He appears to be both gaunter and have less muscularity (as compared to his appearance through approximately the Parade era). There may be the slightest effects of ageing at play here, as he enters his thirties. Also, years of touring and the rock star lifestyle have slightly roughened his appearance. The wan pancake makeup, change in facial hair, including the eyebrows, and longer, straighter hairstyles are the most determinative in his 'image change'.

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I believe the original poster might even be loosely intimating at some of these physical appearance changes suggesting possible drug abuse at this relatively early stage of his career.

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Would I be entirely off-base in speculating that he may have had a smidgen of work done (that hasn't quite 'set' yet) in his mid-face and jawline regions sometime between 1987 and 1988? It has a visible 'partitioning' effect, suctioned-out and somewhat artificially sculpted, that was a hallmark of the 'state of the art' mid-to-late 1980s Hollywood cosmetic surgery in those regions of the face. It stands out in many of his 1988 photos, but is much less pronounced in earlier ones, and seems better settled or 'corrected' in later ones.

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Whatever it is, it seems to be more extreme than diet-related weight changes alone could explain. It is also curious that he wears his beard in such a way, circa late 1989 - 1991, as would somewhat mask these particular aspects of his face.

THIS is what I call a terrible hairstyle ... lovesexy was ... SEXY

lemoncrush19 said:

THIS is what I call a terrible hairstyle ... lovesexy was ... SEXY

I actually liked his hair during the lovesexy era. I think the lack of facial hair is why he looks so different. Also, he seemed to wear very little eye makeup (mascara) during this time.

^^^ Have to agree - that was probably the most UNstylish of hairstyles P sported!

imprimis said:

He appears to be both gaunter and have less muscularity (as compared to his appearance through approximately the Parade era). There may be the slightest effects of ageing at play here, as he enters his thirties. Also, years of touring and the rock star lifestyle have slightly roughened his appearance. The wan pancake makeup, change in facial hair, including the eyebrows, and longer, straighter hairstyles are the most determinative in his 'image change'.

.

I believe the original poster might even be loosely intimating at some of these physical appearance changes suggesting possible drug abuse at this relatively early stage of his career.

.

Would I be entirely off-base in speculating that he may have had a smidgen of work done (that hasn't quite 'set' yet) in his mid-face and jawline regions sometime between 1987 and 1988? It has a visible 'partitioning' effect, suctioned-out and somewhat artificially sculpted, that was a hallmark of the 'state of the art' mid-to-late 1980s Hollywood cosmetic surgery in those regions of the face. It stands out in many of his 1988 photos, but is much less pronounced in earlier ones, and seems better settled or 'corrected' in later ones.

.

Whatever it is, it seems to be more extreme than diet-related weight changes alone could explain. It is also curious that he wears his beard in such a way, circa late 1989 - 1991, as would somewhat mask these particular aspects of his face.

at this time, we know he was going through an emotional stressful time. That's what I chalk it up to. He's still toned, sequestered in Paisley Park, the aftershows picked up big time on this tour/period etc

so I may be blind but "less muscularity" during love sexy?

It was a minor point that I made. However, his muscularity is not at the level it was during 1983-85, and he is also even thinner here, drawing greater emphasis to those aspects of his physique.

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lemoncrush19 said:

so I may be blind but "less muscularity" during love sexy?

[Edited 11/11/16 13:15pm]

OldFriends4Sale said:

at this time, we know he was going through an emotional stressful time. That's what I chalk it up to. He's still toned, sequestered in Paisley Park, the aftershows picked up big time on this tour/period etc

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He is still toned. And stress is indeed a likely culprit for some of his appearance change during this era. But I do believe his face shows evidence of some modest cosmetic procedures having occurred sometime between very Late 1987 and mid-1988, he had the money, he slowed down a bit in the referenced period, and seems to be aiming for a subjectively more angular and defined jawline.

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[Edited 11/11/16 13:22pm]

imprimis said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

at this time, we know he was going through an emotional stressful time. That's what I chalk it up to. He's still toned, sequestered in Paisley Park, the aftershows picked up big time on this tour/period etc

.

He is still toned. And stress is indeed a likely culprit for some of his appearance change during this era. But I 6 o believe his face shows evidence of some modest cosmetic procedures having occurred sometime between very Late 1987 and mid-1988, he had the money, he slowed down a bit in the referenced period, and seems to be aiming for a subjectively more angular and defined jawline.

