It’s either your fanny or your face that is sacrificed beyond a certain age, Catherine Deneuve once said (and I believe 40 was the critical moment in her book), yet science and women are now having it all—without so much going under the knife, as a needle.
The writing is on the face, er, cover of the latest New York Magazine, with an oversized mug shot of Madonna, the tracks of her former frowns and smiles penciled in for impact (or reminiscence).
Thanks to a Jewish deli-sized menu of options, from fillers to acids, a woman now can genuinely claim with a straight, albeit newly polished, fat, “volumized” face, that there’s no way she’s had plastic surgery.
Entertaining and a little scary, the cover story by Jonathan Van Meter (which also cites Mme. Deneuve's observation), addresses why at any given time, a culture finds a face beautiful or not. So, too, how that paradigm has shifted from the grown-up woman in the first half of the last century, to the big-eyed baby face that came into vogue in the 1960s and continues to be coveted today.
“The point is that there is a noticeable aesthetic shift happening in the face,” Van Meter writes, “and that it’s dovetailing with quantum leaps in plastic surgery and dermatology.”
When it comes to the notion of “plumpness of youth,” I admit I prefer having a little extra to pinch – on my bum.
What would you do?
A special bond one cannot see
Itwraps us up in its cocoon
And holds us fiercely in its womb.
Its fingers spread like fine spun gold
Gently nestling us to the fold
Like silken thread it holds us fast
Bonds like this are meant to last.
2
My love, I have tried with all my being
to grasp a form comparable to thine own,
but nothing seems worthy;
I know now why Shakespeare could not
compare his Love to a summer’s day.
It would be a crime to denounce the beauty
of such a creature as thee,
to simply cast away the precision
God had placed in forging you.
3
If I could have just one wish,
I would wish to wake up everyday
to the sound of your breath on my neck,
the warmth of your lips on my cheek,
the touch of your fingers on my skin,
and the feel of your heart beating with mine...
Knowing that I could never find that feeling
with anyone other than you.
4
I love the way you look at me,
Your eyes so bright and blue.
I love the way you kiss me,
Your lips so soft and smooth.
I love the way you make me so happy,
And the ways you show you care.
I love the way you say, "I Love You,"
And the way you're always there.