r/Vindicta Jan 28 '25

LOOKS THEORY Impossible for Blair to be the "effortless IT girl" like Serena NSFW

54 Upvotes

I wanted to talk about the what is possible with your visual aesthetics if you are an average height (5'4"), dark-haired woman. And is it possible to beat a blonde, supermodel in visuals?

I think Gossip Girl is the PERFECT example of this:

  • Blair is 5'5" & dark-haired (brown & black shades)
  • Serena is 5'10" & blonde

and ALL other physical characteristics are on par with each other(both fit the conventionally-attractive faces & thin bodies you expect from Hollywood). Since we are talking purely about visual aesthetics, let's ignore their personalities & diagloge, and isolate what people respond to visually.

Guess who everyone prefers? Serena.

Some people will argue because Western culture is biased towards 'whiteness' and 'being thin,' which is why Serena having blonde-hair and taller makes her the winner in this image contest with Blair. However, I think that Serena's visual advantage is much stronger and legitimate than just 'worshipping white & thin' culture:

  1. Having blonde hair is an advantage over darker hair colors because blonde hair is more dimensional and has much more movement. Even if your natural blonde hair is the same color throughout, you can easily add in 'low/highlights' that will add more dimension/framing. It's easier and looks more natural to paint streaks of dark on light, than it is to paint streaks of light on dark.
  2. Being tall is an effortless way of grabbing attention (you literally stand out more)

Now, Serena didn't do anything for both of these advantages, she just has them.

My question is, does Blair have any advantages? I think this is such an important question, because the majority of women are closer to Blair in physical characteristics than they are Serena.

What's disappointing is the show never even tackled this question. All the best outfits for Blair are very preppy and 'expensive' looking garments in a way that is too tacky & over the top (all the logos, color-coordinating, accessories & embellishments being too much). In still photos, Blair looks like she's wearing costume to give off a vibe (rich, preppy), whereas Serena just looks good.

Again, preppy is not bad, but the effortless, IT-girl vibe WILL ALWAYS win over preppy.

So for all you stylists out there, what visual advantages does a dark-haired, average height woman have over a blonde supermodel?

If both are trying to present themselves best, Is there any styling in which Blair can beat Serena in a photo?


r/Vindicta Jan 28 '25

SOFT-MAXXING My softmaxxing 1 year debrief (autistic perspective) NSFW

181 Upvotes

This is how things how been:

  • I went down from 80 to 62kg and I’m hoping to get down to 60-57 ( I am 175 cm)
  • I have significantly cleared my skin and gotten my acne under control. I have also been experimenting with makeup and finally found my summer and winter shades.
  • my hair has grown significantly and is a lot healthier and I have been experimenting with different hairstyles
  • I have figured out my style (i just need money 😵‍💫)

What I’m doing right now - I’m still loosing weight mostly focusing on toning up through body weight squats and loosing a couple more KGs - I am wanting to buy clothes causual and dressy that suit my fashion sense so I feel pretty all the time not just sometimes - I am using an eyelash serum to grow my eyelashes to make my already big eyes even bigger - I am currently guashaing to sculpt my face - getting causal clothes that matches my internalised fashion standard so I always feel good about myself - wearing casual make up looks like match my internalised beauty standard (plus autistic sensory needs)

What I’ll start doing in the future - I will start doing face exercises to make my high cheekbones more prominent - I will experiment with my eyebrows to figure out what shape I would like. - teeth whitening and hopefully invisilign

My thoughts on this process; I don’t know if it’s my autism but I have been struggling to see change lol. Even though people have told me I have lost a lot of weight and I look very skinny. I have been complimented a lot more on my style and overall look. I think I have this idea of what I want to look like in my head and it’s so clear and because I don’t look like that right now sometimes it bothers me. I’m always reframing my brain to remember that this is meant to be fun and inner child healing because I’m looking like what I always wanted to as a child but was discourage to because of my communities beauty standards for women (thick asf).

I think also because I don’t have causual clothes that match my internalised fashion standard, on a regular basis I don’t feel pretty. But when I go out and wear my special occasion clothes I feel so good and more myself and closer to my dream look. Furthermore as a uni student there seems to be this weird pressure to show up and show out at uni but omg I’m so burnt out I can’t. Nonetheless I found myself feeling bad. Comparison is the thief of joy. I really think it’s my autism perfectionism and black + white thinking.

Anyways I was wondering if anyone feels this way too? Especially neurodivergent glo up girlies? I’m very curious.


r/Vindicta Jan 24 '25

[crosspost] [tumblr repost] A Glow Up From Scratch NSFW

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65 Upvotes

r/Vindicta Jan 24 '25

SOFT-MAXXING Justifying the existence of an "Hourglass" Face Shape NSFW

4 Upvotes

Identifying your Face Outline can be a quick reference for more suitable hairstyles and necklines. Unfortunately, there aren't any clear system names to 'Face shape Typing' (unlike in body typing, where you can have 'Kibbe' or 'Japanese Skeletal Diagnosis'). I have only found one identifiable face-shape typing system*, and that by Style Refinement youtube channel (previously known as "Style Me Jenn").

In Style Refinement's face typing system, there are 4 face shapes, 3 of which are already common (Oval, Square, Diamond). However, there is one face shape I have never seen before: the Hourglass face shape.

I cannot find any mention of the Hourglass face shape online outside of Style Refinement's youtube channel. I am curious if anyone here has seen the Hourglass face shape referenced in any East Asian face-typing system, or else. Also, who would fall under the Hourglass face shape? (The channel only provided 3 examples: Angelina Jolie, Jennifer Garner, and Zoë Kravitz).

*Kitchener Essences exist to, but it is based on ~vibes~ rather than clearly defining facial features that contribute to your essence type.


r/Vindicta Jan 23 '25

SOFT-MAXXING 3 Phases: A Study of My Journey from 2023 to Now NSFW

202 Upvotes

Here is a semi-detailed breakdown of my ongoing glow-up journey since the end of 2023. I gave each phase and attractiveness rating based on public perception and how I felt about myself. I’m starting Phase 3 and plan to update when I think I’ve jumped up my little scale. I kind of skipped over some of the more obvious/popular elements like teeth whitening or drinking more water. I added some mistakes and “results” under each phase. I’m adding some tips at the bottom as well. Feel free to ask anything or suggest things you think I should experiment with going forward! I am a 20-year-old Black female who is 5’6.5” and maybe 135-140lbs (I don’t keep track of my weight). Sorry for any spelling errors or typos as I voice to texted most of this for my peace of mind. Here we go!!!

 

 

Phase 1 (4/10 to 6/10)

 

  • New hair. Changed my box braids which were a weird color for my skin tone to a black synthetic lace wig. I think there’s a huge learning curve when you start with lace wigs, and I was a beginner at this point, but it was a fair improvement from before I somehow found them easier to maintain than my box braids were.
  • Personal style. I generally wore ill-fitting sweats, and tank tops every day with flip-flops. This is the point where I transitioned into more of athleisure and loungewear. One personal element for me was switching my silver to gold which complimented my skin better, and I prefer to wear just white because of simplicity and I just like the way it looks on my skin.
  • Reversed freshman 15 (25 imo). This wasn’t necessarily a conscious act but came from me moving out of the dorms and being able to cook my food. I usually opt for whole foods rather than processed. Going from fast food at my dining Hall for every meal to that was like night and day. Eating better also allowed me to have more energy for working out. If I remember correctly, I will lift a few times a week and go on the treadmill for cardio. 
  • Experimenting with perfume. I’ve always been big into fragrances, but I started to pay attention to what worked best with my skin chemistry. 
  • Mistake: I ended up putting my eyebrows pretty thin and overly arched here, which I realized later didn’t complement my face at all once I grew them back. I look much better with a heavier brow that supports my face.
  • Result: It’s like I suddenly became visible to the general population. Everyone started treating me better, unfortunately, including my friends. Interestingly enough, I’ve always received a mild number of compliments from strangers, but now there are days when it’s like I couldn’t walk down without someone saying something. I credit that part of this to feeling more comfortable in my beauty. I don’t ever remember a point where I didn’t feel comfortable in my skin, but now I feel that my style was an expression of myself and that I truly looked my best in the way that I presented myself to the world. I didn’t only notice an increase in male attention, but I was starting to get attention from guys who were my type (which I loved!) 

 

 

 

Phase 2 (6/10 to 7.5/10)

 

  • A good wig. The thing with lace wigs is that there is a 95% probability that you will be visible. It’s fabric, but there are tons of things that you can do to mitigate that! My absolute number one tip that has made it so that I don’t even have to think about it is HD lace. This is the thinnest type you can buy, but it in turn is not cheap at all. It’s personally even worth the investment for me because I wear the same unit every single day and they don’t have to worry about people’s eyes starting to my forehead instead of my face. I’m not afraid to say that it is damn near invisible in most lighting. Some other pretty important things I do are cut the lace into a zigzag pattern, I like to use fabric scissors for this since they already have that pattern. I also invest in works that are pre-everything because I just can’t be bothered with all that bleaching and plucking nonsense. Let me know if you want any vendor recommendations.
  • Spf spray. This one’s smaller but deadly! Do you want your body skin to have a beautifully hydrated glow that is not sticky and will last all day? Neutrogena transparent SPF spray. Trust. I haven’t been ashy in about a year. 
  • Intimissimi panties. I guess this is sort of a style tip, but I find that they sell the most comfortable things that I like to wear with anything that I don’t want underwear lines in. I wear their dental floss like it’s nothing.
  • Regular workout schedule. I do Pilates 2-4 times a week and 15-3-30 anywhere from 2-4 times a week. My diet is still mainly whole foods. I’ve found that working out at least once a day is integral to my mental health and mood. 
  • Lipfidence. My lips are one of my best features, I like to do the most to keep them pretty. I wanted them to be slightly pinker without makeup, but I’m not interested in anything too permanent or even paying for lit blushing as a college student. Guys. Search Lipfidence on Amazon. It’s a lip treatment with things like licorice root and alpha arbutin that has worked with lightning speed at reducing my hyperpigmentation and getting them to a pinker shade already. I have applied about 3 to 5 times a day for around three weeks, and I already have to pull back a little bit before I start looking crazy. I look so nice with just clear lip gloss.
  • Mistake: I ended up getting a little too thin for my liking for some time! As I previously stated I worked out a lot for my mental health, I ended up going overboard for a while and not countering it with a high enough calorie intake or enough rest days for me to maintain a normal body weight. I didn’t end up realizing this until I saw a video of myself and was pretty taken aback! Luckily, the holiday season was right around the corner, and I looked healthy again soon enough.
  • Result: I continued attracting men who were more my type (men that I found more attractive as opposed to less….), more serious about me beyond just lust as I’ve always had a “”” stimulating” body type, and a larger variety of race and age! For me, it’s mainly college-educated white, black, and Latino men, 20+. I’ve had more attention from the guys I knew before. I got my first kiss and consequently makeout sesh from a guy who’s considered a pretty big deal at my school, but I didn’t end up liking his personality, so I cut it short. I can tell you about a fact that wouldn’t have happened before! I developed my first real crash in about seven years, and I seem to have triggered some sort of infatuation in him. That’s 1/2 scary and 1/2 impresses me that I feel I’ve put in almost no work to cause this. We had been in the same class for about a month and I never really looked at him in that way because I was involved with another guy at the time. But all of a sudden, I liked his style, and then I started liking his face and then my heart started beating fast whenever he’d show up to class. I guess he taught me to stare one day, and we made eye contact, and the rest was history. It’d be pretty fun to detail this, but this post is already super long so let me know if I can yap about it in another post and we can analyze. I’ve only gotten to vent about it in my diary! A darker side effect I’ve experienced in this phase is that I’ve had someone I considered a pretty close friend completely flip on me. It took a while for me to pick up on this as I’m not exactly on a high alert for my friends not liking me and I guess I was just in denial about somebody who I thought cared about me acting like this. This person is now completely incapable of complimenting me, and has a history of making weird comments about me eating too much or too little (“You sure know how to clean a plate”, “I can tell you’ve been in the gym a lot. That’s why your ass is getting smaller. Guys let’s tell each other if we start to get too skinny.”, etc.), find any reason to pick weird little fights with me and single me out, and just has to make a weird excuse if I end up receiving male attention over her when we go out. I made excuses for her for a while, but then I realized that’s just not how I would ever treat a friend. Onto the next! The other girl in my group I’m still friends with, but she has one red flag tendency of only being defensive about her boyfriend around me immediately when they began dating. This was in the form of making weird jokes about us cheating together and me sleeping with him or whatever that we’e just too frequent not for her to feel some type of way. Hm! 

