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Real Women (And Two Men!) Buff It Out For Charity
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United in their appreciation for a popular range of cosmetics coupled with a desire to raise funds for Changing Faces, a charity that supports people with facial disfigurements, a group of ladies and two men have bared all for a cheeky calendar.
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'Lush cosmetics has a web forum for fans of their environmentally friendly, ethically sourced products,' says Rita Damper from Chichester, the calendar's coordinator and cover girl. 'We meet online regularly and undertake to raise thousands of pounds for various charities. This year we decided that we would like to support Changing Faces.'
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Changing Faces is a national charity based in the UK that supports and represents people who have disfigurements of the face or body from any cause. Changing Faces is determined to enable people who have disfigurements to develop high self-esteem and self-confidence; have access to the very best health and social services and enjoy equal rights and opportunities throughout their lives.
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Rita's idea to persuade Lush ladies to strip off for a calendar quickly resulted in Lush launching a competition on the forum to find the best shots. Rather than having a co-ordinated photo-shoot, forum members sent in photos of themselves representing a Lush product. Of the 100 entries 12 were finally selected. In keeping with the ethos that 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' and aiming to show real people without the aid of computer gimmickry, it was agreed that any part of the model's face or body that was a permanent fixture, such as scars, cellulite, wrinkles and wobbly bits, would not be airbrushed. Bruises, lighting problems, backgrounds and razor accidents could be fixed.
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Rita said:
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'As a generation we seem more fixated than ever before on how we look. I thought that a calendar would be a good way of debunking the myth that "perfect is best". As one of the older entrants I was very nervous, so much so that on the morning of the photo shoot I managed to shave an inch long strip off my leg! The previous day I'd given myself a black and blue knee on a bicycle stand, so to say that I wasn't exactly standard model material was putting it mildly. Afterwards I felt a real sense achievement. I proved that I didn't need to be 19 and perfect to produce a lovely photo or two.'
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All profits from the sale of this calendar are being donated to Changing Faces.
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