In a week of royal visits, UK cabinet resignations, US supreme court justice nominations and World Cup football, you may well have missed the revelation that Kylie Jenner has officially abandoned lip fillers. But, let it be observed that Jenner's monumental announcement came not in an official statement, but in a reply to a fan in an Instagram post, which she decorated with a flush-faced emoji and a smiley.
Kylie is the youngest of the Kardashian-Jenner clan, who, at the tender age of 20, has amassed an estimated net worth of $41m (€35.1m) thanks in part to the success of Kylie Cosmetics. The range pivots largely on its selection of lip palettes, aimed at those wishing to recreate Jenner's signature pout: a sort of gastropod mating ritual conducted somewhere between her upturned nose and pert little chin.
Confusingly, in 2015, Jenner conceded that said pout had, in truth, been artificially augmented with lip filler. According to whatclinic.com, lip fillers were the most popular cosmetic procedure of 2016, thanks in part to Jenner. For her to now abandon the good ship filler is, then, potentially devastating for hyaluronic acid pedlars everywhere.
This year, prospective lip-puffers have been encouraged by the cast of Love Island, whose enhanced lips have brought a soothing, aquarium-like charm to the series. Indeed, the sk:n dermatology chain recently offered a reduction on lip-filler treatments for those who want to "Get the Love Island Look". This is, it insists, quite different to the Trout Pout look of yesteryear, although its essence remains much the same: a medically developed solution is injected beneath the skin with a fine needle with the intention of plumping and filling lines.
These days, instead of the liquid silicone so fatefully used by figures such as actor Leslie Ash, surgeons use hyaluronic acid, which holds up to 1,000 times its weight in water, creating the plumpened look.
The effects are temporary, lasting between three and 18 months, and can “lift the appearance of your face, adding volume, definition and moisture”, according to Dr Firas al-Niaimi, the chain’s group medical director. “You don’t have to look completely different – just fresher and more polished.”
But in the world of cosmetic surgery, today’s polished is so quickly tomorrow’s passé. Jenner has yet to hand down further instruction for 2018’s hottest beauty augmentation, but rest assured, her reality underlings await.
– Guardian Service
