Abigail Love, 32, from South Wales is a fashion designer and co-director of UK fashion brand RAIN who recently had the brand new ‘Selfie Facelift’ at the renowned Graal Clinic in Marbella so that she could look Instagram ready without the need for filters.
Abigail says:
“With the increasing pressure from instagram to see the ‘designer behind the brand’ I felt the need to be always ‘photo ready’ during weekly or sometimes even daily Instagram sessions for our fashion brand.
These days people don’t want to see filtered posed shots on Instagram, they want to see ‘real’ photos of brands and the people behind them, so that means no posing and no filters. You need to be ready to be snapped anytime anywhere.
And then of course there are the ‘selfies’. Fashion brands working via Instagram must feature regular selfies for that ‘just threw this on’ appeal. My fashion brand is run mainly via social media platforms so Instagram is the best platform for creating brand awareness and raising our profile so the majority of clients and collaborations are done via instagram.
Selfies are a nightmare as when someone else takes a photo you are less aware, but taking selfies make you much more self-conscious in how you hold yourself, your hair, your teeth, the lighting, your lines and wrinkles.
As Instagram has seen a surge in the desire for real images with no filters, looking your best while being as natural as possible can be a challenge.
We all know that the setting and content created to look authentic is still ‘planned’ and is an ideal we designers/bloggers/influencers want to project. Trust me nobody really wants to see the sweat and tears that goes into making a fashion collection and what I look like after a few days without proper sleep on a 3am phone call to my manufacturer making desperate last-minute alternations.
So I decided to have the new ‘Selfie Facelift’ not because I think I look bad in real life or that I’m unhappy with the way I look, but because I wanted to experiment to see if my likes on Instagram went up or down on my ‘non filtered’ images after having the treatment. Instagram is a business and like for any business you have to work out what your customers want.
Dr Elena does the new treatment in such a way that you cannot see a massive change. I didn’t want people saying ‘oh she’s had work done’. I just wanted to look my best from any angle and without filters and for people to maybe say I look a bit different but not being able to say exactly how.
Behind the scenes, Dr Elena knows all the typical angles of the Instagram selfie and she quickly works out your ‘bad angle’ during the consultation. She then contours your face to look better naturally at those angles.
I didn’t know what I was expecting from the results of the selfie facelift as I have never had anything done to my face before except for a little bit of Botox.
I was also nervous that it was going to hurt but in the end the anaesthetic was the worst pain and that wasn’t much considering the changes that were made. I could feel a tugging motion in certain parts, but it didn’t hurt once the anaesthetic was in.
On seeing the results, which were more or less instant, I was both amazed and delighted. I was especially impressed with the changes to my ‘romany nose’. I have gypsy heritage and my nose was very distinct, especially at my worse selfie angle. Dr Elena made a few ‘tweaks’ to the bridge of my nose and on the nostrils and it’s made a huge difference to my side profile. I’m so happy with it.
I had a small bit of bruising on my nose and chin for 3-4 days after the procedure, but nothing that some light make-up didn’t cover. It has even helped with the frequent blocking I get in my nose that I often have to take decongestants for as it’s taken the pressure off the bone a bit.
I’m so happy with the results and feel much more comfortable with taking selfies and having my photo taken without any filters. My skin tone looks miles better than before. It has this almost filtered iridescence that the light bounces off in photos.
Lots of people have commented, on my skin, my nose and my youthful glow. I feel I need to wear much less make up now, yet I look better in photos. I used to look drawn and bit washed out in make-up free photos before.”
Visit www.graalclinicpuertobanus.com
