To Make Up... or Not
I was never a big user of makeup. When I was in high school and even college, I occasionally used what was undoubtedly cheap makeup, but invariably my eyes began to itch and it was more trouble than it was worth.
About 30 years ago, around the time I got married I swore off the use of makeup altogether. It was about the same time I quit shaving my legs and armpits and just decided to take on a natural look. I kept a tube of lipstick (the same tube for many years) for special occasions, but that was about the extent of my use of makeup. In fact, I still have the Clinique products that I last purchased in the mid-70's (that is, the ones my daughter Rachel has not absconded with).
So why, all of a sudden, did I decide to start using makeup again? It might have been because in the middle of a serious discussion, Rebecca said, “I need to put on some lipstick. Lipstick always helps me think better.” Could that really be true? Or maybe it was because I looked in the mirror and saw a rather washed-out looking face that needed some color. Or maybe I was looking for a way to hide my new neck scar where my thyroid was removed. Whatever...
I really don’t know much about makeup and certainly nothing from the last 30 years. So I quietly asked a salesperson at Whole Foods how I might get started on this project, admitting to knowing nothing. She suggested some tinted moisturizer by Burt’s Bees and a tube of lip gloss. The moisturizer worked well to diminish my neck scar and it took only 30 seconds to apply. I could do this.
Then I decided to add some blush by the same manufacturer. At this point people started to tell me how radiant I looked. I knew it had to be my new painted face.
At about this same time, I was to receive a big deal award from the Secretary of Commerce. I determined that I wanted my eyes to show up in the photo, so in the early morning hours of the day of the ceremony, I ransacked our house looking for a tube of mascara that Rachel might have left behind in her room. I finally found GREAT LASH by Mabelline. It would have to do! I could finally see the definition of my eyes, even behind my glasses. Haven’t seen the picture, but I am sure that it made a difference.
So I made some more quiet inquiries and ended up with face powder and good eye makeup that didn’t make my eyes itch. I also realized that I now needed makeup remover for face and eyes. This was getting complicated.
I still didn’t really get how to put on the eye makeup. So I went into Norstrom’s to the MAC counter and had a professional with a whole bag of tricks (literally) show me what to do. I’m sure she had never seen a 55-year-old who knew so little about how to apply makeup. Despite her bright blue glittery eye shadow, she ended up selling me very natural colors of the same, with brushes and concealer. I am convinced that you could spend an absolute fortune on these things!
Now it takes me 10 minutes more in the morning to put on the 8 products I now use and 5 minutes at night to take them off (when I remember). But the results are well worth it. People are constantly telling me how much healthier I look. Rachel even approves of the stuff I have bought and I keep having to retrieve it out of her room. I guess getting older entitles us to reinvent ourselves from time to time. In my case, a little makeup was all it took! And just think of all the money I saved over a 30-year period...
About 30 years ago, around the time I got married I swore off the use of makeup altogether. It was about the same time I quit shaving my legs and armpits and just decided to take on a natural look. I kept a tube of lipstick (the same tube for many years) for special occasions, but that was about the extent of my use of makeup. In fact, I still have the Clinique products that I last purchased in the mid-70's (that is, the ones my daughter Rachel has not absconded with).
So why, all of a sudden, did I decide to start using makeup again? It might have been because in the middle of a serious discussion, Rebecca said, “I need to put on some lipstick. Lipstick always helps me think better.” Could that really be true? Or maybe it was because I looked in the mirror and saw a rather washed-out looking face that needed some color. Or maybe I was looking for a way to hide my new neck scar where my thyroid was removed. Whatever...
I really don’t know much about makeup and certainly nothing from the last 30 years. So I quietly asked a salesperson at Whole Foods how I might get started on this project, admitting to knowing nothing. She suggested some tinted moisturizer by Burt’s Bees and a tube of lip gloss. The moisturizer worked well to diminish my neck scar and it took only 30 seconds to apply. I could do this.
Then I decided to add some blush by the same manufacturer. At this point people started to tell me how radiant I looked. I knew it had to be my new painted face.
At about this same time, I was to receive a big deal award from the Secretary of Commerce. I determined that I wanted my eyes to show up in the photo, so in the early morning hours of the day of the ceremony, I ransacked our house looking for a tube of mascara that Rachel might have left behind in her room. I finally found GREAT LASH by Mabelline. It would have to do! I could finally see the definition of my eyes, even behind my glasses. Haven’t seen the picture, but I am sure that it made a difference.
So I made some more quiet inquiries and ended up with face powder and good eye makeup that didn’t make my eyes itch. I also realized that I now needed makeup remover for face and eyes. This was getting complicated.
I still didn’t really get how to put on the eye makeup. So I went into Norstrom’s to the MAC counter and had a professional with a whole bag of tricks (literally) show me what to do. I’m sure she had never seen a 55-year-old who knew so little about how to apply makeup. Despite her bright blue glittery eye shadow, she ended up selling me very natural colors of the same, with brushes and concealer. I am convinced that you could spend an absolute fortune on these things!
Now it takes me 10 minutes more in the morning to put on the 8 products I now use and 5 minutes at night to take them off (when I remember). But the results are well worth it. People are constantly telling me how much healthier I look. Rachel even approves of the stuff I have bought and I keep having to retrieve it out of her room. I guess getting older entitles us to reinvent ourselves from time to time. In my case, a little makeup was all it took! And just think of all the money I saved over a 30-year period...
posted by Barbara at 4:08 PM
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