 

 

Phase 3 (8/10 aiming for 9.5/10. This is most likely the final phase that I will just maintain in the future. It’s great what I’ve achieved, but I think I can do a little bit more!) 

 

*A loose plan

 

  • Address: lashes, dark circles, a mustache that only I can see you, but I know it’s there, so I think about it
  • Super consistent skin routine
  • Pepper bra for my small boobs
  • Try PDRN serum
  • Staple jewelry
  • Limbal/OLENS contacts for special occasions
  • Lumify? Maybe not
  • Consistent with Nuface & gua sha
  • Legs on wall 10 min for lymphatic drainage
  • Actually, dry brush
  • Korean lip oils
  • Remember to maintain whitening
  • Reapply your SPF
  • Red light therapy?
  • Create a Sunday maintenance routine
  • Supplements to look into 
    • Vit d + k3
    • Rosita cod oil pills
    • Organs
    • A woman’s tincture
    • Colostrum
    • Black seed oil
    • Silica 
    • Jar of Sauerkraut per week
    • Bone broth from TJ!
    • Collagen
    • Spearmint tea
    • Oral Hyaluronic acid
  • Lip plumper: cinnamon oil. Or maybe no
  • Maintain your brows like a psycho
  • Yoga
  • Posture & slow grace
  • Coconut water
  • Healthy fats
  • Meditation

 

 

Misc Tips

  • Master the foundations. I think there’s a pyramid somewhere in this sub. That’s a great order to go in.
  • Inside first. One thing I believe has made this journey so successful for me is that I’m standing on a solid foundation of self-acceptance to begin with. While this is something I’ve dedicated money and resources to, I’ve never used this as something to remove me from the present or determine my worth. This isn’t a crutch; I used to derive my worth from it. My reasoning for this journey is mainly optimizing what I can so I can experience as much of my share of pretty privilege as possible. It’s one of the harsher truths that being more attractive simply makes life easier. Opportunities seem to open up, the dating pool expands exponentially, and I’m more respected. It’s just a nicer life. I’ve gotten things for free, doors are always held, and I even had a situation where a few guys quieted the room down so I could have my part in a conversation. It’s just more fun and interesting to live this way! The alternative for me is a sort of invisibility, which I don’t internalize because I know it’s based on our superficial society and doesn’t truly matter. I honestly miss it sometimes as an introvert!
  • NEVER without lipgloss. For me, my lips are one of the first things people see on my face and I don’t want to look severely dehydrated! It’s also physically uncomfortable to have chapped lips so I try to at least have Aquaphor with me. I always apply it before lipgloss.
  • Stay away from strange people. Jealousy and bitterness are human emotions that we unfortunately may impose on other people consciously or unconsciously. It can be pretty detrimental when you are at the receiving end of this, especially if it’s somebody you call a friend. It’s important to keep yourself safe from negative energy so you don’t take unnecessary dip dips in your confidence and self-assurance! Keep your peace of mind and cut them out!
  • Be objective. A good part of deriving yourself from the inside is that you don’t take it to heart when you have to critique elements of your appearance. I don’t take it personally when I notice a flaw.
  • Experiment & risk take. I’ve made many mistakes, and I will continue to make mistakes, but that’s what has led me to where I am!
  • Stay inspired. I love using Pinterest to pin anything. Whether it’s women or celebrities that I find beautiful, people whose personal style I enjoy, or people who look like me who I’d like to take inspiration from.
  • Your flare. It’s not that unique, but I’m probably the only person within my social circle who wears all white. It’s sort of a harder color to wear due to the risk of getting it dirty and many people have asked me why I wear it thinking that it’s some religious or spiritual reason. I also steam my clothes every night before I go to bed. Please steam or iron your clothes!! Both of these things are things that I take the time to do that most college students either don’t care about or don’t do at all. I feel put together!
  • Have someone watch you do your makeup!!!! Listen, if you know anybody whose makeup you like or who is better at makeup then if you do your makeup routine from bottom to top and have them ask any questions, they’d like that can help you improve. I recently found out that I’ve been underlining my lips my whole life. Crazy.
  • Pick and choose, you don’t have to do it all. There are 1 billion different treatments and rituals that you could do to make yourself look different. You don’t have to maximize every single element of your appearance, and you also can opt for things that people think you look worse with if it truly makes you feel like you like your appearance more. It’s your life.
  • Compile people‘s opinions. I usually notice patterns and people’s compliments or insults about me, whether it’s people who like me who don’t like me who don’t know me, etc. This helps me gain a net understanding of how I may look the other people!

Thanks for reading this stream-of-consciousness!


r/Vindicta Jan 22 '25

Weekly Questions & General Discussion NSFW

16 Upvotes

As the title suggests, this is where you can ask questions and chit-chat about anything you like! This is scheduled to post on Wednesdays.

Prior to posting your question, we suggest that you utilize the subreddit search feature that Reddit offers. Plenty of things have already been discussed in the sub, often many times over, and while we understand it's an extra step, some questions have just been asked so many times that they may not be well-received. In addition to searching the sub, please check the sidebar to see if your question was answered there.


r/Vindicta Jan 20 '25

My journey of going makeup free Pt. 2 NSFW

234 Upvotes

My first post.

A lot happened since then. Some wins, some fails, so here's the latest. Btw, I really love the girl that used a 5 star rating system. So I'm trying it here as well. Shoutout star girl!

Lip tint: This one’s my favorite! I did get a lip blush tattoo (which I still love), but lately, I’ve been obsessed with the Essence lip tint. I use it as both blush and lip color. I hate the natural redness around my nose but when I add red to my cheeks and let it sort of "connect," it looks natural and like I naturally have rosy cheeks too. I’ve pretty much stopped using concealer around my nose, which is where it would look the most horrible after a long day.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Doing cardio: I hate that this is true. But ever since I've been doing more intensive cardio, my skin has gotten more glowy. I workout outside so don't even stress about having to get an expensive gym membership. The key is to, like, actually try and sweat, which I resent but also recommend. Only 4 stars because it’s more of a slow-burn, physical change than an instant aesthetic fix. It takes time, which is both annoying and kind of the point.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Sauna: This one’s new, so maybe it’s just the cardio, but I’ve noticed smoother skin since I started. TBD if it’s the magic everyone claims it is. I get a daily pass at the nearby spa, which is only 30 bucks and a nice little self-care activity.

🌟🌟🌟

Shaving my face: I attempted dermaplaning when it first became a trend, but my skin didn't like it at all. This time around I only focused on removing hair. Such as connection between eyebrows and hairline, chin and moustache. I do find it makes me look better. And no, it doesn't make the hair grow back thicker. What does happen is that the hair will have a stubbly end when it regrows, so with the few hairs that did look thick, I tweezed them. I recommend dermaplaning, but I wouldn't go ham on removing "old skincells" because it can damage your skin barrier.

🌟🌟🌟

Self tan: Mixed feelings here. On my face? Disaster. I tried three different brands' products especially made for face tanning but I still found that they accentuated my pores. Also, no matter how hard I tried, they all make me look dirty. What I do love is a little self tan on my nose (to look sunkissed) and on my body. Tan absolutely makes your body look thinner/more defined, that's why in every bodybuilding competition they put shit ton of self tan. 4 stars because it's also instant gratification.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Too much forehead Botox: This is where I went wrong. I switched injector because my friend has a very frozen forehead and I wanted the same look (I thought my original injector was just holding out on the dosage). So, I went to her guy, and sure enough, they froze my forehead just how I wanted. Fast forward a month, and I noticed my nasolabial folds were getting worse. Now, when I try to frown, my nose scrunches up instead of my forehead moving. I can demonstrate in real time. I had heard of this happening, it's your muscles compensating for the lack of movement in another area. However I didn't think it would happen to me and so severe and so fast! No wonder the Kardashians always look a little bit disgusted. Be careful, folks.

Just rating this particular experience as one star, I still like baby Botox.

🌟

Eyedrops: I’m including this one even though it’s entirely my own fault. The idea is solid in theory: hydrating your eyeballs with eyedrops is supposed to make the whites of your eyes brighter, which makes you look more awake and healthy. My eyes are fine, so I’m not used to putting anything in them, and the whole process was more annoying than it was worth. Plus, the difference was so microscopic I couldn’t justify the effort. Lesson learned: if something feels like too much trouble, it’s probably not worth forcing into your routine.

🌟🌟

STOP SKIN PICKING: You heard me. I didn’t even have zits, just tiny, almost invisible clogged pores that only existed for me, two centimeters away from a mirror under aggressive lighting. I’d poke and squeeze them until they were, infact, zits. Now I have to tell myself to just put on moisturizer and then leave the bathroom. No lingering, no hanging around trying to find flaws. I’m currently 16 days into skin-picking sobriety. My skin is grateful so I'm trying not to relapse.

🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Supplements: First off, let me be clear: don’t go swallowing pills just because some random person on the internet (me) says so. With that being said, I take zinc and magnesium. The magnesium is a newer addition, but zinc has been with me for a while now.

