Ok so this is a bit of a weird one. Like many others, I was scrolling through the Asos website at all the bargains to be had with the sales. I had a few Euro left to even up my price... It was at something like €47 and I always like to have an even amount, meaning €50!! I’ve always been like this. As I mentioned in my last post about the Cheryl Cole book, if I have a few Euro left after a day’s shopping... I WILL spend it!! So anyway.... I clicked to view the cheapest items first and a load of underwear popped up first so I was like.... aaaam ok. So I scrolled through and noticed something that made me STOP. I looked a little closer and thought “what the hell!!?” I clicked on the picture to open up the item fully. It was a picture of Caprice modelling her underwear range, which is fine. We’ve all become used to models flaunting their beautiful bods to show off beautiful garments. But this was different. She was different. She was completely and utterly photo-shopped and retouched!! I know this may not sound like such a major surprise, but wait till you see the cut of it! In fact I’m pretty sure her head has been added to another models body (unless it’s her own body but on another shot which makes it even crazier!!) Just take a look for yourself!
My god. I don’t think I’ve ever seen something as blatantly FAKE! For someone like Caprice to be retouched so much is absolutely ridiculous – to be retouched at all in fact! How can the editors think that this looks good. I’d love to see the original to compare. Chances are it’s much much better. How could it be any worse. Immediately after seeing this, something came into my head. I don’t know whether it’s because I’m studying Social Studies and doing my project on the effect of the Media on teenagers or what, but I immediately thought of young girls looking at this. All this photo-shopping and such has become massive in the last 10 years and I would imagine at least 70-80% of people know that a lot of things advertised have been edited and chipped and chopped and changed, but it’s still going into our brains and perhaps photographic memory!! Carmen looks horribly thin and tanned. Will young girls find this attractive? Will they feel this is what they’re “supposed to” or “want” to look like? Will this become true beauty to them? My god I feckin’ hope not! It’s a disgrace, and to be honest I actually got quite pissed off about it. Why why WHY would they do this? I may be repeating myself but how can they think that this looks attractive. I know, stereotypically that skinny, blonde, tanned girls are quite popular in the glamour modelling business, but on the other hand, I think a lot of people have copped on to realise that real women, of everyday life, do not look like this. I think (and hope) that this picture alone puts people off buying this product....
Another thing that annoys me in particular are mascara adds....... I bet something just popped into your head there too. So many people feel the same. On television and magazine adds almost every single time you will see in tiny text in a corner somewhere, something to this effect... “Lash inserts were used in this advertisement” “enhancements made in post production” “this product is ok but you’re better off buying fake lashes and then lobbing on a load of our product so it gets popular and we get paid”..... To be honest if I saw an advert letting people know that nothing was applied to the lashes before or after the mascara, and we truly got to see the mascara doing it’s real job, I’d be much much more inclined to give it ago. I want to see the REAL effect the mascara (or any other product for that matter) has.
Also the “may contain” thing drives me nuts..... Are they not sure what they have put into their product or something!!? Eeuughhh!!
Ok so that’s my little rant over, but I do believe that it was an important one. Do these kind of things annoy you? Do you think a certain amount of photo-shopping/editing is ok?
Speak soon dolls!! Slán!