BRIDAL MAKEOVER™

And she's not the only bride, or girl approaching marriageable age, opting for a cosmetic fix.

Perfect 10 body

If brides have the smile covered, they want the Shilpa Shetty body and Angelina Jolie pout. "For a bride, it's a big day and her first and last hurrah," says Dr Mohan Thomas, senior consultant cosmetic surgeon, Breach Candy Hospital, Mumbai.

"They want to put their best foot forward and because of an increased awareness (of treatments available) are willing to splurge. And they've all read up on procedures they're interested in," he says adding that he's seen a 5-10% growth in people coming in for cosmetic surgery in the last five years.

"This year, I'd put it at about 15%, and a large number of that are brides in the age group of 19 and 28 years. In some cases, the sister-in-law or mother will also get something done," Dr Thomas adds.

So what are they looking for? Non-surgically speaking, brides are looking for ways to soften lines on grooves on the face, laugh lines and luxuriously plump lips. "Lip plumping is popular. It adds that extra oomph and makes the bride stand out," says Dr Thomas.

Breast augmentation is another 'very big' trend. "Women come in a year before, for implants. They're driven by Bollywood/Hollywood paranoia and think themselves inadequate, or think they're disproportionate," he says, adding that at times, when women lose more than 10% of their body weight, everything "goes south", it sags, so implants and a breast lift are necessary.

Also popular are body contouring or liposuction (myth: it's not about weight loss, but giving shape to the body) and rhinoplasties. "I've done as many as a dozen body contouring procedures in the last three months and quite a few of them will be getting married next month," says Dr Thomas.

Surgical procedures cost upwards of Rs60,000, and cosmetic surgeons warn that brides should make sure doctors use only US FDA-approved implants and fillers.