So there are many things interesting about China's Miss Artificial Beauty pageant. One is that it exists at all, that the Chinese seem eager to promote and accept something we in this country are still a little leery of: cosmetic surgery not as a prophylactic or a defense for self-esteem as we age, but as a conscious program of bodily manipulation in the quest for true beauty.

Another interesting facet of the pageant is the range of contestants. The contestants raged in age from 17 (which is generally considered too young for plastic surgery in this country) to 62, and although the winner was at the younger end of this spectrum (at age 22), this range affirms that women are able to be and remain beautiful as they age, unlike more traditional beauty pageants, where most of the contestants are below legal drinking age.

The contestants also included a transsexual, who would not of course have been allowed to compete in this country. In fact, she might not even be allowed to use the ladies' restroom (but, then again, neither are some women). Is this likely to increase acceptance of transsexuals in this country? Unlikely, but it's also unlikely to hurt.

The women in the pageant seemed, overall, to have fairly subtle modifications. It's hard to say what, exactly, they had done. In a few cases, it seems the women might have had facelifts, from the way their skin is taut over their cheekbones, and since they are mostly very slender, many of them probably had some combination of liposuction to various areas. A couple have obviously had breast augmentations.

But of course what's most interesting about the pageant is its ties to the growing popularity of cosmetic surgery in China. The practice was banned in the country until 2001, but since then the industry has been growing rapidly, and last year it took in $2.4 billion dollars, more than one fifth of what was spent in this country last year. With the continued surge in the Chinese economy, this could be yet another area in which the country that Mao built outstrips us.

But if you'd prefer to see a local doctor, contact the Cosmetic Surgery Directory today to get in touch with one in your area.

Labels: beauty, china, pageant

Bram Stoker, who supplies the titular quote, would be 160 years old today if he were, like his most famous protagonist, blessed (or cursed) with immortality. Bram Stoker's most famous novel, Dracula, has endured probably beyond anyone's estimation of its popularity, and has inspired more film adaptations than any other single novel. Even more than its direct adaptations, however, Stoker's novel influenced the way vampires were perceived. What makes Stoker's Dracula so popular? Is it the thrilling sexuality, both in Dracula himself and in the captive vampiresses that attempt to seduce Jonathan Harker? Is it the fear of foreigners that held so much fear for Victorian audiences? Or is it the nature of blood, that has so many deeply-conditioned responses? It's hard to say, but it seems based on the themes he revisits in his later novel Lair of the White Worm, that what is most important to Stoker himself is both the corruptive power of the vampire and its eternal youth.

While it is still not possible to achieve eternal youth, there are many cosmetic surgery practices that can help you look younger, whether you are in your 30s, 40s, 50s, or 60s.

If you are interested in having a bit of the vampire mystique, there's no need to drink the blood of virgins (although if that's your thing . . .), contact the Cosmetic Surgery Directory to get in touch with a cosmetic surgeon in your area.

Labels: anti-aging, vampire

Alberto Vargas is one of the most well-known and well-respected pin-up artists. His art endures today, and has been the subject of several major exhibitions, including one at the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas.

Although he painted prodigiously for almost 60 years, his most influential work was done during the 1940s for work published in Esquire Magazine. These works, known as "Varga Girls," a name adapted to make it sound even more exotic than the Peruvian-born artist's actual name, became favorites among GIs during World War II.

Vargas' work replaced that of artist George Petty, whose "Petty Girl" had previously become a feature of the magazine. Although similar in poses and basic design principles, Varga Girls represented significant improvements artistically over the Petty Girl. The Petty Girl is naturally well-proportioned, with a tucked tummy, accentuated by a slightly bent posture, with long legs made to seem longer by the use of Pointe shoes. The girls are brightly lit from many angles, minimizing shadow, and they are generally smiling.

In contrast, the Varga Girls have much more depth, both physically and in their implied character. Unlike Petty's paintings, which show women in largely planar poses, Vargas' paintings show women whose bodies move forward and backward as well as side-to-side in the field of the image. Vargas' paintings are full of shadow, allowing his women to conceal as much as they reveal, and their expressions are often more complex, from happy and playful to mischievous or even brooding. Unlike the Petty Girl, some of Vargas' women are shown with actual folds in their stomach as they bend, giving them realism that augments, not diminishes, their beauty. Vargas treats his women with respect, allowing their individual characters to show through, a significant difference between the Varga Girls, who are allowed to be separate individuals, and the Petty Girl, who essentially embodies the idea that all women are equivalent.

If you are looking to have cosmetic surgery done, contact the Cosmetic Surgery Directory to find a skilled plastic surgeon in your area. We can help you find one whose body contouring artistry is most like that of Alberto Vargas and will let your character show, rather than one like Petty, who simply wants to make you into a flat image of idealized femininity. And certainly, you do not want to use a cartoonist like Jack Cole, whose women are breast-augmented caricatures, shallow, materialistic, and vain.

All images in this post are courtesy of the Pin-Up files, where you will find representative work from these and many other artists on display and for sale.

Labels: art, beauty, breast augmentation, cosmetic surgery