EDIT: I have reposted this old blog post due to the popularity gained by the gender-swap/old age feature in FaceApp! It applied to that as well, of course! ;)

Lately the Faceapp.com ‘personality test’ “How would AI color my hair” has gained popularity on social media, and people are frivolously jumping on the bandwagon and giving it a go, because it’s “just a bit of harmless fun”, right?
Or is it?
This particular “personality test” shows what you’d look like with a different hair colour. We have seen similar tests before, and the app itself is nothing new. Websites like Quizzstar and Namestest are using the same app on their pages. You’ll also find the same app available for mobile, both IOS and Android. A whopping 70 million people are using this app. That must be good, right?
It’s obvious that most people using this app have no idea of what they have entered into. It’s clear and known that many do not bother with reading the terms and conditions when doing one of these “tests” because it’s simply a bit of time wasting nonsense… but you really SHOULD.
Let’s check it out on a desktop computer first. You’ll have to log in using Facebook.

Faceapp on Facebook:
Just to make it clear, this is a Russian company. It is unknown if their servers are stored in Russia, but it’s a possibility. Are you ok with sending all your Facebook photos, name and profile picture to Russia?
You can check who owns and operates a domain name on the website www.whois.com. When entering wwww.faceapp.com, all traces are hidden.
Whoisguard is a site that helps companies hide their “whois” information, so this tells us that they are actively covering up who owns the website.

The FaceApp privacy policy you are accepting when you take part in this fun test is interesting. It states that they (FaceApp and their Mother Company) are able to share all your data with outside companies, and are under no obligation to inform you who their collaborators are and how they will use your info. They can use anything from pictures, email, contacts, log files, location data. You have already agreed to this by accepting the T&C.

Here’s a fun excerpt from their T&C’s:
(I have written it in small type because there's a 99% chance you won't read it, like when you accept T&Cs anywhere, but if you want to read it, here it is.)

You grant FaceApp a perpetual, irrevocable, nonexclusive, royalty-free, worldwide, fully-paid, transferable sub-licensable license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, publicly perform and display your User Content and any name, username or likeness provided in connection with your User Content in all media formats and channels now known or later developed, without compensation to you. When you post or otherwise share User Content on or through our Services, you understand that your User Content and any associated information (such as your [username], location or profile photo) will be visible to the public.
You grant FaceApp consent to use the User Content, regardless of whether it includes an individual’s name, likeness, voice or persona, sufficient to indicate the individual’s identity. By using the Services, you agree that the User Content may be used for commercial purposes. You further acknowledge that FaceApp’s use of the User Content for commercial purposes will not result in any injury to you or to any person you authorised to act on its behalf.
You acknowledge that some of the Services are supported by advertising revenue and may display advertisements and promotions, and you hereby agree that FaceApp may place such advertising and promotions on the Services or on, about, or in conjunction with your User Content. The manner, mode and extent of such advertising and promotions are subject to change without specific notice to you. You acknowledge that we may not always identify paid services, sponsored content, or commercial communications as such.
You represent and warrant that: (i) you own the User Content modified by you on or through the Services or otherwise have the right to grant the rights and licenses set forth in these Terms; (ii) you agree to pay for all royalties, fees, and any other monies owed by reason of User Content you stylise on or through the Services; and (iii) you have the legal right and capacity to enter into these Terms in your jurisdiction.

Furthermore you are granting FaceApp worldwide license to reproduce and distribute your information on your behalf. You are also made liable to pay for all and any royalties, any costs and charges regarding their use of your images.
They can use your images and photos in commercial circumstances and sell them on for this purpose, meaning your face and likeness can be used in advertising worldwide without your knowledge and/or approval.
Many online sites and news facilities have reacted negatively to this app and their T&C:
Gadgetstv
Ibtimes
Abcnews.au

FaceApp on Android: I would react strongly to allowing this app permission to read, change and delete images, media and files you have stored on your smartphone.
Many people today store their entire lives on their smartphones and on Facebook. This in itself should be a great worry to you.
But there is even more to be worried about with FaceApp on your iPhone or Android.
You’re also giving them permission to receive data from the internet, gain an overview of and full access to your home network and other networks.
This app can also take pictures and video from your phone.
I’d strongly recommend that you remove the app from both your phone and from Facebook. You can do this in Settings -> Apps. On your android, select Google Play select Uninstall in Faceapp.
After reading all this you might want to get FaceApp to delete your data. You can reach FaceApp on the following email addresses:
contact@faceapp.com
support@faceapp.com
support.android@faceapp.com
act@faceapp.com


So, what can we learn from this?
▪ Read the terms and conditions of what you’re agreeing to.
▪ Read personvernpolicy på hva du deltar på.
▪ In reference to GDPR, apps are obliged to tell you where your information is going and where it’s being stored.
▪ Pay attention to what the app can access to on Facebook.
▪ Pay attention to what the app can access on your phone.


