Lisa Topham RN, BSN; Turning Back the Clock Needle in Hand

Lisa Topham RN, BSN Director of Split Rock Asethetic Institute

                                                                    203-831-8029


Back in November, I had the opportunity to attend an evening seminar with Lisa Topham RN, BSN at her satellite office in Greenwich, Ct. I sat rapt, with a room full of women, as Lisa filled us in on all the latest fillers, including what has become the star of her anti-aging arsenal, Bellafill the five year filler.  Lisa, is an aesthetic perfectionist, and having practiced nothing but the art of anti-aging with injectibles for the last 30 years.  Suffice to say, she has seen and done it all.  What we couldn't take our eyes off, was the screen of Before and After's that documented all she can achieve, non-invasively. It was nothing short of remarkable!  (Click here to read my original post).

There comes a time in every woman's life, when she starts noticing the visible signs of aging; fine lines, wrinkles, loss of collagen volume and sagging jawlines. Ever notice how great you look with a tight towel turban post shampoo? All of a sudden, everything is where it used to be! Nothing crazy, just a slight uptick, but it does seem to shave the years off.

Where Lisa has seen the biggest growth in her business, is with busy, women who don't want to set the clock back 20 years, but just want to look fresh and youthful. A whole other sector is of more mature women, who will not undergo plastic surgery, PERIOD.   Their goals are realistic. Nothing will achieve more visible and long lasting results than a full or partial facelift, but they are comfortable with doing the next best thing, having Lisa Topham evaluate the areas that can be dramatically improved, without a scalpel.


                                                       Before                                    After

50 year old patient, treated with Bellafill, Restalyne (nasal fobial area)
and Restalyne Silk in her lips

Notice the improvement in overall youthful volume; the lifted cheekbones, jawline and upturned mouth. Gone are the deeper lines forming from her nose to her lips. Also attractive? The addition of a tasteful amount of lip filler, nothing cartoonish here, but a simple addition of the lost volume in her natural lip area.

Not only is the patient thrilled with her subtle, beautiful results, with no downtime, but her husband is also very pleased...who said men never notice anything? Granted, there is some bruising associated with injectibles, but short of vanity, unlike a surgical recovery, there is nothing to keep you from pursuing normal activities.

After attending Lisa's seminar, I decided to have my own consultation with her. We had a thoughtful conversation and I told Lisa my areas of concern. She then took pictures and posted them on her computer, so she could show me which areas of my face she thought needed attention and what exactly she could do to improve them. Depending on your budget, you can prioritize which areas to address first, or if available to you, achieve all your goals at the same time.
                                               
                                                     Before                                    After      

Results were achieved with Bellafill
( interestingly, my upper lip looks fuller in the After's.
That my Lovelies is nothing more than liner and gloss)

What bothered me most, was my jawline. Gravity, mother effer time, was weighing me down, and up until recently, nothing short of a scalpel could address it.  Lisa felt confident, that Bellafill would give me the correction I sought.  By adding volume to the outer portion of my cheekbone and lower face, she successfully lifted and tightened my jawline.  The after pictures were taken 3 weeks later and since Bellafill also stimulates natural collagen production, my results have only improved in the subsequent 2 months.

I could not be happier with my results!

I am sharing them with you, because I truly believe a picture is worth a thousand words. I am not saying I would never go under the knife...who knows how I will feel in the future. Iit's possible, however,  to achieve lovely, natural looking results without anesthesia, discomfort, swelling and downtime, I'm down.

In addition to Botox, Bellafill, Restalyne, Restalyne Silk and other fillers, . Lisa and her team also perform Ultherapy, and have lasers that diminish sun damage and spider veins. Her latest??? Microtox, a diluted Botox solution, that, "shrink wraps" the neck!  I have the feeling it's going to be hotly requested...necks, can be a nag.

So my Lovelies, for those of you who live in the East, I am delighted to share this treasure of a resource with you.  Lisa sees patients at both her Greenwich office at 116 Mason St. and at Split Rock Aesthetic Institute in Wilton Ct. Appointments can be booked at the same number 203-831-8029.  When  you book your appointment, please let them know you were referred by DivaDebbi.

For those in other states or countries, I do recommend the website called RealSelf.com. Actual patients rate and refer Plastic Surgeons and Dermatologists who specialize in a wide spectrum of procedures. Always do your homework on any practitioner, and whenever possible, take advice from someone whose results you can see for yourself. This is also not the place to penny pinch...you do get what you pay for and generally you pay for experience and a stellar reputation.

We are a generation of fit, fabulous women. If taking advantage of modern anti-aging techniques helps make your biological age better align with the age you feel, so be it.  If you choose to age naturally and live a healthy lifestyle, so be it, as well.

Just be well.  I'm fairly certain, judgement causes wrinkles :)...

xox,
DD

The $24 Lip Job: Bobbi Brown Shimmer Gloss

Bobbi Brown Rose Sugar Lip Gloss
$24

 

I adore my friends...and the closer we are, the more we don't hold back. Girlfriend creed is to be able to tell your friends what other people are saying, or at least suspecting. I have a posse that I'm relying on to tell me the second my sleeveless days are over.

I was enjoying a Holiday drink with my hilarious friend Monica Webster the other night in Greenwich.  One sip in, she said, "so, you got your lips done", wasting not a second.