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[Edited 11/11/16 13:22pm]

He's always had an angular and defined jawline. Prince was much muscular in his earlier 1977/78 period. He became really toned/cut in the 1983-1986 years. That will always bring more definition out in his face. I had the same thing happen when I started putting on muscle mass and being more toned/ripped

Yes, he has always had distinctive features in those regards. Although his face is fuller and 'smoother', without the aid of thick makeup jobs, through about 1986. (His face is much fuller, obviously, prior to about 1981, for obvious reasons of youth and weight.) Those '88 pictures, and for sometime afterwards, display a pronounced 'hollowing out'/partitioning that goes beyond stress and ordinary weight loss. Surgical musuloskeletal tightening and nips and tucks, fat removal, etc. You can almost draw lines across the sections. If there is work, I don't believe it was a positive or necessary change at the time. After the work 'set in', and with aid of any touch-ups, it improves from about 1989 onwards.

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OldFriends4Sale said:

imprimis said:

.

He is still toned. And stress is indeed a likely culprit for some of his appearance change during this era. But I 6 o believe his face shows evidence of some modest cosmetic procedures having occurred sometime between very Late 1987 and mid-1988, he had the money, he slowed down a bit in the referenced period, and seems to be aiming for a subjectively more angular and defined jawline.

He's always had an angular and defined jawline. Prince was much muscular in his earlier 1977/78 period. He became really toned/cut in the 1983-1986 years. That will always bring more definition out in his face. I had the same thing happen when I started putting on muscle mass and being more toned/ripped

[Edited 11/11/16 13:58pm]

he had the same Lovesexy jawline face here

imprimis said:

Yes, he has always had distinctive features in those regards. Although his face is fuller and 'smoother', without the aid of thick makeup jobs, through about 1986. (His face is much fuller, obviously, prior to about 1981, for obvious reasons of youth and weight.) Those '88 pictures, and for sometime afterwards, display a pronounced 'hollowing out'/partitioning that goes beyond stress and ordinary weight loss. Surgical musuloskeletal tightening and nips and tucks, fat removal, etc. You can almost draw lines across the sections. If there is work, I don't believe it was a positive or necessary change at the time. After the work 'set in', and with aid of any touch-ups, it improves from about 1989 onwards.

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OldFriends4Sale said:

He's always had an angular and defined jawline. Prince was much muscular in his earlier 1977/78 period. He became really toned/cut in the 1983-1986 years. That will always bring more definition out in his face. I had the same thing happen when I started putting on muscle mass and being more toned/ripped

[Edited 11/11/16 13:58pm]

little or no mustache.... un-plucked eyebrows...bigger permed hair...thats about it

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Maybe, but I still cannot for my own part rule out that there was a surgical 'tweak' in the jawline ~1988. Something that brings out the natural tendencies of his face much more pronouncedly. I mean, they were always there, but whatever this is greatly emphasizes them. His resting facial posture during this period of 1988 seems to be sufficient to carry it out; he usually has to be quite expressive to expose those tendencies in his facial structure in images from 1986 and earlier.

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I mean, it all could be a trick of lighting, or some age-, stress- and weight-related facial changes, in the context of deliberate changes in facial hair, longer, straighter hair, and a different wardrobe and makeup job, but I just don't know.

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[Edited 11/11/16 14:42pm]

mynameisnotsusan said:

When on earth would he have had the time to do that in 1987-88? His schedule was crazy then. I don't think he had much done besides a little eyelift in the early 2000s when he was out of sight for about a year after Musicology and a bit of Botox later on.

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I do not know what the recovery time would be, nor whether that could be expedited in a sense with the aid of a competent pancake make-up job to enable him to go about public business while still healing.

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I do believe he had a lighter itinerary, relative to his career in the years immediately prior, in the first four or five months of 1988, however. He had the basis to most of LS in the bag by Dec 1987/Jan 1988, and although much further production (or overproduction, as has been claimed) was added, this was done with the advantages and within the comfortable confines of Paisley Park Studios, and assembled in record time on a Fairlight. The Tour didn't begin until July, and much of the time between February and May involved a reduced load of random studio work and a few photo and video shoots. There was a lot of sequencing on the LS Tour, and he is using his tried-and-true SOTT band, I don't believe a vigorous rehearsal schedule was quite as important here as they'd been in earlier shows. It's my understanding that he wasn't present for some of the rehearsals until the last few hours of them, and some not at all (and this is demonstrated in some of the bootlegs we have of the rehearsals and the television documentary). His general approach seems more laid back, as evidenced by the many aftershows.

