I traveled to Budapest, Hungary in September 2014 and spent a week taking in the sights, struggling with the Hungarian language, and consuming Hungarian cuisine. I was very fortunate to have connected with two photographers in Budapest shortly before I left the U.S., and I was able to schedule photo shoots with both. The first photographer was extremely hospitable and took me for a city tour of Budapest the day before our planned shoot. The next day, I got even more of a tour of the city since the photographer and his girlfriend were so enthusiastic about showing me certain parts of the city.
About midway through my stay in Budapest, I shot for an entire day with the second photographer, and though I became a bit fatigued after traveling and shooting all over Pest side, I looked forward to shooting on Buda side as well. We didn’t reach Buda side until early evening, and since the temperature was starting to drop, I quickly changed into my final look for the last set of the day, a black minidress with black heels. The photographer set up in such a way that Hungarian Parliament would be in the background of each image in the set. If you haven’t seen the Hungarian Parliament building, it is an architectural marvel, and it is especially dazzling at night because the entire building is illuminated.
The photographer asked me to stand near the Danube River so that he could check exposure and framing, so I walked over to the designated spot. As soon as I did so, a very fine rain mist started falling, and though I was in a sleeveless minidress, the drizzle and the air felt refreshing. We began shooting, and the church which the photographer was standing in front of chimed 7 times, marking the 7 o’clock hour. I will never forget the church chimes, the light rain, the crisp air, and the glow of the illuminated Hungarian Parliament building. It was a beautiful, magical moment.
With my mom a couple of months after being selected as SFVJACC Queen.
When I was a little girl, my mother told me that one of her dreams was for me to be in a Japanese American beauty pageant which was closely tied to a week-long festival in Los Angeles known as Nisei Week. The first Nisei Week celebration took place in 1934, and a year later, the queen pageant was added. With the exception of the years during which World War II took place, the Nisei Week Festival has taken place yearly. I knew how much my mother wanted me to participate in Nisei Week, but since I wasn’t that interested in vying for a queen title and being in a pageant, I tucked the idea of pursuing such a goal in the back of my mind and kind of forgot about it.
Shortly after I turned 18, I decided to contact the Japanese-American community center close to where I lived and inquired about the pageant, only to be told that the age requirements for queen candidates were changed to 19 to 25. The following year, I inquired again, but the area’s queen selection had already been made at that time. After that, I simply forgot about the Nisei Week queen selection. Then the year that I turned 25, I figured that I had one final chance to see if I could win a queen title and advance to the Nisei Week pageant. So I submitted my candidate profile and waited for the queen selection day to approach, while also keeping my plans completely hidden from my mom. I thought that if I wasn’t selected as the San Fernando Valley queen, I wouldn’t say anything to my mother, so as to spare her any disappointment.
While at the queen selection event, I noticed that I was up against only one other candidate, but that candidate had competed for the queen title for two consecutive years previously, and since she was also 25 years old, the event was her final chance at being selected as queen. I made an assumption that since the judges were familiar with the other candidate, she would most likely be chosen as their queen.
We were assessed on our physical appearance and poise, were asked impromptu questions while standing on a small stage, and were interviewed individually by every single judge. When it was time to announce the 1991 San Fernando Valley Japanese Community Center Queen, who would then go on to compete at the Nisei Week pageant with 8 other regional queens, I prepared myself to hear the other candidate’s name, so it was a complete surprise when I heard my name called. Next thing I knew, the judges and guests were congratulating me, and the former queen placed a bouquet of tulips in my arms. When I arrived home, I called my mom to tell her the news, and she was incredibly proud and thrilled.
At Mayor Tom Bradley’s office with fellow Nisei Week Princess and WLAJACC Queen Alice Akahoshi
Over the next three months, I went to pageant practice 3 days per week, attended events with the rest of the court, and was primed and polished for business visitations and parades. It was like attending Japanese-American charm school, and I was grateful for the experience. I wore a tiara to many events, and also wore a sash whenever clad in kimono or in the matching outfits the court was expected to wear during events and visitations. We performed in front of 1,200 guests during the pageant, and though I didn’t win the Nisei Week Queen title, I was a Nisei Week Princess, still held the Queen title for my region, and became part of an incredible community.
