Saturday, March 6, 2010

Legacy, Part I


While I make a concerted effort to be frugal on most accounts, I must confess that I am a makeup and skincare snob. My maternal grandmother bestowed, or cursed, me with this trait. I remember playing with her Estee Lauder and Lancome as a young child and experimenting with Prescriptives and Clinique as a middle-schooler. As the only child of her only child, she spoiled me every chance she could. Most women would freak to find a kid coating her face with $45 dollar foundation, but not her. She showed me how to do it properly. As I entered high school, she would admonish me for not wearing lipstick. I tried to meet her in the middle with lip gloss, but for her, it just wasn't the same.

Though she has passed on, I like to think she would be proud of my makeup collection over the years. In college and law school, my roommates and I would hit up the fall and spring Free Gift with Purchase promotions at the department store counters. Through those pursuits, I gathered quite the collection of lipstick, small tubes of mascara, and blushes that didn't quite match my skin tone. Getting gussied up with friends before going out, or staying in for pizza and videos, provide me with many fond memories. Such thoughts are not from the act of putting on makeup, but the camaraderie and friendship of the company.


As I began work, I found that while I still enjoyed putting on makeup, the frequent early mornings shifted my priorities from achieving a flawless face to an extra 15 minutes of sleep. That trend continues today. Most weekdays find me with mascara on, at most. The weekends are another matter, however. I take extra care to fulfill my cosmetic wishes on those long, leisurely mornings.


While most days find me bare-faced and un-lipsticked, I would like to think my grandmother would be pleased anyway. She found pleasure in hard work even more than in cosmetics.
I miss you, Grandma.

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