Whether we like to admit it or not, we all know that there is a connection between looking good and feeling good. Stepping out into the world with our best faces on can give us a powerful sense of confidence, a self-esteem boost that can benefit many aspects of our lives - from our social interactions to how we go about our jobs.
Russian stylist Alexandr Rogov knows this and has set off on a tour of his huge country, transforming the looks of people who can only dream of the luxury boutiques of Moscow and St. Petersburg. Rogov is out to prove that style and fashion comes from the right choices and a little creativity, not just how much money you are able to spend!
Scroll down below to see some of Alexandr and his team's most impressive transformations so far, and let us know what you think in the comments!
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"I used to be one of the biggest fashion stylists in Russia," Alexandr told Bored Panda. "I worked for fashion magazines, with Russian and international designers and big brands like Dior and Chanel."
"Then I got an invitation to work on TV as a presenter and stylist in a makeover show, and so I began my career on TV. I worked on TLC, MTV, TNT and now I am on CTC, the main entertainment channel of Russia."
She looks very cool, her hair suits her very well! Glad to see some wrinkles: they show she's lived!
Think the spotty, bowed shoes are an overkill next to a spotty skirt but other than that she looks so chic.
Alexandr has a background in education, and he still takes the time to conduct lectures and master classes on fashion and style in Moscow and the regions. He takes his work seriously, and seeks a deeper meaning in fashion than the glitz and glamor of glossy magazines. "I try to explore the best side of women," he continues. "I help them to find the better side of themselves. I am not styling only to make a show- I am styling them for real life. I am not only a stylist - I work as a psychologist too!"
What is Alexandr's favorite, most satisfying aspect of his job? "I most enjoy the moment when I open the mirror and see my client's reaction to her new look."
"It is the most incredible feeling!"
Every BEFORE picture is a mug shot, no smile, shoulders square with the camera, & poor lighting. Not a true apples & apples.
Absolutely right! Every AFTER picture is also way more dynamic and posed - basically the "before" photos are everything you should never do when shooting pictures with a person. They even chose a background that makes your face color look duller and one where it pops in the "after" pictures. What absolutely killed it for me is the use of those terribly lights that put a ring of lights in your eyes. Why not go ahead a edit everything?
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Neither outfit really suits her body shape. Longer, slimmer trousers would have looked better by lengthening the leg. Hair is lovely though.
Not digging the ripped jeans, still haven't figured out the popularity of that ugly style...but overall she looks great! Love her hair.
Someone has yet to explain to me what the ripped jeans mean, besides an irrational flavour of the week!
LOL, the before picture looks like she’s totally lost. The after picture is “Wow! I’m found!!!”
It's really cute to read all the "I hate the ripped jeans" comments from older women here :) Heard it from my Granny 15 years ago, oh, nostalgia!
HATE the ripped jeans! Only young girls wear them and they look stupid too. The rest of her looks great.
her after picture makes her look like the secret bad guy in movies that slowly feels bad and sides with the good guys, she looks amazing tho
Great outfit & great haircut. That's how you rock a shaved head as a woman.
Why did she get the frost shirt from? It cute but the music is too small
Like the new outfit and it suits her really well. The hair is too high on a long face. Needs width.
Note: this post originally had 42 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
All of them have the exact same style make-up, even their eyebrow shape was changed and very similar in the after pics. The fashion choices are mostly better (some are atrocious), but I don't like how aged-up the more youthful-looking people are in the after pics. Also heels everywhere, because f**k comfort...
Left side: No smile no make-up, no decent hair-do and not posing. Right side: Smile, make-up, hair is done profesionally, new clothes, posing and better lighting. If she just gave all the people the make-up and hair-do makeover and left them in their cothes, the results would be exactly the same. This just shows it people pay a little bit more attention to their appearance their life could change dramatically.
Actually, it shows that the stylist manipulated the before-after "change" by making sure the "before" image was as awful as possible. True "before" would show them smiling, same pose, having done their own ahir and cosmetics .
