Lisa Rinna's Cosmetic Catastrophe: 'Freakish' Look from Skin Booster
Lisa Rinna has bravely opened up about a cosmetic treatment disaster that left her appearing 'freakish' during what she describes as a 'humiliating' red carpet appearance. The actress, aged 62, detailed the ordeal in her memoir You Better Believe I'm Gonna Talk About It, recounting how an esthetician persuaded her to try the injectable 'skin booster' SKINVIVE just before the 2024 Fashion Trust Awards in Beverly Hills.
The Fateful Decision and Immediate Reaction
'I visited someone for Botox, and the esthetician told me, "I have this brand-new SKINVIVE – you're going to adore it! It doesn't add volume; it simply gives your face a radiant glow,"' Rinna explained. 'Naturally, I said, "Go ahead!" So she administered it around my cheeks, not my entire face. Whether it was an allergic reaction or something else, suddenly my cheeks resembled a squirrel hoarding nuts.'
Compounding the issue, Rinna had recently received Botox injections in her jaw to address TMJ discomfort. 'The combination of Botox causing my jawline to atrophy and SKINVIVE adding volume made me look absolutely freakish,' she confessed.
Red Carpet Humiliation and Viral Fallout
When Rinna walked the red carpet at the Fashion Trust Awards, photographers captured her swollen face, and the images rapidly spread online. 'Everyone posted my picture because my face did appear drastically different,' she said. 'Beauty influencers shared before-and-after photos and ruthlessly criticized me.'
Rinna sought help from her dermatologist 'immediately,' undergoing a reversal procedure that restored her face to normal within days. However, she admitted the entire episode was 'traumatizing.' 'People were incredibly cruel. I was all over TikTok and every doctor's website imaginable,' she recalled. 'Oh my god. It was truly humiliating because I knew it looked awful. Thankfully, I'm an old battle axe now and can handle it.'
Family Contrast and Broader Cosmetic Trends
Interestingly, while SKINVIVE proved disastrous for Rinna, her supermodel daughter Amelia Gray Hamlin is an enthusiastic advocate. 'I'm currently using SkinVive, which is a moisturizer injection, not a filler,' Hamlin, 24, told Variety earlier this year, asserting she has never had filler and has 'always had these lips.'
Despite this negative experience, Rinna emphasizes that she has generally had 'really good work' done. 'The best cosmetic work is when nobody can detect you've had anything done,' she stressed. She praised the emerging trend of 'undetectable' cosmetic surgery gaining popularity in Hollywood, with celebrities like Pamela Anderson and Kris Jenner opting for subtle enhancements.
The Rise of 'Quiet-Luxury Beauty'
Board-certified Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Dr. Deepak Dugar, a pioneer in this 'undetectable' movement, terms it 'quiet-luxury beauty.' 'The most significant aesthetic shift leading into 2026 is restraint. We're observing a definite departure from exaggerated, overtly "done" procedures such as overfilled lips, extreme BBLs, and anything that conspicuously stands out,' he informed the Daily Mail.
'The new celebrity aesthetic focuses on refinement, balance, and looking undetectably improved rather than dramatically altered,' added Dr. Dugar, renowned for his signature 'Scarless Nose' rhinoplasty. 'In 2026, the objective is what I call "quiet-luxury beauty" – faces that appear rested, elegant, and genetically blessed, not injected.'
