Meghan Markle’s engagement to Prince Harry spurs plastic surgery requests for the future royal’s facial features. Why do people want to look like celebrities?
Meghan Markle’s green dress became an instant online seller.
Searches for the white wrap coat she wore crashed the designer’s web site.
Fashion fiends snatched up suede pumps just like the ones the fiancée of Prince Harry wears.
But the item in highest demand from the newly engaged couple’s photo shoot in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace might have been something less material.
Her facial features.
Indeed, while the prince and Markle prepare for a wedding in the spring, commoners across the globe have a new royal request of their own.
They’re asking plastic surgeons to give them Markle’s nose — and possibly her cheekbones and jawline, too.
Markle’s high cheekbones need no contouring and her jawline can make anyone green with envy.
Her straight nasal profile ends in a petite “button” or ball, but from the side you can see a slight hump.
In other words, what makes Markle’s nose “perfect” is that it isn’t quite so perfect — and that’s another sign that beauty continues its trend toward “all natural” looks.
“Patients started coming to me about six months ago requesting Meghan Markle’s nose,” Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg, a New York-based cosmetic surgeon, told Allure.
“Ms. Markle’s nose is beautiful and is definitely a request we see,” Dr. Manish H. Shah, a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in ethnic rhinoplasty in Colorado, told Healthline. “Celebrities are definitely inspiration for patients seeking elective cosmetic surgery.”
Markle’s more natural look stands in stark contrast to some of social media’s biggest stars, like reality TV’s own royal family, the Kardashians and Jenners.
Previously, these faces were among the most commonly requested in plastic surgeons’ offices.
“We don’t necessarily see a rise in the number of requests for rhinoplasty, but there is more of a focus on one particular celebrity’s features when they are in the spotlight,” Shah said.
Patients have also asked Shah for copycat looks of celebrities, including Jennifer Lopez, Megan Fox, Kate Middleton, Angelina Jolie, Natalie Portman, and Jessica Alba.
“They all have variants of a slim nose with a small ball-shaped tip. I call it the ‘button’ nose, and it tends to look good on almost any face,” Shah said.
“With the internet and social media having a presence in our daily lives stronger than ever, it influences all aspects, including plastic surgery,” said Dr. Franziska Huettner, a plastic surgeon in New York City. “Of course, big news like the royal engagement can lead to a rise in such requests. She will be a princess, and princesses are equated with beauty.”
During her engagement to Prince William, Kate Middleton was frequently on the opposite end of a paparazzi scrum keen to see everything she was wearing and doing, to feed an always-eager audience of Anglophiles and royal watchers.
If her future sister-in-law’s time in the spotlight can teach Markle anything, it just might be that you never know how you’ll inspire someone.
Middleton’s appeal to people across the globe was so strong, and her ability to move markets for clothes and accessories so powerful, she’s the namesake of the “Kate Effect,” a phenomenon that occurs when a frenzy of people buy a celebrity’s clothes so quickly, stores and brands can’t keep up with demand.
Markle has the potential to create quite the stir, too.
Dr. Jon E. Mendelsohn, the medical director of Advanced Cosmetic Surgery & Laser Center in Ohio, says it’s OK to bring photos of famous faces as inspiration for your plastic surgery.
“This does serve as a good communication tool to see what the patient desires and also to see how realistic they are with expectations,” Mendelsohn told Healthline. “Overall, this is not a bad thing. Most patients know how their face differs.”
But, cautions Dr. Babak Azizzadeh from the Center for Advanced Facial Plastic Surgery in California, don’t expect that someone else’s look is right for your face.
“The goal of a rhinoplasty is to reshape the nose to create an overall improvement to the facial aesthetic,” Azizzadeh told Healthline. “Ultimately, rhinoplasty can help an individual improve the balance of facial features, leading to increased self-confidence. I help them create a natural-looking nose that complements their facial features rather than giving them a ‘cookie cutter nose’ or a nose of a celebrity.”
Remember, before you go under the knife, that your doctor’s goal is to help you find a look that makes you feel beautiful and confident.
“I advise my patients not to aim for exactly matching somebody else’s looks, but more so to take them as an inspiration,” Huettner said. “I tell my patients that everybody is unique in their facial features, and should therefore be treated as such, very unique.”