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Can't wait for the day that we actually get to see one of these posts but instead of being all about makeup and lighting and pose it's about actually improving one's look by just getting a hairstyle or cut that suits them, glasses that look good rather then use contact lenses, natural poses on both, no grey/wrinkle shaming, and so on the natural way. Also by popular demand after this post: no more pointy shoes please loool way too many.
This is why you don't compare yourself to people on TV and in magazines. Makeup and fashion professionals can make anyone look glamorous. No one is that glossy without help.
I hate these things. The before photos are always so intentionally terrible. It's like they're saying "I am a garbage human, so ugly, look how sad I am because I am atrocious". Then afterwards, "I finally feel good enough". It all feels so insulting.
Why are the women all in HDTV-level make-up? That's not a maintainable look. I would love to see these sort of make-overs done in a way where the subject can actually keep up with the new look on a regular basis.
So we're going to just ignore the fact that different lighting is used for the second shot (check the ring light in the pupils) and the change in pose and smile? This garbage is no different from those fake-a*s before/after dude body shots where the after shot it is actually shot hours after the before shot after the guy eats salty foods and sodas and gets bloated, whereas the before shot was dehydrated and after dropping for 30 pushups. These look like garbage instagram filters. No real skin allowed to be shown. These are AWFUL.
Karlie Kloss would look horrible in front of that badly lit yellow insipid background. They need to be lit exactly the same before AND after.
The hair is usually good, the make-up isn't. These look like 1980s transformtions: Always identical eye-make up (what IS going on with these fake black lashes???) and a stupidly conservative stereotype of women where all have to wear the same unfomfortable shoes. I recently watched Queer Eye and those guys were a lot better at keeping a persons type but just making them look more fab.
This collection is amazing and beautiful. I hope that subjects liked their new looks as much I do.
It's garbage. It's mostly a matter of posing and lighting and caking on concealer over a smile. These are not at all true before/after examples.
Load More Replies... Another ad for another "stylist" --- Well, if the before was honest, it'd show these women with their hair and make-up done their own way, and not "nothing on and no hair brush in sight" to "fashion magazine cover". To say nothing of the backdrop/backgrounds in "before" vs "after".
They really did a good job on the hairstyles, but I don't get all those business outfits. Someone who looks comfy in jeans and T-shirt suddenly discovers that a business outfit with high heels is their real personality? I couldn't get out of most of those after-outfits fast enough.
The consistent lack of smile in the before pictures as well as the excessive makeup in the after makes this so much less impressive.
this guy helps a lot. You can tell thsee people are much happier and feel better about themselves.
Different hairstyle seems to do the trick here, in my opinion. I'm taking note of who I resemble the most in the before pictures then adopt the new style!
Even an old boot can be transformed into an elegant shoe! Well done. Changing the Beast into Beauties! Now, if this fellow would like to make an appointment, I'm free on the following dates............;)))
Amazing! This gentleman is a true artist. I look at the pictures and hardly believe my eyes. On the other hand, his generosity is very touching, because what he does costs quite a lot.
I used to watch Alexandr Rogov's makeover show on CTC, it's one of my favorite. He and his team do wonders with the participants, not only on the outside, but on the inside psychological level. So happy to see him making it to Bored Panda! <3
Wish the B and F had been shot in front of the same background. Fair complected people in front of acid yellow is unflattering.
They look like school teachers who have gone from working in the classroom with 30 kids for the past 10 years... to working in the school office.
Hair and make up, great. Clothes really clunky and uncomfortable looking to wear in real life. Too much white, also.
Honestly these are really great transformations. A few changes go a long way. Too much belly aching in the comments.
All of them have the exact same style make-up, even their eyebrow shape was changed and very similar in the after pics. The fashion choices are mostly better (some are atrocious), but I don't like how aged-up the more youthful-looking people are in the after pics. Also heels everywhere, because f**k comfort...
