This story is based on an interview with Sasha Sechenova, 28, a Paris-based social media and marketing consultant and the founder of a new dating app for entrepreneurs and digital nomads. It has been edited for length and clarity.
As I was wheeled into the operating theater for my rhinoplasty, I couldn’t help but put my hands to my face and touch my nose.
It hadn’t been an easy decision to have the cosmetic surgery. I had the same nose as my father and my brother, and I knew that changing it would mean losing a connection to my family.
Still, the feeling wasn’t enough to deter me from my project of becoming more conventionally beautiful. I worked in social media, where looks were power, and my glow-up was a way to build my brand.
I broke up with my boyfriend
I started working on myself in the summer of 2023, soon after breaking up with my boyfriend of four years. I’d gained at least 20 pounds over the previous 12 months and, at 176 pounds, was overweight for my 5ft 2in height.
It was mostly to do with the stress of my relationship going wrong, and partly because of developing my own consultancy company. I worked from the moment I woke up until I went to sleep, and didn’t have time to cook.
My body was muscular
I’d order three deliveries in a row and eat an entire pizza at a time. It got to the point when my stomach hurt because it was so full of food.
I worked out virtually with a trainer, so my body was muscular. However, I didn’t enjoy being a size large and wanted to fit into smaller clothes.
Two girlfriends from my native Russia came to visit me in Paris, who were pretty skinny. They introduced me to the Keto diet, which helped me lose 10 pounds initially.
The weight loss made me feel healthier and more confident in both my professional and personal life. As cynical as it sounds, I realized that improving my looks would help me achieve my goals.
You see a lot of your teeth when you’re recording social media videos, and the first thing I wanted to fix was my smile.
I went to Turkey for cosmetic treatments
I had a gap between my front teeth, which was something of a trademark for me, but, like a lot of influencers, I decided to get veneers.
In the Spring of 2024, I traveled to Turkey, where my family lived in Istanbul, and paid $7,700 for the treatment there. I’m very afraid of dentists, so it was the hardest part of the glow-up.
The process took three weeks. I started getting Botox back in Paris before returning to Turkey for my rhinoplasty three months later. I set aside my worries about losing my uniqueness and paid $5,500 for the operation.
It wasn’t nice to be so swollen or have silicone tubes up your nose for 10 days. But it was worth the pain when I saw the results.
Next, I had hydrochloric acid injected into my lips, more Botox, and non-invasive cosmetic treatments on my face, including High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU).
I was prescribed Mounjaro
I increased my exercise after treating myself to a $500-a-month membership to a luxury gym at a five-star hotel. The indulgence made it easier to go five times a week, and I made good use of the hammam.
I continued to lose weight before reaching a plateau of 149 pounds. In November 2025, I was prescribed Mounjaro, which has helped me reach 119 pounds and a size small.
It’s hard to put an exact figure on how much my glow-up has cost me. The biggest expenditures were the veneers, rhinoplasty, and gym membership.
However, I reckon it must be close to $20,000 if you include maintenance costs for blonde highlights, Botox, manicures, pedicures, and skincare.
I am hardly recognizable
I’ve spoken about the whole process on my Instagram. People think the pictures from three years ago are fake. They’ve accused me of using AI, but my makeover has been 100% real.
I look better in online meetings and feel like people take me more seriously because I look more polished and professional.
It happened so fast that it’s been difficult for me to adapt to my new image. I have a strange dissociation from the person I used to be. I’ll look at old photographs and find it hard to believe they’re of me.
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