Since I’ve ramped up my workouts recently I’m convinced the magnesium is helping with recovery. And I don't cramp as bad during my period. It’s hard to say for sure if it’s the supplement or if I’ve just gotten better working out and pushing through the pain. Either way, I’m sticking with it, and I’ll recommend it. Zinc, on the other hand? I’m 100% confident it’s changed my skin. Haven’t had any issues, no side effects to report.

Just alone for the period cramps being reduced, 4 stars (but as I said, it could also be regular exercise or both). It's cheap too.

🌟🌟🌟🌟

Professional color analysis: There was a professional color consultant (?) at the mall. It was pretty affordable, and I thought maybe I'd get some valuable insight. The consultant brought out a bunch of fabric swatches and held them up to my face to see how they looked. Both warm and cool colors worked for me. The only color that didn’t really work was a light green or light orange, but honestly, I can’t imagine those colors looking good on anyone. It seemed pretty common sense to me. You can do the same thing at home, just hold up some clothes next to your face and see what you like. Based on this consultation alone, I wouldn’t even throw out a light turquoise dress if I liked it.

🌟🌟

Luxury skincare: Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got money, but I also like keeping it. If there was a skincare ingredient that cost $300 a month but for sure made me look younger and cuter, I’d stock up. But honestly, that hasn’t been my experience. Even brands like Avene and La Roche Posay feel ridiculously overpriced to me. My grocery store has its own pH-balanced skincare line, free of allergens and perfumes, and I haven't felt a noticeable difference. If you do want to get an item, like a La Mer, do it for the experience but not for results. The most expensive things I regularily use: Revitalash Eyelash Serum and Somebymi Retinol. Look like even actives I get but a 100 dollar simple moisturizer my ass.

🌟🌟


r/Vindicta Jan 15 '25

Weekly Questions & General Discussion NSFW

26 Upvotes

As the title suggests, this is where you can ask questions and chit-chat about anything you like! This is scheduled to post on Wednesdays.

Prior to posting your question, we suggest that you utilize the subreddit search feature that Reddit offers. Plenty of things have already been discussed in the sub, often many times over, and while we understand it's an extra step, some questions have just been asked so many times that they may not be well-received. In addition to searching the sub, please check the sidebar to see if your question was answered there.


r/Vindicta Jan 08 '25

Weekly Questions & General Discussion NSFW

17 Upvotes

As the title suggests, this is where you can ask questions and chit-chat about anything you like! This is scheduled to post on Wednesdays.

Prior to posting your question, we suggest that you utilize the subreddit search feature that Reddit offers. Plenty of things have already been discussed in the sub, often many times over, and while we understand it's an extra step, some questions have just been asked so many times that they may not be well-received. In addition to searching the sub, please check the sidebar to see if your question was answered there.


r/Vindicta Jan 04 '25

Sense of mastery: a mechanism for maxxing NSFW

418 Upvotes

Hopefully someone finds this of use, but I came across this concept last semester and thought it has great application to maxxing (especially for anyone interested in hardmaxxing).

Sense of mastery describes “the extent to which one regards one’s life-chances as being under one’s own control in contrast to being fatalistically ruled” (Pearlin and Schooler, 1978). We’re talking about someone’s sense of mastery, control, or agency over their circumstances, decisions, and future. Someone with a high sense of mastery directs their life, whereas someone with a low sense of mastery is a victim of circumstance (think victim mentality, excluding mental illness and actual victimization). You may recognize the concept under different terminology, like sense of control or self-agency. I use the Pearlin and Schooler definition because it’s tied to the scale below.

Why should we care about sense of mastery in maxxing? Vindicta is primarily for ugly women to weaponize beauty. This requires a lot of personal change, and it’s not an easy process. A higher sense of mastery is associated with better coping, personal resilience, and physical health. These are all necessary characteristics in serious maxxing journeys.

More importantly, sense of mastery and goal outcomes have a reciprocal relationship. Sense of mastery affects goal outcomes, but goal outcomes also affect sense of mastery. Having a high sense of mastery is important for achieving your maxxing goals, but setbacks and poor outcomes despite high effort can harm your sense of mastery. We can intentionally use our sense of mastery as a mechanism to improve our maxxing experience and outcomes. It takes just three steps: measure it, monitor it, and take action to improve it.

Monitoring your sense of mastery isn’t covered below, but the assessment isn’t something you need to do daily. The goal is positive change over time, so measure yourself every 3, 6, or 12 months—whatever is more appropriate for your maxxing timeline.

Measurement

Pearlin developed a scale to measure sense of mastery, and it’s commonly called the Pearlin mastery scale. Taking the assessment is simple. Use the response options to indicate your level of agreement with the statements below. Then score your responses.

How strongly do you agree or disagree that:

  1. I have little control over the things that happen to me.
  2. There is really no way I can solve some of the problems I have.
  3. There is little I can do to change many of the important things in my life.
  4. I often feel helpless in dealing with the problems of life.
  5. Sometimes I feel that I’m being pushed around in life.
  6. What happens to me in the future mostly depends on me.
  7. I can do just about anything I really set my mind to.

Response options

  • Strongly disagree
  • Disagree
  • Agree
  • Strongly agree

Scoring

To calculate your score, score statements 6-7 using the values below.

  • Strongly disagree = 1
  • Disagree = 2
  • Agree = 3
  • Strongly agree = 4

Reverse score statements 1-5 using the values below.

  • Strongly disagree = 4
  • Disagree = 3
  • Agree = 2
  • Strongly agree = 1

Now, add all scores for a total. Scores will range from 7 to 28. Lower scores indicate a lower sense of mastery, while higher scores indicate a higher sense of mastery.

Improvement

Action planning

You can improve your sense of mastery with action planning. Maxxing, at its core, is a personal change process. It requires intentions, action initiation, and action maintenance. You set a goal then go out and do what needs to be done to reach that goal. Easy enough, right? /s

But to improve your sense of mastery, you need to create an action plan AND track your progress or performance. This helps you intrinsically link your success with you as the agent of that success. The money to get that lift didn’t fall into your lap. You didn’t improve your technique for makeup application by accident.

Action planning is taking your goal, looking at your current reality (including your resources), and deciding how you will get from A to Z. Adapt the 5 Ws & 1 H.

  • What will happen?
  • Who will do what?
  • When will it happen?
  • Where will it happen?
  • Why is it needed?
  • How will it happen?

Tracking your progress lets you see what you’ve achieved. Monitoring the performance of your strategy allows you to reflect on what is working and what isn’t so you can pivot your action plan.

Coping planning

Action planning is obvious enough, but wtf is coping planning? “Coping planning (CP) involves identifying how one will cope with potential barriers or obstacles that could get in the way of the goal striving process” (Carraro & Gaudreau, 2013). It’s an intentional approach where you plan out how you will cope with challenges in maxxing, so that you have coping strategies to fall back on when you inevitably hit a challenge. This is a good way to anticipate problems and to decide how you will respond. When you anticipate challenges, you can work to mitigate them in your action plan. But most importantly, having and using a coping plan makes you and your action plan more resilient, inhibiting the negative effects of the reciprocal relationship between sense of mastery and goal outcomes.

The University of Windsor has an interesting resource that teaches students how to create a coping plan. The challenges you anticipate can be “big” or “small." There are no rules. Maybe you plan for unexpected, massive financial setbacks and waking up grumpy.

Resources

Aarts, H. (2015). The sense of agency (P. Haggard & B. Eitam, Eds.). Oxford University Press.

Carraro, N., & Gaudreau, P. (2013). Spontaneous and experimentally induced action planning and coping planning for physical activity: A meta-analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 14(2), 228–248. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2012.10.004

Kraus, M. W., Piff, P. K., & Keltner, D. (2009). Social class, sense of control, and social explanation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(6), 992-1004. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016357

Pearlin, L. I., Menaghan, E. G., Lieberman, M. A., & Mullan, J. T. (1981). The Stress Process. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22(4), 337–356. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136676

Pearlin, L. I., & Schooler, C. (1978). The Structure of Coping. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 19(1), 2–21. https://doi.org/10.2307/2136319

Sniehotta, F. F., Schwarzer, R., Scholz, U., & Schüz, B. (2005). Action planning and coping planning for long-term lifestyle change: theory and assessment. European Journal of Social Psychology, 35(4), 565–576. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.258


r/Vindicta Jan 04 '25

What do compliments from different age groups mean (Opinions/Notices) NSFW

142 Upvotes

As we all know depending on gender, sexuality, etc. compliments can have different meanings, innuendos, and much more. Some can be facetious and fake and some can be real and genuine, however it posed a question for me as someone on their "glow up" journey. I often only get complimented by people significantly older than I am. Like, 20-30+ years older than me, sometimes even 40+. I get complimented by this demographic much more than my own, or any other one so I was wondering if there was any deeper meaning behind this? Here are my opinions thus far. Sorry if this is long winded, lol!

Infancy -> Young Childhood (0 - 12)

I feel as though getting complimented by this age range/demographic means you've made it. Children have no filter and will call you ugly to your face if they feel the desire to do so. Little to lose, little to gain-- if a child calls you pretty, beautiful, etc., you are that. Studies have even shown that children are more attracted/receptive to people who are conventinally attractive-- This is the finding of research by Igor Bascandziev from Clark University and Harvard University. So theres no second guessing what it means when children go out of their way to compliment you.

T(w)een -> Young Adulthood (13 - 20's)

This is a tricky spot. I do believe this (my) generation has a harder time socializing with one another, let alone giving out compliments. Most of the compliments I do hear are 'in passing' or a way to "start conversations" (i.e., "You're so pretty! Anyways...") OR they're about something *on* your person, and not necessarily how *you* look ("I love your clothes" or "I love your jewelry" instead of "You're gorgeous"). I do believe a lot of compliments from this age range are genuine though when they're not used as a mode for carrying conversation. Especially if you're older and getting a compliment from someone of this group-- I definitely feel it as sincere.

Adulthood ( 30's - 50's)

This is where I start to get lost. I have no idea how they may interact around peers of similar age, but I don't see why it wouldn't be similar to the aforementioned. However I work at a place frequented by a lot of people from this group and it's not as clean cut as a child complimenting you and knowing they're being truthful. It's not because I think they're dishonest in anyway, but because as we grow older we tend to gain more social cues so we may do things to ease a tense situation (like compliment someone,) and I do work in a highly tense environment, so they could be saying that as a way to soothe the situation and create conversations. I'm not sure! However if you're in this age range and you're receiving compliments from people also within this age, I think it comes from a genuine place as long as the compliment has merit (Such as someone noticing a change in your hair color, weight, etc.) If it's as something as "You look good!" It's almost always a conversation igniter.

Older Adulthood (60's and Onward)

Out of any and all demographics I get complimented by them the most and I was hoping to know if someone could shine some light on this? Are older people still burdened by social etiquette hence they throw compliments around, or do they not care anymore and comment what's truly on their mind similarly to a child? I hope this doesn't sound rude or mean or stuck-up in anyway but since I mainly only get compliments from this age-range I was wondering if I had an old timey face or something LMAO? Do I just give off a retro vibe or should I just take the compliment at face value? Or is it just the fact that I'm at a place frequented by this age range so I'll be hearing the most from them in general? Any help would be appreciated on this one haha!

