INTERMISSION SEASONS: 4

1) Hwang Hyeon Ju (2.5)

2) Park Sin Ae (2.9)

3) Shin Hyun Ji (3.0)

4) Kim Hye Ah (3.5)

5) Jung Ho Yeon (3.7)

6) Jung Ha Eun (6.8)

7) Kim Eun Hae (7.3)

8) Seo Yeong Chae (7.8)

9) Im Hyeon Ju (7.9)

10) Kim Si Won (8.5)

11) Ryu Ye Ri (9.2)

12) Cho Eun Saem (9.7)

13) Seok Il Myeong (11.0)

14) Ko Eun Bi (13.0)

15) Ahn Hye Jin (14.0)

SHOWN CONTESTANTS:
Hyeon Ju I. (3), Si Won (3), Ye Ri (3), Ha Eun (2), Eun Hae (1), Eun Saem (1), Sin Ae (1), Yeong Chae (1)

SHOWN PHOTOSHOOTS:
Construction Site (4), Fairy Tales (3), Jungle (3), Couples (2), Bride (1), Film Festival (1), Trend Colors (1)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

SHOWN CONTESTANTS:
Hyeon Ju H. (4), Hyun Ji (4), Ho Yeon (3), Hye Ah (2), Sin Ae (2)

SHOWN PHOTOSHOOTS:
Fairy Tales (3), Hairstyles (3), Couples (2), Jungle (2), Brides (1), Construction Site (1), Film Festival (1), Trend Colors (1), W Korea (1)

1. 

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

FINAL THOUGHTS

After a short break, I am back! Like I said in previous “I’m back” updates, there is, as of right now, no absolute end to Top Model. It’s indefinite, ongoing, and I doubt the entire franchise will come to an end any time soon. Of course, I probably should have finished this season before taking a break, and I apologize for that, but yeah – just want to apologize for the unwarranted break. Hopefully, I’ll find some motivation to continue updating my blog at a more frequent pace, but for now, let’s focus on finishing this season off…. finally!

As said in prior posts about this season, I thoroughly enjoyed every single shot, photoshoot, week, model, etc. of this season. Even the jank models who were just there for the lulz, because the shoots TRULY elevated (almost) every single girl, and I’m still at awe for how successful this season was in its execution. Korea’s Next Top Model is consistently on point (all the way up to their cancellation), but this season truly is a force to be reckoned with in relation to the all-time great NTM seasons. Great, great, great season across the board.

1) Hyeon Ju H. (2.5) 3/1/3/5/2/1/5/1/3/2/2

Hyeon Ju H. is such a babe. She may not be the most universally liked contestant of this season (at least, that’s what it seems from some of the comments on my blog~ lol), for I received quite a bit of hate for ranking her first in weeks in which “she didn’t/doesn’t deserve to be ranked first,” but ultimately, for me, I found Hyeon Ju H. to be the best contestant of this season, and I’m not ashamed to admit that. I will admit that it took me quite a bit of time to officially name Hyeon Ju as my favorite of the season, because although she is first place in averages and has perhaps my favorite look of the season, she doesn’t have the best body ever, nor has she made much of a post-show career for herself. Additionally, she’s the only girl in the top three that hasn’t made it international… yet. Not going to give up hope for her on making it international. Having said all that, Hyeon Ju would be my winner of this season, which I don’t think comes as much of a shock to most, but truly, I went back and forth between Hyun Ji and her for the longest period of time, but I ultimately decided that Hyeon Ju is more versatile (good in commercials and pictures), whereas Hyun Ji’s flop in the music video (plus the top three commercial challenge) makes it appear as though she isn’t all that strong commercially. Yeah, I’m definitely gonna get flak for that comment but oh well. Love this girl sfm.

2) Sin Ae (2.9) 1/4/1/4/1/3/3/2/5/5

Sin Ae ranking second at the end of this season illustrates the fact that this averaging system doesn’t entirely showcase which girls’ portfolios I like the most. Sin Ae’s portfolio is pretty ****ing slayful, but the sole reason why she outranked Hyun Ji is that she started off the competition so strong. As the season progressed, she started getting weaker and weaker, or at least, the other girls began to catch up to her in terms of performance, but yet that isn’t depicted completely in the averages due to there being fewer girls when she began to slip. Although I much rather prefer a girl who improves or remains consistent at the top of the pack, I still like this girl a great deal. She looks very little like a model to me in motion, but somehow she had the ability to transform into complete epicness in photoshoots. Because she doesn’t have the most youthful look, sometimes she didn’t wear the harsh makeup in some shoots as well as others, but either way, she almost always worked it tf out with intricate and unique poses and expressions. As far as the noun and verb of ‘model’ goes, she most definitely proved to the fans and judges that she’s one of the most talented ~verb models~ that have ever been on the show. Although I doubt she’ll find very much modeling success outside of KNTM, she’s very talented in said occupation field, and thus I’d take her to the final three.

3) Hyun Ji (3.0) 2/2/8/1/3/2/4/5/4/1/1

Considering how much I’ve criticized Hyun Ji in the past, I do understand why some individuals reading this blog think I don’t like her all that much or am biased towards her. In all actuality, neither is the case – I thoroughly enjoyed her presence on this season and I am very fond of her and her modeling abilities – I just don’t think she’s the absolute best model of the season. Overall, yeah, she probably has the most potential to make it big with modeling in this cast, but for me, Hye Ah has the best body of the season, Hyeon Ju H. has the best face/look and portfolio, and Sin Ae has the best posing skills. Having said that, Hyun Ji doesn’t have a bad body, look, face, portfolio, and her posing abilities are actually quite amazing; in virtually each said category, she fills in second place for me. She may not be AS tall as Hye Ah, but she does have killer proportions, her face can work for both commercial and high fashion (though, hf is clearly her strong suit), and her portfolio is my second favorite of the season. While international success does matter to me, it’s not the very first thing I look for in a winner, which is why, if it were up to me, I’d give Hyeon Ju the W. Despite all of this, Hyun Ji is a FAN-TAS-TIC winner. If I were to place every single winner of Top Model on a spectrum, she’d definitely be up there with Danielle Hayes, Dani Evans, Camila Trindade, Oliver Stummvoll, Aamito Stacie Lagum, Ta Quang Hung, and a few others (that I can’t think of rn, lol).

4) Hye Ah (3.5) 4/5/4/2/5/4/2/3/2/4

I believe where I left off with Hye Ah was how I was disappointed that she never received a FCO from me during her rather fantastic journey this cycle. Now – after this break – I still have the same exact thoughts; it’s a pity that I never called her first in my rank down, especially considering so many weeks she so rightfully deserved best photo! She just was never the bride and was always the bridesmaid. :// Despite this, I do really love how Hye Ah was this entire season. She has a banging, hot body and a very cute, adorable, and commercial face. I wish she decided to model more post-show because she does have something. She was just 19 in KNTM, so in some time I could definitely see her chubby face become more shapely which would only increase her beauty for me, so again – M-O-D-E-L more, Hye Ah! You have the potential girl, but I digress. I love her, she did fantastic this season, and albeit never receiving a FCO from me, I’d take her to the top five and cut her accordingly then, so I agree with her final placement on the show although she was sf underrated by the judges week by week! All the bottom three appearances she had while they ****ing praised HA EUN continuously??!? I guess the final placement is all that matters but the fact we had to endure the possibility of Ha Eun lasting longer than Hye Ah is unbelievably awful.

5) Ho Yeon (3.7) 5/8/*/3/4/5/1/4/1/3/3

Ho Yeon is really, really gorgeous. I believe at the time of this show airing, I was on Ho Yeon’s love train the most out of everyone in this cast. She has a rather chubby looking face and I hardly ever care for someone with as round of a face as hers in a modeling competition, but on many occasions, she proved me wrong and her chubby face actually worked to her advantage, which was probably the main reason why I considered her to be such an amazing model back then. Now, my thoughts of Ho Yeon are about the same, though I don’t consider her the best model of the season solely because I gained such an appreciation for the other four models in the final five with her. Ho Yeon’s a really good model, for sure – awesome face, beautiful body, gorgeously long legs; she’s essentially the complete package, but of the final five, I consider her look better than just Sin Ae. At the same time, I think Sin Ae has perhaps the best modeling abilities of the top five. Ho Yeon knew how to model and how to deliver a very effective and great picture week by week. I think the only week where I don’t think she delivered a solid or good picture was the week in which she was eliminated in. Every other week, she did deliver, but as you can tell from her averages, it took her a little while to achieve best photo for me. Though, I do think she delivered one of the strongest pictures (of the season) during the hair couture week. She blew me away towards the end of the season, but unfortunately, I’d cut her at the top five with Hye Ah.

