Category Archives: Lipgloss & Lace

Lipgloss & Lace: Uh oh, H&M’s in trouble again!

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                         by Mandie Mutchie
In December, H&M was being scrutinized after admitting that they paste models’ faces onto “humanized” pictures of mannequins wearing bikinis, with the alleged intention of wanting to focus the consumer’s attention on the garment instead of the model or her body. This was criticized, as many people thought the mannequins were too skinny (and H&M has been criticized before for models who are too skinny), and that it placed the image of an impossible ideal into the minds of the viewers – a subject I’ve covered several times in this blog… They claimed to alter the skin tone of the mannequin so it would match the faces of the models that they pasted onto the bodies, which brings me to my next point (though I’d love to discuss how ludicrous it looked, as well as how it really decreases a model’s pay if she just has to take a couple headshots before she is added to a swim campaign)… H&M is on the naughty list already again, this time for showing Isabeli Fontana in their swim campaign with… too dark a tan!

I have mixed views on this. The complaint has been made by the Swedish Cancer Society and several other notable Swedes, and the issue is that it promotes the idea that people on the beach should be that tan. “Tanorexia” has recently been named a medical condition for people who are addicted to tanning, and it is believed that ads like this will only encourage that behavior, causing young or naive people to try their hardest to get that tan, even if their skin type doesn’t allow it.

After that mother who took her 5-year old daughter to the tanning salon, what do you think? Are we too tan obsessed? Is H&M selling more skin cancer than they are bikinis? I’d love your opinion!

Amanda Mutchie began her professional modeling career nearly ten years ago, and has appeared in many national and international publications, and commercials. Over the course of her modeling career, she worked with many acclaimed makeup artists, learning from them along the way. She eventually became a makeup artist herself and started FaceScape Artistry. Now she works with incredible photographers, models, brides, and other clients to create glamorous as well as natural makeup looks. She also channels her passion for fitness and nutrition and desire to help others into her work as a beachbody coach, and is pursuing her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
For more information on Mandie go towww.MandieM.com, www.facescapeartistry.com, email Mandie at mandelicious@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @mandelicious.  Don’t forget to “like” her pages on facebook, too!  www.facebook.com/MandieLM &www.facebook.com/FaceScapeArtistry www.lipglossnlace.com 
*Photo by Rafal Krolik of Seville Media  

via McPete Sez Newsletter.

Lipgloss & Lace: Time for a Me-Ality Check?

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                         by Mandie Mutchie

The other day, my boyfriend Tommy and I went to the mall, which is unusual for me, as I normally prefer to buy from small, local boutiques. We were walking, and a large, octagonal form in the middle of the hallway caught my eye. People were getting inside of this box that looked like a big elevator that was going nowhere, and standing very still in a specific way, then getting out and getting a printout.

Since I am a beachbody coach, and very interested in physical fitness and the body in general, I was quite intrigued. I at first thought this was some sort of scanner to determine body fat percentage/body composition, but then I started reading the signage, and discovered Me-Ality, a radio wave body scan that is used to tell you where to find the perfect pair of jeans, to eliminate the time needed to try on millions of pairs.

I had to try it! So I filled out a bit of information (name, email, year of birth), and soon I was inside. I stood with my feet on the foot censors, my fingertips on my thighs with my wrists bent at 90-degree angles, and stared at the circles on the inside of the machine while radio waves used the water in my skin to do a general scan of my body and measurements.

When I got out, they handed me my results, which included scales that showed how close to a perfect fit a given pair would be. Apparently, if you buy any of the jeans listed on the paper, I could come back and show my receipt and get a Starbucks giftcard. In fact, I was supposed to get one anyway, because they were giving them away to every tenth person who tried it, but they were all out of them, and I am still waiting for it to come in the mail (we’ll see if that happens!). Anyway, I was SHOCKED when I saw that my results said my best pair of jeans were a size 00 from Chico’s. I had never shopped at Chico’s in my life! And, size 00?! Clearly, the sensor missed something, like my entire butt!

I had to try them on. So after Tommy’s scan – during which the power in the mall went out and we were concerned that he would be stuck in the scanner – (it had his size right, and also recommended a brand he’d never tried), we walked over to Chico’s, and I tried on the most awful pair of “Mom jeans” I had ever seen. It didn’t help that the only pair they had was a very light, dated wash… And I looked at the sizes, and they were so ridiculous. The next size after 00 was 0, then .5, and so on. What?! I had definitely noticed that some stores had me listed for a size 9/10 and everywhere in between. I was so surprised by the discrepancy!

The look on Tommy’s face when I came out of the dressing room was priceless – it was like I was wearing a Halloween costume or something. We talked a bit, and wondered if it is because I don’t exactly dress my age, so I decided that I would come back and lie about my year of birth, and see if that made a difference. The Me-Ality staff said that the reason why they asked age was to see who was using their service, which made sense, but was contrary to the fact that the second time I went in, two days later (and said I was six years younger), Chico’s (and, sadly, size 00) was nowhere to be found on my list, and the top spot was now a size 5/6 pair of jeans from Wet Seal.