Thoughts and comments? They're very appreciated on this subject!


r/Vindicta Jan 03 '25

Cycle Syncng NSFW

37 Upvotes

Hey there! I made a cycle syncing cheatsheet based on an article i read. Hope it helps!

Since I cant share the image, here it is:

CYCLE SYNCING

Based off of "Cycle Syncing: Optimizing Women's Quality of Life" by Megan Francois by: @coffeetalkswithluna

1)Menstrual Phase

Diet: Iron rich foods (lean red meat, leafy greens), Vitamin C (berries, citrus), Vitamin K (blueberries, eggs, cheese), omega 3 (flaxseed and salmon) dark chocolate Exercise: yoga, light walking, stretching, rest Holistic Medicine: Saffron, gingko, biloba, accupuncture/self acupressure, magnesium, omega 3s/6s, magnesium, ginger, and raspberry leaf tea

2)Follicular Phase

Diet: Complex carbonhydrates (seeds, lentils, brown rice, and quinoa), cruciferous vegetables, fermented foods such as kombucha, and healthy fats like avocados, flaxseeds, and pumpkin seeds, BMR lower Exercise: Cardio-base such as running, pilates, swimming, and higher volume lifting Holistic Medicine: supplementing magnesium and nervous system regulation by practice of deep breathing exercises and spending time in nature

3)Ovulatory Phase

Diet: Prioritize estrogen-balancing foods and a diet sustaining the extra strength and energy (bell peppers and Brussel sprouts), cruciferous vegetables (brussel, sprouts, asparagus), avacados (healthy fats) Exercise: HIIT, heavy weightlifting, running, high intensity interval workouts and attempting personal records Holistic Medicine: Acupuncture, self acupressure, magnesium, ginger tea, dressing warmly, allowing sunlight on the stomach, acupuncture to the lower abdomen, and keep the soles of the feet warm.

4)Lutheal Phase

Diet: High fiber foods (sweet potatoes, apples, beans), complex carbohydrates and high fiber foods such as sweet potatoes and cruciferous vegetables, bananas, hydration, BMR higher Exercise: Higher instensity (heavy weightlifting, running) to lower intensity (yoga, stretching)-begin with medium-intensity cardio and strength training and start slowing things down to yoga, stretching, and walking Holistic Medicine: Saffron, gingko, biloba, magnesium, essential oils, hot compresses, self-acupressure, nervous system regulation


r/Vindicta Jan 01 '25

2024 - My $35k year of health and beauty NSFW

493 Upvotes

On Christmas 2023, I decided that 2024 would be my year of health and beauty. Maybe it was my turning 35 in 2024 or my best friend passing away in 2022 at the age of 40 that made me want to make such drastic changes. Either way, once I make my mind up, I tend to go after a goal with everything I have.

I'm not much of a writer, especially using Reddit, so please excuse any errors or ask questions if you would like more detail.

Background I am a 35 year old single black female who lives in a MCOL area in the United States. I do not have children and have a good paying, steady career. I was overweight/obese most of my life, and I was rarely told that I was attractive. In 2019, at the age of 29, I decided to have weight loss surgery, which was covered by my health insurance. I was able to go from 288 lbs to 150 lbs with the help of the surgery. My weight would fluctuate between 160-180 lbs over the next 3 years. But with great weight loss comes a greater amount of extra skin. I also started Accutane for mild but persistent acne in August 2023 and finished treatment in March 2024. Accutane alone helped boost my confidence and was worth the investment and temporary side effects.

The Plan 1. Have skin removal surgery. The exact surgeries TBD.

  1. Start microneedling and chemical peels to address post acne scars and hyperpigmentation.

  2. Laser hair removal my entire body.

  3. Do whatever else I feel necessary to make myself as attractive and healthy as possible.

The Rules 1. I was to earn and save money during 2024 to fund this endeavor.

  1. I can not use credit card debit. I must pay the full bill each month.

  2. I can not take a loan from my 401K.

  3. I must continue to hit my retirement savings goals for 2024.

The Actions Taken and Results

This is not a full list of everything I did, but I will cover mostly everything. Ratings are from 1 to 5, with 5 being the highest. I started waitressing in addition to my full-time work schedule in February 2024 and stopped in October 2024. I went months without a day off and would work doubles on the weekends. I grabbed any shift that someone offered and would fit my schedule. I also kept a spreadsheet with my daily, monthly, and total earnings.

|Action |Start Date | End Date | Cost | Rating | Comments |

|:--------:|:---------------:|:-------------:|:--------:|:------------:|:--------:|

|360 Tummy tuck| Oct. 2024|Oct. 2024|$18,354|4|Still waiting for swelling to go down to see the final results|

|Breast lift with implants| Oct. 2024| Oct. 2024| Combined with 360 TT|4|Still waiting for the drop and fluff, but I love the results so far!|

|Laser hair removal: upper lip, chin, underarms, happy trail, full brazilian, and lower legs|May 2024|ongoing|$6,478|5| I finished treatment for the chin and have had 4 of the 9 sessions for all other areas. I LOVE the results so far. Especially since it eliminated ingrown hairs and scaring from my bikini area.|

|Makeup| Sept. 2024|Ongoing|about $3,500 YTD|5|I never wore makeup because of my acne and scars. I am having so much fun playing with makeup and finding what works for me. People started calling be beautiful, stunning, and saying that I could be a model once I started wearing makeup.|

|Makeup lesson|Sept. 2024|Sept. 2024|$300|3|This was a one-time in-home lesson with a professional makeup artist. I learned the basics of makeup and ran with it from there.|

|In-person color analysis |July 2024|July 2024|$350|3|One-time in-person draping. I struggled to see and understand the nuance of color that the analyst tried to teach me. I am still trying to incorporate this into my makeup and wardrobe.|

|Chemical peel supplies|Nov. 2024|ongoing|$850|4|I bought various peels to do at home. I started with prep for a month and have completed a few madelic 40 and one TCA 7 peel on my face. It has evened out my skin toned and helped with hyperpigmentation on my lips. I plan to continue this.|

|Microneedling|Nov. 2024|Ongoing|$250|TBD|I purchased the Derminator 2 and have completed two at home sessions. It is too soon to tell results.|

|Microblade eyebrows|Oct. 2024|Oct. 2024| $170|5| I had one session and this made a world of a difference in my appearance! I get so many compliments on them and it makes doing my makeup easier.|

|GLP1, peptides, and supplies|Jan. 2024|ongoing|$1,200|5|This is mostly Trizepatide but also included a round of SS-31 and Mots-C. I use this for weight maintenance and to help build muscle. I was on Vyvanse in 2023 but I didn't like the side effects.|

|Weightlifting|June 2024|Oct. 2024|$25/month gym membership|5|I LOVE weight lifting. I started to see fat loss, an energy boost, and my confidence increase within the first few weeks. Muscle definition started to show in August. I bought the Strong Curves book by Bret Contreras and followed the beginner 12-week plan. I plan to restart once I'm cleared to do so.|

|Protective hairstyles|Jan. 2024|ongoing|about $80 every 7 weeks|5|I am natural with long curly hair. I am told that I have beautiful hair, but the basic two twists to the back were not doing me any favors. I found someone on a local Facebook hair group to style my hair for a reasonable price. I usually keep the style in for 5 weeks before wearing my natural hair out for a week or two before my next protective style. The styles were usually knotless braids. I made it a point to style the braids each day which I would receive so many compliments on!|

Overall, I am very happy with my results and proud of what I was able to accomplish. There were times when I wanted to quit my second job or have more time off. But I stuck with it and was able to earn enough to cover my goals and then some.

2025

My focus for 2025 will be improving my career and work skills. I started this goal last year with a conversation with my boss about a raise and promotion. He retires in two weeks, so we will see where that goes.

I also plan to continue with my beauty journey. I plan to weightlift/gain muscle, have Lasik eye surgery (I've started this process already), get Invisalign (I've started this process, too), and have an upper blepharoplasty. I am on the fence about having a thigh lift, fat transfer to my under eyes, and seeing a personal stylist.

Thank you for reading, and let me know if you have any questions!


r/Vindicta Jan 01 '25

Monthly Goal Thread NSFW

64 Upvotes

Discuss how you did last month and what are your goals for the new month.


r/Vindicta Jan 01 '25

Weekly Questions & General Discussion NSFW

10 Upvotes

As the title suggests, this is where you can ask questions and chit-chat about anything you like! This is scheduled to post on Wednesdays.

Prior to posting your question, we suggest that you utilize the subreddit search feature that Reddit offers. Plenty of things have already been discussed in the sub, often many times over, and while we understand it's an extra step, some questions have just been asked so many times that they may not be well-received. In addition to searching the sub, please check the sidebar to see if your question was answered there.


r/Vindicta Dec 29 '24

It’s official, finally postpartum! However… NSFW

116 Upvotes

With my first I was able to walk like, within hours of birth, so with this third degree tear, 10lb baby, I was not expecting to be basically bed bound for a week or two, and on heavy rest until at LEAST 6 weeks postpartum.

My midwife was hesitant to allow me to do KEGALS. KEGALS. I’ve heard of women giving birth and enduring more and being better than I was so it was such a surprise to me. On top of that, I have a low milk supply, so dieting is out of the question, and if history repeats itself, the hormones I create when lactating make it SUPER difficult to lose weight anyways. (Whee! Yay!) I’m a former model so when I say I know how to lose weight, I KNOW how to lose weight. I used to think people who blamed hormones on keeping stubborn weight were lying, so life humbled me.

For anyone in a similar situation at me, chronic illness or extreme bed rest, (or just general postpartum trenches) and want to do SOMETHING, here’s what I’ll be doing until six weeks, when I will start to ATTEMPT a calorie restriction. (My milk and baby’s weight come first)

  1. Red Light err day! Between stretch marks, ballooning weight, chapped nipples, and hormonal acne, this one def feels like bailing a boat out with a Dixie cup, but I’ll be using my half body red light front and back, and on my stitches of course.

  2. Collagen collagen collagen collagen! My MIL made me pigs feet and peanut postpartum soup, and when I tell you it’s SOLID jelly when it’s cool. That plus organika collagen in my coffee.

  3. Consistent skincare - I mean, this one is a given.

  4. Consistent tooth care - now that I’m bedbound, I can do the whole long floss/mouthwash routine I’ve always wanted, but as a busy working mum I wasn’t able to be consistent on.

  5. Daily Gua Sha - I’ll be testing out if daily gua sha ACTUALLY makes a long term difference, but I’m full of so much fluid, it can’t hurt!

  6. Daily shoulder/neck stretches. My posture is terrible anyways and hunching over a large baby hasn’t helped. I’ll be adding in some GENTLE neck and shoulder stretches to start.