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Whether he had anything done during approximately this time is only speculative, and how 'major' an operation you might desire to rank it, if so, is in the eye of the beholder.

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His face is 'fuller' in the years that follow, so, if you are willing to entertain the possibility of his having a little work done here, it either took some time to settle, or he had touch-ups or fillers added later on, or both.

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I find it interesting that his memorable beard styling ~Late 1989 through about early 1991 conceals especially just this very particularly skeletal area of the jawline (which feature appears more or less out of the blue during the Lovesexy Tour time period).

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[Edited 11/11/16 18:18pm]

imprimis said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

When on earth would he have had the time to do that in 1987-88? His schedule was crazy then. I don't think he had much done besides a little eyelift in the early 2000s when he was out of sight for about a year after Musicology and a bit of Botox later on.

.

I do not know what the recovery time would be, nor whether that could be expedited in a sense with the aid of a competent pancake make-up job. I do believe he had a lighter itinerary, relative to his career in the years immediately prior, in the first four or five months of 1988, however. Whether he had anything done during approximately this time is only speculative, and how 'major' an operation you might desire to rank it, if so, is in the eye of the beholder. His face is 'fuller' in the years that follow, so, if you are willing to entertain the possibility of his having a little work done here, it either took some time to settle, or he had touch-ups or fillers added later on. I find it interesting that his memorable beard styling ~Late 1989 through about early 1991 conceals especially just this very particularly skeletal area of the jawline (which feature appears more or less out of the blue during the Lovesexy Tour time period).

.

[Edited 11/11/16 17:57pm]

it looks more like he just lost the teenage 'babyfat' that made his face appear fuller as a youth, also, im sure he lost that extra weight once he started touring regularly...i dont see any evidence of surgery...just alot of makeup...and maybe/possibly some cocaine and pills ...he really looked drawn and sick in the Come/The Most Beautiful Girl In The World era...93-95...when Duane was working security for him, P was lookin kinda ashy and pale and sickly... bless his soul...

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Loss of 'baby fat' at 29/30/31 seems to be a stretch. If it isn't surgical, I cannot see anything other than some narcotics abuse causing such a pronounced effect on his appearance.

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RJOrion said:

it looks more like he just lost the teenage 'babyfat' that made his face appear fuller as a youth, also, im sure he lost that extra weight once he started touring regularly...i dont see any evidence of surgery...just alot of makeup...and maybe/possibly some cocaine and pills ...he really looked drawn and sick in the Come/The Most Beautiful Girl In The World era...93-95...when Duane was working security for him, P was lookin kinda ashy and pale and sickly... bless his soul...

.

[Edited 11/11/16 19:19pm]

mynameisnotsusan said:

When on earth would he have had the time to do that in 1987-88? His schedule was crazy then. I don't think he had much done besides a little eyelift in the early 2000s when he was out of sight for about a year after Musicology and a bit of Botox later on.

right

I definitely think his Lovesexy look was when he went to the most feminine side of his androgyny - the hair, the fashion model gaunt look, the outfits, the album cover......Certainly a factor in his ascendance in Europe and decline in the US during that period.

OldFriends4Sale said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

When on earth would he have had the time to do that in 1987-88? His schedule was crazy then. I don't think he had much done besides a little eyelift in the early 2000s when he was out of sight for about a year after Musicology and a bit of Botox later on.

right

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His schedule at the time mentioned pales in comparison to his late-1984 through mid-1985, and late 1985-early 1987 ones.

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The rest of 1987 itself was productive, but not at the scale of the previous year.

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First five months of 1988 we have mixing LS, LS cover shoot, overdub work sent out on JJ's second album, some PP time spent on Patti Labelle's and Chaka's forthcoming album, some recording of his own, Glam Slam video shoot, etc.

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[Edited 11/11/16 21:29pm]

gandorb said:

I definitely think his Lovesexy look was when he went to the most feminine side of his androgyny - the hair, the fashion model gaunt look, the outfits, the album cover......Certainly a factor in his ascendance in Europe and decline in the US during that period.

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It was at times a bit of a Dr Frank-n-Furter Prince.

