If you’re a young woman in this world of ours, you’ve recently popped onto Instagram, whether for a mindless scroll or some appointment sleuthing. And you’ve been greeted — blasted, really — with one genre of visual stimuli in particular, its ubiquity widespread beyond escape: Call it plastic surgery “content” or vanity porn — what’s the difference?
It’s the before-and-after comparisons, the pre-op confessionals, the post-op debriefs, the self-diagnosis reels, the unsolicited recommendations, the 30-year-old models who’re getting their own facial transformations gratis so long as they’ll bring their tens (or hundreds) of thousands of followers along for the ride. You’re served the good, the deliciously bad, and the can’t-look-away ugly. Then you swipe over to TikTok, where the same vanity-as-status symbol ecosystem has mushroomed into a symphonic chorus of opining and cha-chinging: what did she have done, who did it, is it any good, can I get one too? It’s useful, it’s almost whimsical. It’s play, right? It’s addictive.
For millennia, the quest to make oneself more beautiful, more youthful, through any means more invasive than the season’s newest lipstick shade, was a solitary pursuit — one cloaked in hush-hush doctor’s appointments and precision-timed recovery periods. If a cavewoman went to “lunch” and returned to her tribe with her T-zone looking raw as a freshly skinned rabbit, presumably none of her Neanderthal sisters would dare inquire. That dynamic followed for about 400,000 years.
Today, beauty, both as a concept and an industry, has morphed into a checklist of femmebot upgrades and hardware mods seemingly overnight, and it feels like everyone — from our culture-shifters-in-chief, the Kardashian-Jenners, to their reality show brethren in and near the White House — are flashing their specs. In the age of no-holds-barred vanity, our psyches and our wallets are being forced to adapt as fast as our faces and figures. How did we get here? And should we want out?
What’s Inside
The Plastic Surgeon Summit
Our editors spent more than 12 hours interviewing 22 of the most sought-after (and verbose) docs (and one tenacious injections guru) about the state of their industry.
The Perfectionist
She’s the go-to face wizard for the stealthy and the wealthy. What’s her secret formula?
Will Going Under the Knife Make You Richer?
A deep dive into intervention as investment.
Do You Even (Brow) Lift, Bro?
Amid a craze for longevity, chin implants and body sculpting no longer seem strange to men.
The Millennial Glow-Up
Why millennials are shuffling their priorities and looking better than ever.
Boobs Are The New Face
An expedition into the Cleavage Clinic, a med spa where breasts are the main character.
Caution: Student Doctor
Would you trade your surgeon’s experience for a discount?
Tell Us How You Really Feel
The results of a 100-reader survey looking vanity right in the eye.
Nip, Pray, Tuck
Christians are clashing over whether faith and fillers (and much more) can ever align.
The GLP-1 Secret Society
One notable exception in the new era of tell-all beauty? Weight-loss injections.
Enough With The Injections, Honey!
Snapshots of relationships at their overfilling point.
Heather Gay Shows Us The Receipts
The Real Housewife of Salt Lake City estimates she’s gotten $200,000 of work done in her lifetime — and has no regrets.
The Pundits of Plastics
From celebrity M.D.s to armchair enthusiasts, meet the players building their followings by talking about who’s (allegedly) going under the knife.
Table Talk
Our editors spent more than 12 hours interviewing 22 of the most sought-after (and verbose) docs (and one tenacious injections guru) about the state of their industry. We laughed, we balked, and we learned — about what’s in, what’s next, and what makes a nightmare patient.
Scalpel, Please
Lara Devgan’s Natural Beauty
She’s the go-to face wizard for the stealthy and the wealthy. What’s her secret formula? By Maggie Bullock
Will Going Under The Knife Make You Richer?
A deep dive into intervention as investment. By Rachel Sugar
Do You Even (Brow) Lift, Bro?
Amid a craze for longevity, chin implants and body sculpting no longer seem strange to men. By April Long
The Millennial Glow-Up
When you can’t afford to buy a house — but you can afford to get hot. By Hannah Orenstein
Our Faces, Ourselves
We asked 100 Bustle readers to bare their souls about vanity. They didn’t hold back.