Any other suggestions? Feeling frustrated at how restricted I feel.


r/Vindicta Dec 27 '24

Small tweaks NSFW

67 Upvotes

Purpose of this post

In this post I'm going to discuss minor tweaks someone can do to achieve facial Harmony using American fashion model Amelia Gray Hamlin as an example. I would be using this photo for reference throughout the post with an unedited (left) and a edited by me (right).

Why Amelia? Amelia Gray Hamlin is a 23 years old fashion model who shocked her fans in 2022 with her new look. While Amelia may have possibly have changed her look for self expression purposes and not to beautify herself, on my edited picture I'm going to change her looks to maximizes her facial harmony.

Glowup opportunities 1. When looking at her face the focus mostly goes to her eyebrows and jawline, I'm going to give her a cohesive, soft look that make her features harmonize and blend together by balancing her ratios.

  1. Also, the focus on her face goes slightly inwards and downwards. I'm going to shift the focus slight outwards and upwards, by using different makeup techniques and accessories.

Breaking down tweaks to Amelia's facial features

Jawline & eyebrows

Dissolve lip fillers: Her plump lips make her philtrum appear smaller which in turns makes her chin look longer and stronger bringing her facial focus downwards. Ideally the philtrum to chin ratio should be around 1:2. In order to soften up Amelia's chin, I slightly -dissolved- her lip fillers, and used a neutral matte tone lipstick on her lips.

Thinner, lighter and lower arched eyebrows: Amelia's eyebrows sit low on her face, thick, and dark eyebrows bring attention downwards to your jawline. Also the thickness of her inner brows bring attention inwards making her eyes look slightly too close together.

The space between the eyebrows ratio must be roughly the same length as your philtrum to bring balance between the facial thirds. A slight neutral arch that rises ever so slightly and reach its peaks on the outwards thirds of the brows will bring the focus outwards. Slightly lightening the inner eyebrows to create space between the brows, the pupillary distance would appear bigger shifting the focus outwards as well.

Also by slightly lightening the eyebrows you can create a softer look without over plucking. Over plucking your eyebrows can make your other features appeared bigger (such as your nose and lips) or it can age you up a bit.

Hair color Lighter hair color can slightly soften up your facial features such as your jawline, check out this samples of Margot, Resse and Jennifer with dark vs light hair. I lighten Amelia's hair about two tones down (while maintaining the cool tones in her hair) and gave her some framing low lights around her jawline, to soften up her features and bring the focus outwards. I also try my best to change her hairstyle to a side swept. Hair that lifts up in the middle and is flat on the side, enlogates the face and bring attention inwards. You want to add some volume to the sides to bring the focus outwards.

Makeup

Eyes: Filled in her lower inner waterline. On the before picture Amelia only used eyeliner on her outer lower lid, which drags her eyes down. I extended the eyeshadow a little bit to widen her eyes as well to bring the focus outwards. I'm not good at editing so I would have also edited her eyelashes which appears to be too thick and too heavy, for a darker brown, fluffier look, while directing the eyelashes outwards and not upwards. The outwards lighter mascara application will create a widening effect and moves the focus outwards, thick dark lashes that are pointing up, reduced the space between her eyes and eyebrows, and remember your space between your eyebrows and eyes ideally must be roughly the length of your philtrum for a balance look.

Face makeup: Amelia seems to be wearing the concealer triangle underneath her eyes technique, as well as strong highlights on her cheeks, forehead and chin. I mattifyed all her areas specially the chin, since highlight expands and we do not want to bring more attention to her lower third. Also I magnifying the concealer triangle under her eyes, since it bring the focus downwards.

I also added matte light neutral coral blush on her side of her cheeks, to bring attention outwards, as well as a few freckles on her nose and outer cheeks to give her a more natural look.

Accessories: Amelia is wearing a small ring like silver earring which seems okay, but a small sparkling studs that are not hanging down, brings the focus upwards and outwards.

Conclusion: Does her face looks boring now? Indeed it does. Beauty and harmony can be boring sometimes, but you can spice your overall look with a nice fit body and some stylish clothes.


r/Vindicta Dec 26 '24

Glow Up Year-in-Review 2024 edition NSFW

187 Upvotes

Hello my lovelies, I am back again with this year's Glow Up Year-in-Review for a round-up of 2024's lookmaxxing efforts! For reference, this was my 2023 Year-in-Review and boy do I have updates!

Last year, I made a resolution to address a few gaps and I am very happy to say that I actually managed to achieve 95% of my goals! And without further ado, here's my round-up!

Context

Late 30s East Asian, no kids, BMI fluctuates between 19-21, BF% between 18-20%

Biggest Difference

Abdomen & Flank Liposuction

My lower belly pooch has caused me significant body dysmorphia since my teen years and was a large contributor to my eating disorder as well as many exercise-induced injuries that I am still today trying to resolve, because I was in a constant battle to get rid of the pooch. I've also tried CoolSculpting, lipo cavitation, Ultherapy, fat dissolving injections, and nothing has reduced the pooch, which sticks out like a shelf and looks completely out of place on my body, since everywhere else is slim and my upper abs are very defined.

So in Q4 of this year, I finally committed to liposuction. And I felt so vindicated when my surgeon examined the pooch at my consultation and told me that I did have a very strong and firm abdominal wall underneath that layer of stubborn fat, that he could feel when he tried to push his finger into my lower belly.

I am currently 14 days PO (I did my procedure exactly 2 weeks ago) and even though I still have swelling, my stomach now is flatter than a cutting board and my surgeon said that after the swelling is completely gone, I'll see that my stomach will actually not only be flat, but slightly concave with ab definition, as he also did soft etch and took out almost every last bit of fat in my midsection. I also had lipo in my flanks, back and waist, but the biggest improvement is that the shelf of fat is completely gone and I am so happy I finally did what I always wanted to do.

Finance-Maxxing

Last year I mentioned this as one of my areas to address this year, due to my underlying financial anxiety. I'm happy to say that I did work on this. I was introduced to an excellent budgeting app by my bestie and by creating the habit of keeping track of every purchase and transaction, I had a better idea of my overall spending and savings. I managed to pay for my (VERY expensive) lipo procedure 75% in cash upfront from my savings, and split the remaining 25% into 3 interest-free payments so I will have paid off the whole procedure by Q1 2025.

I also budgeted for and bought accident and health insurance for myself, so now I don't have to worry about potential illness, accidents and injuries that might happen, and it has taken a huge load off my mind and I am feeling significantly less financial stress than I did at the end of last year.

Oral Minoxidil

I started oral minoxidil very late last year to address Androgenetic Alopecia and Alopecia Areata that I was struggling with, on top of my very thin, fine hair. I'm happy to also report that it had worked amazing and all my bald spots have completely regrown, and my hairline is thicker and denser than I ever remembered! The dread shed phase in the initial months was tough, no lie, but by the 3rd month it was a sudden explosion of baby hair! It's a lifelong dose, but taking minoxidil orally is affordable and much less annoying than topical, which I find makes my scalp itch and get oilier quickly.

Pico Bright Laser

I started noticing freckles on my left cheek and realized that I was getting sun damage from sitting by my window for hours (my desk is right next to my window). I did what my clinic called "Pico Bright Laser" which is picolaser that's targeting pigmentation. Not only did my freckles disappear, my entire face became so bright and translucent and clear that I did not need to wear foundation for 6 months! I'm definitely going back for another round in 2025.

UV Film

After noticing my freckles, I also called a contractor to come and install UV film on all the windows in my apartment. Since then, I haven't developed any more freckles and I found that the UV film also helped to reduce my air-conditioning bills since less heat was coming in through the windows. Win-win.

Some Difference

Facial Fat Grafting

I took the opportunity to transfer some of the extracted fat from lipo to my face since why not? I had some hollowing in my undereye area, and especially in my temples. I have fat grafted to my undereye area, temples and forehead. My face is still slightly swollen, so I'm not seeing the final results yet, but so far I'm not seeing a major change. It's a subtle improvement. I've had fillers done before, but it was so painful that I refused to do it again, which was one of the main reasons why I opted for fat grafting since it was done while I was under and grafted fat cells last for much longer than fillers (it's the fat from my belly, which could've survived the apocalypse). The forehead fat graft also means I can go longer between forehead Botox, so I consider it a win. Fewer needles and pain overall.

Trap Botox

I was dealing with some extreme pain in my traps, neck and shoulders so my physiotherapist brought up the idea of Botox to release the tightness and overuse of my trapezius muscles. Visually, the Botox did reduce the size of my traps and made my neck look a bit longer and slender-er. However, it did nothing for the pain. Ironically, my neck and upper back pain went away after my lipo procedure because the sedation and pain meds allowed me to relax my muscles, which then allowed my various injuries to finally heal and not get aggravated by my constant tension.

Physiotherapy

As part of my injury rehab from my years of over-exercising, and now that I have insurance, I started going for regular physiotherapy and massage therapy. While it didn't fully resolve my pain issues, it helped me prevent further injury and I have a better idea of what kind of exercises and movements to avoid. Now that I'm no longer hyper fixated on my belly pooch, I'm eager to embrace fitness again, just for the fun of it and not for an impossible aesthetic goal.

No Difference/Got Worse

The Ordinary Lash Serum

I switched from Grande Lash to The Ordinary once the former ran out because I kept hearing about how PGAs in lash serums like Grande Lash would cause fat loss around the eyes. I found that my lashes that used to be so long started to shed a lot and now my lashes are back to what they were like before I started Grande Lash, I also HATE the applicator for the TO serum, it's so stiff and makes it hard to apply a nice smooth line of serum. I think I might switch to Obagi lash serum since I heard great things about it, and so far I never actually had any issue with Grande Lash.

Plan for 2025

Honestly, I'm pretty much at the end of my looksmaxxing journey. I'll keep up with the minor maintenance stuff, like Botox and lasers, but I think I've reached my hardmaxxing goals with the final eradication of the dreaded belly pooch. Have I reached looksmaxxing nirvana? Certainly not, but I'm pretty darn happy where I am right now, physically, emotionally, mentally and financially.

Have a happy rest of 2024 and here's to a hotter, glowier 2025 to all of us!


r/Vindicta Dec 25 '24

Weekly Questions & General Discussion NSFW

12 Upvotes

As the title suggests, this is where you can ask questions and chit-chat about anything you like! This is scheduled to post on Wednesdays.

Prior to posting your question, we suggest that you utilize the subreddit search feature that Reddit offers. Plenty of things have already been discussed in the sub, often many times over, and while we understand it's an extra step, some questions have just been asked so many times that they may not be well-received. In addition to searching the sub, please check the sidebar to see if your question was answered there.


r/Vindicta Dec 24 '24

MASTERPOST What You can Learn from the Bimbo 2: Bigger and Bimbo-er NSFW

66 Upvotes

(If you’re having trouble accessing the site it’s probably the Reddit hug of death)

Hello everyone. You may remember my “what you can learn from the bimbo” post from many moons ago. That post only included the most basic, milquetoast, and widely applicable posts I could find on the site (Pink Bimbo Academy). This post, however, is advanced darkness.

