SATURDAY NIGHT AT THE WESTERNER

Cute and coiffed – then and now

By Julie Carter

You have heard it all many times before. Beauty is only skin deep. Take care of the inner self and the outer self will take care of itself.

Women tend to look at themselves in parts as opposed to the whole package created by God. We see our hair as not long enough, not thick enough, not curly enough, or not straight enough.

We see our eyes as not big enough, not wide-set enough and never the right color. Our lashes are never long enough and as we age and they appear even shorter as gravity forces the eyebrow area to a lower elevation.

And then there are the rest of our parts. Never the skin we would like to have, never the height, weight or shape that pleases ourselves.

The magic drawer

At my house, beauty is in the mysterious “magic drawer.”

I learned about having a magic drawer from my sister-in-law who has worked cosmetic retail for many years.

She would disappear to her boudoir, open this big dresser-drawer full of magic makeup and momentarily re-appear looking like something off the cover of Vogue.

I thought having a drawer like that was a very good idea. But over time I discovered my magic drawer contained more of a Parks and Wildlife look than the Vogue variety.

The cover girl look has always eluded me and in fact, I’ve noticed a transition in the drawer inventory that tells a story about then and now.

Hot pink anything is gone

Hot pink blush has been replaced by under-eye concealers. Hot pink pearlized lipstick is now medicated lip balm. The hot pink nail polish is gone and clear Hard as Nails is in its place.

The bright blue eye shadow to make your eyes sparkle is now a soft beige version to conceal the puffiness.

Over-the-counter pills for weight control and ever-lasting energy are long gone and in their place is an industrial sized bottle of Tylenol PM. Birth control pills are replaced by hormonal therapy pills and the tropical coconut-pineapple-banana suntan oil has morphed into a jar of mega-moisturizer with a 10,000 SPF factor.

Sunglasses with crazy-colored frames to match every outfit have been replaced by photo-gray reading glasses. Contact lens solutions have changed to emergency glasses secreted there to help find the real glasses.

Looking cute and coiffed at the ranch while you work like a hired hand is a futile effort at best. At some point you learn to sort out the futile jobs and save your energy for the ones you can accomplish.

Usually no one is more surprised how good you clean up than the boss himself.

New hair-do?

I was having lunch last week with one of those ranch-wife hired hands and her husband joined us at the restaurant.

His first inquiry to his wife was, “Did you just get your hair done?”

“No,” she explained. “You just haven’t seen me with it fixed in so long you forgot what it looked like.”

Of course he doesn’t have much hair so the concept of keeping it presentable in all weather, wearing all kinds of winter gear and hats, has never been an issue for him.

The upside to the lifetime transformation of the magic drawer is about the woman herself.

At this point in life she knows who her real friends are and having them doesn’t require a certain “look.” She knows that being appreciated is far more valuable than being a cover girl.

Dignity and self-assuredness are the absolute best elements of beauty. You won’t find them in a drawer, magic or otherwise....