Skin Deep
Nip, Pray, Tuck
Christians are clashing over whether faith and fillers (and much more) can ever align. By Avery Stone
Click or tap the syringes to learn more.
“Botox costs $800 to $1,000 per treatment. I get mine quarterly — or maybe even slightly more often if I’m filming.”
“I’ve been getting filler in my lips for probably seven years, and I only do lips once or twice a year — if that. The standard treatment is $600. If I did pay for my treatments at Beauty Lab, my bill would be $11,912 for the year so far.”
“My favorite hair removal is what we call the ‘Labzillian,’ and it’s belly button to backside, so you’re smooth like a dolphin. It starts at $580 for a package of eight, and once you get those treatments, you only have to go in twice a year to maintain it.”
“Another treatment I get is Sculptra, which is a collagen stimulator, with big long needles on your face. Sculptra is $800 to $1,000 for a vial, and some people get four to six vials. It can cost around $4,000 per treatment.”
“I got the ‘mommy makeover’ when I was married. My ex-husband wanted me to get it, and he paid for it. I think the tummy tuck was probably 18 to 20 grand.”
“The boob job was 8 to 12 grand. But the prices have gone way up — it’s now around 40 grand for a mommy makeover.”
“I got both of these surgeries for free, from the same surgeon, but I think the nose job was around $12,000, and a blepharoplasty was $2,500.”
“Over the last three years I’ve lost 30 pounds on GLP-1s. I started with a Ozempic, and then I switched to Mounjaro, like every other celebrity. If my weight goes up, I just go on it for a week or two. That costs around $500 a month, but at some places, it’s $1,200 a month.”
“I also got veneers last year, which I paid cash for — it was about 30 grand. I just feel so much better about my appearance now.”
“Counting all of the things I’ve had done, I’m probably $200,000 into my physical appearance — and it was worth every penny.”
Expert Witness
From celebrity M.D.s to armchair enthusiasts, meet the players racking up views by guessing who’s gone under the knife.
Talking Heads
Julie Schott’s Crystal Ball
The chronically online Starface co-founder has a knack for predicting the next big thing in beauty. By Rachel Baker
In our reader survey, we asked you who you thought the most beautiful celebrity was.
Read It All
Boobs Are The New Face
An expedition into the Cleavage Clinic, a med spa where breasts are the main character.
The GLP-1 Secret Society
One notable exception in the new era of tell-all beauty? Weight-loss injections.
The Perfectionist
She’s the go-to face wizard for the stealthy and the wealthy. What’s her secret formula?
The Millennial Glow-Up
Why millennials are shuffling their priorities and looking better than ever.
Will Going Under the Knife Make You Richer?
A deep dive into intervention as investment.
The Plastic Surgeon Summit
Our editors spent more than 12 hours interviewing 22 of the most sought-after (and verbose) docs (and one tenacious injections guru) about the state of their industry.
Nip, Pray, Tuck
Christians are clashing over whether faith and fillers (and much more) can ever align.
Do You Even (Brow) Lift, Bro?
Amid a craze for longevity, chin implants and body sculpting no longer seem strange to men.
Caution: Student Doctor
Would you trade your surgeon’s experience for a discount?
Enough With The Injections, Honey!
Snapshots of relationships at their overfilling point.
Hey, Girls, Should We All Get Our Necks Done?
How fantasy-casting your plastic surgery order became the group-chat topic of the moment.
Heather Gay Shows Us The Receipts
The Real Housewife of Salt Lake City estimates she’s gotten $200,000 of work done in her lifetime — and has no regrets.
Julie Schott’s Crystal Ball
The chronically online Starface co-founder has a knack for predicting the next big thing in beauty.
The Pundits of Plastics
From celebrity M.D.s to armchair enthusiasts, meet the players building their followings by talking about who’s (allegedly) going under the knife.