6) Ha Eun (6.8) 12/6/2/7/9/6/7/6/6

What a disturbingly gross promo shot. The fact this girl is ranked sixth in my overall rankdown bothers me extremely, because as far as looks go, she does have my least favorite look of the cast. Her face is just really plastic and doesn’t at all look natural; I didn’t watch KNTM because I don’t understand the Korean language all too well, but I believe she’s gotten some work done on herself (?? – if I’m wrong, someone please tell me, lol). Having said that, I don’t think a girl who has gotten so much work done with their face should have been in a modeling competition. I mean, she had a really hard time emoting in a large portion of her pictures, and I think that’s largely due to the botox or w/e tf she had done with her face. If she didn’t get work done on her face, though, then wow – I have never, ever seen a face as plastic looking as hers (bar maybe of a Barbie doll’s or the queen Joan Rivers <3). On top of having a piss poor face and having the inability to properly emote her facial features most of the time, I don’t care for Ha Eun’s body in the slightest. She seemed to be a little bit thicker than most of the other girls, and at the same time, she had pretty bad proportions. Bad face + bad body = terrible combination. Idk if she has a nice personality or not, but I don’t like this girl’s physical appearance… at all.

7) Eun Hae (7.3) 6/9/6/8

I like Eun Hae. I think she’s one of the prettier girls of the season, has an OK portfolio, a decent look, and gorgeous body, but for some reason, she’s probably the girl I forget most about from this season. None of her pictures/performances were all that, and while she does have a pretty nice look, again there’s nothing really groundbreaking or noteworthy when speaking of Eun Hae’s look. When briefly thinking of Eun Hae’s portfolio, there’s not a single picture that I can completely visualize in my mind; she just lacked presence, and that’s her ultimate demise in terms of overall placement for me. Having said that, after the 30+ ladies and Yeong Chae and Ha Eun and the first boots (minus Si Won) are out then would I eliminate Eun Hae. I would pull the (lack of) memorability card on Eun Hae if it were up to me; think Nicole Borud’s elimination on ANTM cycle three.

8) Yeong Chae (7.8) 8/3/11/9

Yeong Chae ranking eighth just proves that this averaging system is a big flub, because there is no way in hell I’d consider this girl’s portfolio the eighth best of the season, nor do I consider her the eighth best model of the season either. She’s quite talented as a model for the circumstance she is in involving her being handicapped, but I don’t think it’d be far of me to change my COOs and bump her up each week due to how ~impressed~ I was by her being able to get over the hardship of having the inability to hear. Her being in this competition and having one pretty great picture, though, does prove that people can succeed in whatever they strive for as long as they put the effort in, but Yeong Chae doesn’t have any remote possibility of making it big in the modeling industry, unfortunately. Surely, someone like Nyle from ANTM could make it big in modeling – he kinda sorta already has – but Yeong Chae doesn’t have a good body at all, a poor height, and a very meh face across the board. I do really love the storyline Yeong Chae presented us, but ultimately, I do agree with her final placement of joint tenth place.

9) Hyeon Ju I. (7.9) 7/7/10/10/8/7/6

Wow, I really love this promo and how much Hyeon Ju I. looks like a porcelain doll in it. I don’t think I ever gave Hyeon Ju too much positive credit this season, because I never (and still don’t) understood why they would let a 5’6”, 31 year old compete in a modeling competition, but I gotta say – this girl carries her age exceptionally well. That, or she’s just REALLY photogenic. From this picture alone, she looks younger than like half of the cast, which is a huge compliment seeing as some of these girls are almost half her age. She’s very beautiful and does have great body proportions, and while Asians don’t normally crack until they’re 40-ish, I still don’t understand why she was allowed to be apart of this season. There are some Laras and Magdalenas and even Naomis popping their shit and slaying the pages of many high-end, editorial fashion magazines, but come tf on?? Hyeon Ju I. looks NOTHING like any of them and those 30 and whose careers’ in the fashion industry are still blasting off started modeling back when they were teenagers. Give up this dream, Hyeon Ju (and Ye Ri), go into the business career or find yourself a sugar daddy, idk, just modeling ain’t for you, boo.

10) Si Won (8.5) 15/11/5/6/6/8

Si Won ranking tenth out of fifteenth in my final ranking once again doesn’t illustrate my complete thought or opinion on her; she’s not, by any means, in my bottom six of this cast. While she does have a rather chubby face which may not execute all that well on film 24/7, she does have an exceptionally youthful and bookable look as well as a pretty awesome body and some pretty solid modeling abilities. She started off the first two weeks of the competition not that well, but her pictures from week three to five were pretty great. While I never ranked her higher than fifth place, she still did pretty solid in those said weeks and those middle of the pack placements were simply the result of being against Hyeon Ju H., Hyun Ji, Sin Ae, Hye Ah, and Ho Yeon. I don’t think I ever really gave Si Won any sort of props for the given weeks in which I believe she did quite well solely because others did better than her. Having said that, I do think she’s an all-round solid model who just suffers from the fact her average is so low because of her placements in the first couple weeks. I’d eliminate her first (in the triple elimination at the beginning of the competition) but bring her back and cut her according to how she was cut on the show or a week later.

11) Ye Ri (9.2) 9/10/9/11/7

I feel like just saying “[see Hyeon Ju I.’s write-up]” and just ending this write-up for Ye Ri, because I don’t really have that many (positive) thoughts on Ye Ri other than the fact she’s sf old and shouldn’t be modeling, but ig that’d be unjust for her considering I gave ppl I hate more in this cast write-ups and not her. So, anyway – I don’t like Ye Ri. I think her portfolio is a disaster (other than her picture in week one), and she hardly ever looked younger than her actual age. Sometimes, she even looked 35+, which just makes me want to reiterate the fact that 30 years old is TOO old for a modeling competition. I just, I just don’t know what more there is to say about the matter? She doesn’t have a good body, she would never ever make it big in modeling under any circumstances, and she just has a blah look all-around. I suppose she’s pretty for her age, but when you’re 31 in a modeling competition, that’s not a compliment. Also, I think I have her eliminated week two on the spreadsheet I’m too lazy to open.

12) Eun Saem (9.7) 10/12/7

Eun Saem is a definite case of a contestant who is visually exciting to look at yet never entirely delivered any sort of performance on the show that I find even remotely noteworthy. She has all the potential in the world to kill a photoshoot – a beautiful and unique shaped head, milky and soft skin, with some gorgeous eyes, and it certainly helps that she’s one of the tallest girls of the season! However, having said that, where she lacked on the show was actual stellar performances, or rather, just solid performances. Her music video performance in which she did the seventh best of the week for me and where she was also eliminated was her best week, but even her best week didn’t live up to all the potential she possesses. Her week one picture was alright and her week two picture is terrible. I fear that she’s one of those girls who just doesn’t photograph that well and thus can’t make for a good editorial model, but all in all, I do have hope that had she stayed longer, she would have improved drastically. So, in saying that, I would honestly take her to the top seven or eight. She has a great, great look and I’m sure she’d be able to pull out at the very least one stellar picture from her ass in that time.

13) Il Myeong (11.0) 11

Of those who were cut in the first week, Il Myeong is actually my least favorite. While I do consider her picture in week one better than Eun Bi and Hye Jin’s, her look is very uninspiring, and I don’t necessarily care for anything about her person. Plus, her modeling abilities are pretty damn weak, and I think this promo picture perfectly illustrates that. However, despite this, I’d be willing to take this girl to week three, because I’d rather have an 18 year old girl who is 5’9” in the top 11 rather than a 30 year old who is 5’7” and LOOKS her age (aka Ye Ri). Yeah, so basically, I’d just use her as a filler in order to take out contestants I consider even bigger trash than she. She does have a really nice body and an alright face, but yeah – she is not my cup of tea at all. Next.

14) Eun Bi (13.0) 13

It was great to see Eun Bi come back because I do think she was somewhat robbed back in season two, but unfortunately, she never shined as much as she did back then. I’d like to believe she would have turned it out in some shoots this season, and three months ago I did have her in my top seven, but I’m really not sure she would have performed nearly as well had she lasted so far. I mean, her body is so much stubbier than it was back then, and her face also simultaneously got thicker. Sure, weight is just weight and it can come off in time, you just gotta put the effort in to get it off of you, but I also think her posing abilities worsened, and it seemed as though she was less photogenic than before. It’s upsetting for me to say this bc I did love her on season two, but ultimately, I do agree with her placement as one of the three first boots.

