Mom Makeover

I did this quick, impromptu makeover on my mom while home for Thanksgiving. She has stayed firmly planted in her beauty routine from the early 80s: She still gets regular perms and bleaches her hair. I couldn't intervene on the hair today, but I tried to bring her look a little more into current-day. I'm not giving up: There will be a part 2 to this.

My mom is 67, so doing her makeup is a very different experience than doing makeup on someone in her 20s or 30s. She has held her age very well and battled cancer in the last year, so I thought she deserved some pampering and tips on updating her routine.

1. When applying foundation, even formulas known for being creamy or dewy can easily cake on older skin. I went in with moisturizer before and after applying foundation to help smooth it out. With more time and the right products, I would've prepped her skin with a moisturizing facial mask beforehand.

2. Skin tone can actually lighten and become more sallow as we age: I applied a foundation slightly darker than her natural skin color to warm her complexion.

3. She has amazing Susan Sarandon eyes, but one eye is hooded due to aging: This made makeup application  trickier. The application on her eyes actually was slightly different to make them appear more symmetrical. She seemed surprised to notice this for the first time. I explained to her that most people, myself included, don't have perfectly symmetrical eyes.

4. The camera muted it out a bit, but I applied a rosy cream blush (avoid powders as much as possible) to her cheeks and a matching rose color on her lips: I had her apply a lot of lip balm prior to application to help them plump a bit, and I deliberately went slightly outside her natural lip line. The blush was applied high on the cheekbones to give a lifting effect.

Actual comments:

Me: "Use heat protectant when you curl your hair."

Mom: "What's that? If I put a little conditioner in, is it the same thing?"

Me: "Stop bleaching and processing your hair for a while."

Mom: "I have a small face, so if I make my hair poofy, it makes me face look bigger."

Me: "It doesn't work that way."

Her reaction to the makeup: After some initial shock, she kept saying, "I feel like a different person."



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