More than just a pretty face

Headline: THERE IS MORE TO LIFE THAN JUST A PRETTY FACE

Stand-first: “Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art”, an apt description made by Eleanor Roosevelt.

For ageing D4 Debbies that Brendan O'Connor of the Sunday Independent loves to loath, the perfect christmas gift could be a cosmetic surgery gift voucher. Despite the big 'R' (recession), it is unlikely that the current economic downturn will deter the continuous growth of the cosmetic surgery industry, as it is becoming more socially acceptable and the price is decreasing, meaning Irish people can now get more bang for their buck, in playing GOD. After all if you can find plastic surgery on the Late Late, then you know times are changing. Even 'Twink' proclaimed that she would love some work done on the television last week.

Nowadays consumers have no qualms about taking out personal loans, financing houses or using their SSIA money to pay for their self adornment and the myth has now long been dispelled that cosmetic surgery is only for celebrities and the super rich. In a world where size 0 is hailed, it makes sense that hordes of women and men are undergoing procedures to meet the sleek and sculpted standards of beauty that Hollywood has imposed on us all. Cosmetic surgery sounds too good to be true? Possibly. When it comes to the methods of self-perfection, women fall hook, line and sinker for ways to improve our frame, especially if it means we will look more attractive.

The vogue for stretching and tightening gives way to a more baby-face look, the Y-lift is the creme of the crop, the must have this christmas, giving women and men a plusher face and well defined cheekbones. Lets face it people do not mind getting older as long as they don't look it.
Among the top treatments that Irish Women are splashing the cash on are; Face Lifts, Tummy Tucks, Nose Reshaping, Breast Augmentation and Liposculpture. I do not think there is any woman that would refuse help when it comes to reducing wrinkles and rejuvenating their appearance, but the extent to which we are now going to gain the 'youthful' look is becoming ridiculous. Certain groups of women seem to opt for an identikit look just through the way they dye their hair, pluck their eyebrows and dress. Some go further and have their faces surgically altered to achieve a particular look. It seems that the look over rides every thing else that might be of significance about them or they feel the look is more important than anything they might think, say or do. So is it really such a big leap then to having a face transplant? In the future will women queue at the morgue to get the pick of the freshest faces? Will they jostle like they do at the winter sales?

Lest us forget the biblical phrase, “Who can straighten what God hath made crooked?”
Alas we are tampering with mother nature and every time we are under the knife, we are risking our lives. The tragic case of mother of six, Bernadette Reid, who died after undergoing gastric band surgery, is a lesson for everyone. The hideous outcome of Joceyln Wildenstein numerous surgeries are almost enough to put anyone off making the change.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that not one snowflake is the same, so why do we want become mirror images of other women and advocate celebrities? We have been made, the way we are and as much as we try to alter our image, you cannot alter the image within as easily.

End: We could spend years obsessing over our 'look', wishing to compete with the millions of gorgeous stunners out there, but where has natural beauty gone? It is brilliant that we can all now be reshaped, resized and revamped, but the natural beauty lies within, after all, who cares what you look like, if you have a horrid personality or an ugly attitude. We spend millions on our exterior, but really we should be looking within. We can only be truly happy when we are content with ourselves, not our plastic shell.