Catherine at an art gallery opening

So, I have a new domain, new theme for the blog, and new friend. Coincidentally, her name is Catherine but of course she spells her name differently. She is super cool and REALLY gorgeous. I only make friends with the gorgeous set so of course I needed to get to know her more.

I tried to ask her about her beauty regimen because then I could copy it to the letter. She simply blew some smoke in my face from her 1950′s cigarette and laughed politely. So of course, I stalked her…

I discovered she had bi-monthly hair moisture treatments which were necessary to keep her hair in super silky condition and of course shoulder massages:

Hair Treatments

The other day I caught her in Hiroo, but it took me a while to register because she was in disguise: Sportswear. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! She was going into a Japanese Plastic Surgery Clinic.

I waited a while before going into the clinic for fear of being discovered. I know I should have turned back now, because what do I care what they do here? but curiosity got the best of me and of course, I was thinking of my readers and how maybe someone out there might want to know about aesthetics in Japan.

Evidently, Catherine is meticulous in her maintenance providers. Here at Plaza Plastic Surgery, Dr. Kure had impeccable qualifications (trained in the US and Board Certified) and he wrote the book on Botox. Literally:

The Book on Botox by Dr. Kure

While I waited to make an appointment for a consultation for wrinkly knees, I could overhear Catherine and Dr. Kure laughing and talking about how “Vitamin B” shots were so different here in Japan as opposed to America. Evidently in America, you can pay by the unit and in Tokyo it is pretty much by area. The plus side is, after 1 week, Dr. Kure said if she didn’t feel like she had gotten enough result, she could come back for a “free” touch up. Just when I thought she was going to leave, I heard her ask if the Doctor wouldn’t mind looking at some unsightly mark on her buttocks that was troubling her. Being the ever-sacrificing physician that he is, he said he would check it out. After a few seconds, he offered to try an experiment and laser it for free and see if it helped. Being the courageous lady that she is, of course she consented. She said he could call the new treatment “The Botox & Buttocks Special”. Dr. Kure said he wished all his patients were as funny and charming as she is, and I heard a playful laugh through the door. He also bemoaned the fact that in Japan, aesthetics is still one of those things most women didn’t share with one another. It was all still very secretive so word of mouth wasn’t helping his business. He also mentioned that boob jobs were more popular before the earthquake but not so much since. Maybe people are giving all their boob money to the temples. Liposuction of the hips seemed to be very popular among men and women here and is basically outpatient procedure, unless of course you are getting a whole bunch sucked out at once. In the end, “Vitamin B” for forehead, between the brows, and chin ended up costing about 60,000 yen or $750.00. Mental note to self: start savings account for aesthetics for that day when I need it.

When I realized she was getting ready to go, I hurried out the office and tried to act all natural and spontaneous when I tried to bump into her on the street all casual-like. She was gracious as to be expected and said she had just come back from her nutritionist (wink). Being her future friend I knew it was in my best interest not to bust her on what I knew and to just play along. I have a very good feeling about our relationship.

Until next time…