This post was inspired by my hubby's comment last night! Part of it was also the current events about the Korean actress suicide notes and pressure to perform plastic surgery....but anyways...let's move on back to Namie ^^. I was watching a new Namie Amuro video (if you know me, then you know she is absolutely my favorite performer and of all time and a style icon!) and my hubby said that: "10 years later, she still looks exactly the same! How did she do that...suspicious!" My favorite Namie going under the knife?! no way...I thought! My conclusion is, NO she did not go under the knife! But I made a couple of observations!
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| photographed by Karl Lagerfeld in Paris 2009 |
I never actually thought about it, although in high school one of my friends told me that you gotta look at photos but cover up the rest of the face and concentrate on the suspicious areas. lol ~ I never really want to suspect MY dear Namie getting any work done! So I did a google search, and I found some images
And the caption said she did her eyes and her nose! lol to the eyes comment because the angle/make up is completely different...the same with the nose! The photograph in the left is around 1995-1996, I think some media appearances for her movie "That's Cunning" !
And then I found this on someone's live journal entry! The quality is not very great, but you can see that when the angle is the same, her nose looks the same. One thing she definitely fixed was her teeth! Getting braces can really change your face shape/lips as well! (Not that I'd recommend getting braces if you don't need them!) So I did a little bit of image juxta-composition myself to compare!
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| I fixed my teeth! :D |
The image from the right is from album cover PastFuture 2010! It's actually tough to find a photo of Namie in this angle because it's not the most flattering for her; and well, she's been in the industry for over 2 decades...hundreds of magazine covers and 6-8 page spreads later, She knows how to work her angles! Also in 1996, it was not a trend to wear false lashes and contact lenses to alter your eye shape and make your eyes larger. Fuller brows also frames your face differently (in Namie's case, it slims the face as well) Photoshop can also enhance the features by defining them (dodging and burning), and sometimes over photo shopped images can make you look completely different! So we must pay attention before drawing conclusions (like she got a nose job lol)!
Above is another image I put together with the dates! As you can see in 1996, her eyes have always been HUGE...and that's partially because Namie is 1/4 Italian, from her mother's side. So her nose looks much flatter if photographed at that angle!
From the side, her nose looks much higher/taller instead of broad/flat. Angles of her jaw also similar, so no facial reconstruction either. If you really ask me...I do notice some collagen loss on her cheeks and that's due to aging ^^|| You can't get 10+ years older and not loose any collagen! She has great genes and probably takes great care of her skin and health (No smoking, little drinking, sunscreen!) The rest...well that's photo shop! ;) In her youth her lips looked really full because of the shade of lipstick she chose (to compliment the tanned skin "Amuraa" look she made so popular in the 90s!) - and lighter shade of lipsticks also make your lips fuller. Now she opts for more natural colors! Remember that UVA sun rays damage our DNA/Collagen on our skin, so remember to protect the collagen on your lips by using lip balm with SPF! Then you won't need any lip fillers in the future! :) Oh these images are so classic~ *Nostalgia*
Small Tips on enhancing your features in Photographs:
1) Flat light will make your nose flatter. Ask for harsher / higher contrast lighting
2) Contour & highlighting ! Using cooler toned powder or contour kit and a smaller fluffy brush, you can create the illusion of a higher nose by contouring the sides of the nose, and the face to bring out cheek bones, and your jaw line. If makeup enough is not enough, you can also continue to emphasize the shadows during post-processing/photoshop stage of the image production stage.
3) Find your angles! This will require you to practice in the mirror. If photographed up-front, Namie will look like she has a broader nose, but from below, it makes her nose thinner & taller! You can also tilt your face slightly to the side to get a quarter profile (tall nose!) No need to go under the knife!
And lastly, find a great makeup, hair and photography team!! ^o^ Professionals use similar tricks you use at home (ie: false lashes to enhance the lights, or photographing under certain lighting to get the most flattering light!) to enhance your features and achieve the look & feel you are going for! Anyways~ I hope you enjoyed the post and the pretty photos! Hope everyone had a great weekend!
3) Find your angles! This will require you to practice in the mirror. If photographed up-front, Namie will look like she has a broader nose, but from below, it makes her nose thinner & taller! You can also tilt your face slightly to the side to get a quarter profile (tall nose!) No need to go under the knife!
4) Trial & error for the right brow shape to match and frame your face shape! This part takes patience, as the growing it out phase sometimes is not too pretty! But a big mistake is overly thin brows. It can make your face appear much wider than it is!
She is gorgeous! It doesn't look like she's had ANY reconstruction done to her face. I love how you look at the pictures and can tell how makeup enhances the image. I guess this is a MUA thing :p
ReplyDeletehey jen! :) Thanks for readin'! She is gorgeous~ ^o^ For me, I'm really passionate about people loving what their mama and papa gave them! Nobody is perfect, and those magazines, it's all 'tricks'~ and then plastic surgery and all that - I don't see it as healthy!
ReplyDeleteBut there are things we can do to enhance how we photograph or look with makeup, and those are the little things I love as a makeup artist! ^o^
OMG the contrast next to her original photos is crazy O_O It's very ayumi hamasaki isn't it? I think she looks amazing in her after photos and I don't hold it against anyone who chooses to go plastic but it's not something I think is for me...hmmm at least at this point in my life :) hehe
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting post, thanks for sharing, Liz!
hey tammy! but if you look closely you'll find out that she didn't really do much except braces and some collagen loss! ^^||
ReplyDeleteayumi came out 1998 or so, when namie was having her baby (who is now a TEENAGER! creepy isn't it! i feel old!) ~ this was like 1995-1996 at the height of namie's popularity
you can get the effects without going under the knife! the thing with plastic surgery, it's a slippery slope~ i think everyone who does it should be screened by a psychiatrist for at least 3 sessions! to make sure that it's just one body part or maybe 2, but not because of other issues. that;s just my opinion~ because for some people, once they do it one time, they keep doing it and cannot stop! It cannot fix the void or their deeper issues that need to be worked out! Or peer pressure or cultural norms~ things that are not healthy!