I have ALWAYS loved make-up! Loooong before I was "allowed" to wear it in public, I already had a large collection of bottles, tubes, pots and jars and I was *practice, practice, practicing* eagerly at home!
A little of this, and a little of that... some sparkle here, some shadow there... and what I perceived to be a rather "plain" face sprung to life with color and depth and interest! It was magical!
And (fancying myself a budding expert) I happily shared my interest with my young girlfriends... making them small, pocket-sized "make-up guides", with detailed pictures and narratives on how to brush, blush, shade and contour.
I remember going through many phases... the famous frosty blue eyeshadow, thick eyeliner (top and bottom!) and very pink blush. (If I had a nickle for every time my mother said, "Wipe some of that blush off your cheeks!" I would be a rich woman today!)
Then there was the "natural" look... which took at least an hour to carefully apply 10 - 12 products to make you look like you weren't wearing any make-up at all!
Then there was the Green Obsession. I have green eyes, and based on an article in a fashion magazine, I decided that I should wear green eye shadow. (Makes total sense, right?!) Thus began a collection of green eye shadows... in every hue and color... from pale celery to grass green to deep metallic forest green. And believe me, I wore every one (proudly!)
Then one day a cosmetics salesperson (oh, those wonderful and mysterious women behind the cosmetics counter, wearing those crisp white smocks and looking like a cross between a super model and a doctor) told me that with my "lovely green eyes", I really should be wearing a "contrasting color of eyeshadow, dear -- like purple". Purple? OK, purple it will be! And thus another collection began. Light lavenders, soft plums, deep eggplants... I had (and loved!) them all.
In all this preoccupation to my eyes, though ;o) I was, admittedly, simply not paying the proper attention to my lips. But one day a wonderful new friend introduced me to... The Grown-up Art of Lipstick! What a marvelous thing that was! Oh, I was well familiar, of course, with shiny, sparkly little tubs and pots of clear glosses... but Real Lipstick?! In those seductive, sophisticated, sleek and slender tubes?! And OH! The colors! Deep plums and raisins and berries and wine... so dramatic! Watching my friend so artfully and casually apply her lipstick, (and then followed by the requisite blotting!) I was hooked! And this was, of course, the start of The (very successful) Lipstick Collection.
And let me assure you now that if I live to be 100, I could never use up all of my lipsticks!
A little of this, and a little of that... some sparkle here, some shadow there... and what I perceived to be a rather "plain" face sprung to life with color and depth and interest! It was magical!
And (fancying myself a budding expert) I happily shared my interest with my young girlfriends... making them small, pocket-sized "make-up guides", with detailed pictures and narratives on how to brush, blush, shade and contour.
I remember going through many phases... the famous frosty blue eyeshadow, thick eyeliner (top and bottom!) and very pink blush. (If I had a nickle for every time my mother said, "Wipe some of that blush off your cheeks!" I would be a rich woman today!)
Then there was the "natural" look... which took at least an hour to carefully apply 10 - 12 products to make you look like you weren't wearing any make-up at all!
Then there was the Green Obsession. I have green eyes, and based on an article in a fashion magazine, I decided that I should wear green eye shadow. (Makes total sense, right?!) Thus began a collection of green eye shadows... in every hue and color... from pale celery to grass green to deep metallic forest green. And believe me, I wore every one (proudly!)
Then one day a cosmetics salesperson (oh, those wonderful and mysterious women behind the cosmetics counter, wearing those crisp white smocks and looking like a cross between a super model and a doctor) told me that with my "lovely green eyes", I really should be wearing a "contrasting color of eyeshadow, dear -- like purple". Purple? OK, purple it will be! And thus another collection began. Light lavenders, soft plums, deep eggplants... I had (and loved!) them all.
In all this preoccupation to my eyes, though ;o) I was, admittedly, simply not paying the proper attention to my lips. But one day a wonderful new friend introduced me to... The Grown-up Art of Lipstick! What a marvelous thing that was! Oh, I was well familiar, of course, with shiny, sparkly little tubs and pots of clear glosses... but Real Lipstick?! In those seductive, sophisticated, sleek and slender tubes?! And OH! The colors! Deep plums and raisins and berries and wine... so dramatic! Watching my friend so artfully and casually apply her lipstick, (and then followed by the requisite blotting!) I was hooked! And this was, of course, the start of The (very successful) Lipstick Collection.
And let me assure you now that if I live to be 100, I could never use up all of my lipsticks!
as a kid growing up i loved it when you made up my face...our 7 years difference meant that my 10 year old self idolized your 17 year old self and let you paint me however you wanted! then afterwards i would swish around gramma's house feeling Oh So Grown up! i love you so much for the makeup lessons & fun! (and now, too!) our time with Sephora.com or in Ulta are the BEST!
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