Illusion or Reality?

I have a friend from high school who loves to put pictures of herself on Facebook. There's certainly nothing wrong with posting selfies. In fact, it seems to be a pretty popular pastime. Friends do it. Celebrities do it. Even random people I've never met (nor am sure I want to) do it.

What caught my eye about my friend's picture is the way her face looked. Lovely. Line-free. Luminous. Now I know she's in great shape, but really? She's the exact same age as me. I've seen her in person (recently) many times. I decided her picture had to have been photoshopped, airbrushed, and/or tweaked in some way.

The idea put me on a quest to find my own photographic fountain of youth. I finally settled on one and experimented. Because if anyone needs to be "youthened" it's me.

My before picture, complete with bags, lines, and wrinkles:

After some minor photo fooling around:

H'mmm. Almost like a mini face-lift without the cutting, stitching, or pain. 

From what I've observed, in the competitive world of author pictures on book covers, actors playing roles, or a head shot on the cover of a magazine, appearance counts. But will there be a disconnect when the inevitable meeting occurs and the face doesn't match the photo? Or maybe people have come to expect that few things are what they appear to be, particularly on-line dating sites where I wonder if photo-enhancing may result in some major disappointments.

I have to admit, I'm vain enough to prefer my "improved" version. Primarily because that's how my brain still thinks I look. Needless to say, it's always a shock when the mirror tells me something different. 

So what do you think? Is photo enhancing a blessing or a curse? Would you do it if it might help your career or are you a this-is-me-take-it-or-leave-it kind of person?

If you're interested in the app I used, it's called Perfect365. This app was free to download to my iPhone. And if you want to do crazy things to your photo (weird makeup, wigs, etc), Perfect365 can do that, too. (Note: I am not being compensated for this post. I stumbled across the app and thought it would be fun to share)

I'm curious. If you've found a cool photo app (preferably free), please let me know. I may have become addicted. 

By the way, just for fun I tried to de-age and beautify Indy. The app scanned his picture and told me "face not recognized".

Okay, so maybe I need a shave.