“London-based Bodymetrics and 3D machine vision company PrimeSense have developed a full 3D body scanner that is designed to make finding the perfect pair of jeans a whole lot easier. Its “Body Mapping” platform uses eight PrimeSense 3D sensors to take all of a client’s necessary measurements and map their body shape. This data is then accessed by retailers, to find the clothes which best fit that client. Initially the scanner is going to be used by Bodymetrics “Fit Stylists” to suggest the best-fitting jeans for female customers.”

Right now there is only one being used at a store called New Look in London.

Apparently you stand in a pod like machine and it accurately calculates 100 measurements which are then analyzed to match you up with a garment that is the best sizing. The article goes on to predict it’s application to the online clothing industry, where apparently 20 to 40 percent of all clothes are returned because they do not fit. Which, I have to admit, is why I rarely buy clothes online.

The Human Truth™ of this wave is: “If I look good, I am good.”™ We all want that “perfect fit” to step out confidently in the world. Buff Culture is about that feeling.

However, this piece is all about appearances. It’s a lesson in how putting some effort into making something look it’s best pays off, big time.
Teresa Berg is a professional photographer that made herself available to a local shelter because she understood that bad pictures can turn people off.  Many dogs are put down because they don’t generate any interest on the shelters website.  Bad flash technique gives them glowing “demon eyes”, or miserable looking wretches in cages, you know what I mean.

“Berg’s pictures show animals in a portrait environment in her North Dallas studio. Their eyes sparkle with personality. Some of the female animals wear a pearl necklace which they seem to carry with a certain pride. Others appear to sport a smile or a even exude serenity.
“I think you have to make that dog look like a potential member of the family,” Berg said. Coleman was thrilled. “When I saw what she could do with their expression and spirit I thought, “Oh! My goodness!” What Berg’s work had done was elevate the animal to the being that connects with a human heart.”

The Human Truth™ of the Buff Culture™ wave is: “If I look good, I am good.”™
I must admit that bad photography is a pet peeve of mine (forgive the pun). Even if people aren’t cognizant of what makes a good pic and what doesn’t, they are drawn to pictures that reveal the true beauty of something.

“The designs come steeped in Chinese symbolic meaning with “Deer and Butterfly” meaning “free, sensitive and delicate”.

Free, sensitive and delicate… sigh… what lady wouldn’t like to feel that way?  We may have come a long way since we got the vote, but there’s no denying that most of us just want to feel special and pretty sometimes.  That’s why there’s a multimillion-dollar beauty industry that feeds off our insecurities.

Anyway,  Buff Culture™ is the wave that is plain and simple looks based.  Its Human Truth™ is: “If I look good, I am good.” There is a lot of crazy stuff that people put themselves through to get the esteem boost that comes along with looking “hot”.  These lashes appealed to me because it’s beautiful, unique design that will make you stand out from the crowd, without hurting your body.

Entourage Red’s latest footwear collection: RUNWAY LIGHT is definitely eye catching. They say “It’s a liberating collision of elegance and bravado – the essential spotlight for celebrity nightlife.  Runway Light Collection’s futuristic appeal sets the tone for contemporary style and bold vision; a proclamation that a new era of fashion has emerged and the next generation of design.”

The Buff Culture™ wave is all about looks.  The Human Truth™ is “If I look good, I am good.”

These stilettos are for a gal that wants attention when she goes out at night.  You could never say they are classy but I think they are really fun. When women dress up to hit the town it’s about adorning themselves with things that catch the eye, and with these shoes you’d really be painting the town red… or pink as the case may be!

Triumph launched a campaign to change the way we refer to woman’s body types.  You might be familiar with the terms I’m talking about… for example: if you have bigger hips then bust you would be a “pear”.

They are responding to a survey that found women don’t like being referred to as fruit.  Hopefully the survey didn’t cost an arm and a leg because I personally would file that under: “DUH”.  Yeh, if I was dealing with not fitting into clothes properly I would hate to be called an “apple” on top of it all.

The Buff Culture™ wave sits fair and square in the Maslow Hierarchy of ESTEEM.  It’s about how we feel about ourselves.  So Triumphs idea?  Base the body type labels on Old Master artists (“I’m a Botticelli,” “I’m a Rembrandt,” etc.)

To be honest, I’d be surprised if it catches on, but I like it.  I was once described in a play review as being a “Botticelli Angel” and I was very flattered even though it’s implying I’m quite curvy.

That is the intention, to describe body types in a way that makes women feel like a work of art.  As the Human Truth™ of Body Warranty says: “When I look good, I feel good.”  Perhaps this is a case of “When I’m described in a flattering way, I feel good”

“The students ate five extra portions of fruit and vegetables a day for two months. Afterwards students examined a variety of pictures where their skin had different pigmentations and deemed themselves more attractive when they had increased their vegetable intake.”

