I have a really bad habit of focusing on how old I am; my regular question when shopping for clothes or make up, is “but are you sure it doesn’t make me look like mutton dressed as lamb?”.
The lovely Hannah Roberts (aka TheMermaidLifeBlog ) gets particularly irate when she thinks I’m fixating on my age. So, we decided to work on a makeup challenge together to show that I, and millions of women like me, never need to think about mutton again!
Hannah Oelrichs (who is also lovely) at House of Fraser, intu Chapelfield, Norwich arranged for the mermaid and me to spend an afternoon with the teams at Urban Decay and Bobbi Brown. Our challenge to them: use the same product collections to create make up looks that will work for a 20-something and a 40-something.
In many ways, I’m more confident now than I’ve ever been. At long last I’m prepared to say no to certain things, so I can say yes to better things. I’ve accepted that whilst I could diet until I weigh 10 stone it probably wouldn’t make me any happier. So my focus is on looking after my skin, ensuring I move enough to keep my body healthy and trying to eat a, fairly, balanced diet (wine counts as fruit, right?).
But, like it or not, my 49 year old skin is a very different texture to Hannah Mermaid’s 25 year old skin. She also has a jaw line to die for! So, could a ‘young person’s brand’ like Urban Decay work for me?
I’m happy to report that the answer is a resounding ‘YES’.
Tasmin from Urban Decay used the Naked Petite Heat palette on both me and Hannah, with her brief being to create a night-time look.
The larger size Naked Heat palette is something I’ve been eyeing up for a while, but the amount of shimmer/glitter eyeshadows slightly put me off; another preconception about ‘older ladies’ having to avoid sparkle. The Petite Heat is all matte shades and I was assured by Tasmin that the warm colours would look great with my blue eyes. And you know what? She was right?
After using the highly pigmented, rich matt shadows, and blending them beautifully up to the brow, Tasmin created a cut crease on my lower eyelid and accented it with ‘Space Cowboy’ from the Moondust palette; just enough shimmer. Tasmin gave me the most amazing brows I have ever had. She used Brow Beater in taupe and created arches to die for.
One of my favourite Urban Decay products was the Sin Afterglow Highlighting Palette, everything you need for naturally contoured and glowing cheeks. I might be popping back to House of Fraser for that one.
Everything was finished off with Hi-Fi Shine lip gloss in Fireball. The Hi-Fi Shine range is SO gorgeous; 20 shades of luscious-ness.
So, there you have it, Urban Decay isn’t just for the youngbloods; it’s for me too.
And now on to Bobbi Brown for a daytime look. First the make-up had to be stripped off!
Charlotte (I was allowed to call her Lottie 😊) is a super-talented artist and I adored the look she put together for me.
Hannah the mermaid and I chose our hero Bobbi Brown collections together and decided on the Crushed Lip colours, which have been create by beauty influencers, and Long-Wear Sparkle Stick (more sparkle!).
Lottie created a gorgeous make-up base with Bobbi’s serum foundation and finished it with Nude Finish Illuminating Powder which I loved, and will definitely be purchasing on my next visit to House of Fraser.
She also used the Brightening Brick in pink to add some much-needed colour to my cheeks.
As this look was designed for daytime, Lottie focused one product for my eyes; the Sparkle Stick in Molten Bronze. It feels slightly wet going on but creates a wonderful, light shimmer rather than an ‘in your face’ sparkle. She lined my eyes with Long Wear Gel Eyeliner in Black Ink and finished off with mascara. I already use Bobbi Brown’s No Smudge Mascara – billed as a raincoat for your lashes – and it’s probably one of the best waterproof mascara’s I’ve tried.
My favourite bit of Lottie’s whole look was the Crushed Lip in Molly Wow.
Molly Chiang is a fashion and beauty influencer based in Taiwan (@molly_chiang) and she’s created “a punchy color that goes on bright and builds to bold”. It’s a gorgeous coral-y colour but without a harsh orange undertone, so works well on my pale skin. It’s definitely going to be my go-to lip colour for the summer.
I left House of Fraser feeling fab! No more thoughts or concerns about being mutton dressed as lamb. I can, and will, wear whatever I choose. Apart from hot pants. Never hot pants.
I AM A LAMB!
Long Lashes and Laughter Lines 