" Pretty International "- Beauty Around the World: West Indies

Hey Pretty!  Welcome back to another edition of Pretty International! This is always my favorite segment because its so much fun to learn, understand and appreciate the culture of others. Today we are going to an area that is a personal favorite of mine. We arent looking at one specific country but rather a group of islands! Lets head on down to the warm, sunny, beautiful spot of the West Indies !

First let's put on our smart shades and do a little educational portion  so that you know what and who I mean when I say the West Indies. There are three major physiography divisions that makeup the West Indies. You have the Greater Antilles, the Lesser Antilles and and the isolated islands. Each island is also categorized in one or more of each: French West Indies , Dutch West Indies, British West Indies, or Spanish West Indies.

Greater A- Cuba , Jamaica , Hispaniola (Haiti and the Dominican Republic ) , and Puerto Rico

Lesser A- Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Saint Kitts and Nevis,Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Barbados, Grenada, Saint Martin, Martinique, Guadeloupe.

Isolated : North American shelf : Bahamas , Turks and Caicos
                South American shelf : Trinidad and Tobago , Aruba Bonaire,and Bermuda,







Okay now lets get to what we're really here for. Let's see some beauty standards.

Skin  

Cuban Women

Two different ideals were prevalent in regards to skin color in the Caribbean. Certain countries prefer light, fair skin like Haiti and the Dominican Republic. While these countries prefer light skin other countries like Barbados prefer the opposite. Overall a nice bronze and well taken care of  skin is  more likely too be seen. 

Haiti

Barbados

Barbados: Beauty is a woman with a dark skin tone. Many women in this country face racism if they are light skinned. Rihanna, of Barbados descent, revealed through an interview that she was bullied because she was considered “white”. In fact in Barbados “Bajans with lighter skin colors are often given as a reason for failure – be it personal failure or failure of government projects.”

Jamacian and Trini children 

Clothes 

St.Lucia

The attire is as diverse as the people but this is the main thing that 

sets the Caribbean apart from the rest.  The tropical weather, and different ethnic backgrounds influence the clothing. Some of the traditional wardrobe was clothing borrowed largely from French Creole styles where women  wore brightly colored skirts, folded head wraps, and both sexes wore “madras” a plaid-like print in vibrant colors. What has continued from these olden times to present time is the usage of bright colors. Since the weather is warm light fabrics like linen or cotton are worn and if long pants are worn the fabric is made from a light, airy material . One of the main West Indian islands where we see this is Saint Lucia. We also see A similar wear with Cubans, Puerto Ricans and Domincans but with out the plaid and more so just solid colors. 

Domincan Rep.

St. Lucia 

St.Lucia: The amazing culture of Saint Lucia (my culture so yes im very bias)  has been influenced by African, East Indian, French and English heritage. One of the secondary languages is Creole French, spoken by almost all of the population. This Creole heritage plays a huge part in traditional wear like we said earlier. Below are also some attire from the Spanish West Indies. 

Puerto Rico

Body 

Jamaica

Jamaica: The ideal is that women who are of a thicker body image like a “coke bottle” are preferable by men. Some (not all) women undergo dangerous measures to achieve this ideal like taking chicken pills. These chicken pills are what farmers feed their chickens to grow at rapid rates and these women take these pills to get larger hips and bottoms and women especially young girls are still taking them. The belief is that “big bottoms” equal “power” and if you’re big it shows society that you are wealthy. Reading this even shocked me ! 

Jamaica

Other

Carnival! Carnival is a very well known and highly mimicked part of West Indian and Brazilian culture when talking about beautiful women ( Pretty International- Brazil is next week! ).  Carnival tradition which also has strong ties to African traditions, since Africans has an ancient tradition of parading and moving in circles through villages wearing masks and costumes

. It was believed to heal problems, chill out angry relatives who died and to bring good fortune. They also put natural objects together such as feathers, shells, beads, grasses and bones to create masks and costumes. Each object and combination of objects were to represent a certain idea or spiritual force. 

