Now, never let it be said that La Cieca was in any way opposed to glamour, and you know very well that is a fervent believer in dear Pablo Picasso‘s maxim that “art is a lie that makes us realize truth.” But, on the other hand, there’s this month’s cover of Opera News.

You would think that with all the post-production work they put into photoshopping The Diva of the Future‘s New New Face into baby-butt marmoreality, they could have set aside a couple of hamiltons for a pre-shoot shampoo and set. That stiff-gelled “There’s Something About Mary” look is just so 1998, don’t you think?

Still and all, the stylist deserves props. As the Fug Girls might say, “The dress is elegant but not boring: The color is gorgeous on her, the cut is romantic, and the extra flourishes are unusual without being scary.” What is scary, however, is the idea of just how close “Life at the Top” came to being “Life Over the Top.” This is already a lot of bazoom action for a family magazine:

And who knows what all else might not have poked us in the eye had the Photoshopper not layered in an additional flap of red satin: