Word Spelunking: Guest Post and Giveaway: Fleur Gaskin

Monday, April 8, 2013

Guest Post and Giveaway: Fleur Gaskin

I'm thrilled to have author Fleur Gaskin stopping by today for a guest post and giveaway! Fleur is the author of

Arabelle's Shadows...

Arabelle's Shadows

by Fleur Gaskin

11/25/12

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Everything in Arabelle's life is coming together. She has confidence, great friends, she's even dating Naak, a wealthy Thai socialite. But there are too many models in Bangkok. Arabelle’s broke, she can’t find an agent in New York, and Naak isn’t as wonderful as he first appears. Slowly the Shadows creep back into Arabelle’s mind, bringing with them thoughts of hopelessness and despair. The vile Shadows know something Arabelle’s refusing to remember and, if she’s not careful, they’ll use it to destroy her. Based on a true story, Arabelle’s Shadows takes us on a journey through the struggles of growing up, not quite making it as an international model, and attempting to overcome a crushing depression.

Why We Don’t All Look Like the Models We See in the Magazines

by Fleur Gaskin

We have all done it, picked up a glossy magazine, analysed the image of the woman we see before us. Studied her hair, her pout, judged her face to be a little too round, and then compared her image to our own.

By now we all know that the model was re-touched, her freckles and blemishes washed away with the flick of a mouse. Did you know that they may also have moved her eyes to make them more symmetrical, enlarged her lips, removed entire chunks of her limbs?

All the re-touching aside, models are still chosen to be in the photos because of their general appearance. We see them on TV or on the street looking far too perfect.

I was a model. For six years I travelled the world, my face was on billboards, I walked on runways and you could find me in many international magazines. But these days no one who meets me for the first time assumes that I am a model, or I used to be one. I haven’t aged a lot, I have gained some weight, but considering I was skinny even for a model I’m still pretty thin. The difference is, I don’t have a team any more making me look my best.

When you are a model you usually get your hair cut for free – in fact when I was a model some of the best hairdressers in the world paid me for them to cut and dye my hair. Eyebrows. Such an essential focal point for the face. Makeup artists would pluck and shape my eyebrows when I was on shoots so I never had to worry about getting the two sides even by myself.

One of the biggest differences about being a model or an actress is it’s their job to look good. They have the time to exercise and if they don’t have time, they make it. Just like an office worker would have to stay late to finish any reports due in the next day, a model has to find time to take care of his or her body, being fit is what they’re paid for. Same goes for food. Models have the time to go shopping, to cook at home. If they are famous then they also can afford to go to restaurants that make healthy food taste incredibly delicious.

Despite what you might think models don’t get all their clothes for free. Maybe if you are very popular or famous (I wasn’t). But, models are chosen to be models because clothes look good on them. Everything falls from their straight limbs without bulges or stretching. Models are constantly being judged on their appearance and they need to show their bodies off. So though my clothes weren’t expensive when I was a model they were casually sexy.

Nowadays I’m a writer and an English teacher. I can’t ride my bike down the streets of Shanghai in high heels and mini skirts. Not only is it uncomfortable, it’s inappropriate for my job. I do my own eyebrows and as I now have to pay for my haircuts I only go to the hairdresser when it’s necessary.

But here’s the catch. If I wanted to look like a model again I could. All I would need is an experienced makeup artist to colour and shade my face until it is perfectly symmetrical with my best features highlighted. Then I would need a hairdresser to beautify my locks and a stylist to pin clothes to my body until they fit with perfection. Finally a photographer would light the room in such a way that nobody could possibly look bad. So unless you have enough money to have a team of experts moulding and pushing you into perfection, I would give up on comparing yourself to those you see in magazines.

Connect with Fleur and learn more about Arabelle's Shadows here:
Website / Goodreads / Facebook
Fleur Gaskin is from New Zealand. She was an international model for six years, working in over ten countries, mainly in Asia and Europe. She has been in TV commercials, walked on runways and done many print jobs including Elle, Marie Claire and Vogue magazines.
She presently lives in Shanghai, China with her fiancé.