15) Hye Jin (14.0) 14

I don’t like that Hye Jin is last place on my ranking because I am pretty fond of her look and love how her nose practically appears as though it’s drooping off of her face. Having said that, I do think she is my favorite of the three first boots – she has a fantastic body, a great age, and her face is quite interesting. I don’t harbor too passionate of thoughts on her as she lasted just one week in the competition and her week one picture is pretty damn weak, but this promo shot is nice and she’s pretty. She had the goods to do well this season, she just needed to practice a little bit more in front of a camera prior to entering the competition; it’s a shame, but oh well – joint first boot for me as well.

WEEK 10

Alas, the time has come: the last photoshoot of the season. It’s been fun, it’s been amazing, but like I said in the previous post, I’m upset that my coverage of this season is coming to end. I’ll speak more about how slayful this season was as well as how they NEED to renew Korea’s Next Top Model for a sixth season in the final thoughts post, but as of now, let’s appreciate how amazing this photoshoot and these covers are. W Korea ALWAYS produces stellar covers for this Top Model series, but these covers, collectively, blow away all the past W Korea magazine covers done on the show for me. I REALLY love each of these pictures. It does help that this final three consists of three exceptionally talented models, but I also think the wardrobe and photography is a rather large step up from past seasons. Ofc, this being the very last photoshoot, a model was crowned the winner of this season this week as well, and I’m very happy for the outcome. I would have been fine with any of them winning, and while another girl does have just a tad bit better of a portfolio imho, I’m proud of who won, and I really hope she can become as known as Kate G. or Aamito in the fashion world.

1) Hyun Ji (Winner)

So, Hyun Ji won this season, and like I said, I couldn’t be happier for her. She doesn’t have my favorite look of the season (Hyeon Ju H. does), nor does she have the best body (that goes to Hye Ah), but as a package deal, I do think she has the most potential and the largest chance of making it big internationally. Having said that, this picture displays Hyun Ji’s beauty to absolute perfection. Hyun Ji looks so youthful and vivacious from this picture which I really love, but at the same time, she carries herself with so much maturity; such an amount that I think she looks like a professional, working, high-end model, which is possibly the biggest compliment I could give. Her skin looks so milky and gorgeous, the way she’s looking at the camera is breathtaking, and she’s not lost underneath that hat at all. The excessive amount of love for this picture is completely warranted, so don’t get me wrong in saying this, but I don’t know if I’d consider this the best picture of 2013 or even the best picture of the season. There’s just so many amazing pictures from this season to choose from. Best picture of the cycle or not, this is an absolutely gorgeous cover from Hyun Ji!

2) Hyeon Ju H. (Runner-up)

I can’t possibly be mad for Hyeon Ju not winning, because Hyun Ji is just as deserving of a winner Hyeon Ju would have been, though I can’t help but be upset that my girl came this far just to get a runner-up position. I like to consider that Hyeon Ju and Hyun Ji were about on par with one another this entire season, though based solely off of this week, Hyeon Ju’s cover is definitely the weaker between the two. Clearly, this picture is not bad, and is quite excellent for that matter. It’s just not nearly as iconic or memorable as Hyun Ji’s for me. I don’t exactly think there are any flaws within this picture, however, there are less aspects of this picture that I genuinely love in comparison to Hyun Ji’s. Having said that, what I DO love in this picture is the contrast between soft and edgy. The edgy, dark styling Hyeon Ju received with such a light background and soft face contrast exceptionally well with one another. I think the black and other dark colors look wonderful against her skin tone, and there’s such poise in how she carries herself in this picture. I like that fact that, despite given such huge shoulders for a styling, she worked around it and produced such a slayful image. This is definitely an awesome photo of her.

3) Ho Yeon (Runner-up)

The worst cover of the week is still quite gorgeous! I’m happy with the final placement Ho Yeon was given. I’m glad that she came back and proved the judges and some fans wrong by producing so many solid images especially towards the end game, but this win was definitely either Hyeon Ju or Hyun Ji’s for the taking, so I’m not shocked by her getting runner-up at all. Final placement aside – I’ll speak more about that in the final thoughts post – I think this cover is pretty good. Clearly, the hair color is shit, which isn’t a new opinion I formed simply off of this picture, but I generally like the colors present within this picture (bar the hair). I love the soft white colors in the background as well as the foreground. The uneven shoulders as well as the positioning of her one hand on her chest looks great. Also, yaaas, collar bones come through. The face is just a tad bit too intense for everything else going on in the image. Her eyes are pretty and all, but I don’t see very much definition in her face and that bothers me a relatively good amount considering this is a beauty shot for a ~model~ Also, her mouth looks like it’s lowkey about to fall off her face. The angle just isn’t the best for her face, in my opinion.

AVERAGES
1) Hyeon Ju H. (2.5) 3/1/3/5/2/1/5/1/3/2/2 – (Runner-up)
2) Sin Ae (2.9) 1/4/1/4/1/3/3/2/5/5 – (Eliminated Week 9)
3) Hyun Ji (3.0) 2/2/8/1/3/2/4/5/4/1/1 – (Winner)
4) Hye Ah (3.5) 4/5/4/2/5/4/2/3/2/4 – (Eliminated Week 9)
5) Ho Yeon (3.7) 5/8/*/3/4/5/1/4/1/3/3 – (Runner-up)
6) Ha Eun (6.8) 12/6/2/7/9/6/7/6/6 – (Eliminated Week 8)
7) Eun Hae (7.3) 6/9/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 4)
8) Yeong Chae (7.8) 8/3/11/9 – (Eliminated Week 4)
9) Hyeon Ju I. (7.9) 7/7/10/10/8/7/6 – (Eliminated Week 7)
10) Si Won (8.5) 15/11/5/6/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 6)
11) Ye Ri (9.2) 9/10/9/11/7 – (Eliminated Week 5)
12) Eun Saem (9.7) 10/12/7 – (Eliminated Week 3)
13) Il Myeong (11.0) 11 – (Eliminated Week 1)
14) Eun Bi (13.0) 13 – (Eliminated Week 1)
15) Hye Jin (14.0) 14 – (Eliminated Week 1)

ELIMINATIONS
Eun Bi: 0
Eun Hae: 0
Eun Saem: 1
Ha Eun: 4
Ho Yeon: 1
Hye Ah: 0
Hye Jin: 0
Hyeon Ju H.: 0
Hyeon Ju I.: 0
Hyun Ji: 0
Il Myeong: 0
Si Won: 2
Sin Ae: 1
Ye Ri: 1
Yeong Chae: 1

WEEK 9

Gah, this season is just a week away from ending, and I’m honestly very upset by that. Usually, I become bored when covering a particular Top Model season, but I never once didn’t have the urge to update my blog while covering this cycle. Unfortunately, I’ve been especially busy lately which resulted in some delays here and there, but I’ve been thoroughly excited to type out my in-depth opinion on each photo of this season thus far. I feel the need to start off this post in a rather depressing note, because this week is heartbreaking. No, it’s not because the shoot is bad – actually, it’s awesome – but because we had to lose TWO girls this week. Normally, I wouldn’t be bothered by this, but all of these girls are so talented. I wish they pulled a Greece’s Next Top Model and had like twelve shoots with just the final five, haha. Getting back to the shoot – I do think this is a very nice shoot. The fact that this shoot didn’t end up looking tacky and is instead very fashionable is astonishing. It’s not the best shoot of the season, but it’s still a great final five photoshoot across the board.

1) Hyun Ji

I have literally gone back and forth between Hyun Ji and Hyeon Ju H. for first call-out for what seems like an indefinite amount of time, but I ultimately decided to give it to Hyun Ji, because this picture is very dynamic, and I feel like I’ve come off as a Hyun Ji hater after last week. Last week is in the past, though – let’s instead talk about this fabulous picture of Hyun Ji! I do think Hyun Ji benefits from the fact that her outfit is relatively interesting and the shot is in motion, but I can’t exactly fault Hyun Ji for having the best concept of the round. Speaking of fault, there are a couple flaws in this picture, but of all the pictures this week, this one definitely intrigues me the most. Albeit pulling up the dress – which I’m actually not completely bothered by – I do think she’s doing a pretty decent job showing off the dress. Her body and face both look outstanding, too. Love how slim she looks in that dress, and the fact she managed to keep her face so relaxed while in movement is very impressive. There’s slight tension in her mouth, but overall, this is a fantastic picture from Hyun Ji.

