Throwback to 12 years ago this month when my journey to help Savannah to communicate began.
We have come so far in this time.
As a mother to three who had so much going on for several years, I did not get the chance to explore what fashion and beauty trends worked for me. I did not know how to develop a proper care routine for my skin, my make up and my hair. For those of you who follow my blog, you will know that this year has been about exploring new hobbies and personal challenges. I have dedicated one year to myself. Sounds rather selfish when I re-read that. Yet I think it is actually one of the bravest things I have done.
So when I won a make over session with MakeUp Artist to the stars, Ryno Mulder; I was so excited. Then as the day drew closer, I was also a little nervous. Reality is that when you bare your face to someone for a couple hours, and allow them to do your make-up, you bare a little more than your face.
Up close and personal, all your flaws are now visible to someone else and that can be a little disconcerting. But Ryno is a true professional and a genuinely easy going, sweet soul and put me to ease within 10 seconds of meeting him.
I booked the session on the afternoon of my fortieth birthday. It felt right that I mark the day in this way. Sitting just within a window while the sunlight danced outside to the sounds of Indila, a Turkish music artist, I was literally transformed. While Ryno worked and we chatted, I was pleased to realise that I actually knew one or two tricks of the trade such as doing your eye shadow before your foundation and concealer so if any powder falls on the cheek bones, it can be cleaned away.
My greatest issue are these dark circles under my eyes. I think that is a problem that many women have. I knew that I should use a concealer. But which colour concealer? Ryno explained that orange was the concealer to use. The skin under the eye, is the thinnest skin on the face. Usually it is the blood vessels under the skin that for various reasons show through the skin causing the area to appear darker. That hue is a blue-green colour. So in order to conceal it, person like myself must use an opposite colour to blue-green, which in my case is orange. Voila! Now I know instead of bemoaning my dark eyes, I can do something about it.
I had to ask about contouring. Let’s face it, we didn’t really know how important contouring was until Kim Kardashian made women around the globe realise we can all have great cheekbones with the right colours and brush techniques. Ryno said I didn’t need that for day to day make-up. But yes for evening, glitzy events or certain types of photographic shoots, it could be something to try.
For my lips, Ryno used Mac Current Lipliner, Mac High Drama Liquid Lip Colour Ombrèd into Stila Lume Shimmer Liquid Lipstick. Oh my soul! I love lip colours and often when I’m tired, a great lipstick rescues my face from looking completely ashen. This blend was stunning and it lasted way into the night.
When I finally looked at myself in the mirror, my immediate thought was “Wow, I can still recognise my face, yet I look better than I believed I could look”. I wanted to cry but I can’t exactly pin point why I wanted to cry. I will admit, that my the fear of dabbing my face and changing one millimeter of my make-up kept me strong. This experience was big for me.
Many women for many reasons can’t see themselves looking and feeling good because sometimes life is too hard for too long, and we forget what “good” feels like. For me, by surrendering to the process and trusting Ryno to do my make-up the best way he saw fit; I can say that there was not better way to have spent the afternoon of my fortieth birthday. Thank you to SA Mommy Blogger Awards for the prize and Thank you to MakeUp by Ryno for your time and talent.
You can follow him on Facebook & Instagram. Thank you for this wonderful experience Ryno!
I’ve started jogging twice a week in addition to attending training sessions at a Body20 Studio. To my surprise Savannah asked to join me on my jog.
This is pretty big for us because since Savannah was sick last year, she stopped going out as often. There have been periods of three consecutive weeks where she did not leave our home at all because she felt too ill.
So far this year, she has returned to church with us, is trying to manage her own diet and has even joined me in a photo shoot and on visits to some sponsors for @MRS_SOUTH_AFRICA. And today while I kept my pace in my jog; Michael helped Savannah as she wheeled herself for a few metres.
I would never have guessed that of all the women I would inspire by taking time for myself this year it would be my daughter, Savannah.
How life can come at you in a full circle moment! For so long Savannah was my inspiration and now I can be hers. I’m so grateful.
Most recently I changed careers to work as a trainer, a public speaker and a freelance writer. It is my great love to teach. To use the mediums of speaking and writing to do that is a wonderful opportunity.
In my professional career my great passion was teaching and training. As a facilitator for training sessions, I know that it is vital to ensure that everyone understands the content, they feel confident to engage in the session and that they find value in the time that is spent in training. It gives me great satisfaction when trainees feel confident at the end of a session.
As a speaker, I am passionate about helping people to live their best lives. Using the experiences that shaped my life from being a teenage single mother in post apartheid South Africa to building a family and a career and now to facing the future with an adult child who will require full care, has taught me so much about what influences our decision making especially when one has to choose from a set of bad options. As a motivational speaker my goal is to share stories that remind people about the preciousness of each moment and that life is still beautiful.
As a writer, last year I entered the blogging space to contribute to social change in my own small way. I have learnt a little something about human behaviour because of the unusual circumstances that my life path has followed. Writing and sharing my insights is a way to give a little Faith, Hope and Love to the world. For my journey as a writer, I have also embarked on content writing for businesses which is an interesting avenue and one that creates diversity in my ability as a writer.
If you would like to engage with me in any of these capacities please complete the form below: