November: First Makeover by Christina
So, today was our first makeover. After almost a year of coordinating with the nursing home, trying to build up the chapter at school, working through official forms and trying to raise publicity, this afternoon I finally was able to walk through the doors with a make-up kit in hand and a smile on my face. I had spent the last two hours before the makeover frantically calling every female in my phonebook who went to my school begging them to come, because only six girls told me they would be able to make it to the makeover. With virtually no responses, I had my mom drive me to the home and prayed for the best. Two girls showed up, and a couple of friends from newspaper to document the event. We began to set up and meet the ladies, of whom there were about twelve. Another girl came and we decided to begin.
First I gave a makeover to a woman named Joan. Joan has three grandkids, she used to write poetry, and she loves the color pink. She was a lovely woman and said the hand and face massages felt wonderful. We traded family stories as I finished up her lipstick, and then I sat and spoke with her a while before we finally took a picture. Upon seeing the photograph, Joan proclaimed that she needed to go on a diet, and insisted that we take another picture after she had fixed her hair. I came back in a bit and we took the picture again, which she approved of this time. I then moved on to give a makeover to Angie.
Giving Angie a makeover was quite an experience, to say the least. She was dismayed that we didn't have hair removal products, but insisted that we continue with her makeover nonetheless. She was excited to go out and meet boys once the makeover was done, and told me about her first love, a story which we both laughed about for quite a while. I gave her a hand massage and we talked about my high school's production of Guys and Dolls, the 1955 film version of which she didn't enjoy at all because "Frank Sinatra thinks he's something that he's not." Angie then began to sing a song in Italian, which was beautiful. The only line I remember in English is "oh Maria, how much sleep I've lost over you."
One lady, whose name I can't remember, wanted to keep the lipstick called "metallic mauve" because they made her "lips look luscious." When we said we couldn't leave it because we didn't have a separate tube of lipstick for everyone, she threw a diva fit, but we let her sit with one of the mirrors and I think she was comforted by her beauty...and the fact that a nurse promised to buy her a tube of her own.
The girls and I, once everyone had finished their makeovers and manicures, sat and spoke with the ladies for a while, and we had a lovely time. When our parents came to pick us up, we said goodbye, wished them a Happy Thanksgiving, and assured them we would be back in January.
Although there were only four of us, I am so happy with how this makeover turned out, and I actually think this number was fine for our first time. The residents enjoyed our company and we enjoyed theirs. Next time we'll have someone playing music, and we're even working on a simple fitness routine.
We'll keep you posted!