A quick refresher on what FaceApp does:
▪ Collects mail, photos, profile photo and email address(es).
▪ Collects LAN network information from your phone.
▪ By accepting, you allow them to sell your info, images and details.
▪ FaceApp could delete all your images and personal data from your phone if they wanted to.
▪ FaceApp could use your phone camera to take pictures, video or audio, and use this as they wish.

The lesson to learn here: Be more critical on the internet and regarding what you allow on your phone or computer. Yes, there is a chance nothing will ever happen to you, your information, your contacts etc, but better to be safe than sorry.. Right? If all of this seems too complicated, ask someone to look at your phone settings for you, and fix it if needed.

I hope this is a wake-up call for many out there.

Hey guys and dolls, how have you all been? Missed me?

As the summer comes to an end, I have decided to spend some time on my blog, as well as work more on my YouTube channel, and so I had to pop by here to dust the cobwebs off and sweep the corners a little, and boy was it dusty in here! It was a sorry state of affairs to be honest, but I have now re-set the background and started the renovations, and I even have a few posts in the pipeline, so be sure to follow this little blog if you want the updates.
There will be posts about makeup, wigs, styling, dresses and shoes, as well as travel related tid-bits, and even some stories. And of course, links to new YouTube videos as they happen!

I hope to see you all soon! Take care! xxx

Things are not always what they seem - 2014

Happy New Year kids!

Here's my first video of 2014, and things are not always what they seem..
Hope you like it! Share, comment, rate and subscribe at your pleasure!

Love, Diamond xx

The return, a journey, and a new look!

Hey boys and girls, wow, so it has been over 9 months since I posted anything here on my blog! I guess it is about time I revived it a little, and as the last few months have been very busy and extremely exciting for me I decided that the time is now! In the last month and in the coming months I have been and will be doing some exciting things, and I'd like to share this with you.

So, without further ado, I hereby launch my new look blog! Hope you like it!

For those of you who follow me on Twitter and/or Facebook, you wll already know that 2012 has been a very exciting year so far for me. Late November last year I took on a residency at Molly Moggs in Soho as the hostess for their Friday night Open Mic event, and in the new year I was given the opportunity to do their Saturday nights as well! I jumped into it and haven't looked back!

Now, aside from the joy and pride I felt and am still feeling about having been given this opportunity, the journey of self discovery and personal development I have had is beyond belief! My background as a drag performer has only ever been as a lip sync queen, and although I still don't sing (it is, after all karaoke, it's all about everyone else singing!) I still have to use a microphone for 3 hours a night. Now, you might think that this is a doddle, but trust me, it has been a challenge! You see, I don't want to be the cruel bitchy queen who makes fun of my singers, I'd like to encourage people, and I have to be on the ball all the time and can't have a script, and this has been a learning curve for me!
At first I felt somewhat uncomfortable with it, but soon I fell into it and found my rhythm and character more and more, and thanks to the lovely comments I have gotten from regulars as well as random people dropping in from the street (some of which have since become regulars!) I now feel very much at home on the little stage at Molly's!

Not only this, but I feel I have been on a journey with my look too, and where I was last year isn't where I find myself now. My make up skills have improved, and I am more secure in my style too, which has been exciting to look back at.

This year, London played host to World Pride, and there was a lot of chaos around the arrangements and funding situation, which I'll leave aside for now. I was given the opportunity to do something fun for Pride, together with my friends Julie Paid and Cookie Monstar. We were chosen to be the first people on board a double decker routemaster that had been completely renovated to look like a handbag, courtesy of the MCM Brand. Click here to read about our fabulous day out on this amazing bus!

It is now the height of summer (believe it or not, if you are in the UK like me) and I'm about to go on another very exciting and amazing journey. Read more about this by clicking the link!

