BUDAPEST, Hungary — It was a night for unnatural beauties.
Contestants showed off breast implants, nose jobs and face lifts Friday as Miss Plastic Hungary 2009 strove to promote the benefits of plastic surgery in a country where artificial enhancements are viewed mostly with a wary eye.
“I think this competition is long overdue,” said photographer Marton Szipal, one of the pageant judges. “Hungarians used to laugh about plastic surgery, but it’s time for Hungarian women to care more about their appearance. They are the most beautiful in Europe.”
Plastic surgeon Dr. Tamas Rozsos said the pageant also meant to show that cosmetic corrections did not necessarily have to be about oversized breasts, bulbous lips and skin stretched to near tearing point.
“This about restoring harmony . . . eliminating asymmetries and giving women the opportunity to have normal features,” Rozsos said. “Plastic surgery has a bad reputation in Hungary, but it’s mostly due to the exaggerations.”
Despite Hungary having been hit hard by the global economic crisis, with the government forced to scale back spending on health services, Rozsos said the number of surgeries had been rising year by year.
To qualify for the pageant, the 18 Hungarian residents had to prove they had gone fully under the knife — Botox or collagen injections did not count. Nearly all the contestants showed off augmented breasts, with reshaped noses also popular. One finalist had surgically adjusted toes.