2) Hyeon Ju H.

I don’t get the dislike for this picture whatsoever, nor do I understand why anyone would rank this outside of their top three. Sure, this isn’t Hyeon Ju’s strongest picture of the season, but like Hyun Ji’s, I do think the end result is really dynamic. Also similar to Hyun Ji’s picture, Hyeon Ju is pulling up her dress, but once again, I’m not really that bothered by it, because I do think the picture would have looked slightly off if her legs were completely hidden underneath the dress. She could have ruffled the dress a tad less, yeah, but how can you dislike this picture for that sole reason when there’s so many awesome attributes about it? First and foremost, I really adore how Hyeon Ju positioned her arms and legs here. The way she placed her one hand on the car like that looks very relaxed yet modelesque and legitimate. I also think she managed to sit on the car in a very comfortable manner, which also helps make the storyline present in this image legit. But most of all, my favorite thing about this picture is Hyeon Ju’s face. Stunning! The angle is perfect and she looks so youthful and beautiful.

3) Ho Yeon

Opposite of Hyeon Ju – I think this picture is actually slightly overrated. It’s a really solid image of Ho Yeon, especially considering she’s upside down, but her body appears far too stiff for my liking. She looks like a rag doll that was thrown across the room. I don’t know whether that was what they were going for or not, but this looks far too much like a I’ve fallen and I can’t get up ad. Her legs and arms do look insane and are very toned, but there’s such little fluidity in her pose and I don’t like that. I also cannot stand that hair color and those ROOOOOTS, also! It cheapens the picture so much! Hair aside, though, Ho Yeon’s face is magic here – I do agree with that sentiment completely. She carries the makeup well, her jawline and cheekbones look more defined than ever, and I really like how her one eye is completely covered – it reminds me of an i-D cover and I loveeee those. I know this picture focuses generally on the negatives and not much on the positives, but I honestly don’t dislike this picture; I think it’s good, but there are more than a couple glaring flaws within it.

4) Hye Ah (Eliminated)

Ugh, Hye Ah never had my absolute favorite picture in any particular shoot ever since this season aired, but I always thought she was uber talented and consistently delivered, so the fact that she’s the only girl in the top five without a single FCO bugs me greatly. Unfortunately, an opinion is an opinion and I don’t want to change up my COO just to satisfy my want for Hye Ah to receive a first call-out from me. Having said that, let me instead speak my opinion about this picture and not Hye Ah’s first call-outs or the lack thereof.. Soo, this is a nice picture overall, and definitely showcases the immense amount of modeling potential Hye Ah possesses; however, I’m not all that excited by this picture, and that’s largely due to the basic styling and semi-cheap setting. Her and Sin Ae received, BY FAR, my least favorite settings of the week. Hye Ah, herself, does look gorgeous, but I don’t think she’s making the most out of her outfit or the tacky setting she was given. Frankly, she’s just standing there, showing us the stellar body and look we already know she has, and doing very little outside that. I’m just bored, honestly.

5) Sin Ae (Eliminated)

Similar to Hye Ah, it absolutely kills me to see Sin Ae go in a joint fourth/fifth place finish, but in all seriousness – this is, easilllly, the worst picture of the week, though should we really blame Sin Ae for this picture being not nearly as good as everyone else’s? Point-blank, I think Sin Ae was sabotaged. Look at her setting and compare it to everyone else’s. Then, look at what she’s wearing and compare that to everyone else’s. It’s so inconsistent! On top of that, the frame isn’t even completely in focus! Give her Hyeon Ju’s styling and setting, and I think she would have worked the hell out of this shoot. I don’t really want to critique this picture because I don’t think it’s all that fair to compare it alongside the other shots this week, but to make it quick and simple: the outfit is hideous, her hair looks fried af, the pose is far too minimal, and she doesn’t look all that tall. I suppose her face looks pretty, but I can’t help but stare at the rat on her head when zooming in. I just find it so sad that this is Sin Ae’s final picture of the season esp. since she started off the first five weeks with three first call-outs from me. ://

AVERAGES
1) Hyeon Ju H. (2.6) 3/1/3/5/2/1/5/1/3/2
2) Sin Ae (2.9) 1/4/1/4/1/3/3/2/5/5 – (Eliminated Week 9)
3) Hyun Ji (3.2) 2/2/8/1/3/2/4/5/4/1
4) Hye Ah (3.5) 4/5/4/2/5/4/2/3/2/4 – (Eliminated Week 9)
5) Ho Yeon (3.8) 5/8/*/3/4/5/1/4/1/3
6) Ha Eun (6.8) 12/6/2/7/9/6/7/6/6 – (Eliminated Week 8)
7) Eun Hae (7.3) 6/9/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 4)
8) Yeong Chae (7.8) 8/3/11/9 – (Eliminated Week 4)
9) Hyeon Ju I. (7.9) 7/7/10/10/8/7/6 – (Eliminated Week 7)
10) Si Won (8.5) 15/11/5/6/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 6)
11) Ye Ri (9.2) 9/10/9/11/7 – (Eliminated Week 5)
12) Eun Saem (9.7) 10/12/7 – (Eliminated Week 3)
13) Il Myeong (11.0) 11 – (Eliminated Week 1)
14) Eun Bi (13.0) 13 – (Eliminated Week 1)
15) Hye Jin (14.0) 14 – (Eliminated Week 1)

ELIMINATIONS
Eun Bi: 0
Eun Hae: 0
Eun Saem: 1
Ha Eun: 4
Ho Yeon: 0
Hye Ah: 0
Hye Jin: 0
Hyeon Ju H.: 0
Hyeon Ju I.: 0
Hyun Ji: 0
Il Myeong: 0
Si Won: 2
Sin Ae: 1
Ye Ri: 1
Yeong Chae: 1

WEEK 8

At last, we have arrived to the absolute best photoshoot of the season! This shoot is just stunning. It’s up there with Greece’s Renaissance shoot as my all-time favorite Top Model photoshoots, for sure. Collectively, the pictures are breathtaking. Even that rat that was dragged to the final six by her hair did a fantastic job with this shoot; truly, there’s zero pictures that I heavily dislike this week, and the unbelievable photography is a large part to thank for that. So, in case you aren’t aware, the girls received both a close-up and fully body picture. I’m going to judge both photos together in one write-up, because I’m far too lazy to judge the pictures in two separate posts jsyk. The elimination was just as on point as the photoshoot this week. I cannot believe how freaking incredible this final five is. ALL of them are extremely talented in so many different ways. All in all, this was the most ideal, most perfect, most amazing week I’ve ever witnessed on any Top Model series.

1) Hyeon Ju H. (1/3)


Even though Hyeon Ju H. received first call-out from me for having the collective highest average from this photoshoot, I don’t believe she did the best, nor are either of these shots my favorite of the week. I think Ho Yeon did the best this week in a general sense, though Hyeon Ju’s average from this shoot is half a point higher. Averages aside, however, both of these pictures are wonderful. I get such a whimsical, soft, fairy-like vibe from both of these pictures, and the primal reason for that is because of how her hair is blowing in both pictures. In the beauty shot, in particular, the angle she positioned her face is literal perfection and her hair looks stunning there. I don’t love the full body shot nearly as much as the beauty picture, though I still think it’s exceptionally good. I prefer her face in the angle it is in the beauty picture, but in the fully body photograph, it’s still very good – gorgeous eyes, lovely jawline, luscious lips, and cute nose. The opened mouth, looking away from the camera, as her hair hits her directly in the face somewhat makes her pictures too similar to one another, which is the main reason why I prefer Ho Yeon’s pictures over Hyeon Ju’s, but even then so, both of these images are truly outstanding. She did a marvelous job.

2) Ho Yeon (4/1)


Ahhhhhh, that full body picture. <333 Definitely up there as one of my favorite pictures this season. So, like I mentioned previously in Hyeon Ju’s write-up for this week, I actually prefer Ho Yeon’s pictures overall, and that’s largely because of how outrageously good that full body picture is. WOW, just look at it! The emotion she conveys in that picture is beautiful. She looks tall, modelesque, she stretched her neck to the heavens, and her pose is amazing. I love how she’s holding herself, closing her eyes, and looking up towards the light. She surely found her light. The way she’s modeling the dress is great – her figure fits it fantastically, and I really love the broken doll pose with the bottom half of her body. Unfortunately, I’m not that big of a fan of Ho Yeon’s close-up beauty shot. It’s good and all, don’t get me wrong, but I think there’s something missing. She doesn’t have the best profile, and I don’t like how little light is hitting her face. I do, however, loveee how her collarbones appear here, and I’m actually not that bothered by how much tension there is with her neck. It’s a nice picture, but it’s miles behind her full body picture.