So, I'd like to thank you for staying with me, and promise that there will be more and more posts here at The World According to Diamond Pearl!
Don't forget, dreams are only reality in the making!

Love and kisses, Diamond! xxx

Los Angeles, Monday 5th Aug 2012

Ok boys and girls, my idea was to write a blog post a day while here, but today is the first day I have been able to sit down and relax, be it by the pool (I know, hard life!) in the sun! But I thought I'd give you a brief run down of what I have been doing so far! Day by day, and then link it to separate blog posts for each day as I finish them. Sound good? Ok!

I’m going to start with my arrival in LA and go up to today, and then add the week in SF after!! Here goes!

Thursday 1st Aug 2012

Today was my last day in San Francisco before travelling to LA, and I had yet to see the shopping areas, and the department stores, so that was first on the cards. It made for a nice way of killing an hour or so before heading to the airport.

Click here to read more! (coming soon!)

Arriving in LA I had strict and precise instructions on what to do and where to go, and after about an hour and a half I was in a bar with Joseps flatmate Rob. He made it his mission to show me as many gay bars in West Hollywood as possible!

Click here to read more! (coming soon!

Friday 2nd Aug 2012

In the morning, my lovely host Josep had hired a car so we could drive to one of his favourite places in LA, the Getty Museum. They currently have an exhibition on Herb Ritts, LA Style, which we both wanted to see, but he freely admitted that the Getty museum is probably better known for its grounds and architecture than the art! I can see why!

Click here to read and see more! (coming soon!)

In the evening, we had tickets to see Pixar in Concert at the Hollywood Bowl, which is an outdoor concert venue accommodating approx 18.000 people. We were going to a premiere, where the Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestra were playing pieces from Pixar movies, set to clips of the films on 3 huge screens.

Click here to read and see more! (coming soon!)

Saturday 3rd Aug 2012

Universal Studios day! I was secretly looking forward to this as I am a bit of a theme park buff, and I like behind-the-scenes things (sometimes I will buy a dvd depending on the extras content only!)

We set off in the car, Barbara, Robert, Josep and me, and Barbara was driving. We had passes courtesy of Josep, and once parked, we went straight for the best ride! Transformers 3D The Ride! I have to say I’ve never quite experienced anything like it, not a rollercoaster but still a rollercoaster, in 3D! i won’t say anymore! Afterwards we had some food as none of us had eaten, and then we did the Jurassic Park ride, and queued up for the Studio Tour including the back lot. This was amazing for me, seeing the CSI stage and Wisteria Lane, Cabot Cove/Jaws-land etc.

Driving back, we took a detour to avoid the traffic, a lucky detour for me as it took us up Mulholland Drive to the view point. I’m going to have to watch the David Lynch movie again!

Click here to read and see more! (coming soon!)

The evening had already been planned, we were going to Bar Sinister just off Hollywood Boulevard, a goth bar/club that my hosts really like and felt I’d enjoy! It was brilliant, the venue is perfect, decor and crowd amazing!

Click here to read More! (coming soon!)

Sunday 4th Aug 2012

Today I was let loose on my own in Hollywood, as my friend had to edit and translate his interview with Liza Minnelli (if you speak Spanish you can read it here!) Needless to say it was very sunny, so I popped on a baseball cap and some factor 30 and headed out into Hollywood. From the flat you can walk down Sunset Boulevard or head one block up to Hollywood Boulevard under the hills, and as this was where i was headed I chose to go direct. It is however a bit of a walk, but soon you get to the Walk Of Fame, where the pavement is peppered with Stars!

The shops lining Hollywood Boulevard are a real mish-mash of souvenir shops and tattoo and piercing studios, stripper clothes, wigs and shoes.

Click here to read more! (coming soon!)

In the afternoon we had planned to go to a superheroes party called Hard Heroes, at MJ’s bar, hosted by the LA Sisters Of Perpetual Indulgence! My friend Christophe picked me up in his convertible, his friends already in the car with him. As this party was somewhat a surprise on me, I didn’t have a costume. I had looked for one on Hollywood Boulevard that day but not found anything appropriate. But the guys told me that there was no strict rule about costumes, and that there were makeup artists on hand to paint on a mask, or even do full a body paint! That’s what I went for!

There were raffle tickets ( I didn’t win) and a N2N fashion show (hot guys in skimpy revealing underwear) and freebies thrown out at the end (I didn’t catch one). There were also gogo dancers and some really amazing costumes.

