Korea

New Japanese LED Mouth Grills
japan

LED Grills: For When You Need Greener, Glowier Teeth

LED has been a big beauty trend in Japan and South Korea of late, from these eerily beautiful luminescent eyelashes to new glowing grills that light up your teeth in neon shades.
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LED has been a big beauty trend in Japan and South Korea of late, from these eerily beautiful luminescent eyelashes to new glowing grills that light up your teeth in neon shades. I'd definitely swipe some of those LED lashes, but I'm not sure about these grills. The video illustrating how these babies work is called "Party in the Mouth," which I am way, way too immature not to giggle at. Check it out (no sound required) and tell me if you'd consider wearing this mouthful to your next rave:

Leighton Meester's Korean Makeup Ad
Celebrity Beauty

Leighton Meester Finds Makeup For a "High-Fashion Lifestyle"

"What makeup means to me is sparkling makeover," Leighton Meester says in this Q&A for Korean cosmetics brand eSpoir.
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"What makeup means to me is sparkling makeover," Leighton Meester says in this Q&A for Korean cosmetics brand eSpoir. The brand cites her as its muse, which is a polite way of saying "brand ambassador," which is another way of saying "spokesperson." While this unedited footage of Leighton talking about the products is slightly awkward, the finished promotional video pulls it all together.

Leighton, who's the face (hair?) of Herbal Essences in the United States, isn't the only star to go to Asia for ad campaigns. See Angelina, Brad, Natalie, and more celebrities in Japanese commercials. Your thoughts?

Makeup Sales to Men on Rise in Korea
Makeup

Korean Men Are Buying Into Makeup

In Korea, metrosexuality is still going strong, and many guys are now turning to makeup to look good at the office and out at night.
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In Korea, metrosexuality is still going strong, and many guys are now turning to makeup to look good at the office and out at night. Apparently, smoky eye makeup has become a common sight on guys out in clubs, and sales of eye cream and other skincare products are way up.

Even in the macho world of the military, "color lotion" (aka tinted moisturizer) has been common for years. In fact, makeup and grooming are becoming so popular that cosmetic company Amore Pacific has even opened a flagship men's makeup and skincare boutique in Seoul.

It's interesting to me that men in Japan and Korea seem to have fewer hangups about makeup than their American counterparts generally do. Despite attempts to popularize makeup for men in Europe and the States, it just hasn't caught on. (Witness the lack of buzz over Jean Paul Gaultier's dude-friendly bronzers.) Do you think men can pull off a bit of makeup just as well as women, or is it a hard sell?

South Korea Clones Dogs With Fluorescent Protein That Makes Them Glow Red
Dogs

What's Your Take: Korea Clones Glow-in-the-Dark Doggies?

It seems that Korea just can't get enough of cloning, and this time it includes sea anemones and beagles.
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It seems that Korea just can't get enough of cloning, and this time it includes sea anemones and beagles. What does one have to do with the other, you ask? Normally nothing, but recently scientists have incorporated a glowing protein into a set of cloned beagles that makes them glow under infrared light. Not only does it make for an interesting (albeit creepy-looking) combo, but it also proves that you can insert specific genes into an animal, even if it's not from their own species.

This video I caught on AP, shows why the scientists engineered the beagles with the protein in the first place. Check it out, then tell me if you think this advancement is for the best . . . or for the worst.

Hong Kong Fashion Week: Over-Rolls Fall 2009
Korea

Hong Kong Fashion Week: Over-Rolls Fall 2009

Today marks the first day of Fashion Week in Hong Kong, only proving our theory that it's always Fashion Week somewhere.
by coutorture
Hong Kong Fashion Week: Over-Rolls Fall 2009

Today marks the first day of Fashion Week in Hong Kong, only proving our theory that it's always Fashion Week somewhere. One collection that caught our eye was the Over-Rolls Fall 2009 collection. The loose, layered knits were right on the mark and in their best form when they bunched around the neck. Check out the collection below and learn more about the Korean brand right here. 

