Some people only know me as I currently am but everyone has a “starting point” – a frame of reference that they see as what they were at a certain “aha” moment in time and they progress from there with mental snapshots as well as visual ones that embed themselves into our personal psyche as who we are/were at that time. I have memories that go back to when I was two for sure and lots more since then. I remember my favorite dolls, dresses, what I liked to do as a tiny kid (and I mean under 5). I remember the sight of my mom getting dressed up to go out. She was all aswirl with her very short hair (a 50’s + punk twist on short hair is the best guesstimation from my personal memories. High heels I would try to wear and she would shoo me away out of them before I destroyed them. I remember hunting through her jewelry box looking at all the different pieces–trying to figure out HOW to wear all these things she would put on- yet didn’t look the same on me. Kids see their parents often with awe.. and little girls watch their mother apply their makeup AKA war paint as something so imspiring of being an adult or “grown-up”. Who didn’t want to have black eyeliner or mascara, and gorgeous lipsticks in which I was to never use them as crayons ever again. The one thing that always got my attention as she left was the waft of her fragrance as she dashed by me, clutching her bag putting on jewelry and walking out the door.
When I was older (read junior high), I got brave and started coloring my hair. First it was different shades of brown, then more red tones and finally as I was a “brash & bold” freshman in high school, I tried this great dark burgundy boxed hair color. I thought it was deep dark red that I saw on the box. Nope! It turned out to be more of a wine/purple color and my mother was adamant about changing the color. For a month, there was a stand-off about it between my mother and I. While I was getting hasseled by other girls at this conservative suburban high school, I figured I could tough it out with my mom. WRONG!
Finally faced with a certain fait accompli, I bought a box of brown something and ditched the wine-colored hair. High school was where I tested every trend for fashion and makeup– lots of wild color eyeliners, and various shades of drugstore makeup that I would hoard along with things my mother no longer wanted. It didn’t seem to matter to me if it didn’t look right, it was all about being a GIRL and pushing those limits of school dress code limits by having skirts shorter than most, lots of boots, red colored tights and dresses with zippered cuffs and zippers down the front. Any wonder I landed my first couple jobs in department stores working in fashion and beauty departments? I was truly my mother’s child who looked at her as she went out to big affairs for suburban charity events as well as up to Los Angeles to see relatives who worked “in the business” (what that business was I didn’t know but it turned out to be entertainment.)
I remember going up to visit the same relatives several times and always having very nice clothes. One dress was like a fairy princess: white, with short sleeves and a turquoise belt and tiny embroidered designs in bright turquoise, pink, yellow, green and purple. While I tried to walk out the door wearing turquoise eyeshadow, my mom made me change it but the pink lipstick passed inspection along with a hint of mascara.
Fast forward to college and I would spend time blending shadows and lip colors rather than studying and trying every mascara I could afford. I know that my fragrance of the day was from the drugstore but what it smelled like on me was so unique that guys always noticed it and their girlfriends were unhappy because they wore it too but it didn’t smell quite the same as it did on me. (score one for me!)
From then on, it’s been just going through makeup phases- including the magenta lip phase partnered with a light brown /dark blonde that accidentally went to copper penny by choosing the wrong color (again). I was working full time after graduation from college and for a rather conservative company so that had to change fast.
I still followed my mothers’ fragrance and color choices but she opted for the huge color palettes that had a gazillion shades and lots of lipsticks that I felt were boring and I was off to be business-like during the day and funky chick at night. My suits for work never lasted after 5 PM and I was into a vintage replica style of Katherine Hepburn meets someone else that were a dichotomy of styles. While she wore Shalimar and other fragrances like Chanel 5, I was more a Chanel 19 girl. (no longer since I am now a fragrance junkie.)
Now several years later, I teach my mother tricks with makeup. While wrapping up my masters degree in art history that was accompanied by lots of music and also actual art work in photography and lithography, I wound up evolving into this huge beauty junkie. Why not…because in photography beauty products are key. While pro lines like Mac and MakeUp ForEver were and still are pricey, there are brands that can be used for most things that are found in drugstores.
Hence when I could get Max Factor from Europe (a pro line at drugstore no longer carried in the US) and some of the brands at mass and drugstore retail stepping up their game from L’Oreal, Maybelline, Covergirl and Almay amongst the many lines that I covered–comparing products.
Funny thing is now my mom and others get tips from me on what works or doesn’t. I don’t require a $25 pencil to create a smokey eye but 2 from any number of makeup brands will give me the look I want.
It’s not hard for me to spend $30 at the drugstore with products that I want to test drive — including probably what has come to include Target’s specialty brand categories along with the usual suspects. More than half my mascaras are from drugstore level because I can get 2 or 3 items for the price of one department store product. I just start with a basic separating mascara and work up building the look I want. When I was working in a start-up video/photography production company, I was suggesting products to makeup artists that were easy and inexpensive body treatments to approximate sweat or lack thereof as well as vintage-style makeup that were to duplicate the look of women in the paintings of” the masters”.
When it comes to beauty products, I am good at picking out the shades that work for me but I am always open to trying something new. From Wet n Wild to other brands I am gung ho.
Here’s the great part for you: enter a sweepstakes for a trip to NYC with a photo of you and your mom and a brief paragraph about how she influenced your beauty & style. Photos need not be current in case Mom lives on the other side of the country, is ill or passed on. Here’s the LINK
News Flash
Here’s a news flash for you: along with several other women, I was selected to be an Almay Spokesperson for a new campaign. Perhaps you have seen about it or heard about it on TV. It’s on Facebook.com/Almay
Triberr.com came to me asking if I wanted to work a beauty campaign– I was all in.
There are a couple of videos there. One great video shows Goldie Hawn and daughter Kate Hudson talking about their relationship and how Kate was influenced by her mom’s beauty style & products. Kate Hudson is the celebrity spokesperson for Almay and thus you will see further posts, tweets, videos, and other elements come across my social media channels and this blog.
Disclosure: I am being paid to be part of this campaign. I will be sharing posts from other bloggers engaged in this campaign and you can see their stories & inspiration as well. We will talk beauty but when it comes to ALMAY products, it will be hashtagged #Almay and indicate it’s sponsored by another hashtag #spons or #paid (at least by me.) I am being perfectly transparent with you. I have done other campaigns for other brands where I made it clear I was being paid to make chocolate reindeer or review a certain bank’s financial aid assistance for college bound students, but not required what this campaign is so I am explaining MORE of what you are going to see because it is not only about Almay.
It’s about the sisterhood that occurs and inspiration that we get from family, BFF’s and people that we would like to emulate. I will be talking about beauty products and I will be talking about Almay beauty products. Those posts will be clearly marked. I am an established beauty writer/editor for the last 15 years both in print and online. I am clear about what products do and what works for you or for Kate might not work for me because everyone’s skintype and skin tone is different. That being said, it’s not going to be ton of stuff but you will see it on Pinterest– which will have a couple of boards, twitter, probably google + and definitely on facebook.com because of the Almay page.And possibly on my blog
Seize the Moment– You won’t regret it!!
Stevie
Stevie Wilson,
LA-Story.com
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Cool job for you, Stevie. I have always liked Almay products, and use them all the time.
Wo! This is a great opportunity for you. I’m so happy! I would do it, but my mother is not alive any more and I don’t think I have any photos of us together. 🙁
Marie