I’m the daughter of infamous UK Barbie – my mum gave me boob job vouchers aged 7 – I refuse to be plastic like her
WITH their long blonde hair and incredible figures, Sarah Burge and her daughter Poppy are two peas in a pod.
But while 64-year-old Sarah has had £600k worth of cosmetic work, Poppy has embraced the natural look and has no intention of going down the same path as her mum.
She’s even gone so far as saying she’d ‘hate to be plastic’ and meanwhile, Sarah confesses she’s jealous of Poppy’s appearance.
The mum candidly admits: “Poppy is naturally gorgeous, and she has that youthful glow that no amount of surgery can restore. I’ve spent 35 years trying to improve my appearance and she has no need to at all. So of course, I’m jealous.”
It’s perhaps surprising that Poppy, 21, relishes the natural look and has even slammed the women trying to emulate her ‘Barbie’ mum.
I don’t want to look like a fake Barbie. I can’t imagine wanting to spend a fortune on enhancing my appearance. I think the girls that do are pathetic.
Poppy
After all, Sarah gave her vouchers for surgery before she was ten years old – including £7,000 for a breast enlargement for Christmas when she was only seven and £8,000 for liposuction on her eighth birthday.
Sarah was roundly reviled for the vouchers.
“I was sent death threats and told I was the worst mum in the world,” she remembers. “But it was never about saying she should have them. It was always up to Poppy.”
And Poppy is very clear on her choices.
She says: “I don’t want to look like a fake Barbie. I can’t imagine wanting to spend a fortune on enhancing my appearance. I think the girls that do are pathetic.
“Everyone looks the same these days – with big lips, ridiculous eyelashes, slugs for eyebrows, stupidly long nails that look like tarantula legs and huge boobs. I don’t understand why they all want to copy my mum and be clones of each other.
“I love the way I look – because it’s unique and I look like me. I don’t blame Mum, she was pioneering in all the changes she made, and it works for her.
“But I’m far from being jealous of her looks, she’s jealous of mine because I’ve got qualities she doesn’t have – I’m natural and comfortable in my own skin and of course young!”
Instead, Poppy has converted the vouchers into cash and is using the money from them to pay for flight school with a view to training as a pilot, which she started in May.
Poppy, who lives between Spain and Stratford-upon-Avon, with mum Sarah and dad, Tony, 65, a businessman, says: “While mum has always been about her appearance, I go for brains over beauty. She left school at 14 and became a bunny girl when she was 17.
“I got A stars in my GCSEs and IB, which is the international equivalent of A Levels as I took it in Spain. And more recently, I got 100% in both physics and maths for my entrance exams to flight school.
“I think I look good too – men ask me out constantly, but I’m not interested and want to stay single to focus on my studies.”
Sarah’s journey with cosmetic surgery started when she was just seven and had an op to pin her ears back.
Surgery addiction
She started having regular cosmetic procedures when she was 29.
Since then she’s gone under the knife countless times, having every part of her body nipped, tucked and tweaked from vaginal rejuvenation to bottom implants, breast lifts and face lifts.
She had her last boob reduction a year ago, but as she’s qualified in aesthetics she gives herself Botox and fillers every time she notices an imperfection – roughly every couple of weeks.
Her addiction to surgery led to her being dubbed ‘the human Barbie’ 20 years ago.
She admits: “I’ve lost count of how many procedures I’ve had – whenever I feel something needs doing, then I have it done. I’m lucky that because I’m a registered practitioner, I get discounted surgery with surgeons but if I didn’t, I’d have spent £600,000.
“Because I’m such an expert, I built up a successful consultancy business which helped to fund the surgery.
“I’ve been injecting myself for years, but it’s only recently that I’ve done it more and more.
“Every time I see something that needs correcting, I get my needle out. As you get older, your skin gets thinner and you lose collagen and sag more, so I simply have to do it more often.”
But while Sarah is obsessed with her looks, Poppy can take it or leave it.
“Mum takes hours getting ready to go out,” says Poppy. “Even if we’re going for a dog walk, she’ll be two hours making sure she looks perfect. If we’re going on a night out, it’s up to four hours.`
“Whereas I’m ready in five minutes for a dog walk and about 40 minutes to go out properly, and most of that time is because my hair is so thick and so it takes a while to blow dry it.”
Another reason Poppy shies away from the idea of getting cosmetic procedures is because she witnessed her mother’s pain post-surgery.
“There was one occasion, about 12 years ago when she had a tummy tuck and butt lift at the same time,” Poppy recalls.
“She was in agony, literally howling with the pain for days. And there was another occasion after a facelift when she came out of the clinic and her face was black and blue. I thought she was mad and it couldn’t be worth it.”
I’ve lost count of how many procedures I’ve had – whenever I feel something needs doing then I have it done.
Sarah
The only treatments Poppy has had are Botox in her armpits to help with her sweating and a tiny bit of lip filler.
She says: “Mum used to take me to cosmetic surgeons when she was having treatments, so I could ask questions and be prepared for future procedures.
“I’d sit there with absolutely zero interest, longing for it to be over. I’ve had lip filler, but the smallest amount possible to give my lips a bit of plumpness, but you’d never be able to tell. And it’s not something that I’d do regularly. I want to look like me.”
Sarah jokes that she’ll disinherit Poppy for her stance against plastic surgery – in reality, she’s proud of her.
She adds: “Poppy is a well-rounded, articulate and bright girl who knows her own mind – so I’m sure she’ll go far in life. I wonder what my life could have been like if I’d stayed at school and done further education.
“Part of me wishes I’d never started my surgery journey. I’ve got friends who haven’t had any work and I look at them and think ‘I wish I could be like you and not care how I look. And I feel the same about Poppy, she’s so confident.
“But once you’re in the cycle, it’s hard to get out of it. I’ll never stop until they hammer the last nail into my coffin; there’s always something that needs tinkering with.
“I never want to look like any other 60 odd year old woman walking down the street.”
And Poppy adds: “At the end of the day Mum is my best friend. Just because I don’t want to look like her it doesn’t mean I don’t admire her – she’s made me the confident woman I am.”