Don a face mask for this season!
Smoggy skies for this season,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
It is winter in China,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
Don we now some stylish face masks,
Fa la la, la la la, la la la.
To stop the coughing up our lungs,
Fa la la la la, la la la la.
It’s winter in China and what does that mean? For the next few months China’s cities will be blanketed with a delicious brown smog of polluted air thanks to everyone turning on their heating and just overall increasing their energy consumption. The winter will be full of egg yolk coloured sun’s, brown sunsets and people hacking up their lungs on the side of the road 3 times more then usual. This is the season to be coughing!
But have no fear, you don’t have to cough up your lungs, in fact there is a very stylish way to minimise your risk of dust filled lungs and loud choruses of coughing as you walk down the street…wear a face mask!
Just like all Chinese fashions face masks come in all sorts of tacky designs from cutesy, to sparkly, to furry. What ever style floats your boat you can find it. And if you like the cutesy look you can find entire sections of stores catering exclusively to all your cutesy face masks needs!
In these cutesy shops that sell everything from teddy bears, to hair ties with bows, sparkly headbands, endless colours of nail polish and an endless array of other tacky cutesy things no one could possible have any use for there are 3 main types of face mask to choose from….
1. The face mask that replaces the part of the face it’s covering, kiss my furry lips please!
2. The cute furry animal or cartoon character face that will be primly positioned over your lips making your only mouth that of a tiny cartoon dog!
3. The standard surgical mask design with a cute pattern to ensure that no one accidentally mistakes you for a doctor!
But if you find that not even these shops have enough range then do not fear, Taobao comes to the rescue!
Face masks aren’t all about keeping the dust out of your lungs, they can also double as ear muffs with this stylish blue, brown and beige floral design.
These masks are so saucy they had to protect her identity in order to prevent her family from feeling shame and embarrassment just for being related to her!
This girl proves that despite the fact that over half your face is obstructed by the mask, with a cute outfit, some fake lashes and a well chosen mask you can still look cute and stylish!
Display your love of Pandas on your face! Who doesn’t love Pandas! And it will keep you extra warm with its fluffyness!
Guys the face mask industry hasn’t forgotten about you either!
A classic black face mask matches every outfit!
Show your manly hardcore side…but really if you’re going to steal the sunglasses don’t leave the tag on when you wear them, kind of obvious!
A real man wears his heart on his mask!
A face mask makes for a very thoughtful gift!
If you want to get your special someone an anniversary present why not matching his and hers polka dot face masks!
Or if you have an iPad/iPhone obsessed friend the Angry Birds face mark is the right gift for them!
So what are you waiting for! Winter’s here and so is the smog, so unless of course you want to get China air induced bronchitis or emphysema get to that cute shop, jump onto Taobao and started donning that stylish face mask over the winter months!
Have you ever donned a face mask in China? Have you seen people walking the streets wearing such outrages face mask designs?
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love the angry birds mask
I love them too, I was going to buy one, tried to convince my brother to walk around Suzhou with me wearing them, him the red bird me the yellow bird, he wasn’t to keen on the idea! I went with a cute fluffy bunny mask instead!
Most of these masks don’t do a whole heap to filter much of the dangerous crap out. They are better than nothing though. It’s not only the visible air pollution that should be of concern, have you noticed a chemical smell that comes from almost every building site in the city [so evrywhere]? It’s formaldehyde and it’s used indiscriminately in the city for just about everything. It’s also not very good for you. If you really want to take some precaution you should take a look at these N95 masks not as cute but a lot more effective:
http://search8.taobao.com/search?q=3M+n95&pid=mm_10011550_2325296_9002527&unid=0&mode=63
It’s interesting with so many cutesy face masks on the market I scarcely ever see anyone wear them, they tend to stick to the more subtle and boring surgical looking mask sometimes with checks and it’s usually scooter drivers wearing them because of the fumes. That’s where you definitely need a mask, sitting in traffic on your bicycle or scooter right in the thick of all the nasty exhaust fumes.
[...] China On the one hand we have Beijingers on bicycles and tai-chi in the parks but for all their efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle, a recent World Bank research report revealed that China claims 16 of the world’s most polluted cities. Pollution levels vary according to weather conditions, but residents in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou frequently don protective masks. Similar masks fitted with carbon filters are starting to appear in other cities around the world, particularly among cyclists. Image: But hey, any excuse to add to the accessory collection eh?! Check out more designs at shanghainovoice.com. [...]
[...] China On the one hand we have Beijingers on bicycles and tai-chi in the parks but for all their efforts to lead a healthy lifestyle, a recent World Bank research report revealed that China claims 16 of the world’s most polluted cities. Pollution levels vary according to weather conditions, but residents in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou frequently don protective masks. Similar masks fitted with carbon filters are starting to appear in other cities around the world, particularly among cyclists. Image: But hey, any excuse to add to the accessory collection eh?! Check out more designs at shanghainovoice.com. [...]