Beauty Mark is a monthly column by Allie Rowbottom, where she answers readers' pressing beauty questions. To submit your question, email beautymark@bylinebyline.com

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"Beauty is truth, truth beauty"…Keats said that in 1819 and he’s not wrong. But he also wasn’t up against filters, photoshop, celebrity plastic surgery, celebrities who lie about their plastic surgery, a multi-billion dollar beauty industry, and the collective mindfuck therein.

Enter Beauty Mark, your port in the storm. I’m not for or against anything. My only agenda is answering your questions with honesty, nuance, and vulnerability. From the literal to the existential and emotional, I’m here for it. When I don’t know the answer, I’ll consult with professionals; where there is no answer, I’ll give you my best, most meditative take informed by personal experiences and the extensive research I’ve conducted into the world of aesthetics. It should be noted that I am not a plastic surgeon or medical professional. Everything I say here is my opinion only, so take it with a grain. This is a creative space. For all of us I hope the result of it will be to appreciate and deeply feel beauty, in all its forms. It’s the stuff of life, after all.

Now, without further ado, our first question:

I love my chubby cheeks but I’m curious how one maintains their facial fat without getting saggy/jowly. Facelift? If so when? Or is there something else I can do?

And I love how you phrased this question. It’s refreshing to compliment oneself. I too love chubby cheeks. I love my chubby cheeks. Even if lately, I’ve been standing in the mirror, placing one finger on my cheekbone and one on my mandible and lifting ever so slightly. It’s something I saw my mother do when I was little. “Facelift time?” she’d ask her own reflection while I glowered in the background, afraid to see her change.