What is Beauty? Part I

This article appeared in

Prestige Magazine (06) – June 2009

What is Beauty?

By

Raye Toscano

This week, my husband and I watched a documentary about the efforts made in Europe during World War II to protect precious works of art.  As I watched footage of French curators carefully boxing up the Mona Lisa, I began to wonder about beauty and how we decide that someone is, indeed, beautiful.

I believe that it has much to do with the eyes and the lips.  Thoreau said “The eye is the jewel of the body,” so however we can draw attention to our eyes enhances the expression of our own inner beauty.  What woman doesn’t want a man to be captivated by her stunning eyes?  And the lips.  Percy Bysshe Shelley said, “Soul meets soul on lovers’ lips.”  A luscious set of lips invites a man to wonder and swoon for the secrets they may hide.

So, how do we draw someone’s gaze toward our eyes and our lips and away from other features that might not be so flattering?  Today, and over the next several months, I will share with you some secrets for doing just that.

For today, we will focus on directing attention away from that most prominent of facial features, the nose.  If your nose is a little large or broad or even bumpy, there are tricks we can use to divert attention away from the nose and toward our more attractive features.  Our first strategy is to erase any facial lines that point toward and draw attention to the nose.

Most of us have “frown lines” between the eyebrows, two vertical lines that point straight down.  If these lines are not too deep, 20 to 24 units of Botox will make them nearly vanish.  For very deep lines, we use Botox first to relax the muscles and then, two weeks later, add a little Facial Filler to completely flatten the wrinkles.  The result is a softer, happier look and less attention to the nose.

The lines that start at the wings of the nose, extend down to the corners of the mouth and sometimes even further down to the jaw line can sometimes be quite deep.  The shadows caused by them point like a big arrow directly toward the nose.  Botox doesn’t work well in this area so this is a job for Fillers.  At REDBAMBOO Medi•Spa, we give our patients a dental block so that filling in these lines is a painless procedure.

Our Medical Directors, Dr. Laszlo Teleszky and, my husband, Dr. Frank Toscano, have been trained by the very best and they do a marvelous job of reducing these lines and directing attention away from the nose.  Call us at 727-726-6100 for a complimentary consultation.

Next month, how to make your eyes the focus of your face.