3) Hye Ah (3/2)


For the, like, one hundredth week in the row, Hye Ah did a fantastic job but not quite the best of the week for me. As always, I feel bad for not giving Hye Ah a first call-out especially considering so many of her pictures are, in fact, first call-out worthy. Maybe she’ll snatch a first call-out next week? Idk, but regarding these pictures, they are completely and utterly gorgeous. The full body picture totally illustrates Hye Ah’s main asset as a model: her body. Just stunning. She’s not doing anything extreme with her pose, but when you have a body like that, do you ever really need to contort your body to an excessive degree? Just standing there is highly impressive! I love, love, love how well her body looks in the clothing. She’s working the HELL out of those shoes. I also really dig how she positioned her hands like that; the blowing of the hair, looking off to the side, and placement of the hands makes me think of a spy movie. Hye Ah’s beauty shot is also incredibly good, actually! Her eyes are very piercing, and albeit so much hair covering her face, she still looks great. Collectively, these pictures are just sublime!

4) Sin Ae (2/5)


I don’t think it’s necessarily popular to rank Sin Ae outside the bottom two for this week, but luckily for her, I think her beauty shot is sensational. Again, I don’t think she carries the heavy and dark makeup the best, but there’s no denying that that is a wonderful picture of her face, and it definitely saves her from ranking lower this week for me. In the beauty picture, I really love how the light hits her face. Her skin, nose, and eyebrows all look great. I love how much emotion is behind her eyes as well. I’m also very glad that her face wasn’t hidden behind her hair nearly as much as some other girls. Sin Ae’s full body picture – or should I say, full-body-picture-down-to-the-ankles shot – is a bit weak, not going to lie. It’s not a bad picture, and that’s mainly because the photography is spectacular, but considering the standards Sin Ae set for herself in past weeks, this is definitely one of her worst pictures on the show. Her body does look nice and all, but there’s nothing that blows me away by the image. So many of the pictures this week are absolutely slayful, and this picture of Sin Ae is just a little above average. Pity, truly.

5) Hyun Ji (5/4)


Ranking Hyun Ji in the bottom two this week is undeserved partially. These images aren’t even remotely close to being the best of the week, in my opinion, but she clearly does appear to be a model in both. At the same time, I’m not particularly moved by either of these images. She has that same blank stare in both pictures, and I’m not really digging it. The beauty shot, namely, I’m not feeling. It’s alright, but if she just squinted her eyes ever so slightly, that would have improved the picture immensely. Same goes for the full body picture. I feel like Hyun Ji has the second best body of the season – right after Hye Ah – but because the dress she’s wearing is quite large and such little of her actual body is visually notable, I don’t think the pose really helps to elevate the rest of the picture in its entirety. I just wish she would have done a little bit more – whether it be in changing her expression or pose – something is just missing. I feel like Hyun Ji relies a lot on how modelesque she appears and doesn’t feel the need to do the absolute most on set. I could be wrong in saying that, but here, Hyun Ji looks only the noun model and not the verb.

6) Ha Eun (Eliminated) (6/6)


Clearly the worst of the week. For Ha Eun, these pictures are pretty good, actually, but she’s versing possibly the strongest top five in Top Model history, so keeping up with them is obviously going to be exceptionally difficult for her to do. That being said, I couldn’t be happier about her elimination. Totally deserved, and I’m really glad that she didn’t rob someone a spot in the final five. Getting back to these pictures, however, they’re good, but far from being amazing. There’s such little energy between both of these photos. In the close-up, Ha Eun is just standing there, looking at something in the distance. Similarly, in the full body picture, she’s doing the absolute same thing, but, on top of that, her body is hunched over, which just adds to the lazy vibe received from the rest of the photograph. Such a pose could work for, say, Hye Ah or Hyun Ji if they were given the same styling as her, but like I said in previous weeks, when Ha Eun isn’t doing something extremely creative with her pose, there isn’t much that she can do to keep her from being ranked so low in my call-outs mainly due to her poor look and mediocre body. So yah, I’m tremendously glad they finally decided to cut her.

AVERAGES
1) Hyeon Ju H. (2.7) 3/1/3/5/2/1/5/1/3
2) Sin Ae (2.7) 1/4/1/4/1/3/3/2/5
3) Hye Ah (3.4) 4/5/4/2/5/4/2/3/2
4) Hyun Ji (3.4) 2/2/8/1/3/2/4/5/4
5) Ho Yeon (3.9) 5/8/*/3/4/5/1/4/1
6) Ha Eun (6.8) 12/6/2/7/9/6/7/6/6 – (Eliminated Week 8)
7) Eun Hae (7.3) 6/9/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 4)
8) Yeong Chae (7.8) 8/3/11/9 – (Eliminated Week 4)
9) Hyeon Ju I. (7.9) 7/7/10/10/8/7/6 – (Eliminated Week 7)
10) Si Won (8.5) 15/11/5/6/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 6)
11) Ye Ri (9.2) 9/10/9/11/7 – (Eliminated Week 5)
12) Eun Saem (9.7) 10/12/7 – (Eliminated Week 3)
13) Il Myeong (11.0) 11 – (Eliminated Week 1)
14) Eun Bi (13.0) 13 – (Eliminated Week 1)
15) Hye Jin (14.0) 14 – (Eliminated Week 1)

ELIMINATIONS
Eun Bi: 0
Eun Hae: 0
Eun Saem: 1
Ha Eun: 4
Ho Yeon: 0
Hye Ah: 0
Hye Jin: 0
Hyeon Ju H.: 0
Hyeon Ju I.: 0
Hyun Ji: 0
Il Myeong: 0
Si Won: 2
Sin Ae: 0
Ye Ri: 1
Yeong Chae: 1

WEEK 7

This season keeps getting better and better. This week, the first three winners of the series showed up to shoot with the girls this week. I love the fact that all three winners came back, honestly. I wish America’s Next Top Model would have done that, but either way – I think it’s really cool and interesting seeing all the winners in a photoshoot together. The execution for this week’s shoot was pretty awesome too! All the winners look great – each of them are extremely talented as models – and for the most part, many of the girls (of this season) kept up with them. There’s truthfully only one picture that I actively dislike, though that one picture happens to be one of my least favorite pictures of the season. Either way, it’s a fantastic shoot, and at the end of it all, so was the elimination. I think another girl should have went, but this one particular girl has been drifting at the bottom of the pack for some time now, so it was about time until she got her legs chopped off (figuratively speaking ofc). Overall, I have no complaints about this week.

1) Ho Yeon

Last week I said how I was waiting for Ho Yeon to deliver that spectacular, wonderful, beautiful, slayful image that would bring her at the very top of the pack, and clearly, I was 100 percent foreshadowing when saying that. I absolutely adore this picture of Ho Yeon! Yes, I do get how some people would think that Ho Yeon looks a tad bit toooo young here with the all girly vibe present and the chubby cheeks, but personally, I think it works! Kinda strange considering I completely abhor when model’s cheekbones and jawline aren’t exceptionally defined, but yet I still feel like Ho Yeon maintained looking like a model here. The looking off in the distance stare is gorgeous. The somewhat pouty mouth and glowing eyes – beautiful! The way she’s selling the outfit is simply sublime, too! She’s also doing an extremely well job showing off the handbag, and Ho Yeon’s hair looks awesome. In terms of selling what she’s wearing, Ho Yeon is doing an outstanding job with that. This picture looks like it was taken straight out of a magazine, which just adds to the high amount of love I have for it.

2) Hye Ah

I honestly feel like such shit for ranking this picture second and not first. Not only is it nearly as good as Ho Yeon’s, but Hye Ah has consistently been getting SCOs, TCOs, etc. and has yet to receive the absolute top call-out from me. Perhaps I’m foreshadowing Hye Ah’s ranking for next week? Maybeeee. Anywhoo – there is a ton of things to genuinely love about this picture. Like I said, it’s basically just as good as Ho Yeon’s, so I don’t really have many negatives to say about it. Hye Ah’s body looks spectacular. The shape she’s making in the dress is fantastic, and because her proportions are so crazily good, she looks over six feet tall here! Also, this is yet another awesome facial expression from Hye Ah, and alas, I don’t feel like the face is what brings down her shot. The quarter profile angle works wonders for her face, she oozes sex appeal with the way she’s looking at the camera, and she maintained so much youth in her expression! The way she’s looking at the camera is so subtle yet powerful and stunning. Fantastic!