Eating five more portions [of fruit and veg] ups your carotenoid levels giving your skin golden tones. Carotenoids are antioxidants which soak up damaging compounds that the skin encounters in daily life.

Apparently, the more red and yellow tones appear in the skin, the more attractive one appears.  This probably is science’s way of explaining the “healthy glow” or “blush of love”.  Do we really need any more studies to tell us eating healthy is beneficial… probably not, but Buff Culture™ is about looks based decisions, and maybe this is the kind of info that will convince someone out there to choke down some broccoli (?)

Less is more; natural shape and age are what current casting directors are looking for. Television executives at Fox Broadcasting, for example, say they have begun recruiting more natural looking actors from Australia and Britain because the amply endowed, freakishly young-looking crowd that shows up for auditions in Los Angeles suffers from too much sameness.

What I’m seeing is a move towards transparency, simple, clean, natural. So, can that translate to business ideas and practices as well?  Showing your true colors, flaws and all!  Another example of all the Buff Culture™ movement is the trend of actresses being photographed for magazines without makeup and/or photoshopping.  Celebrities, from Jessica Simpson to Kim Kardashian, are posing nude and untouched, fakeness is fading and real is rising.  Dare to be Different.

In the spirit of Buff Culture, “If I look good I am good,” mentality, we have to learn to accept ourselves—lines, wrinkles and all.  Especially if you’re an actress looking to star in a period piece or costume drama, note that big bubble boobs aren’t gonna fit in the gown and puffy lips look like an allergic reaction.  Stand out amongst the masses, be yourself.

Yep.  Sucks huh?  You know what sucks even more?  Choking down the “diet”, “lighter” or “better for you” version of the thing you actually want …only to have this article on Lifehacker tell you that calorie claims can be quite… off.  UGH. Thanks guys.

They give examples of Lean Cuisines calorie content testing higher than the label and “Wendy’s grilled chicken wrap (one of the healthiest foods at Wendy’s) promised 260 but loaded in at 344 calories.”

Apparently: “frozen meal makers face stiff penalties for selling underweight packages, so they tend to err on the side of heavier portions. It’s a margin of error—20 percent, by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration’s reckoning.”

Then I came across this somewhat humorous article about how much exercise it would take to burn off popular fast food items.  For instance, Six Chicken McNuggets have 290 calories and 17 grams of fat -which they claim can be burned off with 9hrs of vigorous sex.  Giddy up- I guess…

We’ve been talking a lot about labeling lately and what kind of impact it has on a consumer’s choice. Interestingly, when Starbucks posted the calorie content, customers quickly switched to lower-calorie Starbucks foods. But they didn’t switch to lower-calorie beverages.

I also wrote a blog not long ago about Project Label that “strives to provide the consumer with a standardized way of comparing similar products in terms of the products’ social impacts.”

The key word for me is standardization… I know there has to be some wiggle room for portion sizes/weight but if there’s a hundred more calories in the product than what the label says then I seriously question if it’s worth it!

Metabo is simply being obese, granted it’s a much cooler word and sounds better to say “she’s metabo” than “she’s obese”, and that’s possibly why marketing has gone so well for overweight inspired gadgets over there. When the health ministry, the government, school, and work all consider something to be a sociatal taboo, you better believe people will get on a bandwagon to prevent it from happening to them.

Which is why you see things like… oh… keychains that say your weight, the size on the outside of your shirt, office weight postings, exercise enforcement at school and the workplace and of course; overpriced measuring tapes.

So, $450 lands you a digital measuring tape that’s accurate to one millimeter and a little more reason to push yourself past your 18-hour workday to stay fit. Because it’s not so much about being truly health conscious as much as it is about an esteem boost I think. Being in a hyperculture is intense, I almost dropped out of school when I was over there because of it. Everyone is bustling around, rushing through the day, only to get home and start it again in a matter of hours. Feeling like you have some control, even if it is just over your weight, is a big deal.

According to the ADP, 4 million Germans under the age of 18 use tanning beds at least once a month. This crazy statistic further backs up our idea of Buff Culture, where looking good is being good. Teenage botox and cosmetic surgery has had a dramatic increase in the past few years, going from being a desperation measure to something they do with their parents.

“If people under 35 regularly use solariums, the risk of getting at some point in life malignant melanoma, the third deadliest cancer that there is, rises by 75 percent,” ADP Professor Eckhard Breitbart said.

As alarming as this may sound, it doesn’t seem to get absorbed that well, and judging from previous work I’ve done regarding teens and beauty, until someone drops dead nobody is going to pay attention unless it gets banned. We’re fast becoming a world of photo-shopped school pictures, $100 tween haircuts, sweet sixteen spray-tan parties and prom botox. And as self image becomes more ingrained, I can only imagine what would happen if they instituted the ban in the United States.

Maybe then Karl Lagerfeld has an excuse to make fur bikinis for winter.