Mommy Makeover

Yesterday, I spoke about fashion and beauty to my sister's MOPS (mothers of preschoolers) group, and it's amazing how universal our style issues are. One of the items on the agenda was a mommy makeover. The mommy, whose name is Carrie, started out with long straight brown hair, little makeup, and casual clothes. Before the meeting, her hair was given an amazing swingy, shoulder-length cut that brought out her features and instantly upgraded her look. I have her a very simple makeup look, using her own shade of Clinique Superfit foundation, a dusting of Bare Escentuals Mineral Veil, some Nars Blush in Orgasm, MAC Sequin Lipstick (she asked me the name of the shade - I swear this looks on EVERYBODY), a little brown pencil liner and black mascara (Maybelline Great Lash - I wanted a natural look and my Dior Show Blackout Mascara would have been a bit much). The whole makeup job took 5 minutes. Since she's about 23 weeks pregnant, I had a challenge to find an entire maternity outfit for only $30. I went to Target, where I scored a great printed crepe maternity blouse for $5.50 and a pair of tweedy subtly-striped pants for $6, both my Liz Lange and both on clearance. An entire outfit for about $11!! I then "splurged" on a great taupe handbag with faux croc trim for $18, and she looked fabulous!
It was so rewarding to give a hardworking mommy of 3 (almost 4) a makeover, and to give fashion tips to a group of moms all struggling to raise their families without letting themselves go (aren't all mommies in this position?). Over the next few days, I will share some of my tips to this group, which, whether or not you are a mom yourself, are pretty much universal.