3) Sin Ae

Placing Sin Ae third this week is killing me because I love this picture nearly as much as the two above it and it is a fantastic picture all around, but unfortunately, two others outdid her slightly this week. Similar to Ho Yeon’s picture, I love how Sin Ae is looking off from the camera. It gives the picture a very caught in the moment sort of feel and I think it helps add emotion to the photo overall. Her collar bones look hella hot, the positioning of her arms is fantastic, she looks long and lean in that dress, and she’s showing off the outfit exceptionally well! Also, she’s presenting the jewelry she’s wearing excellently! If this were a picture for a jewelry ad, it’d be first place no doubt. The one thing I’m a tad bit iffy on about this picture is how the eye shadow looks on Sin Ae. She doesn’t have the freshest of looks so pulling off heavier and darker makeup is going to be generally hard for her. Also, her eyebrows look somewhat off. Cheekbones and below, I love this picture, I just wish they did her makeup differently.

4) Hyun Ji

A slight dip in quality from the three fantastic pictures above, but still a relatively strong image overall. While I do think Hyun Ji maintained looking like a model here, and does, in fact, look incredible, the general feel of this picture is far too static and stiff for my liking. Body looks long and lean, face looks gorgeous – she looks very modelesque – but this lacks life and energy. I’m bored by it. It looks like they’re playing tug of war with one another over a piece of clothing yet neither is really trying to pull it out of the other’s hands. I just don’t think what’s going on in this picture looks very legitimate – it looks posed and unnatural. What did save Hyun Ji for ranking any lower than this is what I talked about in the first couple of sentences in this write-up: she looks like a model. This picture is cropped at her upper thigh yet she still appears to be 6’0” because she has such fantastic proportions. Also, she managed to make that ugly ass dress look expensive, so major props to her for that.

5) Hyeon Ju H.

Blah. This picture isn’t bad per se, but it’s awfully boring and for Hyeon Ju H.’s standards, this is easily her worst picture on the show. What bugs me even more, though, is the fact that this isn’t even close to being her best picture from the shoot! Her B-cut was slayful, and she had far more superior pictures on set. I hate that I have to rank Hyeon Ju this low and simultaneously bring down her amazing average because whoever chose the pictures this week screwed her over. But, then again, if I were to rank the girls each week based off of their performance on the set, then Hyeon Ju and Hyun Ji would be first and second virtually every week and that wouldn’t be very fun. But I digress. This picture is just okay. I don’t have anything bad to say about it other than that it’s severely boring to look at. The pose is extremely uninteresting and modeling 101, and come tf on, THIS is the best Hyeon Ju’s face looked on set? Hell no. Her face looks so bland and basic here. Definitely not up to par with what she has been delivering thus far.

6) Hyeon Ju I. (Eliminated)

Stephanie Retuya is back! They look so freaking similar to each other, it’s so uncanny. I haven’t seen anyone else compare the two with each other, which is quite surprising, because I think they could pass off as sisters easily. Anyway, this picture, like the one above it, is incredibly boring and basic. Hyeon Ju I. does look very young for her age here, and I will give her that, but outside of that one thing, what is there to like about this? She looks pretty, she looks youthful, but what else? The bony shoulders, defined veins in her arms, and sagging dress isn’t a good combo at all. Also, what the hell were they thinking styling her hair like that? The volume of her hair is great, but I absolutely hate the partial bang. Her face, like I said previously, looks pretty and all, but there’s virtually no definition in her facial features. Her jawline is weak, and cheekbones are nonexistent. She just isn’t a model, so I’m perfectly fine with her elimination, even though there’s one picture that’s FAR worse than hers…

7) Ha Eun

Terrible, awful, horrendous. This picture is not good in the very slightest. There’s nothing modelesque about Ha Eun’s face, and her facial features are so off-putting. Her mouth looks like it’s drooping off of her face, her nose lacks structure – it almost looks like it’s fake – and the looking off in the distance stare isn’t working. This picture is virtually a beauty shot so the setting and the looking away from the camera ~thing~ just looks strange. The whole entire concept is just so odd. Even if she did look at the camera, I don’t think that would necessarily help this picture very much. Ha Eun just can’t pull off a very good close-up, it seems. Her poses are usually what keep her afloat and not at the absolute bottom of my call-out orders, but this picture showcases clearly how awful of a look she does have. EVERYTHING about her face looks so unnatural; she’s so plastic looking.

AVERAGES
1) Sin Ae (2.4) 1/4/1/4/1/3/3
2) Hyeon Ju H. (2.9) 3/1/3/5/2/1/5
3) Hyun Ji (3.1) 2/2/8/1/3/2/4
4) Hye Ah (3.7) 4/5/4/2/5/4/2
5) Ho Yeon (4.3) 5/8/*/3/4/5/1
6) Ha Eun (7.0) 12/6/2/7/9/6/7
7) Eun Hae (7.3) 6/9/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 4)
8) Yeong Chae (7.8) 8/3/11/9 – (Eliminated Week 4)
9) Hyeon Ju I. (7.9) 7/7/10/10/8/7/6 – (Eliminated Week 7)
10) Si Won (8.5) 15/11/5/6/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 6)
11) Ye Ri (9.2) 9/10/9/11/7 – (Eliminated Week 5)
12) Eun Saem (9.7) 10/12/7 – (Eliminated Week 3)
13) Il Myeong (11.0) 11 – (Eliminated Week 1)
14) Eun Bi (13.0) 13 – (Eliminated Week 1)
15) Hye Jin (14.0) 14 – (Eliminated Week 1)

ELIMINATIONS
Eun Bi: 0
Eun Hae: 0
Eun Saem: 1
Ha Eun: 2
Ho Yeon: 0
Hye Ah: 0
Hye Jin: 0
Hyeon Ju H.: 0
Hyeon Ju I.: 0
Hyun Ji: 0
Il Myeong: 0
Si Won: 2
Sin Ae: 0
Ye Ri: 1
Yeong Chae: 1

WEEK 6

After two pretty good – but not absolutely amazing – shoots back to back, we have finally arrived to one of the best Top Model shoots of 2013! This week’s shoot is somewhat a take on ANTM’s cycle 3 alter egos photoshoot, though not nearly as tacky or cheap looking. Instead of portraying alternative egos, the models portrayed as a male and a female in each of their photos. Two of their shots – one as a male and one as a female – were morphed together into one photo in order to creative a complete shot of each of them interacting with themselves. It’s truly such an awesome concept imo, and the fact the execution is SOOOO good, is extremely impressive. There’s a couple pictures were the photoshop could have been slightly better, but this photoshoot definitely produced some of my favorite photos of the season. The elimination was also pretty on point. Not going to complain about her getting cut. Although she’s not the weakest overall imo, her picture is surely the weakest of the week.

1) Hyeon Ju H.

I am absolutely obsessed with this picture. It’s probably in my top five favorite photos of the season, and I do think this it is also among my favorite Top Model photos of all-time. The fact Hyeon Ju made making out with herself look so legit and not at all fake is highly impressive. Her male side of this photo, in particular, slays me. HER JAWLINE, HER NECK, HER PROFILE – it’s all just so CRAZY good. I love the dominance of the male side in comparison to the female. Not trying to be stereotypical or anything, but the guy tends to lead in the ~love making~ process. The female side is also exceptionally good and very well thought out. Her jawline and cheekbones are slayful once more, and I lovee the positioning of her hands over her neck. Also, DAMN, this girl has some AMAZING skin. It’s so shiny and glistening for days – it almost doesn’t look real. The comment I made last week to Hyeon Ju in her snake picture was totally foreshadowing the great amount of love I have for this picture.

2) Hyun Ji

The story present in this photograph is OUTRAGEOUSLY good. I adore the concept of Hyun Ji killing her male side, and then creepily looking outside a window in a very cinematic sort of way (that’s what I get from it at least, lol). This shot is totally fashionable, yet it almost appears as though it came straight out of a movie, and I really dig that about it. She’s not really doing much with her body on the female side, but there certainly is a lot of RAW emotion present from her face alone, and I absolutely live for it. The male side doesn’t look the most masculine of the week which is somewhat why Hyun Ji lost out of receiving yet another FCO from me – because it doesn’t look the most convincing – but I generally really enjoy how she’s playing dead. I wish her knee wasn’t raised, because a dead person cannot possibly hold up body parts, but again, her face has a lot of emotion in it while still looking very modelesque. Overall, it’s a very stunning image, and one of my favorites this season.

