Meet the real-life Barbies: Internet craze sees teenagers turn themselves into freakish living dolls



Dakota Rose and Venus Palermo become internet hits



YouTube tutorials give tips on how to transform into a living doll

Concern it could encourage sexualisation of young girls



Young girls are fast becoming internet sensations not because of their vocal skills or dance moves, but because they resemble living dolls.



Staring doe-eyed at the camera, with cupids bow lips and a porcelain complexion Dakota Rose has been hailed a real-life Barbie.

Known to her fans as Kota Koti, she has amassed a global audience with her YouTube fashion and beauty tutorials.

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Dakota Rose is being hailed as the real-life Barbie for her doll-like features

In most of the videos she remains silent while subtitles provide the viewer with a step-by-step guide on how to apply cosmetics, style hair or dress fashionably.

'I usually prefer something lighter. I would only wear this to a club, night time event,' she writes below a 6 minute video demonstrating how to apply 'nighttime eye make up'.



It is said that Dakota is especially popular across Asia as her sense of style appears to be inspired by the Japanese anime culture, in which big eyes and long straight hair are key features.



Little is known about the teenager but some websites suggest she is aged between 16 and 18 and from the west coast of America.



Despite her growing success, some commentators have warned that she could encourage the sexualisation of children.



Venus Palermo, known online as Venus Angelic, has also gained popularity for resembling a living doll

Venus Palermo has 78 videos on her official YouTube page - ranging from makeup tutorials to nail art

A Bolivian newspaper, Opinion.com.bo reported: 'Thousands of girls around the world have shown interest in this girl, wanting to look like her.

'It is a great risk that girls are being influenced in this way.'

Experts have also expressed their concern. Dr Gray, clinical director at The British CBT & Counselling Service (www.thebritishcbtcounsellingservice.co.uk ) warned that too much emphasis on physical appearance from an early age could have 'disastrous consequences', encouraging anxiety, depression and eating disorders later in life.

She told MailOnline: 'At any age placing too much value on physical appearance can be potentially detrimental to a person’s self esteem and sense of self worth.



'Equally concerning is why these images have been created and for what purpose.



'Distorting or enhancing pictures of children so that they appear older and more sexual surely crosses the line between how we should treat the children in our society and how we should not.'



But Dakota is not the only one to have fashioned herself as a living Barbie.



Venus Palermo, known online as Venus Angelic, is a 15-year-old girl who has also taken to the internet detailing how to look like a living doll.



After spending time in Japan and inspired by the craze for Japanese anime she decided to give her image an overhaul on her return to London two years ago.



She now has 78 videos on her official YouTube page - ranging from makeup tutorials and nail art to dancing and her Facebook page boasts over 13,000 fans.

Little is known about Dakota Rose but some websites have suggested she is aged between 16 and 18

Beauty tutorials: Known to her fans as Kota Koti, Dakota has amassed an ever-growing global fan base

Doe-eyed: In most of the videos she remains silent while subtitles provide the viewer with a step-by-step guide

A real-life Barbie? Teenager Dakota Rose, who styles herself as a living doll, has become an internet hit for her online demonstrations on how to recreate her look

Despite critics her mother approves: 'She actually thinks it's cute to wear cute and frilly clothes.'



While Venus said. 'I don't think that I will ever stop. I think I will grow in my style and just keep doing what I love.'

While the living doll-look is going global, in Asia it has been a long-running trend.

As early as 2010 it was reported that an increasing amount of Japanese women were aspiring to look like dolls, embracing femininity and obliterating sexuality altogether.

Naoko Kamijyo, then 19, told the New York Times: 'I’m no great beauty, but I love to be made up. I want to change myself, to be unrecognizable. Who wants to go through life just being themselves?'



She reportedly woke up at 5am every morning, spending at least two hours applying false eyelashes, false hair extensions, layers of foundation and other makeup products in a bid to look like a Barbie doll.



A recent poll in Taiwan of 13,000 students revealed nearly half started surfing the internet before the age of seven, and some start as young as three.

It found a correlation between the frequency of online social networking and the level of concern with appearance and self-image.





While the living doll-look is going global, in Asia it has been a long-running trend



Some commentators have suggested the doll-like girls could encourage the sexualisation of children

It is said that Dakota is especially popular across Asia as her sense of style appears to be inspired by the Japanese anime culture, in which big eyes are a key feature