Feathers was often used on masks and headdresses and would symbolize humans ability to rise above illness, pains, heartbreaks and problems or to pas to other worlds for rebirth and spiritually growth. Feathers are largely used in many forms in creating Carnival costumes

.In many parts of the world where Catholic Europeans set up colonies and began trading slaves the European Carnival traditions and the ancient African traditions began to interact giving root to the Carnival as we know it today. Brazil  is perhaps most famous for its carnival, as the Mardi Gras is it in Louisiana where African-Americans mixed with French settlers and Native Americans.

So Pretties, I hope today you learned a little more about his culture today! Remember it is always good to take time to learn about and appreciate the cultures of others. Our differences make us unique and special! Until next time stay you, be true, be pretty!  

Look at these proud West Indian- Americans! 

St.Lucian

Puerto Rican

Dominican 

Trinidadian 

Panamania (by way of Barbados and Jamaica)

Bajan-Panamanian

Puerto Rican

Jamaican 

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"Pretty International" Beauty Around the World: South Korea

Hey Pretty!  So today is Tuesday and that means that today we are going to take someone time to appreciate a different standard of beauty. It is important that we open our minds to understanding and appreciating other cultures and not just our own. Today we are going to look at none other than South Korea!  (Remember this is generalized)

EYES

Although when a lot of us hear Asian we think "slanted" or 'chinky" eyes , Koreans actually like the opposite. They seem to really enjoy the big "doll like" eye look and wear their eyeliner in such a way that it opens up their eyes and make them appear to be bigger. It is also common for Korean women to go through eye surgery to obtain a "double eyelid". 

TANNING

Tanning is a pretty big part of white American culture and other cultures as well. Here "pale" or "pasty" skin is not usually considered extremely attractive but that is quite different in Korea. As a matter of fact, the lighter the skin the better. They will actually avoid any type of tanning. Makeup and skin care products often contain skin lightening or bleaching agents. 

FACES

So there is a "small" vs "big" thing going here. Koreans equate having a "small face" as being cute. A big face for example big around the jawline and high cheek bones is not considered attractive and you will often see them make "cute" hand gestures in pictures, like the one below, to cover their face size. a "V line" face however is what is considered beautiful and Koreans will often try many methods to achieve this look. In the picture above you can see a young girl who had cosmetic surgery to get a V line and bigger eyes. 

FASHION

So "dress to impress" is very ideal. If your going out in public looking nice is a must. Not to far fetch right? However unlike her where wearing a short mini skirt and high heels is considered "sluty", there its pretty much no big deal. Most think it makes them look taller and tall is good here.

BODY

There isn't much to say here except THIN , THIN, AND MORE THIN! Plus size is not a praised thing here.  S-line is the best line. 

MALE VS. FEMALE

This to me is the most different beauty standard to me if comparing Korea to America. Are beauty standard for our men is extremely different. The difference in the Korean beauty standard for men and women is actually pretty vague. The women wear makeup...so do the men. The women keep their hair done and often change its color but....so do the men. The woman care about fashion....so do the men. Here we would consider the men to be "feminine" but there is just a matter of a good looking appearance. 

So the wraps up today's edition of Pretty International ! I enjoy Korean culture and respect the differences. I hope you all take some time to learn more about the culture and others as well! Thats all for today folks so until next time stay you,stay classy, and stay pretty! 

                                                           Smooches, 

                                                                                   Maya Cee

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5 Summer Beauty Must Haves

Hey Pretty!  So it's finally the long awaited season of the year! Well , I prefer Autumn but that's neither here nor there. Its SUMMER ! So lets get straight into the meat of the post hear. ( No particular order)

                            

                                " HEY PRETTY!'S 5 SUMMER MUST HAVES !"       

                                             

                                                   1. SPF Moisturizer/ Sunscreen ! 

So obviously we need moisturizer year around but during the summer the suns UV rays start getting out of hand and doing the most so we need to protect our skin at all cost ! (Yes my fellow "chocolate" skin people that means you too.)  Moisturizers or sunscreens with and SPF 15 or higher usually do that job. My favorite sun screens are hands down the ones  by Banana Boat ! I know you want to tan and soak in the sun but do it safely with out looking like fried chicken. 

