GeekSugar

LED Grills: For When You Need Greener, Glowier Teeth

Miriam Lacey — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:05:30 PST

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 Finds Makeup For a "High-Fashion Lifestyle"

Annie Tomlin — Tue, 21 Dec 2010 11:32:06 PST

"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?

Korean Men Are Buying Into Makeup

BellaSugar — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 11:59:35 PDT

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?

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

PetSugar — Fri, 01 May 2009 09:00:46 PDT

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.

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

PetSugar — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 13:40:37 PDT

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.

See more pics of the pups when you read more.

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Closer Look: Fake Korean Shuffle Returns

GeekSugar — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 09:00:14 PDT

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?

GeekSugar — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 16:00:41 PDT

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

GeekSugar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:00:13 PDT

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!

David Beckham Takes Off His Shirt For The RAZR2

GeekSugar — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 12:50:06 PDT

We've all seen David Beckham's new sharp Motorola RAZR2 ads, which feature Becks showing off his RAZR2 in a chic suit, but who really wants Becks or his phone when his shirt is on? Motorola's Korean site has released some saucy pics of our favorite celebrity gadget endorser showing off his new phone in all his shirtless, tattooed glory. They've also created a fun "Becoming Becks" flash feature that I can't understand, but I can totally appreciate. Did I mention the RAZR2 is now available in the US? I may have been overwhelmed by his beauty.

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South Korea Plans To Build 'Robot Land'

GeekSugar — Wed, 29 Aug 2007 03:00:00 PDT

When it comes to real robot love and adoration the US is light years behind other nations. Sure, we're down with dancing robots and fancy robot parking garages, but we don't seem to be as obsessed as other nations.

Case in point: Word is South Korea is investing in a huge industrial park dedicated to robotics. Construction of the industrial city, aptly named 'Robot Land,' will begin in 2009 and cost more than $500 million. Unlike our geek Mecca Lego Land, which is purely an amusement park, Robot Land will house research centers, manufacturing sites and exhibition spaces for robot competitions. The location will be announced later this year.

(Photo from this year's Maker Faire in California.)