A woman who has spent most of her life fascinated by figurines and the Harajuku style has transformed herself into a living art doll complete with bright pink hair and over the top makeup that takes hours a day to do.
Makeup artist and hair stylist, Toshi Salvino, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, plans out three hours a day to become her doll self and wears her full doll look four to six days a week.
Toshi, who is originally from Pennsylvania, said that her eccentric look is about self expression and using her body as a canvas so she can convey how she’s feeling on any given day.
Doll life: Makeup artist and hair stylist, Toshi Salvino, 24, of Brooklyn, New York, plans out three hours a day to transform herself into a living art doll
Interested: Toshi has spent most of her life fascinated by figurines and the Harajuku style
She said: ‘I think my look is really about self expression and I like being a doll because that means I can be whatever I want that day. I am pretty much using my body as the canvas to express how I am feeling.’
‘I would like to say that I am a mix up of whimsical fairy tale Harijuku fashion that stemmed from goth, and is running into neon lights, leaving a trail of glitter because I do that in real life!’
‘I like to bring other people into my imaginary world with me and I’m glad that I can do that through putting stuff on my face.’
As a child Toshi found others who dressed the way she did while flipping through Japanese fashion magazines. And since then, she said their style has helped shape her own unconventional looks.
Creative: Toshi said that her eccentric look is about self expression and using her body as a canvas so she can convey how she’s feeling on any given day
Not herself: Growing up in the ‘middle of nowhere’ Pennsylvania, Toshi was always told to tone down her style
‘I was nine years old or something and I found Fruits Magazine. I was like, “Oh my God there are people who dress like me!” Seeing that as a kid made me really think it’s okay to keep doing what you’re doing, there is someone out there who gets this and so ever since that, Japan and Harajuku fashion has been super important to me.’
Growing up in the ‘middle of nowhere’ Pennsylvania, Toshi was always told to tone down her style but now that she’s living in New York, she said it’s normal to dress in an alternative way, which is one of her favorite things about the city.
The artist shares her love of alternative fashion with twins and best friends Juliana and Alexandra Abene who desribed Toshi has a ‘fantasy’.
She said: ‘She is what we want to see in the world. It’s all so dreary so when you meet someone like her you want to hold her, you want to hold on because she’s just a light and it’s wonderful we have that in our lives.’
Average fashion: Now that she’s living in New York, she said it’s normal to dress in an alternative way, which is one of her favorite things about the city
Similarities: Toshi shares her love of alternative fashion with twins and best friends Juliana (right) and Alexandra Abene who desribed Toshi has a ‘fantasy’
Artistic: Toshi’s look requires her to carefully apply colorful eyeshadows and white liner to create the illusion of wide, doll-like eyes
Juliana added: ‘Yeah, especially in New York where everybody is like, I mean look at me, everybody is all black all the time – literally me – so to see something like that is like so exciting.’
Toshi’s look requires her to carefully apply colorful eyeshadows and white liner to create the illusion of wide, doll-like eyes.
She also keeps her hair in ever-changing shades of rainbow but she recently took her appearance one step further with the addition of doll joints, complete with screws, tattooed on her knees – she even plans to add matching joints on her elbows.
Toshi said: ‘My tattoos, I’ve wanted them for a really long time. Aesthetically they’re doll joints on the knees with screw hinges, which is really meaningful – obviously my whole living doll style is appropriate but also, I have Lyme disease, which is kind of like having arthritis in your entire body.’
Something new: Toshi also also keeps her hair in ever-changing shades of rainbow
Next level: She recently took her appearance one step further with the addition of doll joints, complete with screws, tattooed on her knees
Not required: Toshi said that after getting the tattoos, she feels like she can still carry on her doll-like persona with no makeup
Occupation: Toshi currently works at the Hello Beautiful Salon in Williamsburg with manager Rebecca Faye
‘The thing that affects me the most, and is the most painful and probably the most hindering besides my hands, is my knees. So I feel like the screw through the knee is an accurate representation of how it feels sometimes.’
‘After getting the tattoos I feel like even with no makeup I can still carry on my doll persona regardless, whereas in the past I wouldn’t really feel like myself without having makeup on.’
Toshi currently works at the Hello Beautiful Salon in Williamsburg with manager Rebecca Faye who said the salon was the perfect environment for Toshi ‘to be herself’.
Rebecca said: ‘The vibe of the salon is why she came to us because it’s just full of art, beauty, glitter and lots of hair colors too, so it suited her. It has all the elements she needs to survive. She could be herself here.’
Recluse: Toshi said that if she didn’t become a hair stylist, she would just be some weird hermit artist’
Spreading joy: Toshi also regularly performs as a doll or a cyborg for club nights and said she loves using her role as a living art doll to spread light and laughter
Believe: She said that she’s happy when a little kid sees her and think she’s a fairy
Anyone can do it: Toshi said the she hopes kids believe in themselves enough to become ‘one if they want to’
Toshi added: ‘If I didn’t become a hair stylist, then I would just be some weird hermit, recluse artist, painting alone with cats. Nothing wrong with that but I like to make the colorful magic happen.’
Toshi also regularly performs as a doll or a cyborg for club nights and said she loves using her role as a living art doll to spread light and laughter
She said: ‘If a little kid sees me and they think that I’m a fairy and they think fairies are real, then that makes me so happy!’
‘I hope that they believe in themselves enough to become one if they want to. I just kind of want to prove that you can do whatever you want and be confident.’