Sir Anthony Hopkins has just joined the online mob in ridiculing Kim Kardashian’s latest merchandise—her $48 “sculpting mask” SKIMS.
The actor went viral with an Instagram post in which he pulled on the face wrap and immediately transformed into his most iconic role: Hannibal Lecter.
“Hello Kim, I’m already feeling 10 years younger. Goodbye,” he said in the character’s voice, before letting out a slurp straight from The Silence of the Lambs.
“Thank you, Kim. Don’t be afraid to come over for dinner.”
After netizens compared Kim Kardashian’s latest product to Hannibal Lecter, Anthony Hopkins himself hopped on Instagram to make the meme a reality
The SKIMS Seamless Sculpt Face Wrap, launched this week in two shades (“clay” and “cocoa”), is being marketed as a beauty innovation designed to lift and tighten the jaw and neck.
According to SKIMS, the product uses a signature compressive fabric infused with “collagen yarns” and adjustable Velcro closures to support “targeted facial sculpting” as part of a nightly routine.
But dermatologists and surgeons who’ve weighed in aren’t buying the hype.
The wrap is essentially a soft compression garment, and not much more than that.
While similar items are used post-surgery to reduce swelling and aid in lymphatic drainage, there’s no evidence that wearing one casually at home does much of anything long-term.
The claim that collagen yarns stimulate collagen production in users’ skin has also been called into question.
“It’s really not going to make any long-term structural changes of any kind,” Dr. Anil Shah, a facial plastic surgeon based in New York and Chicago, explained to the New York Post.
For Shah, the changes people are expecting to get from the face wrap are those that can only be achieved via distribution of fat and the tightening of skin and muscles—things the product is simply unable to achieve.
“Don’t waste your money on this one,” he said. “I understand how shapewear can make you look good with clothes on, but sleeping with this is not going to have any effect.”
Beauty experts have called SKIMS claims into question, with most warning people to not “waste their money” on it
Despite the internet laughing at the product and labeling it a “medieval device,” and the “Lecter face wrap,” Kardashian has kept silent—possibly too busy watching the sales roll in.
Surprising her detractors, the item sold out on the SKIMS website within 24 hours of launch, despite comments about the wrap looking more like something out of a hostage scene than a skincare routine.
“There’s a 16-year-old girl out there thinking she needs to buy this cr*p,” one user said.
“SKIMS—making women feel bad about themselves since 2018,” another wrote.
The brand has labeled the product as a “must-have addition to women’s nightly routine,” while the reality TV star went on to say that the wrap is an absolute necessity.
“It snatches your little chinny chin chin. It’s super comfortable to wear at night or just around the house,” she said on social media.
Despite influencers and experts publicly criticizing it, the product sold out in just 24 hours
Skin care experts like Caroline Hirons were quick to dismiss the face wrap as an “April Fools joke.”
Surgeons such as Akash Chandawarkar had a different approach. Considering the product to be targeted specifically for women who are fond of plastic surgeries.
“It seems perfect for after facelift, necklift, or submental lipo,” he said.
Popular beauty influencers, however, say the SKIMS face wrap represents something deeper—and more troubling—about where the beauty industry is headed.
On TikTok, creator Jamie Janejira, known for her critiques of cosmetic surgery trends, summed it up.
“What if your face doesn’t need to be snatched and lifted? What if there are infinite numbers of types of beauty? What makes us beautiful is that we don’t all look the same.”
“Genius.” Netizens praised the actor for ‘dissing’ the reality TV star