"Uh, no, actually I didn't. They are all mine, but I am wearing a new old favorite,
Bobbi Brown Shimmer Lip Gloss."

I was surprised to see it offered as a Sephora Insider perk in Greenwich, since they are not a branch that carries Bobbi.  Naturally, I snagged one, particularly since the shade offered, Rose Sugar, was perfectly gorgeous. (The colors on the website look nothing like they do in person, so I strongly suggest seeing them in person).

I picked up a full size gloss at Blue Mercury today and even that was slightly lighter than my Sephora sample, which was perhaps a few years old.

Odd.

Renee Zellweger: Then and Now

There has been an awful lot of buzz about Renee Zellweger lately. Tongues have been wagging and pundits are weighing in, including plastic surgeons (with heady disclaimers), about what exactly did Renee do?

Frankly, if someone had shown me the picture at right above on its own, I could not identify who it was...could you???

Ms. Zellweger always had a atypical Hollywood look, which I found charming... mostly. There were definitely some Red Carpet appearances, however, where she appeared chipmunk cheeked, from over zealous injections of fillers, (see yesterday's blog for my take on tweaking the right way: http://divadebbi.blogspot.com/2013/12/girls-night-out-new-york-group-for.html)

Her squinty eyes, were well, Renee's.  Highly identifiable, but certainly not an impediment to her successful film career, with hits like Jerry McGuire and The Bridget Jones Diaries, that delighted fans.

What would make her want to change her look so drastically?  There are even rumors that she is "obsessed" with Jennifer Lawrence and one can't exactly deny the resemblance:

Renee (44) and Jennifer (23)

Here's what I think Renee has had done:

Girls Night Out: The New York Group for Plastic Surgery

Beautiful friends Izabella and Christine

I have a  wonderful, long standing relationship with the doctors and practitioners at The New York Group for Plastic Surgery.  Dr. Andrew Salzberg is a personal hero of mine.  He compassionately and brilliantly did my breast reconstruction nearly 14 years ago, when I opted to do a bilateral prophylactic mastectomy, (think Angie),  and yes, I was way ahead of the curve.

When it came time to address my anti-aging concerns, it never occurred to me to go elsewhere. Though I think plenty of women don't fess up to all their tweaks, Botox, Restalyne, Sculptra, peels and lasers are as much a part of beauty maintenance these days as facials, highlights and root touch ups.

Lately, I have noticed a discouraging trend; Botox parties, Dentists doing injectibles, Groupon, Amazon and Living Social offering cut rate deals on anti-aging treatments and a new entry Zendy Beauty, modeled like Priceline, where you name your price and see if any of the doctors in their network will accept it.

I think it's begging for trouble.  After all, we wear our faces everyday, this is not an area you want to bargain hunt.

Truly, your very best bet for excellent, natural results is to select your practitioners based on their experience and friends who have had great results.

Accordingly, I gathered a group of 15 friends for an event at the NY Group for Plastic Surgery in Tarrytown, N.Y., where they had the opportunity to meet Dr. Salzberg, Dr. Aydin, Physician's Assistant Tami Healy and Ashlea Hoess. Nicely, there was champagne, munchies and goodie bags for all and their cheerful staff on hand to make sure everyone was comfortable and attended to.

Readers often email me for help and information. I also wanted my friends to have the benefit of hearing about all the latest in anti-aging advances too. As a jumping off point, I put together a list of questions to ask the experts and the Girls chimed in with their own as well.


Here were some of the questions asked and answered by their team of experts:

Tami Healy P.A. Expert injector, Ultherapy, Surgical Assistant

Soap and Glory: Sexy Mother Pucker XL Extreme Plump

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker XL Lip Gloss
$22 Exclusively at Sephora

Soap & Glory used to be exclusive to Target.  The brand was not on my radar, but some of the cheeky names given to their products did ring a bell when I spotted  Soap & Glory in the skincare area of Sephora,  like, "Sexy Mother Pucker XL Extreme Plump Lip Gloss".

It is said as we age, that our lips thin. Fortunately, I think some of the Angelina Jolie lip hysteria has abated. However, women still fret about too thin lips and often look for ways to puff their puckers, from fillers to plumpers.

Here is what Sexy Mother Pucker XL it claims to do:

What it is:
Soap & Glory's super-sizing, extra-strength collagen plumping lip gloss. 

What it is formulated to do:
Give low-volume lips some va va va BOOM with this super-strength XL lip plumping gloss. Sexy Mother Pucker™ XL Extreme Plump is formulated with circulation-enhancing LIPSWELL™ natural plant oil infusion, SUPERFILL™ nanovectors that explode in volume up to 10X when applied to your lips, and VISIVOLUME™ immediate effect lip filler.


Lipswell??? SUPERFILL nanvovectors??? VISIVOLUME??? It all sounds like a lot of marketing rhetoric to me.  I did find, however,  that this clear gloss, which tingles, really tingles, makes my lips look fuller; particularly when worn alone.

Me and ET

I heard from my friend Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompson the other day.   "We are having a special on Radiesse on August 12th.  Do you think your readers might be interested" ???... "Sure!!!  Tell me more and may I pick your brains  a bit too"???..."Of course", she replied.  Thus, another in my series of interviews with the beautiful beautifier Dr. Elizabeth Chabner Thompson.