Despite the fact that a plastic surgeon recently told me I need lipo around the chin, I'm not going under the knife (or the fat-sucking cannula, technically speaking) anytime soon. I'd rather spend that dough (or hubby's dough, technically speaking) on my 21st trip to Paris. A gal's gotta have priorities.

So in the interest of saving a few francs, I'm getting a fake-lift. First stop: makeup genius Bobbi Brown. Somehow, while manning her gazillion-dollar company, she's cranked out yet another book, with an entire chapter devoted to what she calls "The Makeup Face-Lift: Surgery-Free Ways to Wipe Away the Years."

Did I mention she's raising three sons, too? (Dylan, Dakota, and Duke, who range in age from 17 to 8.) "I had my youngest when I was 41," Bobbi cheerfully tells me. "Just as the window was closing." As a WOFTM (Way-Older First-Time Mom), I can relate to rushing a wee one into production post-40.

But back to superficiality. I'm interested in hearing about how paint and powder can shave a few years off—or, at the very least, make a weary mama bear look peppier. According to Bobbi, merely evening out your complexion can make you look instantly pulled-together. "Every new mom is a little tired," she says. "And there's no faster way to look better than to get rid of dark circles and red spots. That's why, even if I'm doing nothing else, I always use my stick foundation for redness right around my nose."

Bobbi's Makeup Face-Lift is more comprehensive, of course. Still, it's amazingly easy. Here's a summary of the five steps she recommends in the book:

• Plump skin with all manner of moisturizing balms, creams, and oils (yes, oils)
• Brighten patches of darkness with concealer, followed by tinted moisturizer
• Pop cheeks with blush
• Define eyes with liner
• Finish with a flourish of lip action (liner, lipstick, and shiny gloss)

And be sure to try this trick, which falls into the "brighten" category: Dab concealer into the inner corner of your eye socket. "As we age, that area darkens," says Bobbi. "I think it's because of hormones."

And that's it. Easy-peasy. In fact, Bobbi's five-step plan is so painless, it even passed my "Saturday" test: If I can pull it off before hubby and baby start pestering me to go out and frolic, I'm sold.

Speaking of Saturday, I spent the last one at Cornelia Day Resort, getting a Non-Surgical Face Lift. A multifaceted treatment (I've never been slathered with so many ointments in my life), it combines a thorough facial with firming via a contraption called the Tri-Phasic Resonator. Basically, the aesthetician moved an electrical frequency-emitting magic wand over the areas that needed tightening—nose, cheeks, those mini-jowls the surgeon wants to suction. When it was over, my skin was remarkably firm and glowy. A week later, it still looks good.

So take that, Mr. You-Need-Lipo. Vive le Fake-Lift!