08:29:36 PDT

We're excited to present this article from Allure!

I'm totally against airbrushing-in theory. Since I'm also one of the many women who loathe how they look in photos (a peek at my Facebook page reveals this with way too many embarrassing images of me making the fishy face in attempts to look "hot"), I couldn't help but be intrigued when I heard that Panasonic has a new camera that offers instant retouching.

See the story - and the amazing results - when you keep reading.

See Makeup Ads - Without Retouching!

BellaSugar — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 03:20:36 PDT

Retouching is everywhere, but not in these ads. Make Up For Ever's new campaign is its first to ditch Photoshop. Instead, it's showing off its line of HD makeup in ads made without the touch-ups ubiquitous in the beauty industry. Sure, the women featured are stunning in the first place. And yes, great lighting, top stylists, and professional makeup artists help a lot. Still, how refreshing is it to see an honest view of what products can do - not to mention women who look real instead of digitally "perfected"? If you're in love with these makeup looks, you can create them with these guides. What do you think of this effort?

Redbook Retouches Faith Hill. What Do You Think?

BellaSugar — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 12:50:04 PDT

How many times have you heard that models and celebrities really aren't as perfect as they look on the covers of magazines? It's a message that's been drilled into my head over and over, and yet I still look at magazines and wonder how on earth anyone looks that flawless. Even with excellent makeup and flattering lighting, most photos are retouched in Photoshop to create an unattainable level of perfection.

Hearing that is one thing, but seeing it is another. Jezebel offered $10,000 to anyone who would come forward with a cover photo before it had been retouched. And finally, someone has. The July cover of Redbook features Faith Hill. She looks very pretty and fresh, right? She did before being Photoshopped, too, yet she's been heavily retouched. To see the "before" picture,

So, here's Faith Hill, before Photoshop.

Honestly? I thought she looked pretty good before the retouching. She looks healthy, happy, and is showing a few smile lines, too. I understand why magazines might want to even out her skin tone and balance the cover, but this retouching is pretty heavy (the designer even added an arm, eliminated the bend of her elbow, and made her back thinner).

I want to know what you think about retouching. Does it bother you, or do you not mind? Do you think magazines do too much of it? (And how long do you think it will be before the identity of Jezebel's anonymous photo-supplier is found out?!) Source

Photo Retouching Is Creepy

GiggleSugar — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 16:00:00 PST

And software that allows you to "resculpt your face" is even creepier. PortraitProfessional doesn't just take away zits, wrinkles, or unflattering shadows. It gives you a freakin' new face. According to their website, it's "the world's first touchup software that actually knows about human beauty." And guess what, your face ain't one example of that! (Thanks, guys!) What's the point of even taking a picture? See below for pics of "before when I looked like myself" and "after when I look like a totally different android person." The morbidly curious can see even more pics by clicking the above link.

View 3 Photos ›

Media Makes Us Feel Bad, But It Shouldn't

FitSugar — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 16:30:00 PST

Do you ever look at a picture of a model and wonder if it's the real model or if it is just really airbrushed?

The media world is increasingly fixated on appearances, making us (the readers and viewers) increasing fixated on appearances as well. The number of tricks used to achieve the perfect appearance are totally countless -- From plastic surgery to retouching, models can appear to have bigger breasts, smaller stomachs or fuller lips.

The Ministry of Health and Social Affairs wanted to show how easy it is to change someone’s appearance in this campaign. So stop obsessing over looking like the images of models in magazines, it's not real and you are, so embrace what's real.

30 iOS Photo Apps For Every Need

GeekSugar — Wed, 09 May 2012 11:09:44 PDT

If you're using only the native camera app in your iPhone or iPad, you haven't unlocked the gadgets' full photographic potential. From photography tutorials to magic retouching tools, we've gathered 30 photo apps you need on your iOS device. Many of these apps can be downloaded for less than the cost of a morning coffee and will have you operating at a nearly professional level, even if you're just sharing the memories on Facebook.

What Keeps The Five-Year Engagement's Emily Blunt Healthy and Fit

Michele Foley — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:33:16 PDT

If the movie trailer for The Five-Year Engagement is any indication, then we're in for a treat! The romantic comedy is set to hit theaters tomorrow, and to celebrate, we're taking a look at how its star Emily Blunt stays so healthy and fit.

She lets herself indulge: Emily has been vocal about avoiding strict diets (with the exception of shaping up for a few movie roles), instead choosing to enjoy things in moderation - whether that be pasta, cheese, or any other food commonly off limits. But, when it's time to let loose, she gives herself a free pass. Emily told Women's Health that while on a trip to Paris, she did nothing but "eat cheese and bread."

She keeps active in her relationship: Whether it's touring the Hamptons on bikes or surfing on a Hawaiian getaway, Emily and husband John Krasinski are never content to just sit at home. But perhaps the best motivation keeping the pair fit are the almost-daily walks they take together with Finn, their red Labrador.

