For better or worse, plastic surgery—both in its most extreme (Jocelyn Wildenstein) and subtler (Megan Fox) forms—is fully entrenched in modern day society. In fact, Botox gatherings have replaced Tupperware parties, celebrities flaunt face-lifts on the red carpet and it’s become downright acceptable in plenty of circles. But no matter how you feel about plastic surgery, a recent paper that appeared in the Journal of Evolution and Technology brings up an angle we hadn’t considered. Reports The New York Times today:

…the doctoral candidate says plastic surgery throws a monkey wrench (sorry) into the Darwinian process of selecting the best genes to proliferate the species — since people who otherwise might not have been perceived as desirable mates for procreation allow themselves to be perceived as desirable enough to pass on their genes.

Let’s take a closer look.

Being covered in robes and veils from head to toe is not stopping women in Saudi Arabia from getting plastic surgery. Surprisingly, liposuction, breast augmentations, and nose jobs are drawing females to the plastic surgeon’s at the same rate as in other parts of the world. It seems that self-consciousness can grow even when people can’t see your features. The only time Saudi women can show off their clothes and haircuts are for their husbands, at women’s parties, and when abroad. Whereas 10 years ago, a plastic surgeon was quite the rarity in the Arab nation, now 35 surgical treatment centers exist. But the religious values that govern the majority of Saudi lives are not being overlooked when it comes to these procedures. Three years ago clergymen and plastic surgeons met to create a consensus on tampering with God’s natural creations. The result was that “undergoing an unsafe procedure or changing the shape of a ‘perfect nose’ just to resemble a singer or actress” was haram, or forbidden, while “small breasts, fixing features that are causing a person grief, or reverse damage from an accident” is halal, or sanctioned.

A recent study concerning our attitudes about beauty as we age shows “surprising results,” according to a press release anyway. Drumroll please: When asked to specify what part of their bodies they were most concerned about, thirtysomethings ranked their abdomen/hip area as number one, whereas women of all ages expressed concerns about their faces. This highly informative survey was conducted and brought to you by The American Society of Plastic Surgeons and the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. No, really. (Sigh.) [EMediaWire]

“Ever had plastic surgery to become beautiful? Are you proud of your body? Would you like to put yourself to the test?” These are all questions most beauty queens would be too embarrassed to answer, but one Hungarian company isn’t afraid to ask. The website MissPlasticHungary.hu is seeking contestants for what it says is the first ever beauty pageant for women who have had cosmetic surgery. Pageant organizers are trying to fight the stigma associated with beauty operations in Hungary. The contest is open to women between the ages of 18 and 30 and to women older than 30 in the “dame” category, all of whom must have had a surgical procedure performed under local or general anesthesia; a simple Botox injection won’t suffice, and neither will extremely large breasts (remember they’re trying to fight the stigma?). So far, 100 entrants have already signed up for the pageant that is supposed to occur on October 9. Maybe Carrie Prejean has a pageant comeback in her future? [Reuters]

Yikes! A 54-year-old Californian mother of three booked an appointment with a plastic surgeon to have some work done. But when she found out how many Benjamins she’d have to lay down, she did what every thrifty American would do. (NOT!) She went online, bought a $10 vial of liquid silicone, and injected it into her own lips and cheeks. She is—shocker!—not so pleased with her new face.

Word out of the Paris police department is ‘90s supermodel Karen Mulder was arrested for “threatening to attack her plastic surgeon.” Oui, really. Apparently Karen took prank-calling to a whole new level and started making “vicious” phone calls to her doctor about, apparently, having a previous surgery reversed. (Above, Mulder last year and also in 2005.) The one time Sports Illustrated and Victoria’s Secret model is no stranger to odd, unsettling and downright dangerous (to herself) behavior—she once claimed that she had been raped by Prince Albert of Monaco, she’s suffered from chronic depression and drug addiction, and at one point attempted suicide with sleeping pills, only to be saved by friends. All very sad. Help for her, please! [Daily Mail U.K.]

Who’s your nipple role model?

Have no idea what we’re talking about? Good. You haven’t been brainwashed by yet another plastic surgery trend we don’t understand: nipple surgery to change the shape, color or size of your areolae.

The global financial crises has forced every industry to get a little creative. Rather than go with the stodgy “buy one get one free” approach of many struggling industries, the Czech health care system is wooing its nurses with unusual pizazz. Like most countries around the world, the Czech Republic’s health care system is teetering on the brink of collapse, in part due to the nursing shortage. The Czech Republic is in a particular bind: Nurses are emigrating to other countries for better pay and opportunity while fewer people are training to become nurses due to the negative stereotypes left over from communism. The idea of using incentives to encourage employees to renew their contracts is hardly newsworthy. The fact that some Czech medical establishments are using incentives like free breast implants, liposuction and tummy tucks does raise my eyebrows. (Not for long, however, should I decide to become a Czech nurse and opt for a face lift or Botox.)

Times are tough and women are looking for ways to cut back. We at The Frisky are determined to bring you the best budget beauty out there, but we are also not going to lie to you: some things you just can’t skimp on. You may never notice the difference between a CoverGirl and a Chanel lipstick but there are certain beauty products and treatments where you will. So save yourself some medical danger and grief and read our five beauty treatments we beg you to fork over the dough for.

We’re still reeling from the news that the Miss California Organization paid for contestant Carrie Prejean to get fake ta-tas so she’d have a better chance of winning Miss USA. Tasteless? Yes. Uncommon? Unfortunately, no. We nosed around for other ways to “better” your body without breaking the bank.

