In pursuit of beauty.

I don’t remember where I read or heard that women when they get older become more concerned about their looks and appearance. During the menopausal years(usually from their late forties to late fifties) there is a tendency for women to feel unsexy and unattractive. Some totally let themselves go and begin to really look old while others make conscious efforts to retain their attractiveness and youth.

My mum falls into the second category.

You see for someone in her mid-fifties, the way mumsy is going about her ‘ichomma’(beauty pursuit) is really funny. I like her spirit sha, the spirit of ‘I no wan old’, lol! The funny thing about it is not her wanting to retain her youthfulness but it is the fact that for someone who previously didn’t care much for stuff like fashion, make-up and other beauty enhancers when she was much younger, she seems to be outdoing herself lately.

I remember when I was younger and she was also younger. There were times I would have to chase Mumsy with a hair brush in hand to the car as she left the house just to help her brush her hair. She just didn’t care too much about such details. Sometimes, when we were out together, I’d have to take off my earrings and force her to wear them cos she probably had forgotten to put hers on before we left home and I didn’t want my mum looking like a ‘gbagada’ woman,lol! Or is it the time when I would beg her to let me apply a dash of lip gloss to her lips since they were looking too chapped and she would retort “this girl leave me alone, I don’t have time for that abeg!”

So when/how did she now change? I didn’t even realize when/how the transition from ‘I don’t care too much about my looks’ to ‘I care very much about my looks’ took place. I have always been the ‘vain’ one-the one who bothered too much how her hair, her outfit and her make-up looked. Mumsy used to actually tease me on the amount of time I took dressing up. For her, it was usually just rub cream all over, then apply white face powder and she was ready while I would take my time fixing my hair and make-up.
Now these days, the reverse is the case when we have to go out together. Now, I get ready and have to patiently wait while Mumsy applies her make-up and pimps herself all up,lol!

Now her make-up is another gist o!

I remember when she just started experimenting with make-up. She‘d rub some of her lipstick on her eyebrows and I would beg her to clean them off. “Mummy which kain ashawo make up is this now?” She would laugh and insist that I don’t clean them off. Even when I succeeded cleaning the lipstick off her eyes, she would still go back and apply it again, I soon learnt to give up and let her be.

Then she bought her eye shadow palette and now she doesn’t do the 'lipstick on the eyes' thing again but meeen, the way she packs on the eyeshadow, you go wonder whether no only eye shadow be dis or something else,lol! She particularly favours the gold colour. According to her, it makes her look sharp. I tell her “dis one don pass sharp o, you are looking over-sharp sef!”lol!

Some time back, we had to attend a wedding together. I was shocked when mumsy brought out her make-up bag. Chei! Her make-up bag is almost as big or if not bigger than mine. What did I not find in there? She had three different compact powders-there was MAC Studio Fix (even me wey don dey rub make-up since no dey use MAC o!), Black Opal and Fashion fair. There were also various shades of lipstick, eye shadow and lip-gloss (there was even one with all those shiny shiny stuff in it). I couldn’t believe my dear mumsy could go to the market to buy all those stuff, Since when ke?!!

Last Saturday, I was downstairs cleaning my car when she came out of the house. She was on her way out. She had on my favourite silver and black earrings- dangling earrings that almost reached my chin when I wore it. It looked good on her, made her look younger and I complimented her. What it meant was that I had to look for an alternative sinec i had planned to wear that pair out later in the day.

Then on Sunday, as I was preparing for church she came into my room. I didn’t realize what she was doing until I wanted to check myself out in the standing mirror and she was blocking my view.
“Mum! What are you doing? You are applying foundation on your face when you haven’t taken your bath yet?!!”
She continued rubbing the foundation on her face as she said “I have washed my face”
“But you’ll soon have your bath now and you’ll wash it off, that’s wasting the foundation now” I whined.
She turned to look at me and said “who says I have to wash my face when I bath?”
I couldn’t help smiling. This my mama can be funny sha.
She went on to lecture me on how to apply foundation. I was like, see mumsy o, teaching me how to make-up, this is serious o,lol!

Yesterday morning, my car was at the mechanic’s so I had to hitch a ride to work with her and my dad. Mumsy taps me and asks me to clasp her bracelet on. It’s a charm bracelet with some funny looking charms like dat. It was cool o, I liked it but it just didn’t seem like the kind of stuff a fifty five year old woman would wear. As I clasped it on. My dad commented “Which one is this again? Is that a medal or what?”. I waited to hear what she would say but she just smiled this knowing smile as she looked at him and then me. If I interpreted that smile correctly, it said “see this old school man, he no know wetin dey on board”

I held back the laughter and looked closely at her face, she had on her favourite gold eyeshadow and the lip gloss with shimmers.

Now she has this facial cleanser that she uses diligently every day. This morning while doing her daily cleansing routine, she said to me.
“Hmmm…this thing is working o…my face is looking younger now, abi?”
I looked up from what I was doing. Her face was indeed looking fresher.
“Yes, it is working, you look like a sweet sixteen”.

She smiled and i thought to myself "This woman really mean business o!"

I hope when i get to her age, i'll still be interested in retaining my beauty like she is now,lol!

Ps: What do you guys think of a Summer Blogger Reunion?