Her name is Vanilla, and just like the rest of her, I’m pretty sure it’s fake. Depending on how you interpret the term “vanilla,” it is either right on target or completely wrong to describe this bizarre Japanese woman.
If you think of “vanilla” as describing something that is pasty white and lighter than it should be (we’re talking about her skin now), then she hit the bull’s eye. But if you consider “vanilla” to be a term referring to something bland, then she clearly missed the mark.
Vanilla Chamu is anything but bland. In fact, I’d rank her in the top 5 (maybe even top 3) plastic surgery freaks I’ve ever written about on this blog. Yes, she’s that odd. But her bleached skin also reminds me of Michael Jackson in a freaky kind of way – maybe even a “vanilla” kind of way.
Who is Vanilla Chamu?
So who is Vanilla Chamu, and why would anyone care about her? Believe it or not, there isn’t an easy answer to either of these questions.
Let’s start with the simpler of the questions (#2). I’m not sure why anyone would actually care about her, but for some reason she became a global Internet sensation last month when word of her strange behavior went viral after she appeared on a Japanese TV show called Watashi no Nani ga Ikenai no? (literal translation: “Is there something wrong with me?”).
As for the more complicated of the questions (#1)…
We don’t exactly know the real identity of Vanilla Chamu because she won’t tell us her real name. She won’t tell us her age either. What we do know about her is that since age 19, she has spent over 10 million yen (approximately $102,000) on plastic surgery in order to fulfill her lifelong dream of looking like a French doll.
Over the years, I’ve written about some crazy people who have undergone plastic surgery to live out their dreams of looking like fictional characters – Jessica Rabbit and Superman (Christopher Reeves style) are some of the oddest choices that come to mind. But a non-descript porcelain doll? I think Vanilla may have the other plastic surgery freaks beat by a wide margin.
Why a French Doll?
I suppose that is the 10 million yen (or $100,000) question. After doing my share of digging on this topic, it appears Vanilla has a serious case of Ugly Duckling Syndrome.
She grew up as a mousy Japanese girl with low self esteem. Throughout her childhood, friends and family always told her she was ugly. Apparently, her father even told her to “suck it up” because there was nothing that could be done to make her less ugly. Talk about harsh.
So it seems like she was fairly traumatized by her appearance as a child, leading her to want to make a radical change as soon as possible.
But why a French doll?
According to her interview on Japanese TV, she chose this object because no one has ever called a French doll ugly.
Whoa! That’s some seriously questionable logic. That’s almost on par with taking up heroin because you want to play guitar like Jerry Garcia.
But it appears Vanilla’s odd choice of inanimate objects has paid off. She now has a burgeoning career as a fashion model and pop singer in Japan. Who would’ve thunk it?
Vanilla’s French Doll Makeover
So what does it take to make an Asian woman look like a porcelain doll popularized in the latter half of the 19th Century? Apparently a lot of plastic surgery. Vanilla has spent $100,000 on more than 30 procedures in an attempt to look like a French doll.
Her laundry list of plastic surgery procedures includes:
- Double eyelid surgery
- Rhinoplasty
- Liposuction
- Breast augmentation
- Eyelash implants
- Dimple creation
Apparently, Vanilla still isn’t quite satisfied with her appearance. She feels her quest to become a “perfect living French doll” is not yet complete, and she plans to continue getting plastic surgery indefinitely until she reaches her goal. Her next procedures will be a revision breast augmentation to get even larger breast implants and a rather unconventional height lengthening procedure. I didn’t even know that was possible!
Of course, Vanilla is shooting for the unattainable. It’s not as if she’s ever going to look like a French doll. While she certainly doesn’t look human anymore, she doesn’t exactly resemble the doll that is her muse either.
Like all other plastic surgery freaks, what she really needs is some therapy. And it might help if her doctors had some integrity and refused to operate on her. Not only are they doing her a disservice by fueling her madness, but pretty soon kids are going to get scared as she walks down the street. She’s starting to look more like a zombie than a doll.