[Edited 11/11/16 21:38pm]

OldFriends4Sale said:

mynameisnotsusan said:

When on earth would he have had the time to do that in 1987-88? His schedule was crazy then. I don't think he had much done besides a little eyelift in the early 2000s when he was out of sight for about a year after Musicology and a bit of Botox later on.

right

I was thinking that before... the botox. At one point I questioned his hair because his hair seemed to be growing fast enough to make any woman jealous. On the top of his head there were occasions where you could see his scalp or part, but some other photos there's not even a part in view and it looked like the hair on top was very thick in the same year. There were times where his hair looked permed and other times where it was so shiny and the texture looked like... a wig...? Idk. Please forgive me if I'm wrong.

[Edited 11/11/16 23:12pm]

~Weight loss, for someone already so slender - even 5-10 pounds would make a drastic difference, including their face.

~Long hair changes perspective around the face making it more elongated looking (simply comparing Parade with facial-hair-free faces to

~Those are the two big ones.

Add to that:

Strategic make-up defining, no facial hair, different eyebrows, and sure the overall image changes.

This post makes little sense, because, what are you suggesting he had that procedure reversed for 2011 onwards? Since his face looked more fuller again and no longer had AS pronounced of a jawline the way we see in LoveSexy?

People are digging for dirt in a swimming pool! Stop speculating negative garbage like drugs and plastic surgery. Can't you YET simply accept Prince for Prince.

ForeverPaisley said:

This post makes little sense, because, what are you suggesting he had that procedure reversed for 2011 onwards? Since his face looked more fuller again and no longer had AS pronounced of a jawline the way we see in LoveSexy?

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Actually, I believe it may have been only recently completed, and only setting in, in the Lovesexy-era photographs in question, with the further possibility of some additional touch-ups or fillers in the late '89/very early 1990s, and eventual regaining of weight.

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Why is it so scandalous to speculate that he may have had a little work done? I revere Prince, but I was never one to believe his lifestyle was entirely pristine, nor that cosmetic procedures are a necessarily tasteless topic.

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[Edited 11/12/16 0:11am]

imprimis said:

ForeverPaisley said:

This post makes little sense, because, what are you suggesting he had that procedure reversed for 2011 onwards? Since his face looked more fuller again and no longer had AS pronounced of a jawline the way we see in LoveSexy?

.

Actually, I believe it may have been only recently completed, and only setting in, in the Lovesexy-era photographs in question, with the further possibility of some additional touch-ups or fillers in the late '89/very early 1990s, and eventual regaining of weight.

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Why is it so scandalous to speculate that he may have had a little work done? I revere Prince, but I was never one to believe his lifestyle was entirely pristine.

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[Edited 11/12/16 0:08am]

Then how do you explain the 2015-2016 photos of a similarly thin/hollowy face? It's not like he would have had it reversed. If the fillers were there and he lost the weight, as he did, these would be more prominent due to thinner skin.

ForeverPaisley said:

imprimis said:

.

Actually, I believe it may have been only recently completed, and only setting in, in the Lovesexy-era photographs in question, with the further possibility of some additional touch-ups or fillers in the late '89/very early 1990s, and eventual regaining of weight.

.

Why is it so scandalous to speculate that he may have had a little work done? I revere Prince, but I was never one to believe his lifestyle was entirely pristine.

.

[Edited 11/12/16 0:08am]

Then how do you explain the 2015-2016 photos of a similarly thin/hollowy face? It's not like he would have had it reversed. If the fillers were there and he lost the weight, as he did, these would be more prominent due to thinner skin.

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Age, and perhaps, disease-related degeneration, and also significant weight loss bringing it again all to the fore. After a major procedure, the structures and tissues will never again have the same natural form and resiliency. The result of some plastic surgery works well during one's youth or relative youth, but rears its unnatural head again later in life. Fillers were only one possible explanation, and were probably relatively uncommon in that era (it would be more likely that he would use fillers later on, and have been advised medically to discontinue them in the last several years of his life). Those ~'88 photos may simply reflect 'setting in', which can take months to more than a year. He did not show clear signs of that elfin chin, ever-so-slightly plumped cheeks, and bipartite jawline before mid-1988, even though it could be argued he had these features (more subduedly) all along (his face always had a certain poutiness about it). And I am not discounting that weight is a contributing factor to such appearance changes, nor that certain makeup changes can highlight the features differently, but these are quite extreme and have some of the earmarks of Hollywood plastic surgery of the day and age, and show up almost overnight after a slight lull in his work activity.

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If it is true, it may be just the slightest indulgence in beautification, or an effort to forestall the earliest signs of ageing as he enters his thirties and after a demanding and stressful previous five or six years.

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I'll agree that this isn't by any means a rarefied subject matter, but it is no crime either.