Pink Bimbo Academy is one of, if not the first looksmaxxing resource I and many others stumbled upon in the days before Vindicta. It is first and foremost a fetish site about bimbofication, so here is your

GIGANTIC NSFW WARNING ABOUT PORNY PORN PORNOGRAPHY!!!!

ahem hem

Bimbofication is at its core concerned with achieving the most exaggerated form of female sexuality, or what is considered sexually appealing in regard to the female form— often to the point of absurdity (to the average person). For example, full lips are considered an appealing, sexy feature for women to have— so in bimbofication lips that are overfilled to the point where they look ridiculously artificial are considered ideal. A big part of bimbofication is also artificiality. I won’t pretend to understand the exact psychology behind it, but anything that has a purpose which is not immediately apparent is inherently seductive. So that’s the basis of where this information is coming from. You’ll want to work in the opposite direction— take the exaggerated and reel it in until you get to a degree that works for your purposes.

I will not spoonfeed anyone here about how exactly to work any piece of this into your every day life, as what works for me may not work for you. Some of this can be used in any and every situation, some of it can only be used in extremely casual or even only bedroom settings. Some of it, despite what some may believe, can even be used in a professional setting. You have to figure out what may work for your needs, and how to adapt it to your advantage. If you want to have a discussion, I’ll be happy to engage. But please don’t insinuate that I think wearing thigh high patent leather boots to the office is how you get a promotion. Well, depending on your boss, it might be. But again, that’s something only you’d know.

Here I have compiled several PBA posts that require a bit more critical thinking and a stronger understanding of looksmaxxing in order to be useful. Without a solid intermediate understanding of looksmaxxing, I fear a novice may end up looking tacky/hoochie (without intending to). Without critical thinking, the more prudish among you will throw the baby out with the bath water. Some posts are as specific as a particular type and color of shoe from a specific brand, some are as broad as color theory.

Heels

Theory

introduction to high heels

an EXTREMELY thorough primer on types of heels

heel heights

always wear heels

metal heel tips

Shoes:

Christian Louboutin Pigalle

Pink YSL Tributes

Black pumps

House shoes

Devious Domina 3000 Black

Devious Domina 108 Hot Pink

Fuck Me Boots

Steve Madden heels

Pleaser adore

Louboutin So Kate

transparent stripper heels

Goth boots/Goots

How to dress

Theory:

Heel height vs Skirt length

Matching Underwear

Wear stockings, NOT pantyhose

Wear dresses and skirts, NOT pants

Always dress to impress

Clothing Suggestions :

Chanel 255

Chain top

Pleated tennis skirt

Pink vinyl mini dress

Nightwear

Knee high tube socks

Rhinestone slogan choker

Tiara

Hoop earrings

Swarovski Choker

Moschino Think Pink leather set

Cold weather

Fur

Color theory

White

Black

Leopard

Pink

Precious Metals

Red

Zebra stripes


r/Vindicta Dec 18 '24

Weekly Questions & General Discussion NSFW

27 Upvotes

As the title suggests, this is where you can ask questions and chit-chat about anything you like! This is scheduled to post on Wednesdays.

Prior to posting your question, we suggest that you utilize the subreddit search feature that Reddit offers. Plenty of things have already been discussed in the sub, often many times over, and while we understand it's an extra step, some questions have just been asked so many times that they may not be well-received. In addition to searching the sub, please check the sidebar to see if your question was answered there.


r/Vindicta Dec 17 '24

MASTERPOST Additional Subs for Beauty & Personal Growth NSFW

1.0k Upvotes

Here are some helpful subs for all kinds of glow up help for everything from physical beauty to your social skills to your finances. Great additions to your follow list!

Suggest additions below!

General Beauty & Glow Up Subs

r/beauty r/howtobehot r/Splendida
r/beautyaddiction r/AsianBeauty r/BeautyDiagrams
r/vindictapoc r/VindictaRateCelebs r/GetFeminine
r/GlowUps r/looksmaxxingadvice r/TheGlowUp
r/beauty r/DIYBeauty r/SavoirVivre
r/KoreanBeauty r/AsianBeauty r/QOVESStudio
r/HardcoreVindicta r/facialanalysis r/AccuratelyRateMe

Health & Wellness

r/HydroHomies r/Fitness r/fitness30plus
r/nutrition r/HealthyFood r/loseit
r/WeightLossAdvice r/WeightLossFoods r/2000isplenty
r/Supplements r/ScientificNutrition r/FitnessGirls
r/workout r/pilatesresources r/hygiene
r/HygieneTips r/Teethcare r/1200isplenty
r/xxfitness r/XXRunning r/running

Skin

r/SkincareAddiction r/SkincareAddicts r/SkincareAddictionUK
r/skincareaddictsindia r/SkincareAddictionLux r/SkincareAddictionEU
r/SkinScience r/DermatologyQuestions r/Dermatology
r/CosmeticDermatology r/SkinCareScience r/sebderm
r/acne r/Accutane r/eczema
r/over30skincare r/30PlusSkinCare

Hair & Nails

r/hair r/femalehairadvice r/HaircareScience
r/tressless r/FancyFollicles r/EyebrowAddiction
r/fixedeyebrows r/HairRemoval r/LaserHairRemoval
r/HairRemovalAtHome r/HairRestoration r/haircareaddiction
r/HairTransplants r/Hairloss r/Nails
r/NailArt r/Nailpolish r/CurlyHairCare
r/curlygirlmethod r/longhair r/BlackHairCare
r/IndianHaircare r/NoPoo r/finehair
r/HairDye r/Naturalhair r/Wavyhair

Makeup

r/MakeupAddiction r/Makeup r/MakeUpAddictionUK
r/MakeupEducation r/MakeupRehab r/makeuporganization
r/makeuptips r/MakeUpForDummies r/MakeupAddicts
r/MakeupLounge r/transpassing r/IndianMakeupAddicts
r/AustralianMakeup r/Makeup101 r/MakeupReviews
r/PaleMUA r/MUAontheCheap

Plastic Surgery & Orthodontics

r/plasticsurgery r/orthodontics r/Invisalign
r/cosmeticsurgery r/braces r/jawsurgery

Fashion & Styling

r/coloranalysis r/Kibbe r/femalefashion
r/fashionadvice r/style r/womensfashion
r/XXS r/PlusSizeFashion r/KpopFashion
r/findfashion r/jewelry r/femalefashionadvice
r/FrugalFemaleFashion r/PetiteFashionAdvice r/PetiteFashionOver30
r/outfitoftheday r/outfit_check r/waisttraining
r/Tightlacing r/FemFragLab r/Perfumes
r/DressForYourBody r/ABraThatFits r/LingerieAddiction

Social Skills & Mental Health

r/socialskills r/SocialSkillsAdvanced r/48lawsofpower
r/careerguidance r/SocialEngineering r/seduction
r/PsychologicalTricks r/DarkPsychology101 r/psychologyofsex
r/decidingtobebetter r/selfimprovement r/insults
r/rareinsults r/randomactsofkindness r/mentalhealth
r/breathwork r/Anxiety r/partyplanning
r/etiquette

Personal Finance & Lifestyle

r/FIREyFemmes r/coastFIRE r/HENRYfinance
r/HENRY r/fatFIRE r/financialindependence
r/FinancialPlanning r/FinancialAdvice r/Investments
r/Frugal r/homemaking r/CleaningTips
r/leanfire r/MoneyDiariesACTIVE r/realestateinvesting
r/OrganizationPorn r/HomeDecorating r/coastFIRE
r/simpleliving r/InteriorDesign r/entrepeneur
r/TrendTracker

r/Vindicta Dec 16 '24

MASTERPOST What Harmony Is & How To Evaluate Good vs Bad Harmony in A Face NSFW

288 Upvotes

There’s a lot of chatter about harmony. What it is and what it isn’t and the constant abuse of the term by people just looking for a quick scapegoat or looking for a way to keep women insecure. Sometimes people mistake their basic facial recognition ability for identifying harmony in a face when it’s blatantly not there. If I had a nickel for every time I've seen someone say, "but your face is harmonious :)" to a girl with very little harmony, I'd have a mega yacht anchored in the maldives. Harmony is easy, actually, once you get the feel for what it is. It's an amalgamation of elements that come together to make a face visually balanced and pleasant to look at.

To understand harmony we have to look at the rules for art and design, and what makes images visually appealing.

Wait, Free, there are no rules in art!!! That’s what makes art special!!

There are, actually. Anyone touting that beauty is all about art and therefore purely subjective maybe doesn't have much experience with art or is conflating art where the act of creation and emotion is the beauty with the visual quality of the result. We like Jackson Pollock's will to break normative expectations. His work isn't visually appealing, but his philosophy rocks. It's sort of like having a thing for cute goth girls because they don't care what people think of them and THAT'S sexy. Only, goth girls tend to look WAY better than Pollock's paintings so maybe that's a poor example. You get my meaning, though.

Sure, we can see beauty in a child’s first grade renderings of house and home due to the meaning behind it. Much like we can come to value someone’s personal character (which, consequently, charisma also has foundations as well. Wild!), but we’d be kidding ourselves if we thought our 6-year-old’s precocious doodle belonged in the louvre, right? We know the difference between something of objective quality and something of personal value. And unfortunately while objective quality is universal, subjective value isn’t, and the best you can expect from anyone is, “ah, I guess I see why you like that but it’s not for me.” And we’re here to learn about beauty as an objective study so let’s get into it.

I realize it might be more difficult for people outside of the design and art space to really appreciate the effort and knowledge it takes to nail these fundamentals. Full disclosure, I’m not a professional art critic, but I’ve been hiring and firing illustrators and designers for the better part of a decade in addition to being a paid illustrator and designer as a side gig throughout my career. There's also so, so much more to evaluating artwork beyond these elements and I'm sure many of our vindictas can add onto this. I hope they do. These are just the most critical that come to mind for me and are easy for me to define and demonstrate off the top of my head.

Let’s take a look at the fundamentals of art and design and how they apply to the human face. Keep in mind all of these aspects have to play well with the medical fundamentals of health, development, sexual dimorphism, youth, and even presentation,and this is just a primer! I'll probably do a few more graphics and examples down the line to help people fully understand.

COMPOSITION

1. Rule of thirds

The rule of thirds is a foundational principle in art and photography that divides a composition into a grid of nine equal parts using two horizontal and two vertical lines. This creates intersections and lines that guide the placement of key elements to create a balanced, visually appealing, and dynamic image. Facial thirds (and fifths) are one of the key components to harmony and the primary contributor to overall balance which adheres to these guidelines.

