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BEAUTY IS SKIN DEEP
How Caprice faced the ugly side of prejudice
By Clare Goldwin
AS a world-famous model she is used to being stared at.
And 29-year-old Caprice Bourret is the first to admit she loves the admiring glances her beautiful features normally attract.
But her confident smile turned to tears when she had to face the world with a new, far less glamorous image.
CHANGE: Caprice's dramatic makeover |
It happened after she agreed to wear a fake red birthmark covering half her face for a TV documentary - and found herself turning heads for very different reasons.
"People were looking at me as if I was a complete freak," she says. "I could see horror in their expression.
"It wasn't the way people usually look at me, the way that makes me feel good.
"I could tell some felt sorry for me, but most felt so uncomfortable they avoided all eye-contact and kids didn't even bother to try to hide their disgust.
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BLEMISH: In make-up
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"I was very upset the first night. It made me feel very insecure, very uncomfortable. I lost a lot of confidence and it affected my whole outlook.
"It was a very different experience from walking down the street as Caprice. It was really shocking."
Caprice spent four hours in make up having the port wine birthmark applied for the programme - which examines attitudes towards facial disfigurement.
She also wore a brunette wig and a special pair of spy-camera glasses to capture people's reactions.
In the 48 hours she spent walking around with her new face, she says she was met with a mixture of sympathy, fear and loathing.
In Britain one person in 150 has a facial blemish caused by birthmarks, misshapen skulls, burns or cancers.
But Caprice, who has made a fortune from her looks, says she doesn't know if she could cope. She described her brief insight as "an emotional roller coaster".
She said: "One minute I was feeling confident, the next minute I was feeling like chopped liver."
But she says she is glad she took part in the experiment.
She explains: "It's given me new respect for those who have to deal with it every day of their lives.
"Once I might have felt pity. Now I can look them in the eye and smile because they are ordinary people too." |
