Challenge no.12 was rather specifically entitled: “Apply Stephanie’s make-up.”
Steph and her sister Jeni sat opposite me in what was my work office (at the time), and it’s probably fair to say that even though this was to be my first ever attempt at applying make-up, it would have taken the mother of all nightmares to spoil their looks; but it was eventually Steph who volunteered (or was volunteered) to sit and be transformed into a fairy tale princess…
A few days before her “appointment”, Steph did ask whether I was intending to take the challenge seriously and do her make-up properly, or if it was simply an opportunity for some form of comedy face painting.
The answer was very much the former... as I casually dropped my black permanent marker on the floor and kicked it under the desk.
In fairness, I think Steph was more bothered about me wasting some of the contents of her make-up bag, the combined value of which would have seemingly paid for a pleasant week away at a Mediterranean seaside resort.
Anyway, cometh the hour, I managed to persuade Steph to agree to a “before” and “after” photo by way of some sort of proof that she hadn’t just applied the make-up herself. The next ten or fifteen minutes was taken up with foundation, concealer, eye shadow (two lots, no half measures), mascara, lip gloss et al. I don’t know what was more impressive, me keeping a steady hand throughout, or Steph not flinching - especially when I was near her eyes, but not only did I actually enjoy the whole process, Steph was actually impressed with the end result.
Or maybe that was just the relief talking?!
At that point in the year, there had been little progress on the job-hunting front, but at least I could now add “Beautician” to my CV, and see if that opened up any new possibilities…!
Steph and her sister Jeni sat opposite me in what was my work office (at the time), and it’s probably fair to say that even though this was to be my first ever attempt at applying make-up, it would have taken the mother of all nightmares to spoil their looks; but it was eventually Steph who volunteered (or was volunteered) to sit and be transformed into a fairy tale princess…
A few days before her “appointment”, Steph did ask whether I was intending to take the challenge seriously and do her make-up properly, or if it was simply an opportunity for some form of comedy face painting.
The answer was very much the former... as I casually dropped my black permanent marker on the floor and kicked it under the desk.
In fairness, I think Steph was more bothered about me wasting some of the contents of her make-up bag, the combined value of which would have seemingly paid for a pleasant week away at a Mediterranean seaside resort.
Anyway, cometh the hour, I managed to persuade Steph to agree to a “before” and “after” photo by way of some sort of proof that she hadn’t just applied the make-up herself. The next ten or fifteen minutes was taken up with foundation, concealer, eye shadow (two lots, no half measures), mascara, lip gloss et al. I don’t know what was more impressive, me keeping a steady hand throughout, or Steph not flinching - especially when I was near her eyes, but not only did I actually enjoy the whole process, Steph was actually impressed with the end result.
Or maybe that was just the relief talking?!
At that point in the year, there had been little progress on the job-hunting front, but at least I could now add “Beautician” to my CV, and see if that opened up any new possibilities…!