It has occurred to me as I have continued to blossom over this past year that presentation of one's self is as important as the knowledge and experience that one has. That being said, does it mean that one must act and not be true to one's self?
I come from a background of working in trades and being well, as my friend Bonnie used to call me "a ruff tough cream puff". I wear work boots and practical foot wear, don't own a dress or anything much feminine. As a teen I never wore make up. I actually wore make up once when I got married. Later that night I had to call the person who applied it to ask how to get that stuff off my face.
This past spring after reading an article on women Priests and the benefit to wearing make up I started to ponder make-up. With having been asked to be involved in leading a number of Morning Prayer Services, including sermons, over the summer I thought there may be some value to wearing making. By the way, at that point my friend Bonnie was likely in heaven with a smile on her face rolling her eyes at me.
At that point in my venture I did actually own a lipstick. It is kept in my tool box. It's great for marking where outlets etc are when mounting drywall. OK so this wouldn't do. I went on a quest to investigate this stuff. I bought some lipstick that I thought was a plum colour. Put it on and it was bright flipping red....I looked like a clown.
I decided I had no idea what I was doing so I made an appointment to meet with a Makeup consultant??? not sure if that is what she is called. Anyway I sat down with her and explained why I wanted to wear make up and that I didn't want to spend ages applying it. She said, "she would put it on for me", at which point I said, "you put it on on one side and I will do the other, I have to walk out of here knowing how to actually do this because you aren't going to be at my house at 7:30am to help me." I think I may have taxed her as I inquired about to the purpose of every single brush and pad...why use this one over that one, what is the difference, does it spread the make up in different patterns or thicknesses and so on.
I made my purchases and started a new chapter in my life.
I have had a few interesting escapades along the way.
- It is far easier to apply eyeshadow before one applies mascara.
- Using a jackknife to sharpen your eyeshadow doesn't work well. Someone clued me in that you can actually buy a sharpener to do that job or even get eyeshadow that rolls out, kind of like the mechanical pencil I have for drafting.
-My Lipstick has gotten flat. What happened to the slant that made it easier to apply? I am still not sure how to get that slant back, thinking the jackknife may work, I just don't want to waste the lipstick.
-I am thinking the next lipstick will be one of those little ones you can
use a little paint brush thingy to paint my lips with instead of
rolling the actual stick around my lips. Just can't figure out how to keep it and the brush in my pocket without having lipstick all over the inside of my pocket from the brush.
I also have not figured out how one wears this accessory in the summer with the heat.
Is this all worth it. Yes, a subtle amount of make-up presents a face with a bit of life rather then a washed out look. It enhances the real self.