It seems like lots of ladies are opting to have their nails professionally done these days, and there are now an assortment of different nail shapes which one can choose. The six most popular nail shapes are shown in the above image, with Oval, Round, and Squoval nail shapes best suited for imparting the most natural look. You ca even create an optical illusion with your nail shape, so that if you have narrow, long fingers and want them to look more substantial, you can opt for the Squoval (or even Square, which has sharper angles) silhouette. Those with short or wide fingers who are willing to have a bit of length to their nails will find the Oval shape more flattering and slimming.
Depending on how long your nails are, and whether you have natural or acrylic nails, you could adopt any nail shape and make them look elegant, especially if your nails are professionally shaped. An example is the Square nail shape featured in the image below. You can see that the model’s fingers are long and slender, so she can carry the more severe square shape and have nails which look feminine and pretty.
I used to have Ballerina shaped nails for a number of years, and I just got tired of the shape, so I switched to Almond. Ballerina, or Coffin, shaped nails, have side edges which are tapered, so the shape can have a nice slenderizing effect on small, short fingers. However, partially due to the fact that I had a horrible nail technician whose work would chip, peel, lift and break constantly, I had to go to her for frequent repairs. I found that the sharp edges of the coffin shape would crack and chip off, despite being very careful with them. So unless you are getting your nails done by a skilled nail technician, I would opt against this shape, based on my previous experience.
@nailsbysab
Almond Nail Shape:
I finally changed to the Almond nail shape back in November, after my previous nail technician disappeared without a trace. I can honestly say that the Almond shape is fantastic, versatile, strong, feminine and flattering to my small hands. My only regret is having waited as long as I did to change to this shape, but I never trusted my previous nail technician to do a skillful job with a new nail shape. You can see in the image below how flattering the Almond nail shape is for a woman’s hands.
I honestly have never seen anyone sport the Stiletto nail shape except celebrities and 19 year old strippers. The Stiletto shape is very severe, with nails which come to a very sharp point, so I can’t imagine someone getting Stiletto nails unless that person had a team of assistants who did everything, presumably possibly even performing wiping duty during a celebrity’s bathroom visits (I presume a bidet would be a good investment for someone who has stiletto nails). To be honest, I wouldn’t even want to try Stiletto nails, even for a few minutes, because they are incredibly impractical and ridiculous.
Source: Nail Art Designs 2020
Mountain Peak Nail Shape:
There is a variation of Stiletto called Mountain Peak, which is a shorter version, featuring a sharp point at the tip of the nail. While it is far less treacherous than the Stiletto shape, it still evokes a feeling of vampires and haunted castles. Simply by virtue of the sharp, pointed edge of Mountain Peak, it also lacks the versatility and practicality of other, more moderate nail shapes. However, I think it could work for some women as long as leggings and tights aren’t essential elements to their wardrobe, or they don’t care if they rip into every delicate fabric they touch. I can’t imagine this shape working with nitrile gloves, which are an essential part of my life as a physician.
This is crazy to me! I was bored one afternoon and decided to type in “hottest female doctors” in the Google search field. I had done this in the past and was stunned when I saw more than one article which mentioned me. I once again stumbled upon another article which was published in 2016, and which is a highlighted “People Also Ask” question on Google: “who is the hottest female doctor in the world:?”. I honestly thought I might see a venerated female colleague as a response to that question, but instead, I saw that there was an article on me!
I have gotten a LOT of criticism for being forthright in my determination to show off the labors of my hard work in the gym. My determination comes from being a “practice what I preach” type of person, and not from wanting to be in any type of spotlight. So before the haters emerge and decide to blast me, keep in mind where I am coming from.
