My friend Robert shared an interesting post on utterz today about a legendary beauty, Bridgette Bardeaux and how unkind time can be even to the most beautiful of us.
Here’s the photo of the french looker then and now:

It appears as if father time isn’t fair when it comes to aging men and women.
Here’s Sean Connery from the same time span then and now.

Throughout history, much older men have been with much younger women but rarely is it the other way around. Why is that so? I guess the fact that women live much longer kind of makes up for all this?

Need another example? Here’s that famous beautiful Afghan girl from the cover of Time magazine that they tracked down many years later:

All this reminds me of a wonderful song called “What is a Youth” by fellow countryman Nino Rota. It was used in Franco Zefferelli’s “Romeo & Juliet” from 1968. The words and music say it all.

WHAT IS A YOUTH

What is a youth? Impetuous fire.
What is a maid? Ice and desire.
The world wags on.
A rose will bloom
It then will fade
So does a youth.
So do-o-o-oes the fairest maid.
Comes a time when one sweet smile
Has its season for a while…Then love’s in love with me.
Some they think only to marry, Others will tease and tarry,
Mine is the very best parry. Cupid he rules us all.
Caper the cape, but sing me the song,
Death will come soon to hush us along.
Sweeter than honey and bitter as gall.
Love is a task and it never will pall.
Sweeter than honey…and bitter as gall
Cupid he rules us all

The old adage, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder” is so true. When it comes to the entertainment industry, looking good is paramount when it comes to the success of their careers. At least that is the mentality of the majority of celebrities and the powers that be.

Does it even matter how “natural” or “synthetic” beauty is these days? In general, the public doesn’t seem care how their favorite celebrity got to look the way they do. Does anyone really give a flip that Tom Cruise has a much better nose than he had when his career started? Did anyone even notice that Enrique Iglesias burned off that massive mole from his face? Ultimately, it shouldn’t matter because at the end of the day talent and skills will prevail most of the time. Sometimes you just can’t stop lady luck. Some people are destined for stardom (however that is defined) no matter what lack of talent they possess thanks to their good looks and/or the situation they are born into (Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie, etc.).

In recent entertainment news some popular celebrities have gone public with their radical plastic surgeries. Ashley Tisdale from High School Musical fame got rid of her trademark nose causing a major uproar from her hardcore fans who appreciated her unusual beauty. That reminds me of another celebrity who made the decision not to change her big schnauze and still enjoyed decades of success, Barbara Streisand. Another singer that upset her devoted fans by replacing her large nose was Ashley Simpson. Here are some before and after shots of both singers (Tisdale then Simpson).

It appears as if there is enough public interest in this subject matter to warrant a website that reveals before and after photo’s of celebs: http://www.celebrityplasticpics.com/ . Some of them are surprising, but many of them are well-known by now.

Is that a plank in your eye?

Before we start feeling holier than thou and condemn anyone (celebrity or otherwise) for selecting cosmetic surgery, we need to look in the mirror ourselves. How far do WE go in order to look our best? After all, we all want to put our best face forward. Doesn’t EVERY woman wear make-up? Where is this preverbial line that is crossed when it comes to looking our best? Is it the line cut by a scalple? I don’t know.

If you don’t think make-up makes much of a difference when it comes to beauty, then take a look at these images. On a personal level, we all know about the magic of make-up, right fella’s?

I think most of us are more forgiving of the use of make-up because it’s something everyone uses and not expensive like plastic surgery.

Final Thoughts:

In the end, it’s up to each individual to decide what true beauty means and what is real or synthetic. Personally, I am fine with anything someone does to enhance their appearance as long as it doesn’t go to extremes like Michael Jackson! The only thing that bothers me is when someone’s appearance is “enhanced” digitally with photo editors like in these movie clips.