How I Took a Scary Leap Into the World of Teen Girls and Glamour for a Good Cause
It’s all about the lashes.
I was looking for a volunteer opportunity in retirement, but I wanted to avoid the deep-brain work I was used to — writing, editing, teaching, and communications and social media strategy, etc. — you know, all the stuff I retired from. I needed a break from that.
I happened upon a story on Sixty and Me advising women over 60 to reignite their passion by looking back at what gave them joy when they were young. I used to like roller skating, hula hoop and the trampoline, but those were out. I didn’t draw or play an instrument as a kid, and I wasn’t looking to start, at least not right away.
I had to admit that an area of interest that had always been part of me was beauty and style, especially makeup. It harkened back to my grandmother painting my fingernails bright red when I was five or six and watching in awe as my mother dragged a tiny, wetted brush through a black pallet to turn her long, dark eyelashes into a glamorous fringe. (The version of mascara before the self-contained wand.)
I bought my first blush as a young teen when such powders were just starting to take the place of traditional rouge, and my best friend and I saved our allowances so we could buy Max Factor pancake base…
