No Makeup

No makeup has become a thing for me.

Under the mask I’ve stopped wearing foundation.

Not only that I and others don’t want to hear stories that elected leaders Makeup about what’s going on in society.

Nor do I at least want to be told what to think.

On the cusp of 56 I’ve come to realize that only I can decide what’s right for me.

What I’ve learned:

Love and freedom go hand-in-hand. You can’t have one without the other. Liking yourself without limits is the first step to becoming free.

This birthday year I gave myself permission to be an Artist.

I’m compelled to write in here again about the beauty of individuality.

Wearing No Makeup involves letting the real you show through. Even when you are wearing makeup.

Living an authentic life makes sense to me right now.

The world doesn’t need you and me to be copycats imitating what everyone else does and how they dress and live.

In the coming blog entry I’ll talk about the number-one self-help book I’ve ever read.

It’s a book of help for your Self when you live for likes and are afraid to take a stand.

Are you like me tired of the lies and misinformation being spread like wildfire?

No Makeup. It’s something to think about: telling the truth by being yourself.

Love, Lashes, and Lipstick

Alas this book is out of print and that’s sad. I would buy a used copy in good condition. Or you can try to check it out of the library.

Mally Roncal’s life story is inspirational.

Her a.m. and p.m. beauty ritual gave me a shot in the arm of confidence to try what she recommended.

Proof that inspiration can be found in a book or a bottle of foundation.

The pandemic has been going on for almost 9 months. The length of time to birth a baby an idea a plan a new You.

After reading Love, Lashes, and Lipstick I set off to set a new goal or two.

In the coming blog entry I’ll talk about one book that made all the difference to me in achieving my goals.

It can be debilitating sheltering indoors. The outbreak is rising in a second wave. More ammunition for taking joy in simple things.

Like washing your face at night. Moisturizing your face in the morning.

Being grateful for what you have instead of being envious of others who have what you don’t have.

Serve up an extra helping of gratitude to yourself this Thanksgiving.

The colonists plundered the nation from indigenous people. We should not be celebrating the myth that Thanksgiving was a harmonious lovefest between pilgrims and Native Americans.

Only I say why not reclaim the truth that we are all here because of a benevolent Creator who wanted us to be here?

The spirit of counting your blessings on Thanksgiving might just be the remedy for total despair while living through the pandemic.

I’m grateful for every ray of sunshine that comes into my life:

The sun through the mini-blinds and the sunny personality of Mally Roncal lighting up the pages of her memoir.

Inspirational Reading

I checked this memoir out of the library. It’s sadly out of print so I bought a copy listed as being in new condition for $17.

Though it can seem Mally Roncal has had a dream life I was impressed and inspired while reading this book.

Roncal is barely 5 feet 2. She rocks big hair platform boots and false eyelashes.

She recounts early in her makeup artist career when she was told to tone down her own makeup and ebullient mood.

Instead she realized that she had to be true to herself.

According to Roncal who I’ll quote because this book should be required reading:

“Own who you are. Forget the haters. Don’t let them dull your shine. What may not be right for them could be right for you.

Be you, and you win every time.”

I’ve started to follow Roncal’s a.m. and p.m. skincare routine.

She was the makeup artist for the women featured in the Isaac Mizrahi book How to Have Style. I bought this book years ago in great condition when it was out of print too.

Jealousy serves no purpose except to keep a person stuck. Mally Roncal’s success only motivates me to reach for the stars.

In the book she also features different makeup techniques you can replicate with your own products or use the Mally Beauty makeup for.

This is going to be my Christmas gift to myself. I recommend readers consider buying this buoyant book too.

A Merry Season to You!

The Path to Freedom

Like Alicia Keys I’ve been on an odyssey to cancel out the outside noise. To draw strength from within as well as drawing a line with eyeliner.

If you ask me the path to freedom starts when you get loud and proud about who you are and what you stand for.

As tempting as it might be to try to conform so that others will like you:

I think repressing your soul will only lead to illness.

I take inspiration from Alicia Keys and her passion to make a difference not just sing a song.

Unlike Keys freedom for me has come in wearing makeup after years of not wearing makeup.

Applying eyeshadow and eyeliner has been an instant thought-lift as well as face-lift

If this sounds frivolous think again: even a public library is hosting a workshop on beauty for its patrons.

I tip my True Religion striped cap to Alicia Keys for telling her story and revealing herself on the page.

Everyone is beautiful with or without makeup.

Expressing ourselves without fear is exactly the positive prescription needed.

Think for yourself. Dress for yourself. Dare to be yourself.

This is what I plan to do in the coming year.

Truth is Beauty

Wasn’t there a line in a poem that truth is beauty and beauty is truth?

I’m coming to the end of reading the Alicia Keys memoir More Myself.

Pages 210-211 are worth the cost of buying the book. Here Keys talks about going without makeup:

“I don’t want to cover up anymore…not my face, not my mind, not my soul, not my dreams, not my struggles, not my emotional growth. Nothing.”

Tens of thousands of women posted photos to the hashtag #NoMakeup.

One person sniped to Keys that if she looked like Keys the woman could choose not to wear makeup too.