Click here to read and see more! (coming soon!)

“Hooking up” with Social Media

Hello boys & girls!

I don’t know if you have seen my Facebook profile. I don’t know if you care! Haha! But if you haven’t, I’ll have to explain this first. When I joined Facebook and uploaded my profile picture, I started getting a lot of chats/messages from guys asking in I was on MSN or Skype, and could they add me. I’d also get a lot of “proposals” for meet-ups and questions about if I was available (for lord knows what!) on such and such date.

I quickly disabled my chat box. Eventually, I had to try and make it very clear what I am and what I stand for, so to speak. Or rather, what I am not and what I am not looking for! Here’s what I wrote to clarify!

Please read:
It's just an illusion:
I am not a transsexual.
I am not a transvestite.
I am not on Facebook for sex.
I am not on Facebook to find random men to "talk dirty" on MSN.
I am here to promote myself as a "gender illusionist".
I feel I have to explain this even clearer to some people, so here goes:
*If your profile/username/picture is an obvious fake, you know, like Long John or Hung Low, I will not accept you.
It's surprising how many faceless anonymous brainless 'gods gifts to women' there are here on Facebook, and most of them can't read.. I won't just automatically accept friendship requests from every Tom Dick and Harry who contact me.
And I don't see why I should have to keep the FB chat function permanently offline to avoid all the questions about when and where we can meet and how good I am at giving head!
It's not that I don't understand the attention and appreciate the compliments, don't get me wrong..
It's just getting tiring and boring now...

Kind regards Diamond x


Now, don’t get me wrong, this didn’t stop the advances, as it’s clear some men cannot read, or if they can, they still believe they are so much better than other men, so they still try!
But so far I have never been approached on Twitter. So far. That changed today! Here’s a conversation as it happened live on Twitter, from a 21 year old boy who, surprisingly, wasn’t following me!

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl hi there

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Hello!

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl how r u?

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Yeah fabulous thanks! (Twitter is the new Chat Roulette now??)

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl lol.. yes.. try skype yet?

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Hahahahahahahahaha! Yeah I have thanks!

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl bigbiceps21 :)

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Cool! Lemme guess... you want me to add you on Skype so I can
show you my titties and you show me your bulging... biceps? ;)

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl nah. ill still show my biceps

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Aww! Well I have news for u! I left my titties in storage in South London &ur biceps are far from big, in fact, mine are bigger

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl well we can see about that

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles No. We can't.

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl why?

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Just cause!

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl scared of my guns :)

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Hahahahahahahah! GUNS??? Are you for real??? More like firecrackers, and sad wet ones at that!

NickMuscles @MsDiamondPearl and urs are so much bigger

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Seeing as I'm a bloke that is highly likely, yes! ;)
 

That is when it went quiet… so I added:

MsDiamondPearl @NickMuscles Aww... are you embarrassed that you tried to pull a bloke? ;)


I know! Cheeky, but I couldn’t help myself!

Now, I had to go check to be sure, as I seemed to remember writing “Drag Diva” on my Twitter profile, and lo and behold, there it was, on my profile… “Drag Diva”!

It’s not that I’m annoyed by this kid’s “efforts”, I find it amusing in a way! but, having looked at his account, this is what he does, approaches girls asking them to Skype him… Good luck, at least he’s not running around the streets killing people!


Love, peace and biceps, Diamond! Mwah! xx

Being a drag queen!

...or getting ready to go out in drag.

While I don't consider myself a professional at anything drag or beauty related, I'd like to think that with my years of experience I might be able to help or give advice to anyone who has questions about do's and don't s in the world of drag or dressing as a woman.

With this in mind, I posted on Twitter recently to see if anyone had any questions they wanted to ask, about anything drag related, and I was thrilled with the fast response I got!

So, I spent some time talking to my drag queen friends and wrote their and my own answers, and while writing I discovered that it wouldn't all fit in a simple post.To be able to respond I created a separate page where I'm going to try and answer any questions I've received, and would like to welcome further questions on Twitter or by email! This page will be ever evolving and expanding, so this is only the start!

Click here to go to the page and see answers to questions such as how to deal with wearing a wig and full makeup in wind and rain or how to cope with alcohol when in drag! Hope you enjoy!

Also, as you for some reason can't have a comment box on a separate page, please feel free to leave comments below this post!

Love peace and push up bras, Diamond! xxx