Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

Botax! | One way the White House and Senate Democrats plan to pay to overhaul the health care system? By imposing a five percent tax on cosmetic procedures like breast implants, face lifts, tummy tucks, and Botox. The provision, which is projected to raise $6 billion over the next 10 years, has plastic surgeons up in arms, not surprisingly. But considering a slightly disproportionate number of cosmetic surgery consumers are Republicans, it may be a clever political move for Democrats. Even if it wreaks havoc on Nancy Pelosi's personal budget in the process. [AP]

Today's Life Lesson | It's probably not a good idea to have the person who regulary gives you massages be the same person who also performs liposuction on you when the need arises. Thank you. [NYT]

My Plastic Surgeon Is Also My Neurologist | You now have a fabulous new excuse to offer up the next time one of your annoying friends gives you a hard time about all the money you've been spending on Botox injections and facelifts. It isn't because you're vain or anything. It's because you're looking for a cure for your migraines and you just want to God-awful pain to stop. Who could argue with that? [NYT]

• Gisele Bundchen's baby bump was retouched out of London Fog's fall ad campaign. But if you're absolutely dying to see it, the new issue of People seems to deliver. [WWD, Cut, F'gie]
• WWI influenced fashion. So did WWII. And Vietnam. So why is it that we're not seeing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq reflected on the catwalk? [AP]
• What went down at the CFDA's "town hall" yesterday: Anna Wintour sort of proposed flouting anti-trust laws to boost the fashion industry, Diane von Furstenberg was sort of horrified by the idea, and then Anna informed the room that she has connections in the White House. [NYO] More

DIY Plastic Surgery Is Never a Good Idea | Lots of people are looking to save a few bucks these days. One thing you probably should not do as you search for ways to trim your budget: Attempt to perform plastic surgery on yourself at home.More

Michael Bloomberg looks pretty good for his age. But he could always look better! Thanks to the magical powers of New Beauty magazine's highly addictive Instant Makeover Tool—do not visit the site unless you're prepared to fritter away half your afternoon—we subjected the mayor to an eyebrow lift, eyelid fold, blepharoplasty, rhinoplasty, lip augmentation and jaw contouring, and then used some injectibles for treat those depressing nasolabial folds and frown lines of his. He turned out quite nicely, don't you think? You can review larger before-and-after photos here, if you'd like to inspect our work more closely. Now all Bloomberg needs to do is make an appointment with the plastic surgeon of his choice and we can all look forward to a much more fresh-faced mayor on the campaign trail this fall.

Plastic Surgeons Will Rise Above (Or Below) the Recession | Plastic surgeons have come up with a totally novel plan to keep the industry afloat as interest in pricey procedures wanes thanks to the recession. They're going to start operating on black people! "We know by our statistics that this is a growing group by interest in plastic surgery," explains one doc to the Times. Naturally, you can expect to see a flood of subway ads touting $99.95 Botox injections in the near future. [NYT]

Botox Loses Its Precious Monopoly | Botox won't be the only option on the menu the next time you head off to see your cosmetic surgeon or dermatologist. A drug called Dysport just won approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Just like Botox, Dysport uses pure poison (botulinum toxin) to relax your muscles and smooth out the wrinkles you'd really rather not have for your upcoming class reunion. But it's more expensive than Botox—and research suggests it's less effective and riskier compared to the competition—so feel free to ignore everything you just read and stick to the lethal poison you already know and love. [Bloomberg]

It reads like the plotline for a particularly lurid Law & Order episode: A 43-year-old Bronx woman dies suddenly; her death seems tragic but unsuspicious, until the medical examiner discovers a silicone embolism in her lungs and her family reveals that she'd been given body-plumping silicone injections by an unlicensed cosmetologist, who would have been charged with homicide had she not fled to the Dominican Republic. More

Rupert Everett's Shocking Transformation! [Star via Jossip]

Plastic surgeons have been reporting a big drop in business in recent months, which isn't at all surprising. If you can't pay your Visa bill and you're behind on your rent, the last thing you're going to invest in is a new face, right? Naturally, this is not good news for plastic surgeons: If they can't find people willing to invest in new faces, how are they supposed to cover their mortgages? Well, it looks like they've come up with the perfect tactic to reverse the decline. More

Fabiola Beracasa profile [Cityfile]
Previous Fabiola Beracasa coverage [Cityfile]

You know what's just infuriating? When you spend thousands of dollars on having big plastic domes inserted into your chest, and then men have the gall to notice them! "You can be at a club," marvels enhanced-to-a-C-cup Annabell Newell, "and a guy you've never met before will come up to you, stare at your chest and blatantly ask, 'When did you get them?' No 'Hi, nice to meet you.'" Outrageous! But in our brave new world of preponderant cosmetic enhancement, how does one inquire about the originality of someone's body parts without committing a faux pas? More

Dr. Drew Pinsky may say that America's obsession with vanity is waning, but for some women the lure of cosmetic transformation is impossible to resist: so much so, in fact, that a beautification-related crime wave has broken out! In one daring stunt, a 24-year-old British woman conned a makeover show into paying $50,000 for laser skin treatments, new teeth, clothes, and hair-styling, then disappeared before they could finish filming. We know: It's upsetting to see this most classy and wholesome of TV genres, the only purpose of which is to help people, be exploited so heartlessly.More

Take two deeply unfortunate but unrelated situations—the recession is making people spend less on cosmetic surgery and Dr. Drew Pinsky has a book to plug—and you have the basic ingredients for the Daily News' marginally convincing state-of-the-nation argument today: that America has abandoned its obsession with beauty, glamour, and celebrities in favor of "what's important." More