diff --git a/site/assets/css/style.css b/site/assets/css/style.css
index 677bd9a..0591437 100644
--- a/site/assets/css/style.css
+++ b/site/assets/css/style.css
@@ -628,20 +628,30 @@ section[id] {
   z-index: 2;
 }
 
-/* Gradient blur: the hero photo is blurred hardest behind the text (the middle)
-   and sharpens smoothly outward — a backdrop blur masked by a radial gradient.
-   The layer sits behind the text (z-index -1 in the container's stacking
-   context) and above the photo and its overlays. */
-.hero-section .container::before {
+/* Frosted band: the hero photo is blurred at full strength along a horizontal
+   line through the text and fades to sharp (0) outward, up and down — a backdrop
+   blur masked by a vertical gradient. ::before is the blur, ::after the frost:
+   a faint white veil plus fine grain, same mask. Both sit behind the text
+   (z-index -1 in the container's stacking context) and above the photo. */
+.hero-section .container::before,
+.hero-section .container::after {
   content: '';
-  position: absolute;      /* the container is static, so this fills the hero */
+  position: absolute;      /* the container is static, so these fill the hero */
   inset: 0;
   z-index: -1;
   pointer-events: none;
-  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(18px);
-  backdrop-filter: blur(18px);
-  -webkit-mask-image: radial-gradient(ellipse 52% 46% at 50% 52%, #000 0%, rgba(0, 0, 0, .6) 40%, transparent 100%);
-  mask-image: radial-gradient(ellipse 52% 46% at 50% 52%, #000 0%, rgba(0, 0, 0, .6) 40%, transparent 100%);
+  -webkit-mask-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, transparent 18%, rgba(0, 0, 0, .55) 36%, #000 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, .55) 64%, transparent 82%);
+  mask-image: linear-gradient(to bottom, transparent 18%, rgba(0, 0, 0, .55) 36%, #000 50%, rgba(0, 0, 0, .55) 64%, transparent 82%);
+}
+.hero-section .container::before {
+  -webkit-backdrop-filter: blur(22px) saturate(1.1);
+  backdrop-filter: blur(22px) saturate(1.1);
+}
+.hero-section .container::after {
+  background:
+    url("data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' width='180' height='180'%3E%3Cfilter id='f' x='0' y='0' width='100%25' height='100%25'%3E%3CfeTurbulence type='fractalNoise' baseFrequency='.75' numOctaves='3' seed='12' stitchTiles='stitch'/%3E%3CfeColorMatrix type='saturate' values='0'/%3E%3CfeComponentTransfer%3E%3CfeFuncR type='linear' slope='1.6' intercept='-.2'/%3E%3CfeFuncG type='linear' slope='1.6' intercept='-.2'/%3E%3CfeFuncB type='linear' slope='1.6' intercept='-.2'/%3E%3C/feComponentTransfer%3E%3C/filter%3E%3Crect width='100%25' height='100%25' filter='url(%23f)' opacity='.34'/%3E%3C/svg%3E") 0 0 / 180px 180px,
+    linear-gradient(rgba(255, 255, 255, .07), rgba(255, 255, 255, .07));
+  background-blend-mode: overlay, normal;
 }
 
 .hero-text {