Is ‘real-life Barbie’ beautiful or creepy?
"I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie world, life in plastic, it's fantastic" line sung by Norwegian group Aqua could easily apply to 21-year-old Ukrainian model Valeria Lukyanova.
She appears to have doll-like facial features, long blonde hair, a tiny waist and huge breasts that are disproportionate to her figure. In most of her photos, she puts on a vacant stare and her skin looks flawless with a waxy finish.
On her blog, the "real-life Barbie" claims to be the most famous woman on Russian websites, and is interested in new age music and "astroplaning".
The model gained popularity online over the past week as her photos generated much discussion online. Many people questioned whether she is indeed a real person who has gone under the knife or someone whose images have been edited through Photoshop.
As of Friday evening, she had 161,350 followers on her VK, the European equivalent of Facebook. A video spoof of her has also been produced by Taiwan's New Media Animation (NMAtv) and uploaded on YouTube.
Responding to critics, Lukyanova recorded a video titled "Doll's appearance is not everything" and said that criticism of her looks has overshadowed her as a person and her other talents.
"I am a composer and have written over 70 songs on the theme of spiritual development. … People do not mention that I evolve [spirituality] and lead seminars and workshops on astral travel, answer questions and help people understand themselves," Lukyanova said on her YouTube page.
In other videos, she's asked her followers to "not believe the rumours about plastic surgery."
Compare her Florence Colgate, an 18-year-old student who was recently crowned the most attractive woman in Britain based on science and math. Colgate's high cheekbones, full lips and large eyes are the closest to the ideal ratios of the "perfect" face.
Colgate beat 8,000 participants in the contest that only judged contestants without make-up, plastic surgery and chemical enhancement.
"Living dolls" a new trend?
Lukyanova is not the first female to rock the dolls trend. 15-year-old Venus Palermo (Venus Angelic) and 16-year-old Dakota Rose (Dakotakoti) are two girls who have become Internet sensations because of their "Living Doll" look.
Both girls have personal YouTube channels and frequently post video tutorials that teach other girls how to achieve the doll-like look through make-up and fashion. Videos by Venus Angelic have been viewed 12 million times, while Dakotakoti's videos have been viewed 19 million times, and both have fans from all over the world.
What do you think of the living doll look?