Being wrinkly makes you interesting? And here we’ve been obsessing about wrinkle creams and anti-aging beauty products, thinking that getting old is a big downer. This ad campaign, called “See The Person, Not The Age,” recently launched in Scotland and aims to fight ageism through wrinkled-up billboards that display slogans like these: “This is proof you can still have wrinkles and do a good job” and “Why don’t you notice people with wrinkles too?”

Could wrinkles ever really be thought of as “beautiful”? Why not? If this prevents just one person from feeling pressured to get Botox, it’s a very good thing. Why do wrinkles have to be so stigmatized anyway? What do you think of this campaign? Progressive? Or did you just wrinkle your nose? [StyleFrizz.com]

“What does it take to look like me? Not much. I don’t wear suncreen. I don’t have a skincare program. I have no dermatologist and no cosmetic surgeon. Nothing’s been shot into this face.”

—Pamela Anderson in the October issue of Elle

• Susan Boyle gets glam in the September issue of Harper’s Bazaar. The singer comments on her fast rise to fame, but says she is not getting Botox and is fine with the way she looks – “short and plump.” [Us Weekly] – Thank you Susan for not giving into the superficial pressure of Hollywood! You rock.
• Dr. Bailey, aka Chandra Wilson, will soon be pulling a double shift – Bailey will appear at Seattle Grace on “Grey’s Anatomy” and head over to Oceanside Wellness in the new season of “Private Practice.” Chandra will also direct her first “Grey’s” episode this fall season. [Entertainment Weekly] – Girl knows how to multitask!
• Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is happy to be an outsider. At least that’s what she told People in an interview about her new “Melrose Place” character Ella, a girl “desperate for love.” Ashlee didn’t reveal too much, but spilled the show is packed with “jaw-dropping” moments. [People] – Hmm, I’m not sure how I feel about Ashlee playing a young teenager; she’s married and has a baby.

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.

As rational, educated women, we know in our heads that when it comes to the often outlandish promises skincare companies make, applying a so-called wrinkle cure will not actually erase lines from our face. As people bombarded with airbrushed images of perfect, supernaturally youthful skin and famous idols who fight each skin fold with a double dose of Botox, it’s safe to say that we’re warily interested in aging and the lack thereof. And when it comes to beauty products in general, is it really so crazy to ask for something that does what it promises? According to a Daily Mail report, we may be getting closer to true product efficacy and real, not just promised, miracles in a jar.

“It should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen. Acting is all about expression; why would you want to iron out a frown?”

—Rachel Weisz on botox in Harper’s Bazaar U.K. [DListed]—Nicole Kidman has yet to respond.

OK, so in terms of “Housewives” seasons, the ladies from the Jerz are neck and neck with their sisters from Orange County in terms of plastic surgery, Botox, beauty treatments and fitness trainers. Everyone watched as Gina and Vicky hit up morning boot camp sessions to get toned, cringed as Tam-RA had Botox shot straight into her ocular cavity and discussed whether Gretchen’s boobs were real or fake. Out in Cali-land, physical upkeep just seems so much more out in the open than it is in New Jersey (save Danielle’s Botox party, pictured above, and the first episode dumbbell pumping in almost zero clothing). Ever wonder exactly what physical upkeep goes into being a housewife from the garden state? W magazine gets the goods from Dina (weekly blow-outs! thrice-weekly private Pilates sessions!), Caroline (fake nails!) and Danielle (pretty much anything her bank account—or her boyfriend at the time’s bank account—can handle!). Check out the primping details! [W]

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.

Teenager Jodie King had tried several expensive anti-aging creams, but none would smooth the “wrinkles” on her forehead. So her mom, Margaret, gave her Botox injections for her 18th birthday. “Jodie’s forehead is like mine - she gets pronounced lines when she makes a facial expression. I knew Botox would solve the problem,” said Margaret. The £160 injections gifted to Jodie pale in comparison to the £45,000 Margaret has spent on cosmetic surgery for herself. Jodie is a Botox addict now, having spent £1,000 of her own money made from modeling on injections. Margaret, who has been getting the injections for 11 years and has had a nose job, two breast enlargements, a tummy tuck, and a mini-face lift, doesn’t see anything wrong with her daughter inheriting her vice. She’s even planning to give Jodie a nose job for her 21st birthday and has taken her for a breast augmentation consultation. “My mum’s always looked so glamorous and she uses cosmetic surgery and Botox to keep her looking young. I plan to follow in her footsteps,” Jodie said. “So what if I’m a teenage Botox addict? I can’t think of anything worse than looking old. I’ll always find a way to pay for Botox. Now I’ve started I can’t stop.”

