Middle Age is the New Adolescence
Our Face Keeps Changing, and Our Makeup With It
The subject of make-up came up recently, and I said to my 14-year-old daughter, “You know, if you ever want to learn about make-up, let me know and I’ll show you. It’s okay if you don’t though — you never have to wear make-up if you don’t want to.” My daughter immediately replied, “You know, I do want to learn. I regret that my twelve-year-old self decided she didn’t like anything girly and I want to learn that stuff.” I invited one of my friends over and the three of us had a make-up tips exchange workshop in my bathroom. I was delighted to participate in this and benefited from it enormously, both because I wanted to help my daughter in her growing interest, but also because I needed it myself.
When I was a teenager, I didn’t have an interest in make-up, and neither my mother nor my sisters took me aside to teach me. I probably would have rolled my eyes if they had tried. When I eventually decided I wanted to wear some, it took me a lot of experimentation in order to figure out what worked for me. Eventually, I discovered a formula that produced an effect that made me feel like a prettier version of me, but not “made-up” — a little eyeliner, eyebrow pencil, some spot use of concealer or maybe light foundation, some powder, a lipstick in a brownish shade — and I stuck with it. I…