Everyone’s still talking about Miss California’s gay marriage comments. Now there’s more drama for 21-year-old beauty queen Carrie Prejean. Apparently, there were some nice perks for her as former Miss California. The state’s pageant organization paid her bill for fake boobs.

Prejean received breast implants paid for by the Miss California Organization just weeks before she competed in the Miss USA pageant, confirmed Shanna Moakler, co-executive director of organization. Shanna told “Access Hollywood” that Carrie wanted breasts implants and the Miss California Organization “supported that decision.” Shanna, herself a former Miss USA and an ex-Playboy Playmate, added, “Breast implants in pageants is not a rarity. It’s definitely not taboo. It’s very common. Breast implants today among young women today is very common.”

That stabbing sensation in a woman’s toes may not always be from her do-me heels. In rarefied circles, it’s a little jab of Botox. Dr. Suzanne Levine is a New York City aesthetic podiatrist for the “Gossip Girl” set, and she perks up the wrinkly feet of ladies who lunch—so their Louboutins won’t reveal their ages. 

Dr. Levine charges $500 for Pillows for Your Feet, her biannual Juvaderm and Sculptra injections. “[Some women] are so embarrassed, they go to a separate section of Bergdorf to try on shoes, and they leave their socks on during intimate moments, or even at their gynecologists office, which I just find so hilarious,” she says.”

To all you ladies out their wearing socks in the stirrups because you’re afraid your gyno is going to be appalled by your wrinkly feetyou are way obsessed, my dears. Sounds like you need some foot fetishist love. [NY Observer]

Janet and Jane Cunliffe look like twins. But they’re not: they’re mother and daughter. Janet (on the left) is 22 years older than Jane. But she couldn’t handle that—so after losing a few pounds and dying her hair, she fell down a rabbit hole of plastic surgery sure to scar her daughter for life. Here’s what she had done…

Sandra McElwaine at The Daily Beast wants to know, “Who Did Nancy Pelosi’s New Face?” The Speaker of the House (who just turned 69) has been sporting a, uh, much tighter looking mug, causing many to strongly suspect she’s had a heavy dose of plastic surgery. The slideshow of images does make for a compelling argument. But should we care? Should this even be a topic of conversation when there’s, you know, an economic crisis and other more serious issues to discuss? Well, maybe not, but then again, should we be wasting precious economic crisis discussion time talking about men in Hello Kitty boxers, “The Millionaire Matchmaker,” or the war between Julia Allison and Mary Rambin? Those things are just dying for attention and it’s our duty to give it to them! Unfortunately, when you’re the Speaker of the House and your face suddenly looks like it got trapped in a wind tunnel, you kind of can’t blame people for wanting to gossip about it.

Cosmetic surgeons have always seemed like the used car salesmen of doctors—they profit off women (and men) not liking parts of their bodies and being willing to pay to change them. But have you ever wondered if these crafty folks try to charm and sell patients on treatments that they hadn’t considered before? Melanie Berliet, a Vanity Fair writer, went undercover to test her hypothesis that plastic surgeons try to sell additional procedures to patients that they don’t “need.” The 5’9”, 120-pound 27-year-old, who wears a size 34B bra, went into the consultations under the guise of wanting breast augmentation. Surprisingly, the three surgeons had different reactions to her physique, but all of them recommended procedures she hadn’t originally asked for. Find out the deets, after the jump…

We are all a little strapped for time nowadays. It seems there are never enough hours in the day to get everything done. But there’s always time to squeeze in a few errands during lunch. Drop off dry cleaning; run to the bank; pay the cable bill; get liposuction! No seriously. Now you can get the lard sucked out of your thighs while you wait for Subway to finish preparing your six-inch sandwich. Smartlipo is a less invasive form of liposuction that can be done during your lunch break. A tiny instrument, like the size of a pencil point, is used to make the incision. And voila! It starts sucking the fat away from those hard to target areas. The most popular areas Smartlipo is being used on are the abs, love-handles and outer thighs. A woman who had the procedure done said, “It’s better than getting a cavity filled.” Yeah, a sharp object digging into my fleshy stomach—don’t know if that’s better than getting a cavity filled. Actually, they both sound like pretty crappy ways to spend a lunch break. So what are the differences between Smartlipo and regular cosmetic surgery?

There’s nothing wrong with wanting to look your best and taking pride in your appearance. But looking your best has been taken to a new extreme, as more people are opting to get cosmetic surgery and enhancements—after they’re dead. Morticians are getting an increase in requests in cosmetic procedures when it comes to how the the deceased will look like at the funeral. The requests have included lip plumping, smoothing wrinkles and even boosting sagging parts. People are making advanced arrangements for these final procedures to be done for the viewing at their funerals. Is it that serious?

The recession is to blame for everything going wrong right now—the rise in foreclosures, the increase in unemployment and the sharp decline in the number of people who want size DD breasts. Plastic surgery numbers are steadily slipping here in the U.S. Americans, who once spent $12 billion a year on cosmetic surgery, are now tightening their budget according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. There’s been a 62% decrease in plastic surgery from 2007-2008. Consumers are hesitating now more than ever before to commit to having the pricey elective procedures done. Doctors in Orange County, Calif., the silicone capital of the world, have reported a 30 to 40 percent decline in business. And breast implant manufacturer Mentor Corp.‘s sales have decreased 5 percent during the three months ending Sept. 26 compared to the same period last year. But one country isn’t experiencing a decrease in their numbers. Find out which one, after the jump.