What does it take for the stars to look their best on the red carpet? Especially for Oscars week Nadine Baggott reveals the beauty bootcamp celebrities go through in the lead up to the big day
There will be some very sore heads in LA this week. A few very special people will be laying down in darkened rooms with cool, damp cloths on their collective foreheads.
But these aren’t the Oscar-winning actors, actresses, directors and producers in need of a little TLC; these are the beauty bootcamp bods. The women and men who have been on call 24/7 for the past few weeks ensuring that every A-list forehead is wrinkle-free, every grey hair is smudged away and every inch of exposed flesh is tanned, toned and trimmed of fat and ready to be exposed to the world’s glare.
“LA’s beauty business is busier pre-awards season than at any other time of the year,” explains cosmetic nurse to the stars Rand Rusher, who himself is the star of his own reality series Pretty Hurts. So what treatments are the stars demanding in the run up to the Oscars?
“Botox, of course, but done in such a way as to remain slightly mobile so they can deny having it; fillers to plump lips and cheeks, skin peels and laser resurfacing including skin tightening and rejuvenating to remove sun damage, fine lines and to lift and tighten sagging jowls and necks. And, of course given time, there will be a few scalpels on call too.”
Jennifer Aniston has spoken openly about her ‘addiction’ to peels and lasers; the combination is perfect for actresses in their thirties and forties who aren’t ready to go under the knife but want to burn away sun spots, fine lines and to gently tighten skin. What’s more, the downtime is minimal – anything from 24 hours to a week - so the media won’t notice if you take time away from a busy schedule. And you can always answer with impunity when asked for your views on cosmetic surgery: “Well, I wouldn’t judge, but going under the knife is not for me.”
What other treatments do the A-listers we know and love schedule in the weeks before the red carpet? Here’s our Oscar’s beauty bootcamp countdown:
Six weeks to go
You need to drop those final few pounds and get in shape for the backless, sideless, frontless, sheer dresses (oh, it’s so much easier to be a man and wear a Tom Ford tux, right?).
Who do you call? Barry’s Bootcamp, the circuit cardio based workouts that started in LA in 1998 and have now finally come to London. If you don’t mind working out in public then this is the class for you. But if you want more personal attention you need Gunnar Peterson, the man behind JLo’s incredible curves, Lucy Liu and Angelina Jolie. Tracey Anderson works all over the US and is not only responsible for Gwyneth Paltrow’s super firm body but is her business partner, and then there’s Harley Pasternak who transforms bodies, including Alicia Keys, with his 5 Factor eating and exercise regime.
Or if you are on the East Coast, you turn to David Kirsch who got the gorgeous Liv Tyler back into her better than pre-baby body shape. Oh, and don’t think you can still stop by the Sprinkles vending machine on your way back home after a workout with these guys; the low carbs, no white foods, high proteins, lots of fresh veg nutritional advice goes hand in hand with the punishing daily workouts.
Four weeks to go
It’s time to about-face and get your skin in shape. Botox tick, fillers tick, skin laser and intense pulsed light tick, maybe a little dermaroller to boost collagen production, tick, tick, tick. The cosmetic offices of surgeons like Dr Leslie Stevens, Dr Norman Leaf, Dr Garth Fisher and Dr Gary Motykie are brimming with famous faces searching for a full spectrum of surgical and non surgical services.
Each office has a drive-in basement garage so A-listers can sneak in at 6am in the morning or at 9pm at night - traditional out of office times - to avoid the paps. Right now the ‘non invasive’ options that are popular include the liquid face lift, done just with deep dermal fillers and Botox, and the thread lift, which is done through an incision above the ear in the hairline and uses a barbed thread to lift sagging jaw lines. The rumours abound that Madonna has had one, but if so her surgeon is not saying.
Two weeks to go
This is the time to start your high tech facials. Sonya Dakar offers an incredible range of anti-ageing skin peels, LED light and oxygen facials, but is infamous for her Stem Cell Diamond Microdermabrasion facial – Gwyneth Paltrow is a fan – that combines LED light, apple stem cell antioxidants and microdermabrasion. Meanwhile on Melrose Place the salon of Kate Somerville often has a sneaky paparazzo waiting outside to catch a fresh faced Paris Hilton, Jessica Alba or Felicity Huffman after one of the signature Quench facials. Kate offers a full range of laser treatments including the face firming Titan, but it is her Lift & Glow Facial that the actresses book pre-awards show.
One week to go
It’s time to detox. This means a day at the spa and the start of a juice cleanse to drop those final few pounds. Juicing is easy in LA, as they will deliver to your door or you can order in advance and pick up all you need from Pressed Juicery, Beverly Hills Juice and Clover. The spa of choice has to be Ole Henriksen, who famously calmed Ellen DeGeneres down with a back massage just before she hosted the Oscars. Choose The Detoxifying Ritual combined with the Tropical Airbrush Tanning.
The night before
It’s time to call upon the services of Jimmy Jimmy Coco, the only man to trust with a tanning gun in LA. When Victoria Beckham decrees that tans are back in, this is the mobile man on her speed dial. He also tans Megan Fox, Eva Longoria, a whole host of Kardashians, as well as the current Victoria’s Secret models and alumni Heidi Klum and Marisa Miller.
Last stop before you get a good night’s sleep is to have your brows Anastasia-ed. Anastasia Soare waxes, dyes, grooms, tweezes and trims the brows of Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Penelope Cruz and Sharon Stone and all with a miner’s style bright light strapped to her forehead so she doesn’t leave one tiny hair out of place.
On the day
All you can do is pray that your hard work has been worth it. Oh, and book the best hair and make-up people in the business - but that’s a whole other feature.
LA Address Book
· Tracey Anderson, www.traceyandersonmethod.com
· Harley Pasternak, www.harleypasternak.com
· Gunnar Peterson, www.gunnarpeterson.com
· Barry’s Bootcamp, www.barrysbootcamp.com
· David Kirsch, www.davidkirschwellness.com
· Dr Norman Leaf, www.leafmd.com
· Dr Gary Motykie, www.drmotykie.com
· Dr Garth Fisher, www.garthfisher.com
· Dr Leslie Stevens, www.drlesliestevens.com
· Rand Rusher, www.randrusher.com
· Sonya Dakar, www.sonyadakarskinclinic.com
· Kate Somerville, www.katesomerville.com
· Ole Henriksen, www.olehenriksen.com
· Jimmy Coco, www.jimmycoco.com
· Anastasia Soare, www.anastasia.net