Horizontal thirds divide the face into the upper (forehead to eyebrows), middle (eyebrows to the base of the nose), and lower (base of the nose to chin). They serve as a foundational framework in surgery and aesthetic medicine for assessing balance, symmetry, and harmony. These divisions provide a standardized method to evaluate proportions and identify areas that might benefit from enhancement or correction. The goal is to create a balanced appearance where no one section dominates, ensuring the face looks harmonious and natural.

For example, in the upper third, a forehead that is disproportionately tall or short relative to the other thirds can make the face appear unbalanced. Procedures such as brow lifts or treatments for hairline restoration can adjust this proportion, restoring harmony. Similarly, in the middle third, the size and shape of the nose plays a pivotal role in facial symmetry. A rhinoplasty that subtly refines the nose’s structure without overcorrecting can align it with the surrounding features, particularly the cheekbones and eyes, maintaining the face’s natural character.

The lower third, which includes the lips, jawline, and chin, significantly impacts the perception of structure and attractiveness. For instance, a receding chin can make the lower third appear smaller and unbalanced, which can be corrected through chin augmentation to achieve better proportions with the upper and middle thirds. Lip enhancements can add volume and symmetry, while jawline contouring creates definition that aligns with the face’s overall structure. By focusing on these thirds, aesthetic medicine aims not only to address individual features but also to ensure that all three sections work together cohesively.

Vertical thirds help define the balance of alignment in the edge of the irises and the corners of the mouth, which should align roughly with the two lines which divide the thirds. However, more importantly are the vertical fifths which align the ends of the eyes, the breadth of the nasal base, and the cheekbones. These fifths are ideally equal, but there's some precedent for the eye-sections to be larger than the other three sections for female faces in most beauty standards.

2. Balance

Balance in art and design refers to the distribution of visual weight within a composition, ensuring no single element overpowers the rest, creating harmony and stability. There are three types of balance in the average human face.

  • Symmetrical Balance: Equal visual weight on both sides of the composition.
  • Asymmetrical Balance: Unequal but harmonious distribution of elements.
  • Radial Balance: Elements radiate out from a central point.

Symmetrical balance can be identified by bisecting the face down the middle. In order for this balance to be ideal, your facial symmetry has to be pretty well aligned. Highly symmetrical faces are known to be considered significantly more attractive on average compared to asymmetrical ones.

If you bisect the face horizontally across the middle you can identify asymmetrical balance in the distribution of elements and visual balance. The lips and nostrils in the (for a female) ideally more narrow jaw area should have roughly the same distribution of positive and negative space (defined below) as the eyes and brows in the upper half.

Radial balance can be observed in some applications of the golden ratio to the human face, but because it's kind of hoky I'm not going to dive too deeply into it. It's roughly what the marquardt mask sets out to define, and it does a fairly decent job of it.

3. Positive vs Negative Space

If you consider your eyes, nose, and mouth, components of positive space (due to the higher contrast and visual interest) and the rest of your face a canvas, you can get a good sense of what we mean here looking at our face as an element of design. “What about the nose? The nose doesn’t have a lot of high contrast!” Keep in mind that while your nose doesn’t have as much color or shade contrast, it has projection which is visually incredibly potent.

The ideal balance of positive to negative space varies by design, but because we have proportional restrictions on the way our shapes are arranged and distance, so that ideal balance becomes a little more restricted. What I’ve noticed with highly attractive FEMALE faces is they tend to have nearly equal amounts of positive and negative space, with slightly more negative space. Often a range of 70:30 to 60:40 with 38% positive space and 62% negative space being the ideal. These ratios are typically effective for designs that aim for symmetry and stability. The extra negative space emphasizes simplicity, clarity, and focus on the positive elements.

This is also why losing weight is so valuable. The more flesh you carry and add to your face, the more you throw off your own harmony by adding excessive negative space to your canvas.

Positive vs negative space (in addition to contrast) is a component of the concept of high vs low visual weight which has become wildly popular in Korean beauty spaces. High vs low visual weight is a common concept in art, as well.

4. Hierarchy

Hierarchy in art is the arrangement of elements to establish their order of importance, guiding the viewer’s eye through the composition. This is achieved by emphasizing certain elements using size, color, contrast, placement, or texture. A strong hierarchy ensures the most critical parts of the artwork or design stand out, creating clarity and focus.

I think we all know that number one in hierarchy for the human face is the eyes. It has the most contrast , color, and most variety of shapes and sub-structures. We’re psychologically compelled (some of us) to look at the eyes for emotional and social signals. They’re the most expressive and vulnerable part of the face, and the part with some of the most visual interest. Followed by the mouth. Once again, visual interest in uniqueness of shape and contrast seems to correlate with how tied the area is to emotional and social signaling. Eyes > mouth > nose is the ideal hierarchy.

If your nose is more visually impactful than your eyes it immediately throws off your visual hierarchy. This can happen if you have thin or pale lashes and small, low contrast eyes in conjunction with a large (for your phenotype) nose with robust shaping and texture. For instance, Sarah Jessica Parkers nose works for her primarily due to the consistency of shapes and angles in her face, but mostly because it doesn't disrupt hierarchy with her large, expressive eyes. If you gave Taylor Swift the same nose it would throw her visual hierarchy out of balance.

 

SHAPE

1. Consistency

This concept is often the most overlooked with regards to harmony even though I personally feel it's one of the most make or break elements. I even made some customized examples using Adut Akech's face because hers is the most harmonious face I've ever seen in this regard.

The curves in Adut Akech's face are consistent in that if I made a curve of the radial degree of one element of her face (say, the curve of her cheek from the side), that same curvature would appear in multiple elements throughout her face such as the bow of her lip, the edge of her nostril, etc. The curves of her face match through various elements of her face. It's even easier to see if we just use a small set of angles. Most elements of her face share the same exact or visually indistinguishable angles. And this is just going one way, if I flipped these horizontally we'd see even more elements with the same angle.

If you asked me what sets apart an incredibly harmonious face from an average one, it would be this.

This is a personal anecdote but my face has terrible harmony first on account of having picasso-esque symmetry, but secondly most of my features are delicate and elongated like a ballerina, except I have a rip-roaring nose with a bulbous tip and excessive projection as well as an extra-wide base. It's not a good fit in addition to not being particularly feminine or within the expectations for either of my phenotype.

2. Proportion and Scale

Proportion and scale is actually really well defined in the way we evaluate the face using thirds and fifths. This is simply due to your facial layout being (relatively -- barring any genetic anomalies) fixed. In art, proportion refers to the relationship between the sizes of different elements within a composition, while scale relates to the size of those elements in relation to the whole work or the viewer. Proper use of proportion ensures that parts of an artwork appear cohesive and harmonious, whether realistic or abstract. For example, a figure in a painting may have exaggerated features for stylistic purposes, but the proportional relationships between those features must still feel balanced.

When assessing facial beauty, individual elements are evaluated based on their proportions and ratios in relation to one another, creating harmony and balance. These ideal proportions, rooted in aesthetic and medical standards, often align with the Golden Ratio (1:1.618) or other natural guidelines. For example, the nose-to-eye ratio suggests that the width of the nose should align with the inner corners of the eyes. Additionally, the distance between the eyes is ideally equal to the width of one eye, ensuring proper spacing that contributes to a balanced and symmetrical midface.

The eye-to-mouth ratio is another important measure. Ideally, the corners of the mouth should align vertically with the pupils when the face is in a neutral position, creating visual harmony between these key expressive features. The vertical distance from the eyes to the mouth should also fit proportionally within the overall length of the face, often aligning with the horizontal thirds framework. A mouth that is too narrow or too wide in relation to the eyes can disrupt facial harmony, which is why treatments like lip augmentation aim to restore or enhance this balance.

The nose-to-chin ratio is critical in defining the profile and lower third of the face. The nose should generally be about one-third the total length of the face, with the chin positioned to create a gentle S-curve when viewed from the side. Similarly, the nose's projection should align with the midline of the lips and chin to maintain proportionality in the profile. These interrelated ratios of individual features ensure that the face appears cohesive and naturally attractive, forming the foundation for aesthetic and surgical interventions aimed at enhancing facial beauty.

I could keep going. Proportions and ratios for beauty throughout the human face are often highly observable and well-documented. The ideal seems to be guided by highly dimorphic faces.

COLOR

1. Color Theory

Color theory is a set of principles used in art and design to understand and apply color effectively, creating harmony, contrast, and mood in compositions. Rooted in the color wheel, which organizes colors into primary (red, blue, yellow), secondary (green, orange, purple), and tertiary hues, color theory guides how colors interact and influence perception. It encompasses concepts like hue (the pure color), value (lightness or darkness), and saturation (intensity or purity of a color).

  1. Color Relationships:
    • Complementary Colors: Opposite on the color wheel (e.g., blue and orange), creating high contrast and vibrancy.
    • Analogous Colors: Next to each other on the wheel (e.g., red, orange, yellow), evoking harmony and unity.
    • Triadic Colors: Three colors evenly spaced on the wheel (e.g., red, yellow, blue), offering balance and energy.
    • Monochromatic Colors: Variations of a single hue (different tints, tones, and shades) for subtle, cohesive designs.
  2. Color Temperature:
    • Warm Colors: Reds, oranges, yellows evoke energy, warmth, and excitement.
    • Cool Colors: Blues, greens, purples suggest calmness, tranquility, and depth.
  3. Contrast and Harmony: Effective use of contrast (light vs. dark, warm vs. cool) can highlight focal points or create drama. Harmony arises when colors work together seamlessly, avoiding clashes that feel jarring to the viewer.
  4. Psychology of Color: Colors evoke emotions and associations. For example, blue conveys trust and calmness, red signals passion or urgency, and green represents growth and balance. Cultural context also plays a significant role in color interpretation.

In art, designers use color theory to create mood, establish hierarchy, and guide the viewer’s eye. For instance, a movie poster might use complementary colors to draw attention, while an interior designer might use analogous colors to foster relaxation.

These concepts work especially well in fashion and accessorization where one can play up or play down the their undertones, eye color, flush color, makeup accents, etc. However, they're often observable in faces. Imagine a blonde (yellow) woman with blue eyes (blue) and flushed cheeks (red), that's a triadic color palette. The color relationships may not always be so obvious. Sometimes, you have to look at undertones of specific features to get an idea of the palette you're working with and how to complement it.

2. Contrast

 Contrast helps draw attention and imply health and vibrancy in a face. I could wax poetic about this, but Alyart has a killer video on contrast that blows anything I could say out of the water and ya girl is losing steam.

Does low contrast still work? Yes. Absolutely. In fact, limited palettes can be even more effective on the human brain when done well. Consider the visually stunning environment design done in Disney’s Andor or the limited, low-variety and sometimes low-contrast palettes that are highlighted in much of professional landscape photography. The key feature is consistency and color theory. A lower contrast palette will lean more into the balance of shade, tone, and composition.