Learn what Emily's fitness routine is after the break!

Link Time: Models Get Snapped With No Makeup, Hair, or Styling For Viva London

FabSugar — Thu, 26 May 2011 11:17:54 PDT

Top models get photographed with no retouching for Viva London - Vogue UK
Chloë Moretz would love a fashion line, ‘maybe when I’m 16’ - The Cut
Manolo Blahnik and shoeboxes at the SCAD - Racked
An exclusive peek at Aiko's Resort 2011 collection - Vogue Daily
Elle Fanning's style icons are Alexa Chung and Marilyn Monroe - People StyleWatch
The best SoCal bathing suit boutiques - Refinery29
Fashion conundrum: what shoes to wear to a beach wedding - Lucky
Riot act: punk-inspired Spring fashion - Teen Vogue
YSL's Muse Two Artisanal is both chic and socially responsible - Purse Blog

How Some Countries Limit Airbrushed Advertisements

Anna Monette Roberts — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 03:30:13 PDT

Airbrushing and advertising have become synonymous. While Photoshop renders perfect, slender, and flawless-faced images that may sell products or magazine covers, some worry that heavily altered depictions can negatively impact women. The good news is celebrities, companies, and several countries are taking a stand against excessive and unrealistic airbrushing. This week, Israel passed legislation that will place limits on airbrushing in fashion advertisements. Israel's new rules will require all advertisers to label photographs that have received retouching. In addition, the regulations will try to promote healthier body image by requiring all models to have a minimum body mass index of 18.5, which is the minimum weight that the World Health Organization considers standard or healthy.

Australia has attempted similar measures. In 2010, Australia's youth minister Kate Ellis came up with guidelines to ban ultra thin models and heavy retouching. The initiative would require Austrian advertisers to "disclose when images have been retouched and refrain from enhancing photographs in a way that changes a person's body shape, for example, lengthening their legs or trimming their waist, or removing freckles, lines and other distinguishing marks."

Working to comb through all advertisements, the UK has an independent group called the Advertising Standards Authority, which regulates advertising across all media platforms to ensure that ads are "decent and truthful." While airbrushing is a common occurrence, the agency does ban ads that are highly exaggerated. Recently, Rachel Weisz's L'Oreal's Revitalift Repair 10 ad was banned for its excessive and misleading airbrushing. In the ad, the actress's face was devoid of wrinkles and promoted extremely false advertising.

Back in the US, we don't have specific laws regulating airbrushing, but you can pick up this month's The Economist's Intelligent Life with the cover featuring an untouched Cate Blanchett. The Intelligent Life editor Tim de Lisle explains their decision, "When other magazines photograph actresses, they routinely end up running heavily Photoshopped images, with every last wrinkle expunged . . . Cate Blanchett, by contrast, appears on our cover . . . with the odd line on her face and faint bags under her eyes. She looks like what she is - a woman of 42." Ironically, an un-airbrushed image becomes a sensational news story, but as a public, do we prefer perfect, pretty images or do we really wish to see true portrayals of our celebrities? What do you make of these types of regulations?

The Politics of Plastic Surgery

Allure — Thu, 08 Mar 2012 11:24:33 PST

We're happy to present this story from our friends at Allure:

Super Tuesday has come and gone with no apparent progress in the GOP presidential sweepstakes and barely a hint of drama - at least in comparison to the political excitement of a place like, say, Egypt.

If you haven't heard, that nation was rocked by a plastic surgery scandal earlier this week when a male member of parliament was busted by his own doctors for having a nose job and then lying about it. Anwar Al-Bulkimy, of the extreme Islamist Al-Nour party (seen above), checked in for the elective surgery, but claimed to the world outside that he had been beaten by masked gunmen. Supporters streamed to his bedside, until his surgeon called in to a popular TV show and offered the truth behind the politician's bandaged face. It turns out extreme Islamists look harshly on vanity procedures, and Al-Bulkimy was soon out of a job.

The moral of this story: don't lie to voters about something that's written all over your face. Critics have hounded Russia's Vladimir Putin for using Botox, and Italy's scandal-ridden ex-prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, whose hair plugs were visible from France, was cornered into admitting a "slight retouch" of his eyelids after disappearing for weeks in 2004 and returning with a boyish mien. Back in the 1990s, Argentine president Carlos Menem tried in vain to pass off work on his cheeks as swelling caused by a wasp bite.

Could it ever happen here? The pressure to look good is no doubt equally strong, and the faces of politicians such as John Kerry, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Nancy Pelosi have all come under scrutiny. But among the frontrunners of the current election cycle, there just doesn't seem to be the need. The only intervention incumbent Barack Obama could use is from a hair colorist to mask the gray, and likely Republican rival Mitt Romney is, at least by outward appearances, genetically perfect - with hair so thick it makes regular headlines.