geisha girl.

guess what i'm doing right now?

no, really. guess.
this is a good one. trust me.

i'm getting my face painted - as we speak (people are hovering around me with face paint, powder puffs, brushes, eyeshadow, eyeliner, lipstick.. etc "look up" "look down" "close your eyes" "open your eyes" "purse your lips" "suck in your cheeks") - in preparation to be a geisha.

yep, zhang ziyi/gongli-type G-E-I-S-H-A. pronounced: gay-sha. powder white face courtesy of face paint. bright red lips. super-backcombed hair, with the help of day-old hair and tons of hairspray. bottles of liquid liner and at least a pound of eyeshadow. high definition brows.

think, sorta japanese prostitute-y, complete with silk kimono-ish robe, printed stockings with black fishnets worn over. printed scarf tight around the waist. red patent maryjane heels - very dorothy in wizard of oz. ooh er. lovin' the kicky shoes.

my opinion: i look raped. hmm..if i just smudged the lipstick a little, voila!

why am i doing this, you ask? only because i love you amanda. *the look* only for you. as part of an assignment, they (manda & co) had to style a photoshoot, and were given john galliano for christian dior. hence, the geisha. lily cole, i am not.

as luck would have it, we HAD to have a firedrill in the midst of our preparations. so i was made to evacuate the school premises and walk out onto the field, wearing a flimsy kimono robe (practically naked, people! freeeezing) and crazy hair. i covered my face the whole time and sincerely wished i could die. right there and then. amanda kept apologising profusely; she knew i never wanted anyone to see this, much less the entire school.

why oh why does this only happen to me? it's so ridiculous, i had to laugh.

*shrugs* oh well, i was never daring enough to do it back in tp when my friends asked me to model for them, or star in their films. my rationale is, if one wanted to do something crazy like this, who else better to emulate than john galliano for christian dior, and in UK - where close to nobody knows me?

my last words: "my mother must never find out." ... and then the shoot began.

i took great pains not to look into any mirrors/reflective surfaces and pointedly refused to look at any of the shots they took while i was getting made up, because i knew i'd feel self-conscious. but amanda showed me one by accident, before i made my request. from there on out, i became acutely aware of what i was about to do, and the inevitable happened: i started getting majorly freaked out.

to make me feel more at ease, they let me handpick songs on itunes and personalised a playlist - all for me! damien rice (or damo as the irish call him), songs off the greys soundtrack, justin timberlake, nelly furtado, timbaland, pussycat dolls.. etc it was a good mix of chilled out mellow songs and funky clubbing beats. it worked. soon i was perched atop a really tall pillar, balloon in one hand, other hand on hip, legs crossed seductively, kimono practically falling off my shoulders - as was i, practically falling off the pillar. tough balancing act i have to say - pouting and posing like some geisha gone wild. candid shot of me laughing while twirling and clicking my heels onstage.

then i was strutting down the catwalk, doing exaggerated poses, flicking my head again, and again. next, leaning against the pillar, compact mirror in hand. pose, click. last scene: seated on a stool, looking doll-like/artifical/bored - chin on hand. robotic hand movements. parting shot: typical asian twiiiiist. blowing kisses.

it was... an experience.

amanda says now i have one more thing to add to my 'craziest thing i've ever done' list or tick off the list of 'things to do before i die'.



be a geisha for a day. tick.

p/s: the photos will probably end up on facebook, but this time i get first dibs on vetting them, understandably.

xoxo