Posts Tagged ‘A FREE MAKE-OVER’

A FREE MAKE-OVER

Monday, March 23rd, 2009

On the way to the bookshop to pick up career books for my sixteen year old daughter so she does not always live at home eating ice-cream in her dressing gown and watching Channel Dave I pass the Bobbie Brown counter.

Accidentally, well sort of accidentally. In fact I deviate pass this counter quite often. Sometimes I hover about for a few minutes, sometimes I stop and look, and sometimes I hurry away. But mostly I just take comfort that it is there.
But today I march right up to it and gaze at the lovely earth-coloured eye shadows. “Can I help you?” says a pretty young girl with glowing skin. “Oh no, just looking” I say and I do a sort of side-step. But suddenly I become very bold. I blurt it out. Rather in the manner I once told my GP I thought I was having a nervous breakdown.

“Yes, I do need help….a lot of it” and I explain about my discontinued Clarins lip colour, how I feel I am becoming obsolete myself and there must be some blusher, [medication?] something that will do the trick. Ten Years Younger? I never watch the programme as a matter of principle, but somehow it has got into my synapses.

“Would you like to make an appointment for a free make-over?” “No….Yes, well how about today?” Can you do me NOW?” I feel if I don’t settle it this minute the moment will pass never to be retrieved. So suddenly she and Bobbie’s other girls have no chance, they are stuck with me. They make pretence of looking in their book, hoping it is full, but it is as clear as day that they had no customers this afternoon. There had been a power cut in the shopping centre for a start and everyone has gone home. One of them was going to have to step up to the plate for this Nicky Hambleden-Jones wanabee.

The other girl suddenly found another customer so the first girl, who was in fact brave and sweet showed me to the stool as if she were a dental assistant ushering a nervous patient. I felt a bit like a contestant on The Weakest Link, (I make a point of not watching that either); the one who was going to be voted off first.

The first question stumped me. “Have you any idea of the look you want?” I went blank. (I was the weakest link). I wanted to say I want to be like you, (she was 20…maybe 21 with flawless olive skin & smoky eye-shadow) but I could see that this was an expectation too far even for Nicky herself. (Apparently she has been replaced on her own programme for being too old, which although of course I never watch this programme still seems totally unfair). As it was, if I’d been setting out for a make-over and pre-booked my appointment I’d have worn my Joseph jacket not my Peruvian cardigan, [this principle is important when you visit the hairdresser nobody wants the knitted jacket type hair cut] but too late; however I managed to say, (quite intelligently I thought) that I wanted her help to look as good as I could for my age.

She started off with “Bobbie’s favourite product”. Out came pots of lovely goo, like oil paints, such divine creamy colours. I tried to ask one or two sensible questions [as if I had free makeovers as a matter of course] and was told I could look in the mirror whenever I liked. Which I didn’t like. This meant finding my glasses and getting in and out of the hot seat. And besides I try not to look at myself in my glasses. What would be the point? The top buzz-word these days seems to be “low self-esteem”, so why encourage more of it?

Actually without the glasses I was quite pleased with the effect. She said I didn’t have dark patches under my eyes, (what she meant was like some women of your age) which cheered me a lot. She seemed confident that she was making me look better and kept referring to my new glow.

So on went concealer, foundation, powders and lipstick; “old rose” was the lip colour she thought suited me when normally I go for rust or orange; I haven’t used old rose since I was trying to be Jean Shrimpton, stealing my mother’s lipstick from her hand-bag.

The sixties no-make-up-look had obviously come round again, especially when she applied kohl to my eyes and I started to look like Dusty Springfield [not that my ingénue make-up girl would have had a clue who she was].

The high stool became rather uncomfortable after a while but I persevered. In fact the make-up all seemed to feel very nice, especially as the girl told me it was Bobbie’s favourite look etc. etc. I was beginning to fall for the patter hook line and sinker. She asked me if I needed it done for a special occasion and I racked my brains and thought of my step-daughter’s wedding in June which I then brought forward a few months, aware that it is usually the bride who has a make-up practise and not the step-mother witness.
So all too soon it was over. She asked me if I wanted to buy the products. Well of course I wanted to buy the products!! I had to jump now I’d got this far. What was the point of looking ten years younger and having Bobbie’s glow just for five minutes when the whole effect could last a lifetime?!!

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