"Mommy Makeover" Procedures Gaining Popularity
Plus, we say farewell to the clock app.
Hello from the second full week of January! Are we back into the swing of things yet? Will we ever get into that swing? Honestly, does the swing even exist anymore? It doesn’t seem like we’ll get a break from news whiplash anytime soon. 🙃
Here are some of the top stories that made it into our team’s group chat.
Let’s Hear It for the Moms
One of my favorite new series this year is our It’s Textured column, in which writers untangle the joy, trauma, confusion, and frustration that can come with Black hair, created by our Ghanaian associate editor Annie Blay for The Melanin Edit vertical. The most recent essay comes from writer Shani Hillian, and takes us through her realization that she’d experienced hair-related trauma when she was younger, and how caring for her child’s curls has helped her start to heal. “It takes a significant occurrence to break out of this type of trauma—the kind of glaring, impactful, and life-changing event that stops you in your tracks,” Hillian writes. “On Feb 19, 2021, that event happened when I gave birth to my daughter.”
During motherhood, transformation can come in a variety of forms, and this week we published a story by Meirav Devash and Kara Nesvig that features the stories of 17 women who underwent a “mommy makeover”—that is, a customizable bundle of two or more plastic surgery procedures, like breast lifts and tummy tucks, which are often performed at the same time—after having children. Despite the cutesy name, these are serious (and expensive) surgeries, and no two experiences are alike, so we asked real women who’d already been through it to share everything, from the most painful part of recovery to how they feel months to years post-surgery.
Farewell to the Clock App?
There have been talks of a ban for most of the year but, on Wednesday, reports seemed to confirm that TikTok really, truly will be shutting down in the U.S. on Sunday. Trump—who used to be in favor of telling ByteDance to buzz off—might still attempt to stop the Supreme Court ban with an executive order once he’s sworn in as president on Monday and some members of the Senate are now urging President Biden to delay the ban (can you guys please make up your mind???) but users are already flocking to alternatives—most interestingly, Chinese app RedNote.
If TikTok does go away, there’s one thing we at Allure definitely won’t miss: the neverending, algorithm-pandering cycle of microtrends. As I wrote in December 2023, “With a new trend going viral several times a week, keeping up with them was no longer a good time; it was just annoying.” (Though we do approve of Alix Earle’s recent call to go back to your drugstore shampoos.)
But if the ban gets overturned… follow Allure for beauty BTS (and me for knitting and book recommendations)!
L.A. Wildfires
While fire crews in Los Angeles have been able to gain some control over the city’s most recent wildfires, there is a long road of recovery ahead. Those who’ve been able to return to their homes and businesses are finding varying levels of devastation. Iván Pol, one of Hollywood’s most sought-after facialists, lost his Palisades spa entirely. “I'm a self-funded guy. I don't have any investors,” he told Allure a few days after he found out his space has burned down. “All of my hard-earned money went into building this dream space, but I would do it all over again.”
Pol is not alone in his commitment to the city that has become his home. “It’s no wonder that for generations, LA has reeled in the most talented hairstylists, makeup artists, fashion designers, and visionaries,” writes Allure contributing editor Danielle Pergament. “They come here to find ideas, to add their mark, to contribute a piece of their own to the beauty that is so uniquely LA.” We asked 15 of those people to share a short love letter to the City of Angels.
Royal Watching
A few days before Princess Catherine confirmed that her cancer is in remission, UK outlets began reporting that she would soon be issuing royal warrants (basically official seals of approval) to some of her favorite brands – the first princess to do so since Queen Mary in the early 1900s. The last beauty brand to get a warrant was Clarins in 2007 courtesy of QE2, but I assume the Princess of Wales will have more to add to the list.
If you buy one thing this week, make it…
Mooncat Jewel Beetle Nail Polish
January is my slump month for beauty products. I go hard on hydrating skin care, but with my hair always under a beanie, my face always covered by a scarf, and my body rarely leaving the house anyway, I can’t really bring myself to do much else. But dang it, if there isn’t something sort of magical about putting on some funky nail polish in the middle of my seasonal depression! This week, I’ve been smiling every time I peek at this multichrome manicure that looks slightly different in every light.
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