Sniffing Out That Perfect Valentine's Day Gift

You’ve thought, and you’ve shopped, but let’s face it, you’re a guy, and the idea for that extra-special Valentine’s Day gift is eluding you. Fortunately, though, you have a nose for news, and the Associated Press (along with one obscure but romantically-sensitive blogger) has come through once again.

You see, you and your significant other are lacking only one thing that could make your relationship stand the test of time. I’m referring, of course, to matching noses. That’s right, the bloodhounds at the Associated Press have been sniffing out the latest trends, and the very latest one is for couples to go to the plastic surgeon’s office to make their schnozzolas look alike, for richer or for poorer.

And now, at least, you can be a little less poorer. Thinking of how romantic a nose job can be, some clinics are advertising special Valentine's Day packages. For example, one clinic is offering a 20 percent discount from February 14-17.

The hotbed of this surgery is Shanghai, China’s wealthiest and most image-conscious city, where the business is celebrated in plastic surgery inspired beauty contests and television shows. Plastic surgery is now a $2 billion business as the newly prosperous Chinese seek shapelier noses, fuller breasts, and other features, the likes of which did not clear the Associated Press “can I print this in a mainstream news article” department.

I have to admit that I’m a little old fashioned when it comes to this kind of thing. My spouse and I have no matching tattoos or body piercings, and we don’t even dye our hair the same color. We do use the same kind of toothpaste, though. I think it’s made by a company in Shanghai.