A Love Affair With Beauty

When I was 7 years old, my mother, who at the time was a stay at home mom and volunteered part time at my elementary school, decided to go to cosmetology school. She wanted a job that had flexible hours but also wanted to do something fun, so she recruiter two of her friends to join her. A year later they graduated and got jobs together at a salon in our town.

My mom chose to focus on nails instead of hair (she had a bum knee and standing all day would have been tough on her). This was the mid-1980's and the trend for nails was acrylic, long and polished in the colors of bright red, hot pink or a french manicure. Shortly after she started her new job, the first version of nail art came out - it was like tiny puffy paint for nails. I remember her creating designs like a Thanksgiving cornucopia, a Hanukkah menorah, or Valentine hearts for her clients. She was ahead of her time.

A few days a week after school I would hang out at the salon, either in the back lounge where the other employees ate a late lunch, smoked or gossiped; or in the front waiting area where the beauty magazines were laid out like a fan on the glass and gold coffee table. Sometimes I would pretend I was one of the clients and practice crossing my legs at the knee and wave my hands around like the ladies did in hopes to dry their nails more quickly. Sometimes if a client was late, or business was slow, one of the hairdressers would pull me into their chair and practice a french braid or an updo and the other ladies would smile at me, ask about school, or try to talk me into getting a spiral perm. Once every few weeks, my mother would file my nails short and square, put paraffin wax on my hands, then let me pick one of the pale pink colors so she could polish my nails to a high sheen.

My glamorous mom and me circa 1979

I loved everything about that life - the floor to ceiling mirrors, the smell of acrylic and hair spray, the way a haircut or a highlight could make a woman walk differently, smile differently. It was in that era of my childhood that I began a love affair with all things beauty related and started to ask my mom to teach me everything she knew about makeup, skin care, hair and nails.

So over the next few months I am going to share everything that she and her salon co-workers taught me over the years. Some of the tips you have probably heard before, but some might be new! Hopefully this will be a fun little series ;)