In high definition

Dr. Bruce Katz, director of the Juva Skin & Laser Center and MediSpa in New York, says he has performed three times as many cheek procedures in the last year as he had done previously. His clients are split into two categories: those who want cheek fillers to try to counteract the effects of aging, and younger people who want to emulate celebrity cheekbones.

"Those nice high cheekbones give the face an almond shape that's very attractive," he says. "A lot of women in the past haven't realized that their cheeks are going to sag as they age, and younger women want to have prominent cheekbones," he added, citing ideals as Nicole Kidman and Sophia Loren.

"I've always admired those actresses with the amazing cheekbones," says a 36-year-old Los Angeles actress and stuntwoman who did not want to be named. "It's looked at as really beautiful and striking. A part of me wanted a little piece of that." She had the procedure done five months ago, and then a more recent touch up. The result, she says, is "more defined cheekbones and a chiseled line. I like me a little better now."

Angela Wolf, a 42-year-old Los Angeles sales and marketing executive, began noticing drooping skin and heavy lines on her face. She was first advised to have cheek implants but instead opted for the far less invasive fillers. "For someone who doesn't want to do an extreme surgery, this makes such a wonderful difference," she says. "I have more volume in my cheeks and my face doesn't look droopy anymore."

Indeed, the fillers may well spell the end of cheek implants, which are more expensive, permanent and require major surgery.

"We don't have to do cheekbone implants and face-lifts anymore," says Dr. Phil Werschler, a cosmetic dermatologist and clinical investigator in Spokane, Wash., and former president of the American Society of Cosmetic Dermatology & Aesthetic Surgery. "Today, the most important component of facial shaping is to put product along the cheekbones and lower eyelid, and that lifts and redefines the whole face."

And it's not just surgeons and dermatologists who are seeing the focus shift to the face. Hair, makeup and skin care experts are noticing, too.

"The emphasis is back," says Diane Ranger, the founder of the mineral makeup line Colorescience. "In our classes and seminars, we are being asked more and more about the illusion that makeup can bring to the cheek. From an artistic standpoint, you can flatter the depth and height of the cheekbones."