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the business of WORDS: YVONNE KERR
Dreams sprang to life about how good we could look with just a little nip here and a wee tuck there. Cosmetic surgery became as normal as a champagne-fuelled Sunday brunch and our beauty industry could hardly keep up. While such luxuries have been cut back, they certainly haven’t been cut out as women continue to strive for perfection. “Women have become very savvy. They’re researching procedures more and are interested in longevity of products. We’re selling out of creams such as retinols that are very effective. Women want things that actually work and are still willing to spend on calculated and informed decisions,” tells Dr. Clare Cushen of Dublin’s Ailesbury Clinic where demand for non-invasive procedures such as botox and fillers have increased and it’s not because prices have dropped. Okay, an increase in patient numbers could be down to the closure of some other clinics but Clare is certain that women are spending less money on shoes, clothes and handbags and more on skincare products and procedures that guarantee fast long-lasting results. She’s surprised at the money being spent. “It makes sense because those products do work. It’s more intelligent spending.” Instead of drive-by boob jobs, women are thinking hard about where and how to place their money. Clare predicts a continued boom for non-invasive procedures. “There’s very little downtime following these procedures and that suits people who can’t take time off work anymore.” Women as young as 25 years old are still getting breast enlargements with quick procedures such as Macrolane (a surgery-free 30 minute procedure using a local anaesthetic, known as the lunch time boob job costs €2,900) being carried out four to five times each week. These trends are backed up by Socialite Lisa Murphy who opened her salon ‘New Lisa Life’ in February. She’s booked out for one day every month for botox treatments when up to 30 clients will be worked on in a day at a cost of €395-495 each. “People who get botox aren’t going to stop now. Women don’t want to look tired or worn out and they don’t want wrinkles. They might drag out treatments from three months to every four or five. The more expensive jobs such as liposuction or breast enhancements are slower now as women aren’t borrowing money to get them done but we’re still doing them.”
Read more of what each businesswoman has to say in the Winter 2009 issue of WMB |
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