Caroline has a mane of shiny, dirty blonde hair, great skin, firm cheeks, a gleaming smile, a leather jacket and lean limbs. At first glance, it’s very difficult to place her age. And that’s just how she likes it. Caroline, who works in finance at a senior level, recently celebrated her 50th birthday. Not that anyone in her office knows that. ‘Yes, I lie about my age at work,’ she says. ‘People think I’m in my early 40s.’ Why does she do it? ‘Because it’s a brutally ageist world out there, and it’s hardest of all for women. So what if I cheat a little? I’m just doing what I have to do to carry on in a career I love and am bloody good at.’ For Caroline, ‘doing what she has to do’ involves regular appointments at a discreet London clinic for the kind of super-stealth procedures – ‘tweakments’ – that ensure her face matches her very slightly edited CV. From the babiest doses of Botox to non-surgical facelifts, these no-downtime, no-knife, subtly rejuvenating procedures have been dubbed by London cosmetic surgeon Angelica Kavouni ‘the Career Lift’. For some women, it’s just another weapon in the battle to prove they aren’t, as a slew of recent reports suggest, ‘finished at 50’.
Increasing numbers of high-flying, corporate women are turning to non-surgical procedures to have what is being dubbed a “career-lift” to stay ahead when it comes to senior roles. Time-poor working women are able to achieve the “no-age zone” thanks to “youthful” procedures such as Silhouette Soft, tiny threads which lift sagging skin, collagen stimulation using ultra-fine needles or Botox micro-droplets, many of which are offered by specialist clinics. The number of cosmetic surgeons in Britain has risen from just over 1,000 at the turn of the century to more than 10,000 today.