Beauty is in the eye of hot new site members

[Anchorman]

Japan is now getting its share of Beautiful People, according to Sunday Mainichi (7/22).

Since the end of June, there has been a Japanese version of the famous Beautiful People SNS site that only permits the gorgeous to take part.

"We started operating in Japanese from late June and in about a week, there were 242 applications of which 79 were accepted for membership," a spokesman for Beautiful People Japan tells Sunday Mainichi.

Many hope that by joining Beautiful People they will get to know a lot of good-looking people but it's not as simple as it looks. Unlike most other major SNS sites, Beautiful People doesn't require an invitation from an existing member to join. In fact, the only way to get onto the books is to apply yourself. That's where it gets prickly.

Applications must include a personal profile that asks for information about such things as age, height, weight, academic record and income, as well as the crucial matter of a face photo. Then comes the wait while existing members check out the countenance and vote on whether the applicant can join in. Anybody getting a majority of votes supporting their application will be welcomed into the community, while those falling short are left out.

Putting up a profile is free, but membership requires a fee that goes up to 12,500 yen for a year, with shorter periods costing less also available.

Unlike other SNS sites that have become too popular, fans boast that Beautiful People Japan offers those with similar tastes -- and looks -- to get together with others of like mind.

"Beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder, but members make their decisions based entirely on the photo posted to the site. The photo is everything," the Beautiful People Japan spokesman tells Sunday Mainichi. "Many Western members employ professional hair stylists, make-up artists and stylists to do their faces or choose their clothes, then get a professional photographer to take their picture in a studio so they can look at their absolute best for the site. It's all the work of professionals, so some of the people come up looking as good as the promotional shots of the stars." (By Ryann Connell)