Baking yourself in a tanning booth remains a popular activity among the vain and pasty of Caucasian descent, despite increasing health warnings. But at the other end of the spectrum, skin tempering practices are just as risky, and ever growing in popularity. Read more...

Jamaica's famous for its athletes, Italy for its pizzas. Venezuela, which has just bagged the title of Miss Universe for the sixth time, is seemingly making a name for itself in beautiful women. So what is it about the South American state - unrivalled charm, or easily accessible plastic surgeons? Our Observer (see photo), a former Miss Venezuela competitor, explains it all. Read more...

The Chinese blogosphere is quite taken with this photo documentary, which shows a rather unattractive girl making herself beautiful with the use of Chanel make-up products and a meticulous application regime. See the transformation...

Can we create the perfect face with a software program? A Canadian Web user tries to find out...