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Precision Geometry with Lie Sang Bong
Korea

Precision Geometry with Lie Sang Bong

Korean designer Lie Sang Bong could only ever show in Paris with his penchant for the curious and his admirable ability to bring together seemingly clashing aesthetics from plain white structured shirt dresses to loud geometric suits.
by coutorture

Korean designer Lie Sang Bong could only ever show in Paris with his penchant for the curious and his admirable ability to bring together seemingly clashing aesthetics from plain white structured shirt dresses to loud geometric suits. And yet his Spring 2009 collection was all part of a continuum of precision even as the bright colors in linear procession filled the eye with wild possibilities. But the collection ever went over the edge into chaos. You can see a graceful formalism in his sheer bubble skirts and even his flowing evening gowns were restrained by orderly symmetry.

 

The Scoop: First Cloned Pet Dogs Make Their Debut in Korea!
Dogs

The Scoop: First Cloned Pet Dogs Make Their Debut in Korea!

Even if you're not totally on board with the pet cloning idea, you'd have to have a cold, cold heart not to at least melt at these pictures.
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Even if you're not totally on board with the pet cloning idea, you'd have to have a cold, cold heart not to at least melt at these pictures. I mean, baby puppies of any sort are awwww-worthy in my book.This is Bernann McKinney from Hollywood, California holding up a clone of her late pitbull terrier, Booger, at the Seoul National University animal hospital in Korea on August 5. Five clones were created by South Korean scientists in the world's first commercial cloning of a pet dog . . . and the price of her love was nearly $50,000. She looks super happy with her new babe – they kinda look like twinsies– so I bet it's all worth it in her (check) book.

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See more pics of the pups when you read more

Closer Look: Fake Korean Shuffle Returns
iPod Shuffle

Closer Look: Fake Korean Shuffle Returns

When I first shared a sneak peek at this faux shuffle that a friend of mine found in Korea most of you were mesmerized by its octagonal navigation and suspiciously familiar body shape and color.
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When I first shared a sneak peek at this faux shuffle that a friend of mine found in Korea most of you were mesmerized by its octagonal navigation and suspiciously familiar body shape and color. Some of you even wondered if the packaging for the fake shuffle was anything like the real Apple packaging. I was able to get my mittens on some additional pictures and the verdict is in: The creators of this noteworthy knock off may have focused on making the iClip.Se MP3 look just like the shuffle, but they went for more modern, iPhone-inspired packaging. (Note the plain black cardboard and the sleek plastic case.) Is it just me, or is this thing more entertaining the second time around?

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Photos courtesy of chuger

Would You Order Food Via RFID?
digital life

Would You Order Food Via RFID?

We've all agreed that the idea of organizing your wine rack with RFID technology, an automatic identification method that relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders, is completely geek chic.
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We've all agreed that the idea of organizing your wine rack with RFID technology, an automatic identification method that relies on storing and remotely retrieving data using devices called RFID tags or transponders, is completely geek chic. We've also agreed that the prospect of H&M allowing shoppers to purchase items via a Semacode bar that is read by a cell phone may revolutionize shopping, but is the notion of ordering food via RFID as intriguing?

This week The Korea Times reported that McDonald's and SK Telecom have unveiled a new ordering system that will allow customers to use mobile phones and infra-red sensors to make orders from their table. The system will send customers a phone message when their meal is ready. Apparently, the "Touch Order" menu is the first in the world to utilize the radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology in a self-ordering system at a restaurant. Do you think you would use this service?

Source: Korea Times

Korean Knock Off Shuffle Goes Octagonal On Us
iPod Shuffle

Korean Knock Off Shuffle Goes Octagonal On Us

Remember Molly's Dispatches From The Future (i.e.
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Remember Molly's Dispatches From The Future (i.e. awesome diary from her trip to Hong Kong)? Well, consider this a Back 2 The Future part two moment. A friend of mine is in Korea for work and managed to snap us a picture of this fantastic faux iPod shuffle, which provides us a tiny window into the Korean iPod Black market. Oh. I love it so. It doesn't look as authentic as the ones Cult of Mac's Pete found in San Francisco's Chinatown, but its octagonal navigational bar gives it a fun twist and a fair chance should a copyright lawsuit ever come up. ("No, your honor, it was inspired by the Apple shuffle, but it's completely different, see the octagon? It looks nothing like the Apple wheel!") No word on whether it comes in light green or purple. I've spent the last five minutes trying to make out the other MP3 player copy cats in the background. Yeah, I'm just geeky like that.

Thanks, Chuger!