Skintillating

We're not surprised to learn in today's Los Angeles Timesthat the first-ever Cosmetic Enhancement Expo was held last weekend at the L.A. Convention Center.According to market research obtained by GPS, Inc, the company staging the Expo, Los Angeles is the city where more cosmetic procedures are performed than anywhere else in the United States.

Times staffer Gina Piccalo writes, "About 7,000 (mostly) women from all over Southern California — many of them lured by ads aired during plastic surgery TV shows — paid $25 each to cruise through the hall. Some brought their mothers and their teenage daughters. Others dragged their husbands. Many of the Expo attendees — full-time moms, retirees, medical professionals and, yes, college students — had already gotten their faces lifted, tummies tucked or breasts augmented. They were here to investigate their next procedure.

There was Jannette Kingsbury, a 43-year-old mother of three from Agoura who has had a breast augmentation, liposuction, a tummy tuck, an eyebrow lift, a nose job and chin implant, who said of her surgeries: "It's just like a better me." There were about 100 exhibitors with names that evoked plump, dewy skin (Rejuvalife Vitality Institute), thick, sun-dappled hair (Crown and Glory Enterprises) and tanned, flat stomachs (LipoSelection).

Chirpy slogans promised each passerby the same thing: Youth and beauty! Youth and beauty! Youth and beauty! Here, cosmetic procedures aren't just an option — they're the key to a truly satisfying life."

Here's another chirpy slogan for attendees: "Get Your Head Examined, You Masochistic Narcissist!"