                                                    2. Bronzer and Highlighter 

 OH MY GAWD, i cant stress how much of a must this one is for me ! Highlighters in the summer is LIFE! You know that moment when someone turns around and the sun hits the top of their cheek like BAM! *praise hands*. Enough said. My favorite highlighters and bronzers : 

 e.l.f "Gotta Glow" (pretty good dupe for NARS Albatross )

 Lorac Pro - Tantalizer

Too Faced Chocolate Bronzers ( LIFE IN A PACKAGE ,)  

YOU CAN CLICK THE PICTURE TO GET TOO FACED PRODUCTS TOO! 

                                                   3. Bright Colored Lippies ! 

       A simple winged eye and bright bold lip for me is SUMMER TIME FINE ! During the summer, especially if you live in the southern states or some where with a hotter climate, a lot of us just dont        want to wear a heavy full face of makeup so i say simple is better. Simple is also a good way to avoid looking like a melted crayon.  Youtuber " It's My Raye Raye " is the QUEEN of the Simple eye Bold lip look.

  

4. Primers and Setting/Hydrating Sprays  

Need I say more? We all know  "to not prime is a crime".  Remember that melted crayon look we talked about in must have #4? Yea, that's why we prime and set. Some favs: 

Urban Decay - Setting Spray (if you've ever used this you know what the deal is )

Too faced Poreless Primer 

E.l.F Tea Tree Primer 

M.A.C Prep and Prime

H20+ Hydrating Mist  

                                           

5. Body Mist

Ok so its already super hot out and nothing is worse than being in heat and someones perfume is super strong! Heat seems to make perfume smell 5x as strong as they already do so I like to go for Body Mist instead of perfumes. Body mist are light, fresh and just enough to smell good without smelling too strong. 

So pretties that was my top 5 things that i have to have during the summer. Remember to just have fun this summer and soak it in !  Leave a comment and tell what are some of your summer must haves ! Until Next time , Stay you Stay classy and Stay Pretty ! 

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"Pretty International" - Beauty Around the World : Nepal

    Hey Pretty!  So every Tuesday here at " Hey Pretty! " we're going to learn about and appreciate beauty from all around the globe. There is no one solid standard of what is considered beautiful and we can see that by taking a look at woman of many different cultures and backgrounds!

To kick off Pretty International lets start with the beautiful country, Nepal ! Nepal is a country located in South Asia with a population of about 27 million.  South Asian coutries such as Nepal, Inda, and Tibet all use images of goddesses (often with orgins in Greek Mythology) as a reference to femininity. An example of this beautiful image of woman is seen in the depiction of Tara. Tara exemplifies "refined beauty".

  In general fair-skinned Nepalese woman are perceived to be more beautiful (as we will see in a lot of countries). The media plays a huge part in the standard of beauty. Nepali women once traditionally wore clothing that aimed to keep their shoulders and legs covered but Nepali women are beginning to adopt a more "western" style of dressing that's is more body-baring.  Physical characteristics like fair skin and thinness have become important in order to find both a job and a husband. Thinness , at one point, was a sign of poverty but now woman are aiming to diet more and achieve a more slim figure.

One ethinc community in Nepal are the "Tamangs". Tamang women wear tamang lungi, tamang jewelry, patuka, tamag cholo, tamang mala and tamag ghalek.

Another ethnic group is called the Magars. The traditional dress of maragrs usually consist of a dark colored sari with a bright yellow or blue cotton cloth wrapped around the waist (patuka) and a wrap up blouse.

Nepali Woman to me are some of the most gorgeous woman on Earth. At the end of the day we are all beautiful no matter where we come from ! Let's appreciate our different standards of beauty. Until next time, Stay you , Stay classy , and Stay Pretty!

                                                 
                                                   Smooches !
                                                                           Maya Cee



COMING UP NEXT.......
Tomorrows blog will be : 10 Summer Beauty Must Haves ! Stay Tuned

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