Move Over, Sue Ellen
Now that I have my blonde highlights, I figured I would go out and buy yet MORE new makeup.
After all, now I’m a blonde (sort of), and so I might need slightly different shades.
Although my favorite makeup arena is the drugstore aisle, I treated myself to a trip to Sephora. Sephora lets you play with their stuff, and I wanted to try colors against my new semi-blondness.
I think that Sephora needs classier background music. Perhaps Verdi would make me feel beautiful. Or something French. French is beautiful. But Sephora throbs with pop tunes – throbbier than Lady GaGa. In fact, Lady GaGa would sound like Edith Piaf after fifteen minutes in Sephora.
I wandered up and down the colorful rows, which of course were completely changed around since the last time I was there. But before I could dip my fingers (just kidding–I used their nice sanitary sticks) into the pots, the saleslady came to help.
There were four salespeople in the store.
Three looked like this:
A little winged on the liner, but overall, nicely done. Young, stylish but understated (except for the wings). These young girls might know a thing or two about makeup.
The fourth lady looked like this:
This was the lady who waited on me.
At least she’s my age, I thought. The last time I went to Sephora, the adolescent sales associate showed me how swell I would look in gray eyeshadow. Yeah, lead-pipe gray is great on sixty-one-year-old eyelids.
I explained about my new haircolor, and of course the saleslady agreed that I needed to update my blush.
“Tangerine is the new hot color, and it will be perfect,” she said.
I expressed my doubt about orange blush.
“Well, how about a beautiful coral?” she asked, and took out a pot that was definitely tangerine. “It goes on sheerer than it looks,” she insisted.
And surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad. The more I looked at myself, I thought it was quite attractive. This Tammy Faye look-alike might actually know a thing about makeup.
So I asked her about a concealer. Yes, I know I just wrote about my new favorite concealer. But that doesn’t mean there might be a better one out there. One that would conceal thirty years.
Of course she had one. It was concealer on one end and illuminator on the other. I’m not sure what illuminator is, but I could need it.
Then it was lipstick time. Saleslady took out bright orange, but I demurred.
“Teeny lips and bright colors don’t work,” I said.
So she took out muted bright orange.
“With thin lips, you just extend a bit outside your natural lipline.” she advised, and drew me a much fuller mouth. It didn’t really bear too much relationship to my own mouth. I guess lips are just a suggestion that you don’t necessarily have to follow.
And she added eyeshadow and eyebrow pencil and liner. And kept going. She’d run from one aisle to the next, while I wiped some of the excess off with a tissue.
But I liked the blush and the concealer.
“You can trust me,” she said. “I’ve been doing professional makeup for forty years. I did the makeup on ‘Dallas‘.”
That explained a lot.
When she was done, she was so excited by my metamorphosis, she gave me a nice hug – although she was careful not to smudge either of our thick faces.
And while she was putting away the dozens of products she had taken out, I picked out a nice honey-colored sheer lipstick.
And since I’ve had several requests for the big reveal, here it is:
Crazy flashy to me. Probably too subtle to notice for everyone else.
notquiteold 
“She’d run from one aisle to the next, while I wiped some of the excess off with a tissue” -(this had me laughing).
I love your new look – highlights always give me a boost!
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It was futile though. Every time she returned, she put it back on.
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Wild, crazy look for you! I see you everyday and you are truly the most beautiful, not quite old gal – inside and out – I’ve ever met!
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aww, thanks.
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I am one of your new “fans”. Because I have never “seen” the before you this new you looks great to me!! Ahhh but how do you feel?? 🙂 Hello from Tuscaloosa, Alabama
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I feel pretty damn good. And YOUNG!
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Nice. I need to go find some makeup…
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I actually went by a Sephora yesterday. It seemed like an alien space ship with the weird lighting and pounding music and weird experimentation and 10-foot-tall women. I admire your bravery stepping in there.
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The actual trauma is to my wallet.
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That made me laugh. Love the drawings! Am just getting into makeup (sort of) myself, and have no real idea what’s what – except that it all makes me blink and I don’t like orange either. You look amazing!
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I never thought of lips as just a suggestion you don’t have to follow – that kind of opens the door to all sorts of possibilities!
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Try to stop short of the Ronald McDonald look though.
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That’s good advice.
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Haha! Funny post, I enjoyed it. I have to wear green concealer because of the redness from my skin disorder. The first time I tried it I was like, no way is this going to work. But it did 🙂
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Dahling, you look mahvelous! (Seriously.)
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Highlights are aptly named. I believe they give us just enough “light” to give us a boost (“high” if you will). I always feel wonderful after getting them. Of course that is after getting over the shock to the wallet. Yours are perfect!
Sephora is a weakness of mine. Just reading about it and I got all shivery. Again, my wallet and I don’t agree on my tastes.
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Highlights and new makeup. That’s like a play date, right? But, as you said, it IS hard on the wallet. Glad you went for it anyway. Sounds like you had a great day.
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Love the fun! You are sending me off to Sephora I think. Love the hair! I put lavender in mine recently (I was bored with normal colors) try finding the right blush for that one!
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Can I come to your 30th birthday party?
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Now THAT is the look I am going for!
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I go with the theory that well-done make-up should be so well done, no one notices it. So I guess I retract those job applications I left at all those make-up stores?
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LOVE the hair. Not only the highlights but the soft layers (do they call that piecey?) I was reading my new magazine yesterday and coral is definitely in. (You call it coral, not orange!) You are right in style as usual and very brave. Sephora terrifies me. Too many choices and which one is perfect for me. We have an Ulta locally (and a Sephora) and somehow I feel less intimidated in Ulta.
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I am not familiar with Ulta… but if it’s anything like Sephora, I will find it!
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Oh, I was hoping you’d post a picture. I love the hair! Very fresh! And the makeup looks really natural, which to me is good. I like makeup where you have to ask yourself, “Is she wearing makeup?”
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You are beautiful!
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aww shucks…. thanks.
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When I go to a hair salon, I think the same thing….if she thinks she looks good with THAT hair, what will she do to mine?? But the Dallas lady did a fine job, with you, sugar! I have never been one for makeup, but I always appreciate it on others. Sounds as though you had fun and feel good-what could be better than that?
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She picked very nice colors and products, I just had to scrape off a layer or two.
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I agree that it looks very natural. It really complements your coloring. And your hair looks fabulous, too!
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You look fabulous! I LOVE the eyes!! Hmm. Maybe I need to look to Dallas for style inspiration…
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Your stories always draw me in as an eye witness. What fun.
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Oh…I’ve missed coming here for a good chuckle!! You’re very brave to even consider venturing into Sephora. Love it!
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Lol! I seldom wear make-up and DO NOT talk to sales ladies about it. Your story makes me want to stick with that. Do you think she likes ORANGE? You look pretty good either way. 🙂 Angie
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Love your new look!
I have a love/hate relationship with makeup. Mostly, I love to hate it and the older I get the less I use it. Unless I’m going to work, I can conveniently forget it even exists.
I’ve never been there but “Sephora throbs with pop tunes” – that all by itself would drive me right back out the door. Besides, I’m a diehard Cover girl fan with Clinic for skin care.
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