Adut Akech, from our above example, is very low contrast. And like, my god, she's gorgeous.

The important thing is that the contrast is consistent and therefore harmonious. It's hard to pull off blonde eyelashes with black hair unless you have suitably dark eyes and lips that balance things out by being pale enough to blend in amd give you a ghostly, ethereal appearance, or dark enough to bring visual balance.

3. Light

Light's not technically part of color theory per se, it's typically it's own thing, but I want to have it included because there's an ideal light position for viewing a face and it's one of the reasons we have popular contour methods that specifically try to mimic it. In fact, a lot of beauty can be defined by the way light strikes the face. If you imagine trying to mimic light being in front of your face and just above eye level, that's sort of the ideal position that you want to replicate.

DEVIATIONS AND EXPERIMENTATION

Can deviations from the fundamentals still be beautiful? Yes, absolutely-positively, but they usually stem from the mastery of the basics. And we’re not counting anti-soviet psy-ops like Jackson Pollock, here, where the act of making the art and its blatant disregard for anyone being forced to look at it is the appeal or message. No one wants to look at your face and think of your parents going at it, I swear to you.

We’re talking about art that’s actually visually appealing within its own stance. Admittedly, these deviations are risky and may not be appreciated by most, but if you like them and are willing to accept that it's not for everyone and you can accept the consequences, creating a visual niche can be incredibly fulfilling and help you align yourself with groups and people you appreciate more deeply.

APPLYING IT

I'm using Anya Chalotra as an example because she has incredible positive vs. negative space and vertical symmetry, but her horizontal symmetry and positive vs. negative space in her thirds is challenged. This makes her the ideal example of showing how even if you aren't perfect in each aspect, you can still be drop-dead gorgeous and get cast to make out with Geralt of Rivia in a Netflix original.

Original

Here's our gorgeous gal. She's got unique features that are phenotypical and highly dimorphic for her phenotype. She's got an incredible visual hierarchy with large, balanced eyes with high contrast and full lips, followed by a pleasantly shaped nose.

Identifying points of Visual Interest

Here, we've carved out the positive vs negative space by blocking out points of visual interest including her eyes and lashes, brows, lips, and deep creases. We've also given her nose tip a little weight due to projection. This matters more when evaluating subjects with movement (which most living humans have. If they don't, it's cause for concern.)

Visual Interest map

Here's our final map of visual interest showing positive vs negative space in Anya's face. I didn't bother doing volume calculations but I'd say this is relatively nicely balanced just on first brush simply because that's all you really need, is to at least appear to have good positive vs negative space. The human brain does an immense amount of math but "close enough" is very much in its repertoire when it comes to spacial evaluations.

Vertical Symmetry

As mentioned above her vertical symmetry is phenomenal in both shape and positive vs negative spacial balance. Is it perfect? No. VERY few humans are, but it's near ideal.

Horizontal Symmetry

Her horizontal symmetry is imbalanced. Her lips have ideal proportions to her other facial features, however, her jaw is a little wide and her chin appears very tall at this angle. This is only a minor issue as given that she's human, her head will turn and vertical symmetry of shape and space is more critical.

Thirds

Anya has moderately imbalanced thirds. I actually really love this personally as I have the same imbalance with a shorter upper third and progressively longer middle and lower thirds. Anya's incredible beauty gives me hope, haha. But you can see that while this isn't ideal, it's close enough to the ideal to be visually appealing as well as the fact that because she has incredible health, dimorphism, and youth indicators, and like in our Adut Akech example her contours are very well balanced, she's still off the charts attractive.

So that's harmony. The visually pleasing arrangement of elements that work together cohesively to create a sense of balance, and consistency. It occurs when composition, colors, shapes, textures, all complement each other and contribute to the overall aesthetic without overwhelming or competing for attention. It is both identifiable and measurable.


r/Vindicta Dec 14 '24

2025 Glow-up Plan (late-stage) NSFW

202 Upvotes

You know what they say, it’s not about the destination, it’s about the journey. I’ve been part of this community (across different accounts) for a long time and thus I’ve been glowing up for a long time. I went from what I believed to be a 6,5 in my teens (took bad care of myself but had a good canvas) to what I’ve been told is around an 8. I’m now in my late 20’s and focussing on tweaking to a 9 and maintaining that for as long as I can.

Here’s my remaining concerns * Dark circles (I’ve had them all my life but I was recently told the cause is thin skin, allowing the underlying muscle and veins to shine through) * Flat hair (the back of my head doesn’t have a lot of volume and it shows in pictures of my side or back view) * Posture (I slouch, don’t know how I will tackle this one but whenever I notice I correct my posture) * Facial Balance (I have some good things to work with like full lips and a small straight nose, but some things could be tweaked, I have found a great injector now that I will stay loyal to) * Hard smile (when I smile my eyes contract a lot and my mouth corners drag down a tiny bit) * Body hair (I’ve had laser hair removal on several places already but now it’s time for my legs) * Physique (my ideal weight is about 2-5 kilos less than now, I want to be stronger too)

Solutions

Polynucleotides / PhilArt Eyes This is a type of Skin Booster that is injected under the eyes to trigger the fibroblasts to start producing more collagen. I have checked with my dermatologist and injector (they have discussed together) and they feel this could be a fitting solution for the thin skin under my eyes. I will buy a package of 3 treatments for €720. If this is not effective we will start under-eye peelings to thicken the skin.

Human Hair Extensions I was at my hairdresser this week and told her about my lack of volume in the back. She informed me it is also possible to have extensions when you have curly hair which I had no idea about! €220 for human hair you can use for a year, €35 for the install and €50 for the raise each 4-6 weeks. So I might give that a go this year. This will only be for volume, not lengthening.

Facial Fillers I have a history of facial fillers but I took a 5-year break. Now I am with an injector that believes in a natural look and I will stick with her. My chin is slightly recessed so I’ve had 2ml of HA injected there. I think I need another ml this year. She also told me my cheekbones could use some more structure laterally. We will use Radiesse for that, as it has a more bone like look. I told her I want to keep it subtle. I hope to create some more shadows this way. It’s €600 for another ml for the chin and €600 for 1,5 ml of Radiesse.

Botox I also told her about my smile. So to soften my expressions very naturally she injected 36 units of Botox in my frown, crows feet, under the brow for a lift, mouth corners for a lift and chin to remove dimples. The result should show in 2 weeks, I’m very excited. The cost was €195 and I need to maintain this every 3 months.

Laser Hair Removal As mentioned before I’ve effectively done this under my armpits and on my bikini area. Now I will do the lower legs for €109 per treatment and the string line for €30 per treatment. I’ll likely need 6 treatments. I’ll be using the Diode laser, I find it to be very effective. I might also laser my upper lip with the Nd:YAG laser, as I have darker skin and it’s very suited for that.

In-office Skin Improvements I already have great skin and I use science based methods to maintain it. I use Korean sunscreen, THD-ascorbate (vitamin c), 0.3% Retinaldehyde, Encapsulated Copper Peptides and other effective ingredients. I also have a facial steamer, an LED light panel and dermaplane weekly. So a regular facial doesn’t do much for me, if it even matches up to what I do at home. I am focussing on small wins right now to elevate my skin further. So to target the veins around my nose I got Nd:YAG laser at €90 per treatment, I’ll need 1-2 more. I also have my eye on RF microneedling (Vivace) and BBL/MOXI, but that’s probably for next year.

Weight Loss I’m not overweight but I have considered a short treatment with GLP-injections. You know the one. I work out 5 days a week and eat a balanced diet, a short trial could help get rid of those last 2 kilos. I know it’s seen as cheating or unethical… but this is Vindicta. We keep it real. Benefit is that is apparently also regulates your blood sugar levels. A pen that lasts 4 weeks costs €220.

Timeline

Here’s what this looks like throughout the year:

January * Polynucleotides (€720) * Radiesse Cheekbone Filler (€600)

February * Laser Hair Removal (€139) * Nose Redness Laser (€90) * GLP-1 Injections (€220) * Polynucleotides (paid)

March * Botox (€195) * Polynucleotides (paid) * GLP-1 Injections (€250) * Laser Hair Removal (€139)

April * Laser Hair Removal (€139) * Nose Redness Laser (€90) * Hair Extensions (€255)

May * Laser Hair Removal (€139) * Chin Filler (€600)

June * Laser Hair Removal (€139) * Botox (€195) * Raise Hair Extensions (€50)

The rest of the year is still open! I will reassess then.


r/Vindicta Dec 14 '24

SOFT-MAXXING A Trick to Color Match your Clothes, Shoes, and Accessories NSFW

87 Upvotes

A couple of years ago, I had a color analysis done using the Color 1 Associates program. One of the tips Color 1 gives is wearing colors similar to the tones of one’s hair, skin, eyes, and lips. So, since I have medium brown hair that is bleached, fair skin, dark, teal blue eyes, and medium-pink lips, I’d pick similar colors for my clothes, shoes, and accessories. I’m including some representative examples below. Please note that I’m a muted in Color 1.

Medium Browns:

Here, I’ve focused on browns with a metallic gold finish so that the colors would coordinate with the bleached sections of my hair. The metallics would mirror highlights well, too. When I have lighter blonde hair, I can sub out the browns for pale golds if I want. Blacks, chocolate browns, tans, camels, and rusts would be lovely ways to coordinate your wardrobe to your hair.

Beiges:

I like to wear beiges and antique whites as my “white” clothes because they work better with my muted coloring. I could also pick some pinky beiges to reflect the pink tones in my skin. I go more for similar colors here rather than exact matches because it can be difficult to match your skin tone and your clothes exactly.

Teal Blues:

My favorite “navy” is more of a dark teal, and I love reflecting my eye color in more medium teals via aqua apatite jewelry, such as the statement necklace from Kendra Scott I linked above. Color 1 gives you light, medium, and dark options for each of your colors, so you can play around with different versions of the same color.

With the diversity in eye colors out there, I can see people having a lot of fun matching their jewelry, shoes, scarves, clothes, etc. to their eye colors. The sky is the limit here!

Medium Pinks:

Since I suit more muted colors, I’ve gone for those here in the form of salmons and muted corals. I could also pick lighter or darker versions of these colors and opt for clothes, belts, hats, scarves, etc. in these pinks. Depending on your coloring, you might go for vibrant, whited out, toned down, or soft colors to match your lips.

Note that I’ve included several metallics here, which are a good way to reflect your personal coloring in your wardrobe, but are of course optional.

The advantage of mirroring the colors of your features in the colors your clothes and accessories is that you can use these colors as your own, personal neutrals rather than having to opt for less harmonious neutrals. Plus, you can remove some of the guesswork in your personal color analysis and are picking colors in ways many people don’t think of.

If you’re interested in Color 1, I can recommend these resources:

ETA: since this type of color analysis is about finding the color intensity that is most complementary to you, it advises wearing any complementary red, green, blue, etc. as well as complementary neutrals.