Pain-Free Beauty

Beauty/Skincare, Healthy Aging, Healthy Living
on April 30, 2013
Shannon of A Girl's Gotta Spa! Blog makes over her mom.
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Ashley Smith is a hair stylist, freelance makeup artist and nail tech. Off the clock, she shares her professional beauty advice at the blog A Girl’s Gotta Spa!™. 

My mother, Beth Levine, lives in a small town right outside of Philadelphia called Narberth. My mom is 55 years young, and volunteers at a thrift store which she enjoys abundantly. Beth’s prior employment was working for a dental surgeon as his assistant, but she was forced to stop working because of chronic pain related to permanent nerve damage of her arm. I love my mother more than I could ever begin to explain and I feel as though she deserved a makeover to help her feel good about herself and give her the pampering that she needs and wants. Mom wanted a new, fun and sassy look as well as a different hair style that she could maintain easily despite the fact that she has great difficulty lifting her arm to style the back of her hair.

My mom already has a fabulous sense of style, but could definitely use a little help in the fashion department and a few different makeup tips to help create a younger look. When I first asked my mom if she was interested in a makeover, she was excited but cautious: “I don’t want them cutting off all my hair or a crazy new hair color!” I explained that the point of a makeover is to keep an open mind to even a small change that could entirely update and complement her look. Prior to the makeover, my mom had the same hair style for years, which was too heavy and long for her to maintain and had absolutely no style to it whatsoever. Her hair was a few different shades of blonde and a lighter brown. I’m all for multitonal color hair, but this was one too many!

Hair “Do”: Give it Some Shape
When we first arrived at Breathe Salon and Day Spa [LINK TO: http://www.breathesalonspa.com/] in Lansdale, Pa., my mother was draped for color and a brand new cut. David Van Guilder, owner and stylist at Breathe, introduced himself and my mother began to explain about her nerve damage, in addition to her wish to not lose too much length. (My step-dad loves her long hair!) David went right to work sculpting my mother’s hair into a brand new style—the inverted bob. He applied color to her hair to even out the boxed color mishap she had going on.

Makeup Magic: Get Primed
Next, Breathe’s esthetician, Maureen Barnes, prepped and primed her face with Hard Candy Sheer Envy, Freeze 24-7 Instant Targeted Wrinkle Treatment, Anti-Aging Eye Serum and ArcticLift Firming Neck Cream, and on her eyes, Cover FX Anti-Age Smoothing Eye Primer. The primer and anti-aging products filled in any fine lines and created the canvas I would need to apply her makeup.

For my mother’s face color, I found the right shade of foundation by mixing 810 CoverGirl Outlast Stay Fabulous 3-in-1 Foundation mixed with MAC N30. For concealer, I used Ben Nye, which blended nicely into her skin to conceal any dark circles. Next I choose a fun but yet romantic eye color. My mother has gorgeous eyes and I wanted to accentuate them and make them pop. I used different shades from some of my favorite palettes: MAC Paint Pot Chilled on Ice, Smashbox Photo Op Enhancing Eye Palettes Smokebox and Softbox. Then I applied Maybelline Line Express in Soft Black to the top lid giving her a cat eye, which gives the eyes the illusion of a lifted eye instead of sagging eyelids. For the inside of the lid, I used a black pencil followed by Maybelline Mega Plush. I gave life to her brows using Beauty Never Sleeps Bailey Cosmetics Ombre Camel eye shadow duo. While it may be an eye shadow, it also works great to fill in your brows due to the two differing brown hues. Another eye shadow that I used for a different purpose was CoverGirl Champagne eye shadow (works great to highlight the face!). Bronzer was Sephora Aruba and her foundation and concealer were set with itcosmetics Anti-Aging Radiance Pressed Illuminating Powder. For her cheeks, I used MAC Bite of an Apple, which is a pretty pink blush.  I then finished her makeup transformation with MAC Boldly Bare lip pencil and a lip plumping gloss, Bare Escentuals Buxom in Sugar. She looked stunning I have never seen my mom look so beautiful.

Beth before and after her mom makeover

Beth before and after her mom makeover

Style Solution: Go Sophisticated (Not Stuffy)
To wrap up the makeover and finished her transformation, we moved onto a new, fun, yet age-appropriate outfit.  My sister-in-law, Courtney Smith, has an incredible eye when it comes to styling. She knew exactly what my mom would need to bring out that youthfulness she was looking for, and make her feel good about her overall look. She chose a striking royal blue scoop neck tiered top with a teal cardigan, and white slacks. She accessorized with a beautiful multi-colored blue and teal necklace with stunning earrings to match. All items were from JCPenney, so it was completely affordable! She looked dramatically different and I have never seen my mom more pleased with her look than I did on this particular day. She literally glowed and I enjoyed every minute of it.

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