Despite the fact that my experience was strange and inconsistent, I definitely see a future for this technology. I think that with some tweaking (perhaps a short survey to get a sense of the user’s style, as opposed to just using age and assuming how someone that age would dress), this could be a great service. The idea itself is definitely brilliant, in my opinion! Apparently, they are working to soon be able to use the same for shirts. What’s next? Bras? Like I said, lots of potential! It’s just a same that the jeans industry hasn’t figured out a more standardized sizing system like the bra industry has. But, at least I feel better now when someone asks my jeans size and I’m flummoxed – now I have documentation that I am either a size 00, a size 9/10, and every size in between!

You can check out this service and look for locations at www.Me-Ality.com. Please let me know how it goes for you! I am very interested to hear if anyone is using it successfully!

xoxo,
Mandie

Amanda Mutchie began her professional modeling career nearly ten years ago, and has appeared in many national and international publications, and commercials. Over the course of her modeling career, she worked with many acclaimed makeup artists, learning from them along the way. She eventually became a makeup artist herself and started FaceScape Artistry. Now she works with incredible photographers, models, brides, and other clients to create glamorous as well as natural makeup looks. She also channels her passion for fitness and nutrition and desire to help others into her work as a beachbody coach, and is pursuing her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
For more information on Mandie go towww.MandieM.com, www.facescapeartistry.com, email Mandie at mandelicious@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @mandelicious.  Don’t forget to “like” her pages on facebook, too!  www.facebook.com/MandieLM &www.facebook.com/FaceScapeArtistry www.lipglossnlace.com 
*Photo by Rafal Krolik of Seville Media  

via McPete Sez Newsletter.

McPete Sez Lingerie Newsletter issue # 315

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The May 15th issue of McPete Sez is live.  You can view the entire issue at http://www.mcpetesez.com/may152012.htm

Lipgloss & Lace

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                         by Mandie Mutchie
Hopefully, it’s been a long time since you’ve heard someone say Charlie Sheen’s catch phrase before bed (“WINNING!”), but even though the phrase is tired and overused, that doesn’t mean that you have to stop winning!
A couple months ago, I was tweeting about how much I wanted a FitBit to track my activity (it’s basically a fancy pedometer that you can also use to track your sleep), when a gentleman named Jason Urgo (@Urgo) started following me, and I noticed that he was doing a fitbit giveaway from his YouTube page. To win a fitbit, you had to make a video, and he gave us categories of how to do so. I entered, and I won! It was so exciting! So, I decided to try one of my own!
As someone who makes the majority of her income via the internet and social media, I spend a reasonable amount of time researching different ways to reach more people and connect more on social media. Through this, one recommendation to get more people to your page was to do some giveaways, so I did an experiment with that, and it went GREAT! My initial video (where I gave away cosmetic products I purchased myself in an effort to increase my following on twitter and facebook) got me a MUCH larger youtube following, as well as more “likes” on facebook and “followers” on twitter. The first video was added mid-march and has nearly five-hundred views, some of which happened after the contest had ended.
Since then, I have been asked by a local business to do a video giveaway for them. I will be announcing the winner and seeing the final difference in their number of “likes” on facebook and “follows” on twitter after the article has been submitted, but the video itself has a couple hundred views after only two weeks of it being up. This means that their brand has reached AT LEAST (since I am only able to track it with YouTube views and eventually likes, it is hard to tell how many people saw my statuses/tweets and checked out their page without doing any actions, such as “liking” the page) a couple hundred people that they wouldn’t normally reach.
People want to bring a positive experience and association with their brand, and what better way to do it than by allowing someone the opportunity to win something!? Not only will that person be excited at the chance to try your product, but they will also spend time looking at your other offerings and potentially make a purchase. I know that I have bought from Rebel Green since doing their giveaway! Also, imagine the excitement they will have and how much they will talk about how wonderful your brand is since they won something! And back to that whole Charlie Sheen WINNING thing… Part of why we love it is physiological – we get endorphins when we win something (ever wonder why some people are addicted to gambling?), and there are few better ways to reach a stranger than by this giveaway.
I’ve had so much fun doing this that I am now offering my services to other companies, so if you’d like me to promote your company with a giveaway, just let me know & we’ll start setting it up! Yes, you can do one on your own, but if you add me to the equation, you’re adding a minimum of 5,000 different people who are in my network, but not necessarily yours!
Have a great day, and Happy May! 

Amanda Mutchie began her professional modeling career nearly ten years ago, and has appeared in many national and international publications, and commercials. Over the course of her modeling career, she worked with many acclaimed makeup artists, learning from them along the way. She eventually became a makeup artist herself and started FaceScape Artistry. Now she works with incredible photographers, models, brides, and other clients to create glamorous as well as natural makeup looks. She also channels her passion for fitness and nutrition and desire to help others into her work as a beachbody coach, and is pursuing her Master’s degree in Curriculum and Instruction.
For more information on Mandie go towww.MandieM.com, www.facescapeartistry.com, email Mandie at mandelicious@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter @mandelicious.  Don’t forget to “like” her pages on facebook, too!  www.facebook.com/MandieLM &www.facebook.com/FaceScapeArtistry www.lipglossnlace.com 
*Photo by Rafal Krolik of Seville Media 

http://www.mcpetesez.com/may12012-3.htm