My hair was always straight throughout childhood and adulthood, to the point where it often fought any type of curl or wave I tried to create. Then menopause hit, and my hair mutated into a super wavy, frizzy, unmanageable mess. To give you an idea of how wavy my hair became after the “change”, let’s just say that as my hair air dries after I wash it, it looks like I had put my hair into two pigtail braids and left them that way overnight, then unraveled them to release intense waves. On the rare occasion when I am rushing around and unable to run the flat iron through my hair once it has completely air dried, a few friends have witnessed how wavy my tresses have become. Despite the fact that those friends have remarked that they think it looks pretty, I cringe when I realize that someone has noticed the change in my hair texture.
Copyright: badahosThis was taken in 1991, when my hair was at its longest. You can see how straight it was.
I wouldn’t mind the waviness in my locks if 1) the wave was evenly distributed (the right side is considerably wavier than the left), and 2) my hair didn’t expand as it dried, creating a frizzy mushroom-shaped mass. I honestly feel a bit like Roseanne Rosannadanna when my hair is in the process of drying, and I fight it like crazy, using a brush-style blow dryer, hair oil, and shine serum. I have tried to skip the flat iron, but I truly can’t stand how my hair looks without that final smoothing step. I am always bound and determined to kill that hormonal squiggle which runs through my hair!
So when Nutree asked me to review their Brazilian Bottox Expert, I gladly agreed to do so, since I am always in search of products and treatments which can calm my unruly mop. This is considered a professional treatment, and the chemicals are rather harsh, so I strongly urge you to work in a very well ventilated room, wear gloves, and even wear protective eyewear if you have sensitive eyes like I do. Though I didn’t use my onion cutting goggles, I honestly did consider wearing them while I applied the treatment and for the 40 minutes during which I had the product penetrating into my hair. Even when I blow dried and flat ironed my hair, some of the fumes made me choke a bit, and my eyes teared a bit then as well.
Since Brazilian Bottox Expert is a thermo multi-control mask, and fills in the hair cuticle so that it is nice and smooth. So what you can expect from this treatment is hair which is shiny, smooth, and more manageable. The large jar should be enough for three treatments on my thick, waist-length, half-Asian hair, which I guess is acceptable. There is a sweet, bubble gum/fruity smell to the product, but that smell can be pretty strong when the product is being applied, or when a hot styling tool is introduced. That being said, the fumes are tolerable.
My post-menopausal wavy hair…
The first thing I did was wash my hair with an anti-residue shampoo, then allowed it to dry completely overnight while I slept (I’m lazy like that, and prefer to let my hair air dry). I then sectioned my hair into six sections, put on a pair of gloves, and applied the product to each section. I also made sure to comb the product through from roots to ends to make sure the product was distributed evenly. I set my timer for 40 minutes and made sure to sit in a well-ventilated room.
After 40 minutes, I lightly rinsed my hair, making sure to leave a thin layer of product in my hair. I could tell that there was a thin layer of product by the slippery quality in my wet hair. I towel dried my hair, then blow-dried it with a round brush. I will admit that this took FOREVER because I have very thick, long hair, and also because I detest blow drying my hair. One of the reasons why my hair is so healthy is because I only wash it twice a week, and I only run a brush-style hair dryer through my damp hair for about 3 minutes to speed up the air-drying process. So what I did was split up the blow-drying into three sessions, with about 20 minutes in between each session.
Once my hair was completely dry, I flat ironed my hair, taking small sections and running the flat iron 12 times through each section. The heat from the flat iron really kicked up the fumes, and my eyes began to water a bit, but I toughed it out. The result was incredibly smooth hair, without that nasty frizz I have been getting after washing my hair.
My hair immediately after finishing the treatment
About three days after I applied Brazilian Bottox Expert, I washed and conditioned my hair with Amazonliss Anti-Frizz Shampoo and Conditioner. As my hair dried, I noticed that the wave in my hair had relaxed somewhat, which surprised and delighted me since the product is not considered a straightener or relaxer. Right before my hair was completely dry, I ran a hair dryer through it, but it took no time to get it to dry, and my hair looked smooth and relatively frizz-free, with no mushrooming out (no more Roseanne Roseannadanna!). I could actually tolerate the amount of curl in my hair, but I still ran the flat iron through it.
