I made my career as a fashion and beauty commentator on television, from the “Today” show to “Entertainment Tonight” and dozens of others, but I have to admit, when it comes to watching TV, my personal favorite was “Downtown Abbey.” The elegant lifestyle made me envious. As I sit in Lululemon workout clothes writing at my computer, I dream of changing into formal attire for dinner, with handsome men in tuxedos and women in beautiful gowns.
But would I go back to that time if I could? Absolutely not! Our era has something important theirs did not: the accessibility of agelessness. Spas to pamper, exercise classes for health, dentists for beautiful teeth, cosmetic dermatologists to take years off our faces, and plastic surgeons to make us look on the outside like we feel on the inside. None of these services were available in the days of “Downtown Abbey.” But lucky us, they are not only available today, they really work.
In Orange County, everything is readily available. We might not have a staff of downstairs servants, but we have the best of the best to keep us looking and feeling ageless. Some treatments might not feel so comfortable while you’re undergoing them, but yield tangible, lasting results to your body; others feel luscious and heavenly, lifting your spirits and your sense of well-being for that intangible but nevertheless vital sense of joie de vivre. Even Lady Mary, given the opportunity, would surely have relocated to Orange County.
Plastic Surgery
The best of the best has to include a face-lift that doesn’t look like a face-lift. No more of that over-pulled, tight look with Dr. Milind Ambe, the doctor who is known for his “natural face-lifts.”
“Face-lifts are more of an art form than a technical exercise,” the soft-spoken doctor told me. I liked him the minute I walked in the room. No hard sell, no outlandish promises – just beautiful, natural-looking before-and-after photos of men and women who wanted to look their best – and did. “A good face-lift should not have any distortion, shouldn’t look like you had a face-lift. You don’t stop the aging clock; you just turn it back.” Some people look for cosmetic dermatology to replace the face-lift, but the reality is that nothing replaces a face-lift when it’s time. Within 15 minutes I knew that Ambe would never turn out a patient who looked anything other than their natural, attractive self. This man is an artist.
