Introduction

Plastic Surgery Without the Surgery: The Miracle of Makeup Techniques
by Eve Pearl

Have you been contemplating Botox, eyelid surgery, or breast augmentation? A face-lift, nose job, or collagen injections?

Save your money and stay away from the risks! Learn how you can get the glowing good looks you've always desired-and avoid going under the knife...

Plastic Surgery without the Surgery

In this comprehensive and practical book, Emmy Award-winning makeup artist Eve Pearl reveals the simple and amazing makeup techniques that only the pros know. By applying the same Hollywood-insider methods used to make celebrities look young and gorgeous, she shows you how to enhance your lips, diminish wrinkles, and even appear to go from an A-cup bra to a generous B or even C!

And this powerful, safe way to a more youthful and natural beauty takes just minutes to achieve. Discover:

• The "face-lift" kit that tightens skin, brings out the eyes, and hides deep laugh lines around the nose and mouth

• Fantastic remedies for dark circles under the eyes, puffiness, and crow's-feet

• Dramatic shading to produce elegant cheekbones and make a double chin disappear

• Techniques to make your breasts look larger (you won't believe your eyes!)

• Products to create fuller, more sensuous lips with a "sweetheart" shape and a luscious shine

...and much more.

From eye-lift to face-lift, you will be thrilled by the results-without the pain, risk, or expense of surgery!

When a woman hits a certain age, it's only natural to consider some type of cosmetic surgery. Women feel so much pressure to resist aging that they begin to look for anything possible to make them look and feel younger. Unfortunately, many of these women turn too quickly to plastic surgery: Two and a half million cosmetic surgeries are performed each year in the United States alone, one-quarter of which are done on women under the age of twenty-and that number continues to grow. Why do so many women want to change their looks? The constant barrage of media representations of abnormally thin and beautiful models makes most of us feel less than perfect, causing us to question our looks instead of accept them. A woman recently said to me, "As a girl, I was terrified to grow up. I would look at the magazines and say, 'I don't look that way. How will I be happy? Have a boyfriend? Will people like me?' My whole world seemed to depend on me looking like the cover girl models."

Such is the pressure created by airbrushed perfection. We know that these images are false and misleading, but we also know they are not going to go away. So what do we do? Many women turn to an array of cosmetic surgery procedures—from face-lifts to eye lifts, Botox, breast augmentations, and more. The procedures, however, are not only expensive, but also risky and sometimes quite dangerous. A California plastic surgeon recently attributed the rising rate of botched operations to improper training of surgeons. Over the past four or five years, he has seen a 20 to 30 percent increase in requests to redo such botched jobs. Plastic surgery is not the only answer. In fact, in my opinion, there is a better, safer, easier solution. It's the oldest trick in the book, and the technique that is used for those "perfect" models on magazine covers and for celebrities on television and in film: makeup.

I spent years creating faces as a makeup artist for theater on Broadway, in the opera, and in the ballet. Since then, I have been working with celebrities on television and film as well as doing photo shoots, yet I still cling to the makeup techniques I learned in the theater. I've realized that many of the tools and strategies for making a face come alive onstage remain the same in everyday life, though not to such dramatic degrees. In the theater, I learned an important lesson about the dual powers of makeup and the naked face: Every face is a blank canvas, and makeup can easily alter and augment facial characteristics, constructing dimension in a variety of ways. The techniques are simple and create amazing results. They are the reason why models and celebrities always appear flawless. In this book, I will reveal these secrets, so you can look (and feel!) flawless, too.

No matter what we do or where we live, we all sometimes feel judged by the way we look. My mother, who I feel is beautiful, is constantly agonizing over whether or not she should cave in to the pressure and get a face-lift. Her fears of the pain and of the results have kept her away from the surgeon, along with some simple makeup techniques I showed her that "lift" her face. Now she can look younger every day—without the risks or the cost of surgery. Like many women, I personally struggled with the way I look, and I've been known to obsess about my acne scars—especially since I work in an industry where it feels as though you are constantly judged by the way you look. Even the most beautiful—and young—women suffer from some insecurity over what they see as imperfections in how they look, whether it's an occasional breakout, puffy eyes, or a double chin. All of these so-called problems can be fixed with makeup. Keep in mind that the appeal of a beautiful woman is also her sense of humor (think of Lucille Ball), her intelligence (Eleanor Roosevelt), her poise and elegance (Jackie O), her confidence (Catherine Zeta-Jones), her drive (Madonna), her longevity (Elizabeth Taylor), and, at times, her vulnerability (Princess Diana). Without a doubt, beauty is a subjective quality, but one that we all strive for to some degree. Makeup gives each and every woman the power to find her particular beauty, and this power is the true value of makeup.

I wrote this book because I wanted to share with others what I have discovered over the past fifteen years working as a makeup artist. Of the many people whom I have helped get ready for the camera, all have said one thing consistently: "I didn't know makeup could do that!" They were amazed at the power of certain techniques to transform their faces, their eyes, their brows, their noses, their lips, and other aspects of their bodies.

I also want to share these secrets as a way to empower women (and men)—especially as a defense against the omnipresent cultural pressure to have the "perfect" face and body. In this day and age, when it seems as if everyone is considering some form of surgery or other interventional procedure to "correct" their face or body, makeup is a powerful, safe way to enhance your appearance and alter those features that you want to change without complication. Makeup is both inexpensive and temporary, two qualities that are decidedly not characteristic of plastic surgery. We invest time and money in gyms (we never go to), diet programs (we don't stay on), shopping for clothes (we never wear). Why not invest some time into making ourselves feel better about ourselves? Applying makeup is quick, easy, and fun. Learning how to use it to temporarily accentuate or completely transform your face is quite simple—just follow the guidelines in the pages that follow. I promise, you'll be amazed by the results!

In the first chapter, you will learn about your skin type and how to choose the right foundation, as well as other makeup products that best suit your skin type. We'll then move on to the face. You will see how to use makeup to lift your face or forehead, hide those freckles, enhance your cheekbones, remove that double chin, and more. In chapter 3, you'll learn how to accentuate or deaccentuate the eyes and brows, as well as hide those dark circles, puffy eyes, and crow's-feet. Contemplating eyelid surgery? No need. I'll show you how to get the same effect with makeup. Chapters 4 and 5 discuss the nose and lips. Forget that nose job or Botox to enhance your lips—you can create the nose and lips you want in only a few simple steps. In chapter 6, we'll look at the breasts and the body, focusing on how to make your breasts look fuller (you won't believe your eyes!) and how to temporarily hide unwanted age spots or tattoos. Finally, in chapter 7, you will find an overview of all the makeup tools you'll need to transform yourself. In addition, throughout the book, you'll discover tons of unique home remedies, beauty tips, and tricks of the trade that will also enhance your look.

So forget the risky and expensive procedures and surgeries! Makeup not only lets you hold on to the part of yourself that your unique face represents, but also gives you the power to discover all the people you want to be. Let makeup be your magic wand!

Copyright © 2004 by Eve Pearl

About the Author

Eve Pearl is a three-time Emmy Award-winning celebrity makeup artist with over fifteeen years experience in television, theater, print, and film. The key makeup artist for ABC's The View, she also does on-air makeovers and has worked on hundreds of celebrities. Her credits include The 72nd Annual Academy Awards, The Today Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Metropolitan Opera, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, and Saturday Night Live. She lives in New York City with her husband.