Editor’s Post by Deborah Hetrick Catanese
Remember how poor, sweet Cinderella had to work and slave around the house and never had the time to look pretty, even though she really WAS pretty, somewhere under all those rags?
Sounds like the way you feel sometimes, right? The baby crying half the night, your kindergartner home sick and demanding your attention with his or her insatiable needs, and you with hair so bedraggled that you look like you haven’t attended to it in days?! And don’t even mention teenagers! There are indeed mothering days like these, when you wonder why you bother to have those gorgeous clothes that hang idly in your closet! And whether you’ll ever be able to attend to yourself again!
Let’s go back to Cinderella for a minute. She was in a horrible place, she was “all work/no play”, and she was a total mess! So did her Fairy Godmother recommend that she write a ten step plan for improving her life? NO! The Fairy Godmother realized that when time is not only tough but short, sometimes you have to work from the outside in! And Cinderella’s perceptive F.G. realized there was nothing wrong with Cinderella that a good make-over couldn’t fix!
Whenever I am in urgent need of rejuvenation, I know it’s time to fall back on Axiom Number One for Fashionistas… “If you LOOK good, you FEEL good!” And even in the midst of chaotic days, a mama needs to remember that the better she feels, the better she can perform her responsibilities!
We each have our favorite ways of giving ourselves that much needed quick boost, whether it is indulging in shopping therapy (maybe a little “shoe porn” as Ali recently suggested?!), buying some lovely lingerie (and actually WEARING IT!), or having our hair and nails done. So, hooray for survival techniques! My personal favorite is to turn to my most magical of Fairy Godmothers…AUDRA!
Audra is a facelift for my soul, a mood ring that always reads JOYFUL, and a movie that makes me want to stand up and cheer! Audra is a Make-up Artist that works at the Chanel Counter at Macy’s, right in my own shopping backyard. If you could drive 5 minutes to get the boost I get from seeing Audra, believe me, you would!
Audra says that “it’s all about the experience”, and yes, she is quite right. The experience is that you sit down at one of the cushioned chairs at the Chanel Counter, with all the beautiful “feel good, smell good, look good” products lined up before your bedazzled eyes, and the fun begins!
First she does a thorough make-up removal and cleanse and sometimes follows with a masque that refreshes your very, very tired skin (which matches your very, very tired self!) She laughs and talks with you, complimenting you on how beautiful your skin is, or your eyes, or lips, or whatever!
Soon you have put aside all thoughts of the mundane details of your life and are immersed in the spell that your Fairy Godmother is putting on you. Because you must remember that Fairy Godmothers are OBSESSED with making you look and feel your very best! Audra is both very beautiful and very talented, and she enchants you while she works her magic on your face.
This is make-up application as it was intended to be – no short-cuts like we Mamas so often take! This is a high-end experience. If you were a model, you would probably not be fussed over any better than this. Audra uses toner, a serum and moisturizer tailored to your skin, a primer, then the exactly right shade of foundation, concealer, highlighter, blush, and powder to finish. She waves her magic wand, and all those skin issues of yours disappear before your eyes!
Once Audra has your skin looking far smoother than any baby’s bum, she starts on her true specialties…your eyes and your lips.
She is the Maestro of eyes, a true perfectionist, and I’m not exactly sure how she does it. (BELIEVE ME I’ve tried!) Audra loves to use the newest shades to enhance your look and your eye color, and she customizes her artistry for the specific occasion…whether a wedding, an interview, a nightclub, or going home to dazzle the S.O. The last time I visited her, I asked for “sultry” just for the fun of it, and my eyes ended up looking like something from a magazine ad, all shadowy yet radiant!
As for the final touches, Audra is obsessed with lips. True to form, her business card has the kiss imprint of her own lips in a lush scarlet red! She began drawing lips as a young girl and continues to “create” beautiful lips for all her clients today (which include Joan Rivers, who looked totally fantastic after Audra made her up for a Gala evening event. And we all know how much Joan cares about looking good!)
Well then, my dear Mamas, what better way to snap out of a funk than to be magically transformed from your outwardly bedraggled Cinderella into your inner Femme Fatale?! So, keep your favorite Fairy Godmother’s phone number handy for those times you need it most!
[Just remember that even though these make-up applications are free, you should be prepared to make a respectable purchase from your Fairy Godmother. I try to save up for the occasion and buy my usual staples along with something new to try each time I visit. The other choice is to pay a significant chunk of money for a comparable make-up session at a salon, which doesn’t include the products. As for me, I’ll stick with Audra.]
So, “my Pretties”, tell me about YOUR Fairy Godmother!
Fashionably Yours,
Deborah
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