Price Of Beauty: Jessica In Rio, Plastic Surgery Capital

Jessica Simpson and her friends were in Brazil for last night’s episode of The Price Of Beauty. Ken Paves had his crotch waxed, and then the group of Americans met a Brazilian woman who’s had forty-two plastic surgery procedures.

The waxing scene was nothing new if you’ve seen The 40-Year-Old Virgin (or Tracie’s “Benny The Tech Geek” post). But it’s a good idea to remind people of what women go through when they get their pubic hairs forcibly yanked out using hot wax. The “price” of beauty, indeed.

Jessica’s “beauty ambassador” in Rio was stunning leggy swimsuit model Ana Paula, on whom I instantly fixated and developed a weird, obsessive girlcrush. Is she real? As in, truly human? Her skin, her body… My mind can’t process her! I just want to see more pictures of her and know more about her, even though she is so beautiful it makes me want to throw up. Anyway: Ana Paula explained to Jessica, CaCee and Ken that cosmetic surgery is very common in Brazil, and people are proud of the work they have done.

Ana Paula introduced Jessica, Ken and CaCee to Angela, who has had forty-two different cosmetic surgery procedures, but swears her butt is real. Ken found it interesting that Angela had long, blonde leg hair — apparently bleached hair against tan skin is something that people think “looks amazing” in Brazil. Funny how pubic hair is a “don’t,” but leg hair is a “do.”

The crew also met a young woman, with a daughter, who lives in a favela. She chose breast implants over a better place to live.

Nothing exciting happened in this scene, I am just gobsmacked by the gorgeousness of Ana Paula.

In the end, everyone danced Samba and let loose, which was nice. Examining standards of beauty can be tricky, because it’s important to keep an open mind and not be too critical of someone’s culture, especially when your own is so imperfect. The next — and final — episode will have Jessica back in L.A., speaking to young girls about the pressure to be beautiful, which is a great way to wrap things up. Even though the show has flaws, it seems to have gotten better. While it is seriously lacking in depth, it has been a good jumping-off point for conversations about the attention we pay — globally — to a woman’s outward appearance. In a way, I’ll be sad to see it go.

Price Of Beauty [VH1]

Earlier:
Price Of Beauty: Jessica Becomes A Geisha In Tokyo
Price Of Beauty: Jessica Wears Short-Shorts To Meet Veiled Women
Price Of Beauty: Jessica Visits Ugandan “Fattening Hut”
Price Of Beauty: Jessica Says India’s People Are “Comfortably Beautiful”
Price Of Beauty: Jessica Meets An Anorexic Model
The Ugly American: Jessica Simpson’s The Price Of Beauty (Thailand)