Yes! I’ve been waiting for this! Botox sounds like something I could totally do myself, and this DIY Botox kit on eBay comes with a map that shows you where to inject.

Just mix the “Botox powder” with the saline solution, and for $95 I can poke needles into my skin in the comfort of my own bathroom without having to schlep all the way to a plastic surgeon’s office to deal with medical professionals and sterilization. Don’t even try to outbid me. [Daily Mail U.K.]

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]

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.

I tried to hold back posting about this again today, but then I realized most of you don’t follow Mary Rambin’s blog as avidly as I do—I also like to watch “Intervention” while eating and have been known to wear open-toed shoes in the snow, so it’s not like I’m against torturing myself. Anyway, I thought you all might like to read her apology. Or sort of apology. And we (the royal “we” that encompasses women appalled by her abortion/Botox comparison) get a shout out! Ahem…

Mary Rambin, part of the “three-headed blogging Hydra” that is Non Society (which, cheekily, made our list of the best female bloggers of 2008), is arguably the most absurd and vapid of the bunch. While her fellow “lifecasters” have moments of ingenuity, intelligence and creativity, Mary bugs me because her sole contribution to the Non Society platform are blog posts about what she’s wearing, occasional commentary about celebrity style, and thinly veiled endorsements of weight loss juice cleanses like Blueprint. But she just hit a new low. In a blog post entitled, “My Body, My Botox,” Rambin actually compares a women’s “right” to have cosmetic enhancements to the right to have an abortion. Rambin writes:

“I site Roe v. Wade because it serves as a marker of people accepting (maybe not respecting) a woman’s right to choose.  Although abortion is still an issue at the forefront, it’s notable the Supreme Court recognized women should be able to do what they feel is right for themselves. Cosmetic procedures should be viewed in the same light.  Not to mention the procedures are in no way effecting another human being, so the severity of the issue is considerably less.  But as with breast implants, time will have to pass before others view cosmetic procedures as acceptable.  I won’t say ‘the norm’ because I do think artificial enhancement should carry with it serious consideration before you undergo any sort of procedure.  Other things like manicures and pedicures, dental work, highlighting your hair, are all ‘procedures’ that are completely unnatural but we consider normal.”

The New York Times has an interesting story in today’s Style section about how the recession and tanking economy will affect the cosmetic surgery and beauty industries. Will people, specifically women, start scrimping on beauty products and cut spending on Botox, boob jobs, pricey gym memberships, and fad diets?

Indeed, a few indicators suggest that financial constraints are beginning to interrupt the narrative of better living through surgery — at least temporarily. Sixty-two percent of plastic surgeons who responded to a recent questionnaire from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons said they had performed fewer procedures in the first half of this year compared with the same period last year, according to the latest anecdotal information from the group.

Personally, I don’t think this will last. The pursuit of perfection is a vice and an addiction, and like sex and booze, which thrive during tough economic times, the desire to look better and younger will never die.

Although the presidential election is less than a month away, Senator Joe Biden has been looking more tranquil lately. He and Senator Barack Obama are ahead in the polls, but I seriously doubt that they are resting easy until November 4. So what could have Biden looking a little more calm and less wrinkled?

A couple of years ago, when I was a freelance writer, I got Botox. I was working on a story for a women’s magazine in the U.K. about “ageorexia”—women in their 20’s and early 30’s who were getting anti-aging treatments and surgeries as a preventative measure rather than as maintenance. While I interviewed a number of women about the subject, I also thought it was a good opportunity to do a little Gonzo-style journalism and get a cosmetic procedure myself.