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The Curve

Can women afford to not botox?

Tuesday · 1 hr 5 min · Season 2 · Episode 180
0:00-1:05:28

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This week, Sophie and Emma finally have the conversation they've been avoiding for months (maybe years): what beauty spending actually costs women over a lifetime, and whether skipping it is a luxury anyone can afford. They get very honest about what they've personally spent on Botox, filler and laser, then run the numbers on what that money could be worth if invested instead. Plus they unpack why workplace ageism means looking young isn't just about vanity, and whether the "transparency era" of plastic surgery is helping women or just normalising more of it. At some point it stops being about beauty and starts being about tradeoffs; this episode just puts numbers on them.

Sign up to our Substack, Soph's Botox confession is coming (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)

Denise Richards' facelift recovery in Allure, warning, it's pretty graphic (https://www.allure.com/story/denise-richards-facelift-before-and-after)

Emma’s Links

Pleasure: https://geni.us/pleasureelboynton
Sex Talks: https://www.sextalks.co.uk/
Instagram: / emmalouiseboynton (https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUM4Zm9rUkdXbE1pSV9FeUVqOTBqNEVXaUNkTXxBR3JiS2Fsa0k3aW1xSS1vTjlXajhSV2JKck82cjNlWmNwZDFjUTYyb2lrazZJeE9vMS1pV241eHpldzdhT09SVDZmeVRmcDVNd1h3S3YxZnJpOEhfUlhhSTc5X3RRNHFUVGU3&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.instagram.com%2Femmalouiseboynton&v=GF8IJCxAEgs)

Substack: https://emmalouiseboynton.substack.com

WTF does that mean? A guide to all the jargony bits:

Compound interest Money making money, then that money making money too.
Opportunity cost What you gave up by spending it on your face instead.
ROI Return on investment, or "was it worth it" with a number attached.
Motherhood penalty The pay cut nobody signs up for but most mums get anyway.
Economic inactivity rate The percentage of people not working and not looking for it either.

Thanks so much to Generate for making The Curve Weekly possible. Generate has a really impressive 10-year track record, to find out more about their performance click here: generatekiwisaver.co.nz/performance. But remember, a great track record doesn’t guarantee future returns! If you’d like to speak to an advisor, to see if Generate is right for you, you can book time with someone here: https://www.generatewealth.co.nz/curve


Credits:

Hosts: Sophie Hallwright

Guest: Emma Louise-Boynton

Editor: Kate Callaghan

Producer: Emily Rigby

Social & Digital Manager: Lucy Munro

⁠⁠Leave us a message on The Curve Hotline 💌☎️⁠⁠ (https://thecurveplatform.com/pages/the-curve-hotline)

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⁠Newsletter⁠⁠ (https://thecurve.co.nz/pages/sign-up-to-the-curve-weekly)

Substack (https://thecurveplatform.substack.com/)

Chapters

  • 00:00:00 Coming up in this episode …
  • 00:01:20 The Curve x Generate
  • 00:01:50 In the red or the green?
  • 00:05:44 The pressure of beauty standards
  • 00:18:22 How much Soph and Emma have spent
  • 00:26:35 Is transparency helping us?
  • 00:34:29 The financial cost of procedures
  • 00:48:43 The Curve x Generate
  • 00:49:29 The professional cost of staying natural
  • 01:03:06 Thanks for listening!
  • 01:05:01 Financial disclaimer

Disclaimer: Raising The Curve has been prepared solely for informational and educational purposes. Any information provided and serviced described in this website are intended to be of general nature and provide general information only. The opinions expressed by The Curve do not constitute investment advice.

Generate’s Product Disclosure Statement and Financial Advice Provider License can be found here: GenerateKiwiSaver.co.nz/disclosures.


*Morningstar KiwiSaver Survey March Quarter End 2026. The Generate Focused Growth Fund returns have ranked in the top three of NZ Multi Sector Aggressive Category Funds for 10 year returns every quarter since becoming eligible in June 2023. Most recently the fund ranked 2nd out of 10 funds for 10 year returns to 31 March 2026.