Posted on 06/03/2005 6:34:12 AM PDT by pissant
HONG KONG -- The new face of cosmetics ads in Asia is soft, delicate -- and male.
Lounging in a pink apartment in a television commercial for Able C&C Inc.'s South Korean makeup brand Missha, actor Won Bin leans in as if to kiss a woman sitting next to him -- but he does her bidding instead, taking her dusky-colored lipstick and carefully applying it to her lips.
In an ad for skin-care chain The Face Shop, ruby-lipped film star Kwon Sang Woo nuzzles a berry tree, then dons a crown of leaves. Mr. Kwon, famous for six-pack abs and a slight lisp, "has a kind of neutral gender," says Scott Han, the company's public-relations director. "Our customers think he is healthy and adorable."
Marketers aren't out to poke fun at the lipstick lads of Asia. Instead, they are pushing shampoos and makeup by tapping into a powerful shift in gender images taking place in a number of developed East Asian countries. The conservative, macho male stereotypes that have long dominated society in countries like Japan and South Korea are falling out of fashion. Women are gaining power and independence and expressing a preference for different kinds of men.
"A pretty face with big eyes and fair skin, and a moderately masculine body, are what Korean women want in men these days," says Rhie Hye Young, a spokeswoman for Missha.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
I've said it before and I'll say it again:
Every woman who wants a sensitive man, deserves one.
Too late every body knows now.
I like that!
Well, we'll just have to carry on our bebauchery in public then! ;o)
My rule for makeup is, if you can be sure I'm wearing any, it's too much. (Except for dancing, because you have to pile on the makeup or your face looks like a blank oval.)
I never thought of Jackie Chan as metrosexual ... guess I haven't been paying much attention!
Nah, the "gay community" here doesn't like the Giants because "their fans make homophobic remarks." ;)
The Giants draw a surprisingly normal crowd from all around the Bay Area - the flaky elements in San Francisco tend to look down their noses at professional sports and stay away from SBC Park.
I should have known. All the signs were there. You're in prison, aren't you? ;-)
That's why you love me! ;o)
You throw that line around pretty freely, don't you? ;-)
This reminds me of many of the commercials on American TV. Ads aimed at men to get us to remove unsightly, embarrassing (?) body hair. Skin conditioners and hair dyes. Whats next? Lip stick and foundation?
It's one of the reasons Jackie lost some of his martial arts status to people like Jet Li -- sometimes he abandons masculinity in the interest of humor. Contrast that to Shaolin Wooden Men (1976) or even later movies like Gorgeous (1999) where he plays more digified characters and doesn't let himself become the joke.
ROFL. Sometimes it feels that way. But on the bright side I'd have lotsa bee-yatches under my command. ;o)
I was SO hurt by your response to that yesterday, I cried myself to sleep! ;o)
don't forget the bra!
The Ted Kennedy Bra?
That's because you love me. ;-)
I've got to drag my butt out of the house to find something to wear to this shindig tonight. I don't want to go the party, it's pouring rain, and I hate shopping.
Happy shopping. Pick me up a six pack, honey! ;o)
the Bro!
Interesting. I do like Jet Li's style, and I especially like Chow Yun-Fat, so mature and dignified.
What's Soap? *grunts*
You'd probably enjoy an early Chow Yun-Fat that I happen to own, The Postman Fights Back (1981). That movie has Everything -- well, it's a little short on sex, but it's extraordinarily well-rounded on violence.
I think that goes without saying. I'll look for "The Postman," thanks.
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