How the Hollywood elite get red-carpet-ready—fast!
Lip service
Most stars wouldn’t dream of smiling for the cameras with anything less than plump, juicy lips. “Without several days’ lead time, I won’t inject fillers because the lip can bruise,” says Lancer. For an immediate plump-lip look, he mixes up a balm/gloss (containing a turmeric/curry derivative and a heating enzyme from the cinnamon family) that causes temporary puffiness.
“If lips are hydrated, they’re going to be naturally juicy,” says Dubroff, “so drinking enough water and using lip balm consistently are key.” She also recommends scrubbing lips with a toothbrush to stimulate them and get rid of flakes. “I don’t love lipplumping products,” she says. “They may work in the moment, but I think they ultimately dry the lips out. I’d rather get the effect optically.” For Dubroff, this means applying lipstick first and then pencilling liner on top. “That way, the pencil isn’t dragging across a dry lip — plus, you know the liner matches the lipstick perfectly,” she explains. And while super-shiny lip highlighters certainly up the juiciness quotient, Dubroff warns that they should be kept to the centre of the bottom lip. “So many people overdo the shine and lacquer until it ends up pooling in the corners of the mouth and dripping off the edges. And if you use the shine all over, there’s no differentiation of light and tone, no contour effect.”
“Anyone who tells you that lipo is an instant fix — even in small pockets like underarm folds — is hallucinating,” says Beverly Hills dermatologist Harold Lancer. “If you do laser lipo to remove that, you’re talking a one-hour procedure and then a week or two of swelling and possible bruising. You’re going to be sorely disappointed if you don’t allow four to six weeks for the final results.”
Ditto injectables. Lancer says that no matter what the skill of the practitioner, “there are skin perforations involved. Two weeks in advance of a big event, okay. But if you only have one week, you’d better stay with a topical and non-invasive approach.” But he is a firm believer in injecting Botox, and its new rival Dysport, into the armpits for perspiration control. “They work like a charm,” he says. What about Botox for cleavage lift? “That’s a deceptive concept,” says Lancer. “Botox for the cleavage doesn’t actually lift. What it will do is dissipate that crinkly line between the breasts caused by sun exposure and genetics.”
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