To this Keys said: “My deepest intention is that we all find a path to whatever freedom feels like for us–and that is unique to each person .”

If you ask me it is in living an authentic life that a person is truly free. Keys believes we crave the authentic in our narratives not just in our appearance.

The path to freedom is different for everyone.

My odyssey started ironically when I started to wear makeup after years of not wearing makeup.

I would like to talk in coming blog entries about individuality again.

About having the freedom to express yourself with or without lipstick.

Irrepressible

Again a fashion magazine has offered wit and wisdom from the mouth of a beauty. In the October InStyle Cynthia Erivo is featured.

She is co-leading a GoFundMe for DRK Beauty: “A digital community that supports free therapy for women of color.”

Erivo is quoted:

“I have never put limits on what I want to wear and what I want to look like.”

Cynthia Erivo is a soulful vocalist. The actor won a Tony, Grammy, and Emmy.

I’m impressed because though I used to like to sing I’m no vocalist. People are stunned at this. They think that because I have an expressive commanding speaking voice that I also have a beautiful singing voice.

Not so. I tried out for the Glee Club in high school. I had to sing “Ah Ah Ah Ah Ah” so the director could hear how I sounded. My voice came out twisted like “Ha ha ha ha ha.” Of course I wasn’t chosen.

Erivo’s creative chops are destined to become iconic.

She is an inspiration to me for commingling art and activism.

We should all take a tip from Cynthia Erivo:

Be your irrepressible self. Be you-tiful.

Sephora Showdown

A new Sephora opened in town.

It was worth it to wait on line outside the store for 35 minutes to gain entrance on the opening day.

The people-watching couldn’t be beat.

A microcosm of American women waited to get in. Ladies in hijabs. A teen in blue jeans texting while on line. A woman with a neon-pink headscarf.

I have altered a few details to protect confidentiality.

The point is women of all colors and creeds shop at Sephora. The desire to use makeup to brighten our faces and to feel good unites us.

Once inside I zoomed in on the $14 mascara I wanted to buy.

Waiting on line I heard the woman standing behind me complain:
“This line is taking too long. That woman at the register shouldn’t be taking all that time. Using those teenagers to get discounts.”

Lady shut up I wanted to say. You can afford to shop in Sephora so zip your lip.

Time’s up on acting entitled. It’s time to show privilege the door.

The cashiers were just doing their job. They’re not paid enough to have to put up with this noxious noise.

It took 10 minutes for me to get served. When I’m grateful to be alive and can walk down the street without getting shot at I’m not going to complain about anything.

My goal is to act bolder. I told a friend I wanted to act more assertive. To this he said: “You already are assertive.”

I encourage all women whether younger or older to make a statement. To not be afraid to speak out.

To stand for something as well as standing in line at Sephora.

More Myself

I checked this book out of the library.

You should buy the book to read and read again. There are gems of sentences that light up the narrative.

“More Myself” could describe my own journey towards Chris.

Keys on page 41 tells it like it is: “And often, the only way forward is through an exit door.”

This sums up leaving behind the person you used to be and the life you thought you should have.

After living indoors for over 5 months because of the pandemic I have come to see that going back to the way my life used to be isn’t an option.

The trademark I’ve claimed is the term “Left of the Dial.”

The bold act of cutting off my hair was the defining rebel yell:

“Here I am. I exist. Get over it.”

The freedom to be myself and the freedom to be yourself should not be watered down or sold to the highest bidder that wants to make us over into an acceptable version.

My Avant-garde haircut is uncommon. I won’t see myself walking down the street everywhere I go.

In her memoir the cover photo is the only photo of Alicia Keys. In her freestyle curly hair.

She calls her type of fashion “‘hood hippie”–a little boho; a little soul.

I take inspiration from reading More Myself. I dare say this is an odyssey that a lot of women go on in our lives.

Keys traveled to Egypt and Italy [she’s part Italian] after having a meltdown–a kind of existential crisis.

In her book she talks about her own #NoMakeup campaign that resonated with women everywhere.

Go on–buy More Myself and get ready to go on your own journey.

I’m glad I did.

Getting a Haircut During COVID-19

This is the best selfie I’ve ever taken. Which is a miracle as whenever I’ve taken selfies before I always look like a deer in headlights.

The genius who thought taking selfies was a good idea–what were they thinking?

The shampoo girl–an older woman–checked my temperature upon arrival.

The mask I wore was too big. The loops had to be criss-crossed to be snug around my ears.

So the hairdresser could cut around the ears I had to unloop the mask and hold it against my face.

Might it not be advisable to get a new haircut during the COVID-19 outbreak?

I showed the stylist a photo of the haircut I wanted to get.

The haircut will grow in longer which will be good.

I have given up on keeping my hair curly. It had gotten frizzy all this summer. Owing to wearing a face covering I wasn’t motivated to do anything to style my hair. Until now.

This is not a long sultry tresses goddess haircut.

It’s a haircut that makes a statement.

The statement is: “I’m a fan of the Cure and it’s 1987.”

Screw it–I decided–get a new style even though it might repel a man.

A woman should have fun with her hair.