3) Sin Ae

I don’t think this is nearly as good as Hyeon Ju H. or Hyun Ji’s pictures for the simple fact that I find it a tad bit on the cliche side of things, but collectively, this is another extremely strong picture. Like Hyeon Ju H.’s picture, Sin Ae is one of the few models this week whose male side I prefer. Her face looks very masculine yet fashionable – jawline looks very defined, great extension of the neck, the lighting hits her face correctly. The pose, too, definitely works. The legs being crossed like that is more so something you’d see a woman do, but her arm being folded under the other helps make the pose more realistic looking for a male. I really love how her male side is looking over at the excessively sexy female to his side, checking her out – the interaction between the two characters is possibly my favorite thing about this. Sin Ae’s female side is also really nice. Her body looks fantastic. The face is a bit wonky looking, but overall, I dig the vibe she’s giving off.

4) Hye Ah

LEGS!! BODY!! Hye Ah’s female side of this picture is stunning. I love how modelesque, tall, and lean she appears. Hye Ah is definitely using her amazing body to her advantage here, that’s for sure. The pose itself is more so on the pose-y side of things and doesn’t look the most natural, but for a pose in which the model is laying down, this is great! Hye Ah’s profile is also really nice. Love the semi-closed eyes, and the placement of her hair looks very nice. On the male side, Hye Ah’s body is, yet again, fantastic. She’s wearing the outfit extremely well, and I do very much get an androgynous-like vibe from it. The only thing I actively dislike about this picture, however, would be Hye Ah’s face in the male persona. The lighting doesn’t exactly hit her face all that well there, and there’s a slight disconnect between her male and female side primarily due to the odd looking expression on the male’s face. Hye Ah’s female side is acting all sexy, and it’s almost as if her male side isn’t enjoying it.

5) Ho Yeon

The week Ho Yeon came back, she blew me away. These past two weeks, however, I haven’t been nearly as impressed by her. She’s blending into the background and not really standing out, which is unfortunate, because she does have more than enough potential as a model. I hope she starts bringing it soon.. Foreshadowing again perhaps? Ayeee. Anywhoo, this picture is pretty good. I love the old Hollywood vibe, but I can’t stand the filter and border on it. I’m not sure why she and Hyeon Ju I. received filters and borders on their pictures while others didn’t?? I suppose the black and white, cinematic feel of the picture does help tie together the classic wardrobe, piano, and the rest of the setting, but I could have done without at least the border. The male side of the picture does appear rather old looking. I don’t think Ho Yeon pulls off the masculine look all that well. The female side, on the other hand, is super glamorous. Her body looks SOO freaking long, and I love her face. She carries the makeup exceptionally well, too.

6) Ha Eun

Ho Yeon’s picture was the last “good” picture of the week for me. These next two are alright but lack something that brings them out of mediocrity. I think the setting Ha Eun received this week was possibly the hardest to turn out a good picture in. There’s not much physical interaction one can have with themselves when there’s a wall in between them. That being said, I feel like the two Ha Euns (lol) appear disconnected with one another. Individually, the shots are pretty great – I like the poses, there’s emotion in Ha Eun’s faces, and her body wears the less than fashionable clothing well – but together, I’m not really sure what’s going on. I also don’t really like how Ha Eun’s picture is genderless (I believe) in comparison to everyone else’s. I would have preferred seeing one side being obviously masculine with the other being more feminine to fit in with the other shots this week. Or, at the very least, I would have liked to see Ha Eun look distinctly different from herself between both shots whether it be in styling, pose, expression, etc. I just don’t see any distinguishable factor between the two sides and I don’t like that.

7) Hyeon Ju I.

This is one of the pictures this week in which the photoshop looks a tad bit wonky. The lighting between the two sides is distinctly different, so it doesn’t entirely appear as though the two sides were taken together. Individually, the female side of Hyeon Ju I.’s picture is pretty good. I like the movement of the dress, her face looks nice, and I think she’s selling herself and the clothing very well to her audience. Also, the lighting hits her face and body really nice. The male side, however, is pretty awful. The lighting doesn’t at all catch her face right, the pose is very stiff, and I don’t think the clothing looks very fitting. Hyeon Ju can pull off being very feminine, but I feel like looking masculine was a rather difficult for her considering she is one of the least versatile models of the season, thus can’t entirely pull off androgynous looks all that well. Certainly a flop performance from her for like the nineteenth week now, though not nearly as bad as…

8) Si Won (Eliminated)

EASILY the most disconnected picture of the week. I’m not really sure what’s going on in this picture. Female Si Won is randomly on her knees, touching the air six inches behind male Si Won?? I want to say this is sabotage for them not positioning the male side of Si Won further back on the couch or something, but there is a lot other things wrong with this picture other than that. The female side is not only disconnected from the rest of the picture, but is excessively stiff looking as well. There’s such little fluidity in her pose. The male side is better than the female side, though Si Won looks UGLAYYY and not in the slightest modelesque. Because her body is so scrunched up, she looks about two feet tall. Her face looks very chubby, the outfit was a very poor choice on the styling team’s behalf, and that hair…. NO. Gross. And wtf, why is Si Won’s shoe off? I have so many questions about this picture. Ig her elimination was justified because of this picture, but I’m sure she had better photos than this.

AVERAGES
1) Sin Ae (2.3) 1/4/1/4/1/3
2) Hyeon Ju H. (2.5) 3/1/3/5/2/1
3) Hyun Ji (3.0) 2/2/8/1/3/2
4) Hye Ah (4.0) 4/5/4/2/5/4
5) Ho Yeon (5.0) 5/8/*/3/4/5
6) Ha Eun (7.0) 12/6/2/7/9/6
7) Eun Hae (7.3) 6/9/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 4)
8) Yeong Chae (7.8) 8/3/11/9 – (Eliminated Week 4)
9) Hyeon Ju I. (8.2) 7/7/10/10/8/7
10) Si Won (8.5) 15/11/5/6/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 6)
11) Ye Ri (9.2) 9/10/9/11/7 – (Eliminated Week 5)
12) Eun Saem (9.7) 10/12/7 – (Eliminated Week 3)
13) Il Myeong (11.0) 11 – (Eliminated Week 1)
14) Eun Bi (13.0) 13 – (Eliminated Week 1)
15) Hye Jin (14.0) 14 – (Eliminated Week 1)

ELIMINATIONS
Eun Bi: 0
Eun Hae: 0
Eun Saem: 1
Ha Eun: 1
Ho Yeon: 0
Hye Ah: 0
Hye Jin: 0
Hyeon Ju H.: 0
Hyeon Ju I.: 0
Hyun Ji: 0
Il Myeong: 0
Si Won: 2
Sin Ae: 0
Ye Ri: 1
Yeong Chae: 1

WEEK 5

I feel virtually the same about this week as I did with last week. The photoshoot isn’t the absolute best. I think the tribal body paint sort of concept is interesting, and I love how vivid the colors are in most of the pictures, but the minimal and somewhat modern clothing doesn’t entirely go with the rest of the shoot in my mind. It’s a good shoot, don’t get me wrong, and I think the concept was almost there, but I believe the pictures could have looked slightly more polished than they are. Also, I don’t necessarily care for the execution this week. I like a few shots but there’s only one that I really like, whereas last week, there were four/five pictures that I loved. The shoot wasn’t bad; it was relatively good, in actuality, but the elimination is definitely what made the week for me. Thank the Lord Jesus Christ for finally cutting this girl, and for saving us from witnessing any more of her heinous performances.

1) Sin Ae

Slay! Sin Ae’s portfolio on the show seriously started off so freaking amazing. I’m not saying her portfolio further into the competition isn’t great, but three FCOs in just the first five weeks of the season? That’s very impressive! This picture, for me, is BY FAR the best picture of the week. I feel like Sin Ae’s picture benefits a lot due to the fact the composition is so good. I love the blurred effect on her leg as well as the fact they didn’t crop her leg out of the picture (which most NTMs would have done, probably). The composition isn’t the only thing that makes this picture so good, though. Sin Ae, herself, looks absolutely gorgeous. She doesn’t have the freshest of looks, yet she’s still working the hell out of that heavy, dark makeup. Her arm – or arms, should I say? – placement is also really on point. I love how she’s gripping the snake, and the hand placement on her knee looks fantastic. Sin Ae is one hell of a poser, that’s for sure. Another great picture from her!

