Made up

Yesterday I had a haircut.  I sat and stared at myself in a mirror, which is not something I often do.  Even with my glasses off, I was aware (blurrily) of looking rather pale and wintery. 

So on a whim I decided to book in for a make-up session.  I don't normally wear make-up and have no idea how to apply it properly - it couldn't hurt to ask an expert.  Also I'm being interviewed for TV next week and would prefer not to look completely pasty. 

I felt apprehensive.  Those make-up people in department stores, the ones in the clincal white uniforms, always wear so much make-up themselves you have no idea what they really look like, which I find a bit disturbing.  But the young woman assigned to me at the salon today looked reassuringly natural.  I asked her to please make me up to look as if I wasn't wearing any make-up.

It took her about half an hour, and involved a bewildering number of lotions and brushes and powders and what-not.  I sat there mentally totting up the potential price list for all this kit, and felt quite alarmed.  Anyway, the end result was....

...okaaaay. To me I looked like Coco-the-clown, with eyes like Cleopatra's.  And yet when the kids, and then my husband, came home they didn't even notice anything different about me.  (Until I took my glasses off, and then everyone agreed that the eyes were just a little scary.)  I guess she had done a good job.

I'm not sure I'm going to add make-up to my daily routine, though I'm glad I now have some know-how.  As I was finishing up at the salon I remarked to the woman how lovely and natural her make-up was, and asked her how she achieved that look.  "Oh, I'm not wearing make-up today," she shrugged, "I didn't have time to put any on this morning."

I see.  Just young and naturally beautiful, then. 

Ah well.