This piece serves as both an artistic experiment and a social commentary. I sought to explore the interplay of anatomy and materiality. The figure is adorned with a ruby necklace, within which I painted a faint image of a woman, symbolising how femininity is often commodified and objectified, as if it is valued solely for its aesthetic appeal rather than its intrinsic worth. The pearls embedded within the jewellery contain faintly rendered eyes, representing society’s quiet awareness of these injustices, seen but ignored. The bracelet bearing a small heart develops this critique further using the metaphor “wearing one’s heart on one’s sleeve”, which traditionally conveys openness and emotional honesty; however, in this context, it becomes a symbol of forced vulnerability. What should signify sincerity instead becomes another ornament of femininity to be observed, judged, and sold. Beyond the canvas, Her Expensive Rarities reflects how femininity itself has been packaged, marketed, and distorted within modern culture. The concept of “being feminine” is aggressively commercialised and targeted both toward those grappling with body dysphoria and mental illness, and simultaneously exploited through the ‘male’ gaze. Femininity becomes both an unattainable standard and a consumable product designed to feed the insecurities it creates. This is why I depicted it in the form of jewellery, because of the expensive and valuable cost these circumstances play on society.  From a technical standpoint, this piece was also an experiment in true-to-colour rendering and the challenge of working primarily with warm tones, which I had not previously explored outside of academic settings. It served as a precursor study for my later portrait of Marilyn, deepening my understanding of colour theory, light, and skin tone. Having once relied on monochromatic palettes to avoid the complexities of colour theory, this work marked a deliberate step toward confronting my own challenges.