‘My best friend bought me Anti-Wrinkle Injections ‘
Gaynor Critchley, 38, a model and events manager, is married to Karl Rudzki, 31 a businessman. Two friends gave her a Anti-Wrinkle Injections voucher as a gift for her wedding in June 2007
The weeks leading up to your wedding should be the happiest time of your life. But my father, who had been ill for some time, was dying and my joy at marrying the man I loved was tempered with terrible sadness. I had already lost my mother so I was desperate for him to be at our wedding.
I was working as a fashion model at the time and jetting from our home in Biarritz, France, to London for work and on to the Isle of Man where my father lived. I was constantly exhausted and gaunt with worry. I looked grey and drained and I felt old. Each day I felt I could see more lines developing on my face.
My two best friends, Susan and Sarah, whom I met on the modeling circuit, were worried about me. One day, four months before my big day, they took me for lunch and handed me a voucher. It was for a Anti-Wrinkle Injections treatment at the London Medical and Aesthetic clinic.
I was overwhelmed. Susan and Sarah said they’d dismissed the notion of a traditional wedding gift and had wondered about taking me on a spa weekend instead, but finally decided that something to make me look and feel better was just what i needed.
On the day i went along, three months before the wedding, I was so nervous. I wondered if my face would look frozen or somehow changed my face and my finance wasn’t sure it was a good idea.
Dr Ayham Al-Ayoubi, the medical director, was lovely. The injection stung a little around my eyes and forehead. I had a slight headache that evening, but was fine the next day. Apart from a couple of tiny bruises that faded after three days , you couldn’t tell I had anything done.
Within a week, the little lines had ironed out. I looked younger and fresher. If I told people I’d had Anti-Wrinkle Injections, they couldn’t believe it as it was so subtly done, and my fiance was happy with how I looked.
My father died the following month, in April. Of course, having Anti-Wrinkle Injections wasn’t a comfort but there was a minute of solace in the fact that in the depths of misery I could get up in the morning and look OK without having to wear a lot of make up.
Everything was frantically busy in the run-up to the wedding- to the extent that with one month to go, I still didn’t have a wedding dress. I went to a small boutique in Casteltown on the Isle of Man.
I explained that I needed a dress immediately, and the second gown I tried on , by Mori Lee, was perfect. I managed to persuade the lady to let me have the sample in exchange for copies of my photographs. Generously, she agreed. The dress should have cost £1500.
We married in Biarritz in June. I missed my parents very much , but we had a wonderful day. My face was so unlined that I barely needed to wear any make up. I thanked my two girl friends for being wonderful bridesmaids and for their support, but I didn’t want to mention the Anti-Wrinkle Injections!
Anti-Wrinkle Injections: As much as I love having it done, it wasn’t something that I wanted to broadcast. I hope that I will do something as thoughtful for them one day. To brides considering having anything done, I’d suggest doing your research. I was thrilled with the results.
To read more about Dr Ayoubi in the media, click here