My damp hair after washing it 3 days post Brazilian Bottox Expert application My dry hair after washing and conditioning itThis is how my hair looked after flat-ironing it and sleeping on it overnight
I absolutely LOVE how my hair is significantly tamer, much more manageable, with less wave and considerably less frizz. The other bonus is how shiny my hair is now! I am hoping that this will last a couple of months, because it has completely changed how I feel about my hair now. Brazilian Bottox Expert is a complete gamechanger for me, and I honestly believe that anyone who is dealing with excessive curl and frizz and wants to make their hair more manageable should try this product.
Source: 123rf.com Image ID : 104888033 Copyright : magone
I had spent the last two months of 2020 searching high and low for a natural, rich, mineral-free cream which I could use on my very parched, eczema-tortured skin which developed as a result of an overly aggressive CO2 laser treatment, a 2 month reaction to mineral oil, and the cold, dry winter air. After searching high and low in an effort to find a solution, I stumbled upon a product which fit the bill: Ultra Repair Cream from First Aid Beauty. From the very first application, I got INSTANT relief, and my skin drank this stuff up. I slathered it all over my neck, chest, shoulders, and forehead, and all the itchiness went away almost instantly. Ahhhhhh…
While the cream is extremely thick, almost like frosting, it absorbs quickly and beautifully, and hydrates like a dream. Another thing I appreciate is the fact that this product is fragrance free, and that there is just a nice, clean, very faint neutral scent from the ingredients themselves.
Though I suspect that I will go through the 8.8 ounce tub pretty quickly in an effort to finally heal my angry skin (my entire upper body is suffering), I think it is well worth it, especially since so few creams out there are mineral oil free, and also since this, along with only two other products I have tried (Skyn Iceland Arctic Repair Cream, and La Roche-Posay Cicaplast Baume B5 Balm), have the ability to calm my reactive skin to a point where I don’t feel like I have a million ants crawling all over me.
I will most definitely purchase this cream again. And again. This may be a new holy grail of moisturizers for me!
I am so thrilled to be a Jasmin Influencer! I have been with them since early December, and I have a blast creating highlights for the site and posting every day. Yes that’s right, every single day, even on holidays and weekends!
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source: 123rf.com Image ID : 99058606 Copyright : Vladimir Gjorgiev
If you’ve spent many years battling the crop of hair which continues to grow in your nether regions, I have some good news for you. The bush is officially back in style, so much so that celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow are rocking their pubes like it’s 1971. Now you can be free of stubble, razor nicks, the pain of having a wax infused muslin strip ripped away from your groin, and the piercing pain of laser pulses deranging your hair follicles.
Of course, if you have had any treatments to impede hair growth (laser, IPL, or waxing), it may be challenging to get the lawn to grow in fully. A hair transplant clinic in London has actually answered that lament by offering pubic hair restoration for women who have had it removed by laser. Apparently this service is increasing in popularity too.
This also may be good news for men who prefer a lush, full pubic bush framing the garden in which they enjoy frolicking. I wonder if this somehow follows on the heels of the lumber-sexual beard trend which some men chose to adopt in recent years? In true hippie, or as the trendy term goes, bohemian, style, I guess we are all reverting to a freer time. It’s time to back away from laser hair treatments, waxing, plucking, and shaving, in favor of a return to what Mother Nature intended us to sport under our skivvies.
Moreover, there are numerous benefits to allowing pubic hair to return to its original, uncropped and untortured state, which are listed in this article:
source: 123rf.com Image ID : 116442280s Copyright : Olena Kachmar
Have patience while you let your magic carpet grow in. And once your muff mop returns to its unrestricted state, you can even improve it with products like Fur Oil, which is specially designed to condition its thicker texture. A UK-based company named Two L(i)ps sells a charcoal infused vulva mask which apparently “detoxifies” your vajajay, and works just as well if your kitty is as bald as a baby bird or if it rocks a shaggy mane. I simply must share some of the musings of Imogen Edwards-Jones who wrote a hilarious article for Get The Gloss in which she reviews this bizarre product:
“…I am not a woman who gives her wazoo much thought. I do rudimentary minge management. I wax and clip and occasionally when I’ve been a little too busy, I’ve posted the straggling escapees back under my bikini while relaxing by the pool. But basically my vagina and I, we get by.”
