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NSW, Australia
I'm made it past 50! married for over half my life, have 3 kids all grown and I'm loving this part of my life.I was a nurse in my younger days but an unhealthy dose of rheumatoid arthritis put a damper on my career,so I'm at home with the internet.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

B- Beauty






I think I have always been vain. At least I think I've been led to THINK I am vain.

As a toddler I can remember having mums rollers in my hair... I have the obligatory photo.... cruel!



Hair in rollers ,teasing comb , hairspray,pancake makeup and lipstick ( nail polish if going out) is what I remember mum doing in the beauty department in the 60's. oh and ponds cream.I can still remember the smell of the hairspray mixed with cigarettes.

When I was small, my parents must have thought plain was best, I have no idea why, serviceable maybe? didn't matter if it got ruined? No that can't be it, mum used to make mine and my sisters clothes and we got yelled at just as loudly if we ripped one of those as our "good clothes".But our "good clothes" weren't the pretty frilly things I saw other girls in.
I think this was an antiItalian thing.-Dad was from Italian fruiterer parents, he wanted to get away from the stereotyping I think and so anything that made us "Ities" and not "aussies" was forbidden, like getting our ears pierced. That was huge. It was an ongoing battle with me and Nonna one side brandishing gold sleepers versus Dad and the word NO.
See Buddha's ears? Dad told me I would have ears like that if I got them pierced!!!



When I was 16 I had them done, my Nonna's grin was wide and if she knew what a high five was, she would have done it!

I lived in my school uniform,shorts and tshirts and the nice dress for church and visiting relatives for years.
When I was 13 Charlies angels started on TV,so of course I wanted Farrah Fawcets hair. Unfortunately my hair is dead straight. But where there is a will there is a way and so hours would be spent with mums hot rollers and copious amounts of hairspray. I blame my recent forgetfulness on those hairspray fumes.

I also wanted to shave my legs, all the girls were doing it, I think I made it till 14,then I took matters into my own hands, pinched one of dads "safety razors" and proceeded to rip my legs to shreds. My mother would never have noticed except for the blood.




yep, that's safety right there

In year 10 things took a dramatic turn beauty wise, no, I didn't become model material, instead I plucked my eyebrows. I had pretty much had a mono brow(thanks nonna) and so started plucking between them. hmm that looks better , just a few more...by the time I finished I was almost eyebrow bald. I had one line of hairs. I looked surprised even when I wasn't.
I also started putting rinses over my hair. Red ones..Oh!!! what the other mothers must have thought!!!..and yet I had the strictest parents regarding actually leaving the house.These small things were literally the only control I had over my life.
.

I discovered black Kohl, I would not leave the house without the black emphasis!!!All these years later I still feel like my makeup is not finished with out it!!



not my eye,not brown or puffy


I really did have an interest in beauty in a design way and so it led me to try and get into hairdressing at the end of year 10. My parents said, better prepare to go back to do HSC, but out of 25,000 applications I was lucky enough to get an interview for the first time that Hairdressing would be taught mostly at TAFE, cutting out 2 years of apprenticeship. Of the 500 interviewed I got in!! But the industry took a while to catch on, it's the norm now, but back then only a handful of the 50 of us got jobs.

And so I went nursing. I still love hair and makeup though I rarely do anything with it.My girls are so much better at it than I was, so if given the opportunity I get them do my eyes especially.

Because all our clothes were so plain growing up,and I've always been made to feel being vain is a bad thing,(even hubby will say "you looking in the mirror again?) I have this thing where I feel overdressed if I put on a necklace and mascara at the same time..................


5 comments:

  1. I have some makeup that basically evens out my skin tone and doesn't look like I'm wearing any makeup. I like that.

    I have given up on the eyebrows, choosing instead to let my bangs be just a teeny bit too long.

    Your sense of humor about your childhood and your father made me smile.
    :)

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  2. Love it! And love the A-Z challenge. Thanks for stopping by my blog...following you back :)

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  3. I could relate to so much of this! What a fun read-

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  4. I leave the eyebrows to the Indian girls at the threading place in the mall. They have talents I can not even understand. :)

    Most days, the makeup stays in the bathroom. But sometimes it is nice to get all girly. :)

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  5. Thanks Ami :) I use a mineral powder, amazing stuff,does the same. Used liquid foundation for the wedding and it wasn't flattering at all.

    candice, thanks for the visit and the follow, will be over soon.

    Justine Thanks, savings sounds good, I'll be right over.

    shelly, thanks heaps :)

    Juli. threading? i googled, there is no way I could do it myself like the girl in the vid.

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