BRIGHTON WOMAN REGRETS £8,000 COSMETIC PROCEDURES INSPIRED BY LOVE ISLAND

Jess Pendrey, a 21-year-old bartender from Brighton, has stated that she regrets approximately £8,000 spent on cosmetic procedures over three years. Pendrey began with lip filler at 18 and subsequently underwent chin filler, jaw filler, cheek filler, nose filler, masseter Botox, composite bonding in Turkey, breast augmentation costing £4,500 and non-surgical body contouring treatments. She says she now barely recognises herself in photographs from before the procedures began and is preparing to have her lip filler dissolved.

Pendrey stated that she became fixated on the aesthetic promoted by influencers and former Love Island contestants, particularly citing Lucinda Strafford as an inspiration when she was 18 or 19. She described feeling unhappy throughout the process, saying "I was never happy. I was always waiting for the next thing." Pendrey added that as a waitress, virtually every spare penny she earned went towards funding appointments. She attributed much of the pressure to social media, noting it was simple to see treatments online and book them within a day. Her mother strongly opposed the procedures, but Pendrey often booked appointments without informing her.

Pendrey has issued what she describes as a warning to others about cosmetic procedure addiction. She said that whilst nobody in her family or friendship group encouraged the treatments, social media "constantly" promoted them. Pendrey stated that she now intends to embrace a more natural appearance by dissolving her lip filler.