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[Edited 11/12/16 0:58am]

OldFriends4Sale said:

imprimis said:

.

He is still toned. And stress is indeed a likely culprit for some of his appearance change during this era. But I 6 o believe his face shows evidence of some modest cosmetic procedures having occurred sometime between very Late 1987 and mid-1988, he had the money, he slowed down a bit in the referenced period, and seems to be aiming for a subjectively more angular and defined jawline.

.

[Edited 11/11/16 13:22pm]

He's always had an angular and defined jawline. Prince was much muscular in his earlier 1977/78 period. He became really toned/cut in the 1983-1986 years. That will always bring more definition out in his face. I had the same thing happen when I started putting on muscle mass and being more toned/ripped

I doubt that picture is a very realistic one. Before there was photopshop or anything of the like, they used to simply paint over the photos and that's what this one looks like to me. I barely recognize the person in the picture as him.

But, yeah, he wasn't a plastic surgery freak, as far as we know.

imprimis said:

.

Loss of 'baby fat' at 29/30/31 seems to be a stretch. If it isn't surgical, I cannot see anything other than some narcotics abuse causing such a pronounced effect on his appearance.

.

RJOrion said:

it looks more like he just lost the teenage 'babyfat' that made his face appear fuller as a youth, also, im sure he lost that extra weight once he started touring regularly...i dont see any evidence of surgery...just alot of makeup...and maybe/possibly some cocaine and pills ...he really looked drawn and sick in the Come/The Most Beautiful Girl In The World era...93-95...when Duane was working security for him, P was lookin kinda ashy and pale and sickly... bless his soul...

.

[Edited 11/11/16 19:19pm]

But it wasn't pronounced. As the picture from the Kiss video shows he looks pretty much the same as he did in 86.

ForeverPaisley said:

ForeverPaisley said:

~Weight loss, for someone already so slender - even 5-10 pounds would make a drastic difference, including their face.

~Long hair changes perspective around the face making it more elongated looking (simply comparing Parade with facial-hair-free faces to

~Those are the two big ones.

Add to that:

Strategic make-up defining, no facial hair, different eyebrows, and sure the overall image changes.

This post makes little sense, because, what are you suggesting he had that procedure reversed for 2011 onwards? Since his face looked more fuller again and no longer had AS pronounced of a jawline the way we see in LoveSexy?

People are digging for dirt in a swimming pool! Stop speculating negative garbage like drugs and plastic surgery. Can't you YET simply accept Prince for Prince.

luv u 4 that FP!

whats wrong with u folks? ur his FANBASE not the tabloids! why can't u stop digging dirt on him and searching 4 anything that could have been wrong? that's CJ's job and she did it well all those years and seems 2 continue.

botox? his face expressions are legendary. so what????
eye lifting, cheeks done, nose job, .... this guy was a natural beauty - from hair 2 toe - and he knew it. period. why should he have risked to ruin his gorgeous face with surgeries and/or botox?
and if? it's none of our business.

P had the beauty and the mutabilty every woman would wish 2 have (jealous?) he played with his features over decades and switched his image with hairstyles, facial hair, make up, clothes, ... he was more or less toned and lost/gained some pounds on/off over the decades. that's it.

and no - nothing indicates that there had 2 be drugs or illness involved. it always makes me laughing out loud when some1 speculates about those years 93/94 ... he was sick/abused drugs ... thats what the tabloids pointed out and made a huge story out of it. any1 remember that time period? it was the style back then. all the models looked like they were on heroin. it was terrible IMO. and P adopted that style 4 a while with all ingredients needed - including lots of pale make up.

we all have favourite eras and those we dont like that much. and that's cool. he always was cool with that. but there was something he wasn't cool with: critisism. there are lots of interviews out there pointing him that out. maybe u guys like to watch one or the other and then think 4 a few seconds ...

there is nothing but positive energy he left 4 us - not only in his music but in his kind of thinking, his spirituality, his words, his love ... why not focus on that? IMO thats what he wished we do. thats what he gave us. thats what he wanted to be remembered 4. not digging in his private life and personal stuff and critisising.

ok. those are my 2 cents. I'm sorry, I don't want to offend someone. but I cant stand that kind of negativity. there is so much graziness out there and each of us has his/her own problems 2 deal with. P always had the intention 2 enlighten not 2 discourage. again: this is his fanbase not the tabloids! that man was pure love and he deserves 2 be loved back the same way.

[Edited 11/12/16 4:47am]