Celine Dion is on the cover of the new issue of ELLE. This is a good read and I’m not excerpting anything from the article because it’s a joy from top to bottom and that’s the only way you’re going to get the full experience of letting her fill up your lungs with the kind of exhilaration that only she can bring.
This is Celine’s time. She’s promoting her new L’Oreal Paris partnership. She’s readying a new album. She’s ending her Vegas residency next month. And she’s going on tour in the fall. I have my tickets. They were not cheap, holy sh-t. But … she’s “worth it”. That voice will be “worth it”, I know.
It’s not the most interesting photo shoot she’s ever done – but you’ll note, and you can see a bit of it in the cover, that she has That Haircut. The Haircut of 2019. Duana’s haircut. The one we’ve been talking about for weeks now. It looks really, really good on her. Especially in that shot of her in the Chanel dress. Head to ELLE to see all the pictures and read the piece.
Have you seen her L’Oreal Paris commercial yet? The ad was released a few days ago, a reader called Michelle sent it over to me yesterday, and it’s hilarious. She’s singing into a hairdryer. She’s wearing the sh-t out of those high-waisted acid wash jeans. She should not be randomly touching that man’s hair. But I totally believe she’d get into a cab in the front seat and start her own party:
Watching that yesterday spun me off into an interview Celine did with the Sunday Times about beauty in early April that I totally missed. She’s wacky and weird, as usual, and the main takeaway is just how entertaining she is but she does also share some thoughts on her approach to beauty and her beauty routine. It’s pointed out to Celine that she never wears a red lip. Her reason for it? Because she doesn’t think she has the lips for it. Which she circles back to a couple of minutes later when the conversation turns to cosmetic surgery. Celine says she would “love to do some stuff” – like her lips. But while she says she has nothing against it, and that if anyone else out there is doing it, she’s all for it, just for her, if she were to get her lips done, “the cheek needs to follow”. That part of the discussion ends with Celine’s three simple words of advice: “do your research”.
YES.
You know why I’m so into this? It’s because not enough people are talking about this publicly – and that’s part of the research! We can see it on celebrities, we can see the work, the procedures, or the result of the procedures. Most of the time they tell us that that it’s sleep and water and kale. Some have started addressing it openly but, you know, you’ve read the magazine articles, there’s almost never a celebrity “beauty” interview that gets real about what they actually do, like Botox and fillers and whatever.
This is a billion dollar industry. And it’s not limited to celebrities. In fact, the reason it’s a billion dollar industry is because non-celebrity people are doing it. And if celebrities aren’t talking about it, the civilians are. They work in accounting, human resources, the grocery store, they are Uber drivers – many of them are my friends and they, like Celine, are having these conversations out in the open. If I get my lips done, will it be imbalanced with my cheeks? How do I address the “eleven” between my eyebrows? How often should I go? Who should I go to? How do I know how much I need? How do I make sure it’s not too much? Research and information exchange, see?
I’ve not had anything done yet. But I sure as f-ck am thinking about it. I am doing my research. I would also like to start talking to the specialists who perform the procedures. And when I do, I’m bringing all the anecdotal materials I’ve collected from the real people who’ve talked about with me, and pictures, for examples. To back up my questions. I have so many questions. Here are some of them:
Does your work attempt to make everyone have the same LA Face? I don’t want LA Face – how can you assure me that I won’t end up with LA Face?
Also, when you consult with your clients, do you factor in the effect of makeup and lighting? Let me explain my thoughts on this: cosmetic procedures, like fillers and Botox, are enhancements – but makeup and lighting are also enhancements. When you’re in the clinic with the dermatologist and you get your filler and your Botox, you’re doing it without makeup on. So, afterwards, you look in the mirror, with no makeup, and yeah, of course, there’s a difference and it might seem subtle at the moment. But then, by the time your concealer is on and you apply powder and maybe you get some contouring and highlighter in there, you’ve just added on an extra layer or two of enhancement ON TOP of the filler and the Botox. Then, if you’re a celebrity, you go and stand under some flattering light – which only enhances you even more. What happens with the makeup and the lighting is that it can end up amplifying the work. So that it looks like you got more work done than you actually did. Which is what we’re often commenting on when celebrities show up at an event, especially when the procedures are fresh, like during award season.
My question then is whether or not, during the consultation and the procedure, the makeup and lighting effects are taken into consideration. Like, I don’t know the measurements but let’s just say a standard unit of injection is 5 cc. Sometimes under makeup and lighting, you can end up looking like you’ve had 10 cc. So do you take it down to 2.5 cc to account for the makeup and lighting? Because that’s probably what I would be inclined do. Give me less, because I’m on TV every day with makeup on and the softest, kindest lighting package doing the most to bring out my features so, maybe, I don’t need the full meal deal right off the top…only I don’t know because I’m not finished my research.
Here’s another question: does the approach differ by cultural background? After all, makeup products and application differ depending on your ethnicity. Does cosmetic surgery technique differ? I feel like it would and should? If so, I’m Asian. If and when I start getting fillers or Botox, I want to know how much experience my dermatologist has with faces like mine. If 99% of their clientele is white, how confident should I be that they know what they’re doing with my face?
Research!
And sharing.
Like I said, what I’m looking for is the sharing. I’d appreciate the information and, when and if it’s time for me, I’ll be sharing too. I’ll probably share so much you’ll want me to stop. Celine didn’t spend a lot of time on the sharing but she did share that she has the same questions you might have, that she’s been thinking about the same things you might be thinking of, and, really, it’s a much better answer than “I drink a lot of water and try to sleep well and eat right”.