Left side: No smile no make-up, no decent hair-do and not posing. Right side: Smile, make-up, hair is done profesionally, new clothes, posing and better lighting. If she just gave all the people the make-up and hair-do makeover and left them in their cothes, the results would be exactly the same. This just shows it people pay a little bit more attention to their appearance their life could change dramatically.
Actually, it shows that the stylist manipulated the before-after "change" by making sure the "before" image was as awful as possible. True "before" would show them smiling, same pose, having done their own ahir and cosmetics .
Load More Replies... Can't wait for the day that we actually get to see one of these posts but instead of being all about makeup and lighting and pose it's about actually improving one's look by just getting a hairstyle or cut that suits them, glasses that look good rather then use contact lenses, natural poses on both, no grey/wrinkle shaming, and so on the natural way. Also by popular demand after this post: no more pointy shoes please loool way too many.
This is why you don't compare yourself to people on TV and in magazines. Makeup and fashion professionals can make anyone look glamorous. No one is that glossy without help.
I hate these things. The before photos are always so intentionally terrible. It's like they're saying "I am a garbage human, so ugly, look how sad I am because I am atrocious". Then afterwards, "I finally feel good enough". It all feels so insulting.
Why are the women all in HDTV-level make-up? That's not a maintainable look. I would love to see these sort of make-overs done in a way where the subject can actually keep up with the new look on a regular basis.
So we're going to just ignore the fact that different lighting is used for the second shot (check the ring light in the pupils) and the change in pose and smile? This garbage is no different from those fake-a*s before/after dude body shots where the after shot it is actually shot hours after the before shot after the guy eats salty foods and sodas and gets bloated, whereas the before shot was dehydrated and after dropping for 30 pushups. These look like garbage instagram filters. No real skin allowed to be shown. These are AWFUL.
Karlie Kloss would look horrible in front of that badly lit yellow insipid background. They need to be lit exactly the same before AND after.
The hair is usually good, the make-up isn't. These look like 1980s transformtions: Always identical eye-make up (what IS going on with these fake black lashes???) and a stupidly conservative stereotype of women where all have to wear the same unfomfortable shoes. I recently watched Queer Eye and those guys were a lot better at keeping a persons type but just making them look more fab.
This collection is amazing and beautiful. I hope that subjects liked their new looks as much I do.
It's garbage. It's mostly a matter of posing and lighting and caking on concealer over a smile. These are not at all true before/after examples.
Load More Replies... Another ad for another "stylist" --- Well, if the before was honest, it'd show these women with their hair and make-up done their own way, and not "nothing on and no hair brush in sight" to "fashion magazine cover". To say nothing of the backdrop/backgrounds in "before" vs "after".
They really did a good job on the hairstyles, but I don't get all those business outfits. Someone who looks comfy in jeans and T-shirt suddenly discovers that a business outfit with high heels is their real personality? I couldn't get out of most of those after-outfits fast enough.
The consistent lack of smile in the before pictures as well as the excessive makeup in the after makes this so much less impressive.
this guy helps a lot. You can tell thsee people are much happier and feel better about themselves.
Different hairstyle seems to do the trick here, in my opinion. I'm taking note of who I resemble the most in the before pictures then adopt the new style!
Even an old boot can be transformed into an elegant shoe! Well done. Changing the Beast into Beauties! Now, if this fellow would like to make an appointment, I'm free on the following dates............;)))
Amazing! This gentleman is a true artist. I look at the pictures and hardly believe my eyes. On the other hand, his generosity is very touching, because what he does costs quite a lot.
I used to watch Alexandr Rogov's makeover show on CTC, it's one of my favorite. He and his team do wonders with the participants, not only on the outside, but on the inside psychological level. So happy to see him making it to Bored Panda! <3
Wish the B and F had been shot in front of the same background. Fair complected people in front of acid yellow is unflattering.
They look like school teachers who have gone from working in the classroom with 30 kids for the past 10 years... to working in the school office.
Hair and make up, great. Clothes really clunky and uncomfortable looking to wear in real life. Too much white, also.
Honestly these are really great transformations. A few changes go a long way. Too much belly aching in the comments.
