Tip of the hat, TheVeed!
Can someone please buy the domain,
www.thepolishedturd.com and turn it into a retouching forum

(It IS available!)
Then again, a lot of digital makeup
can be applied but that's an extremely expensive way of doing things in a studio!
I tend to "Front Load" everything : in music and photography try to get the best result in front of the camera or microphone. This is where a background in shooting film (or even JPGS) is essential. Basic skills and actually this week i'm in the position of Shooting to immediately deliver 4-600 photos per night so it's really stretching my metering and lighting skills. Great, stressful fun.