Tuesday, August 1, 2017

It Won't Change The World But It Can Change Your World


When I was about 7 or so back in the mid 1970's , I ordered a subscription makeup kit from one of those mail in post cards you find in the back of magazines.  It was one of my Mothers magazines, so more than likely it was Good Housekeeping or Ladies Home Journal.  Its been roughly 40 years since that fateful day, so my memory of the exact magazine is a little fuzzy.  Anyway, I saw the advertisement, found a dollar and mailed it in.  Being 7 I thought it was going to arrive the minute I put it in the mail. Of course it didn't, so when it showed up in the mail (what I'm assuming was 6-8 weeks later) I was star stuck!!  I felt like a movie star.  Looking at all that makeup and wondering and imagining and fantasizing  about how it was going to instantly change me and make me better, make everything better, no matter what it was.  Makeup was going to conquer all!!  My Mother was a little perturbed that I ordered that makeup kit, but my friendship with makeup, my love of makeup was forever forged and thankfully couldn't be undone.

Fast forward to 2015, my Mothers passing.  How ironic that with her passing I returned back to that childhood friend that I had on so many occasions relied on.  When my Mother died, I needed something to make me feel better, something instant that would help me be able to process the deeper more intense emotions.  Something that could be my friend and go through it with me, no expectations, no pretense, no right or wrong.  Just something that I could selfishly take from because the grief was selfishly taking from me.  And it did just that.  It gave without wanting anything in return.  It gave me that extra little boost of confidence, that extra little nudge of strength that enabled me to stand against the onslaughts of grief.  
I know makeup doesn't mend a broken heart, bring back a loved one or bring about world peace.   But what I do know is when you feel your best, both inside and out, it can help you during life's most difficult times to cope a little better and to heal a little quicker.  That's what its done for me.  Its made me feel a little bit better about myself where I could stand tall even during life's most challenging times.