If you want to know the truth, ask a teenage boy. Having girded yourself first for a potentially brutal response of course.
Luckily, I had one to hand.
“Do I look ten years younger?”
Eyes squinted shut, holding my breath, I waited for howls of derision. To my astonishment, they didn’t come.
“Woah, Mum, you do! What happened to you today?”
Yesssss.
Next up: one’s husband.
“You look so pretty!”
“Don’t I always?”
“You always look beautiful to me, but you look lovely tonight.” (He really said that! And you should know that I was slouched on the couch after a very long day, not exactly twinkling with wifely charm and flirtation). An excellent and spontaneous response from that uxorious man.
So what exactly had caused this outbreak of youthful gorgeousness at iLPH Towers?
I’ll tell you exactly what. In fact, exactly who: Anna Paolozzi, make-up artist to the stars.
From her stylish flat in Primrose Hill, Anna is now offering her expertise to women over forty. Anna knows that, by introducing them to a few make-up tricks and by establishing a simple new make-up regime, she can help her clients look ten years younger; and iLPH Junior’s reaction bears this out. All women know that by getting stuck in a rut or by simply using the wrong products, we don’t do ourselves any favours; Anna’s goal is to put us back on the right track.
Naturally, as a woman who spends far more than she should at Space NK (confession: I was recently promoted to their double-points loyalty category) I never thought it would happen to me. Kindly yet firmly, Anna broke the news that actually, it had a little bit.
Not wanting to give away too many of my imperfections, much as I appreciate you, dear readers, top of the bill was an eyebrow problem that was quick and simple to correct but which made a world of difference. Mentally, I tore up the *nearly-full* loyalty card of a well-known brow bar in one of our favourite department stores. They had been getting it wrong, and the results of getting it right, as demonstrated by Anna, were clear to see.
Anna carefully talked me through everything that was needed to update my look subtly and to eliminate any products that had been inadvertently ageing me, demonstrating on one half of my face and guiding me as I applied the look myself on the other side.
It was out with the bronzer and the dewy cream foundation and in with a powder base and a rosy blush. With no brand-affiliation but with lots of experience, Anna was able to suggest exactly the right product in exactly the right colour, which she then carefully noted down for me to go out and buy should I have wanted to. And of course, I absolutely did!
Powder base, concealer, eye pencil, eyebrow pencil, mascara, blusher, lip gloss and powder compact to slip into my handbag were all I needed to recreate this gorgeousness, and in total it came to around £100. The products were largely Mac but Stila and Benefit joined the mix. Better to use the right products for awesome yet subtle effect, I reasoned, than to perpetuate past mistakes. The response from my nearest and dearest was so emphatic and unexpected that clearly something very special had taken place. Yay!
Anna treated me to the service but would usually charge £250.
You can contact her on 07956 257850
http://www.annapaolozzi.co.uk/
Click on the gallery below to see some examples of her work:
http://www.annapaolozzi.co.uk/
© 2015 Joanna Reeves, all rights reserved.
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