Although there are only a couple models on the site, I thought the Asian Beauty book might be interesting for anyone working in the Asian model business; the models, make-up artists and photographers. At Amazon.com you can look inside the book.

“In Asian Beauty, Margaret Kimura, veteran makeup artist to the stars and Asian American herself, presents the ultimate beauty guide for all women of Asian descent.In these gloriously illustrated pages, you’ll find Asian beauty secrets, Asian beauty tips, Asian beauty products and step-by-step guidance on how to enhance lips, eyes, cheeks, and brows using Margaret’s unique Shadows and Light technique.”

To be honest, part of the reason of this post is that I really liked the eyes of the model featured on the cover. This post is not meant as an advertisement for the book, because frankly dear visitors; I don’t know if it is any good! 😉

Finally back in print: Araki’s uncensored portrait of Tokyo’s “forbidden city”. This photobook offers a privileged view of Tokyo’s underworld by Japan’s greatest photographer, Nobuyoshi Araki.Between 1983 and 1985, when Tokyo’s sex industry was in full flower, Araki prowled Shinjuku, Tokyo’s famous red light district, taking pictures in the sex shops and clubs. His project came to an abrupt end when the district was closed by judicial decree in 1985. Araki’s photographs form a historical record of Shinjuku’s glory days and a portrait of a lesser-known side of Tokyo life.
Source: www.taschen.com

Usually I am quite an admirer of the books published by Taschen. Great value for money and various topics; from Art to Pornography.

In 2000 they published a book called Asian Ladies. Photographer Uwe Ommer filled 160 pages with photo’s of Asian beauties. Well, unfortunately not all models are so beautiful. There are only a handful that have the natural look that I like. But because taste is very personal, I will not go into that any further. Take a look at some samples at his site.

What I find rather disappointing about the book, is the photography itself. It’s semi-artistic and of poor quality. The photo’s lack imagination and the settings and poses are very cliche. Ofcourse there are some good pictures in the book, but I get the idea that this was a quick job. I imagine Ommer travelling around South-East Asia, shooting every woman he can pursuade to pose for him 😉

I am not sure what else this Ommer guy has done (besides a smilar book called Black Ladies), but I am not impressed by his work in this book. According to Taschen he is ‘a sought-after commercial photographer’.The book itself looks fine. Luxury hardcover, glossy paper and the price was right (about 15 Euro’s). You can still buy it at Amazon, but now it’s more expensive; $45. That is way too much! Don’t buy it unless you absolutely are a collector of photobooks of Asian women. Speaking of such books; does anybody know if there are any good books in this category? Ofcourse there is the Sung Hi Lee book Butterfly and the books by Nobuyoshi Araki. But they are rather expensive and have limited availability.