Here are her initial impressions of the mask:
“…Initially, it made me desperate for the loo. It was like wearing a cold, wet, swimming costume, unpleasant enough to trigger a virulent episode of cystitis. Then after about five minutes, it warmed up. Somehow that was worse. Perhaps I had peed myself unawares?”
The company recommends that you apply a mask every day for 5 consecutive days, which comes to a whopping $120. Now, I honor and appreciate my goodie parts, but I certainly am not about to fork out over 100 clams (pun intended) to see how this product might yield a brighter, toxin free cootch.
Whichever you direction you ladies decide to go in, shaved clean, cropped, or a mop, rock it the way you know best!
source: 123rf.com Image ID : 81849095 Copyright : subbotina
Super long hair is in fashion these days, so much so that ladies who are unable to grow their hair as long as they want have been sporting extensions to produce the desired long locks. It’s been interesting hearing people comment on my hair, which I had decided to grow out again, because people who haven’t known me for long think it’s a new thing. Well, it’s not. I have always sported extremely long hair past my waist since I was a young child, and at one point in my 20’s, my hair was so long that not only would I sit on the ends, but other people sitting next to me would accidentally pin me down, and I would have to ask them to release my hair.
The longest my hair ever got was in 1991…
I know it sounds strange, but to me, my hair at this point almost seems short,compared to that time in the early 90’s when my hair was at its longest. Here’s where my hair was length-wise in June, and then in August of this year:
My hair in June 2019
By August 2019, my hair was this long, and this was even after a trim!
I still look at images of women with crazy long hair (past the gluteal fold), and find some appeal in it, but I honestly don’t know if it would drive me nuts to carry around such a long span of keratin everywhere. Let’s face it, long hair gets in the way, it’s heavy, it makes the nape of the neck hot during the summer, and caring for long hair requires some extra effort to keep it looking its healthiest. I’m not even sure my hair would reach the same length where I had it in 1991, but I suspect I’d get so sick and tired of the maintenance that I would opt for a shorter, more manageable length.
source 123rf.com Image ID : 96202263 Copyright : Sergii Vorobiov
I will say that women with very long hair do stand out. Long hair is special, it’s beautiful, and not everyone can rock a Rapunzel-length mane. I think anyone with beautiful, healthy hair who wants to grow it out should do it, even if they later decide that sporting a scarf of hair isn’t for them.
source: 123rf.com Image ID : 90512289 Copyright : YAUHENI HASTSIUKHIN
There is also a fair amount of versatility with long hair. It can be coiled into an elegant updo, crafted into a half-up, half-down hairstyle which is fashionable and pretty, swept up into a ponytail, braided, or left loose and free. In addition, long hair makes a handy shawl or scarf if one is caught in brisk weather without a sweater or coat. Believe me, I have used my hair as insulation from cold air many times over the years!
source: 123rf.com Image ID : 84565803 Copyright : victoriash
Lastly, there is something so romantic about very long hair. Women with uber long hair aren’t afraid to express themselves as women. A sharp contrast to pixie hair styles, long hair evokes tremendous femininity. What’s strange, though, is how oppressed the literary character Rapunzel was. She was held captive by a witch in a tower, and her only hope of escape was to find a rescuer who would have to climb up her incredibly long hair to rescue her. Eventually Rapunzel cuts her hair, which apparently symbolizes cutting ties with a maternal figure. Wow, heavy stuff.
I suspect that I will sport extremely long hair, at least waist-length, for as long as I live. I’ve spent the majority of my life with long hair as part of my signature style, and I don’t plan to change that style by chopping my strands.
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