2) Hyeon Ju H.

Strangely enough, I think this picture is about on par to Hyeon Ju’s picture last week despite it being ranked three spots higher in comparison. Of course this is still a really great image, but she has EVEN better pictures to come, and I’m really anticipating them. Since I started this write-up on Hyeon Ju’s picture somewhat negatively, I’m going to start off with what I don’t like about this picture and end it with the positives. The one glaring flaw about this picture for me is her proportions. We all know she has one slayful body, and while her body here is not problematic to the point where I even remotely dislike it, I would have preferred for her hips to look less wide than they do. Aside from the waist to hip ratio, this picture really does slay my arse. I love how aggressive she appears by grabbing that snake’s neck (yes, I know snakes don’t have necks), and her face does look super edgy here. Jawline and cheekbones for days. Gorgeous.

3) Hyun Ji

These next two pictures I do consider as being relatively strong images, but both of them aren’t as good as Sin Ae and Hyeon Ju H.’s for the sole fact they’re shot so far away. I don’t dislike when pictures are taken from this far away – heck, they really aren’t taken THAT far away – but the composition is off in comparison to the other shots this week, which somewhat bothers me. My OCD aside, I do think this picture of Hyun Ji is really nice. I’m questioning where the hell the snake is at in her picture, but who currs – she still looks super stunning. Because of the shoot being in the wilderness, I’m not bothered very much by the disconnect between the model and the camera. Hyun Ji looking away from the camera helps bring together the concept in my mind. The only thing that genuinely bothers me about this picture would be Hyun Ji’s body. The composition is to be blamed primarily, but I just wish less of it was covered by the tree.

4) Ho Yeon

This picture is shot EVEN farther away than Hyun Ji’s is, ughhh; however, I think the problems about this picture are somewhat reversed in comparison to hers. I personally feel as though Ho Yeon’s body is fabulous here. There’s SOME stiffness in her legs, but her proportions are great, you can tell she does squats (lol), and how she’s holding the snake is really nice; there’s a lot of confidence in her pose, and I do think it’s one of the better ones of the week. What brings this picture down just slightly is the face (and hair). Bangs do NOT look good on Ho Yeon. The lack of forehead somehow makes her face look even chubbier/squarer? And the color is a very poor choice, too. If they wanted to make her blonde, then why not bleach her out completely and not leave those dark roots in? Blah. Also, because of the quality and composition of this picture, her eyes look almost demonic. I see no pupils and only sclera (the white part) which irks me.

5) Hye Ah

Fifth picture in, and we’re already at the mediocre ones. Very unfortunate considering the standards this season has set already, but I can’t complain because Korea’s execution is usually 100% on point. Of all the pictures in Hye Ah’s portfolio, this is probably my least favorite of hers. But even then so, Hye Ah’s worst is still MUCH better than some models’ best, so again, I can’t complain too much. I think there’s some things Hye Ah has going for her here, like how tall and thin she looks, but I don’t like how engulfed she is in water. The clothing look HORRIBLE (though I’m sure they already did to begin with), and I don’t care for how droopy her face appear. Her eyes look uneven, and the lack of neck doesn’t work. Her face almost reads as being sad, so that AND the basic, unconfident pose really makes this picture lose a lot of the power that it could have considering how strong of a look Hye Ah has. Definitely a missed opportunity for her to prove her versatility imo.

6) Si Won

I’m glad tha Si Won is staying consistent in that she’s not delivering incredibly bad pictures like she was in week one and two, but again, she isn’t wowing me, and the biggest reason for that is the fact her look is so freaking uninteresting. I do think this is the strongest Si Won’s face has looked in the competition so far. It doesn’t look exceptionally round in which it usually does, and – even though this compliment sounds a bit strange – I am obsessed with her nose here. I really dig the shape of it. Aside from those couple of things, the semi-crossed eyes is a bit of a turnoff, and I don’t think she pulls off the heavy eyeshadow very well. Also, that hair looks very 70s-80s (aka, the two ugliest decades of fashion), which grosses me out. The pose, also, has a couple glaring flaws in it. Leaning forward like that shortens her torso, and the general vibe I’m getting from the pose is STIFFNESS. She looks posed and not at all natural.

7) Ye Ri (Eliminated)

My parents taught me to respect my elders growing up, but GOOD ****ING RIDDANCE. Ye Ri’s elimination was LONG overdue. While I do think there were two weaker pictures than Ye Ri, I am really happy to see her finally go. I find it lowkey funny that she was eliminated with a picture that is far from being the worst of the weak. Don’t get me wrong, this IS bad, but there are farrr worse pictures than hers imo. So, obviously, Ye Ri looks very old in this picture. That’s not anything new; I’ve been saying that about her face for the past like five weeks. I’m cackling at how prominent the wrinkles appear on her face. It’s almost like the person who photoshops the pictures had enough with all the editing needed for Ye Ri’s face and just left it unedited, lol. Ye Ri’s body, also, is verrrry weak. I think she looks thin here but her stomach doesn’t look very toned. Also, that pose ain’t attractive. Neverrr spread your legs apart in front of a camera, friends – unless you’re super hot, ofc. (:

8) Hyeon Ju I.

Yet again Hyeon Ju I. delivers a SUPER awkward looking picture. AND, yet again, someone has their legs open. I don’t think the opened legs is nearly as problematic as the awkwardness present in this picture, so I’m not going to speak any further about that, but DAMN girl, close yo’ legs. Of all the pictures this week, Hyeon Ju I. looks the least comfortable with the snake. She looks really scared; the fear is “written all over [her] face” and it’s not pretty at all. Also, like Si Won’s construction site in the rain picture, this looks VERY caught-in-the-moment; it doesn’t look like Hyeon Ju had the chance to even pose at the camera. Though, if that is her “posing”, then God please help her. That’s sad. Mr. Snake, on the other hand, is SLAYING this picture. He lengthened his body SO much, and what a stunning profile – I’m in LOVE. Mr. Snake totally stole the spotlight from Hyeon Ju I.

9) Ha Eun

Up until now, Ha Eun hasn’t really delivered anything that I would consider as being terrible, but this picture is a MASSIVE drop in comparison to her normal performances. Usually, her pictures have some creative appeal to them which is what keeps them from dipping too low in my COOs, but the risk she went for this week doesn’t at all pay off to me. I absolutely hate how literal she took the whole barbaric mentality the shoot’s setting and styling presents. Good for her for having the balls to act so ferocious right in front of a snake’s face and open her mouth as wide as she did, but there’s far too much unnecessary tension present in her facial expression. I get what she was attempting to go for but it’s just too much. Her body isn’t nearly as bad as her face this week, but it’s by no means good. Her styling is absolutely dreadful, and her pose reads as being very static and stiff, which doesn’t at all go with the campy vibe the rest of the picture presents.

AVERAGES
1) Sin Ae (2.2) 1/4/1/4/1
2) Hyeon Ju H. (2.8) 3/1/3/5/2
3) Hyun Ji (3.2) 2/2/8/1/3
4) Hye Ah (4.0) 4/5/4/2/5
5) Ho Yeon (5.0) 5/8/*/3/4
6) Ha Eun (7.2) 12/6/2/7/9
7) Eun Hae (7.3) 6/9/6/8 – (Eliminated Week 4)
8) Yeong Chae (7.8) 8/3/11/9 – (Eliminated Week 4)
9) Hyeon Ju I. (8.4) 7/7/10/10/8
10) Si Won (8.6) 15/11/5/6/6
11) Ye Ri (9.2) 9/10/9/11/7 – (Eliminated Week 5)
12) Eun Saem (9.7) 10/12/7 – (Eliminated Week 3)
13) Il Myeong (11.0) 11 – (Eliminated Week 1)
14) Eun Bi (13.0) 13 – (Eliminated Week 1)
15) Hye Jin (14.0) 14 – (Eliminated Week 1)

ELIMINATIONS
Eun Bi: 0
Eun Hae: 0
Eun Saem: 1
Ha Eun: 1
Ho Yeon: 0
Hye Ah: 0
Hye Jin: 0
Hyeon Ju H.: 0
Hyeon Ju I.: 0
Hyun Ji: 0
Il Myeong: 0
Si Won: 1
Sin Ae: 0
Ye Ri: 1
Yeong Chae: 1