A liquid eyeliner. A foundation balm. Eye shadow sticks. A Swiss face mask.
And a surgical balloon.
Those are Allure’s five Best of Beauty 2026 Breakthrough winners, picked from 358 entries. The balloon is Preserve by Motiva, the breast augmentation technique I have done since the US launch.
Patients got to the beauty shelf before the magazines did. From a consult this summer, after I described the operation without naming it:
Patient: “Oh, the Motiva.”
Dr. Agullo: “The Motiva Preserve. Yes. So that’s the one where you can go back to work the next day.”
She knew the brand before the operation. Now she will know the award. Fine, as long as she knows what won. (I made the same point when Forbes asked whether Preserve was the Rolls-Royce of implants.)
What Won
A way of not cutting.
“It is called Preserve because we’re not cutting any nerves, arteries, or breast tissue. All of those structures are preserved, and the most important ones are the natural breast ligaments, which will now act like a mesh and keep the implant in that pocket.”
Allure describes the tools: a channel separator that opens a path from the fold incision, a balloon that inflates inside the breast to make the pocket, ultrasound so the surgeon can watch it. Thirteen years of development. First cases in Tokyo in 2019.
“What we’re doing is we’re creating a space with a balloon right behind the breast gland, over the muscle. It creates that space, and that’s where we put in the implant.”
“There’s certainly a preservation trend in plastic surgery, with rhinoplasties and facelifts. The whole idea is to preserve as many of the structures that are naturally there without dividing them or cutting them. This is the same idea in Preserve, or breast preservation surgery.”
The award went to a philosophy. See Preservation, Not Minimalism.
The Honest Part
Allure’s surgeons name who should not: very thin patients (the implant edge can show), anyone wanting a big change (the implants stop at 315 cc), anyone with a prior implant in front of the muscle.
My version: “Patients who are looking for a natural result are the ideal candidates. It’s important to note that 325cc is the upper limit of how big the implant can be with this technique. So if a patient desires more than a two cup size increase in their breast, we need to go to a traditional breast augmentation over the muscle, or dual plane. This procedure by itself is not ideal for patients who have significant breast ptosis. They will actually require a breast lift, or a mastopexy, at the same time.”
An eyeliner has no candidates. An operation does.
What a Panel Cannot See
“Patients notice immediately after surgery that they’re able to raise their hands above their head without any discomfort or pain.”
“This technique prevents animation deformity altogether. It is a procedure that is very athlete-friendly, because it does not interfere with muscle strength or range of motion.”
“You can see it gives you the volume where you’ve lost it, which is the upper part. Gives you more projection. It lifts it up a little bit. From the top, you get a nice cleavage, but it’s still, we call it ballerina breast, because it’s not obvious that there’s an implant there.”
That is the look half my patients ask for now. I wrote about it in Ballerina Breasts, a year before Allure put the technique on a list.
Why I Get to Say This
“I was one of the very early adopters of this technology. I was in the select thirty-surgeon group that launched the procedure in the United States, chosen by Motiva, and trained in Costa Rica with the surgeons who developed and invented this technique.”
“After performing more than fifty Motiva Preserve procedures, I haven’t had to do any revisions, although it might be a little bit too soon to tell. Overall, my patients have been very happy.”
Too soon to tell. You will not read that on a beauty award. You should hear it from a surgeon.
Why Choose Dr. Agullo
Double board-certified. Mayo Clinic fellowship. Clinical Associate Professor of Plastic Surgery at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Castle Connolly Top Doctor for 13 consecutive years. Trained by Motiva on Preserve, still doing traditional augmentation for the women it suits.
Ready to Talk?
Measurements first, magazine second.
Call (915) 590-7900, text 1-866-814-0038, or book at agulloplasticsurgery.com/appointments. Pricing starts on the fees page. #StayBeautiful
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