After a long, dreary winter, Mary Lou Rowbotham was ready for something different when she applied for the INSPIRED Makeover Contest. A fresh season needed a fresh look!
“It was an amazing experience,” she says.
A BC resident for more than 30 years, Mary Lou has enjoyed extensive travel throughout North America, Barbados, Japan and Tasmania, but she loves Victoria!
Since retiring, she has kept herself busy by staying involved in her community. Mary Lou volunteers at The Belfry Theatre, Dance Victoria and the Canadian College of Performing Arts and The Monterey Centre in Oak Bay. She belongs to the United Empire Loyalist Chapter and has been a member of the Single Seniors’ Group since its inception two years ago.
To stay physically active, she works out at Steve Nash Gym three times per week and she recently joined The Bay City Polers, who enjoy exploring James Bay every Monday morning.
While Mary Lou’s daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren and great-grandchildren are spread across Canada and the UK, she does have a niece in Victoria. And friends are never far away
WHAT THE STYLIST DID:
Mary Lou came to me with longer hair that she had been growing out for a while. It lacked colour and was almost completely white.
To avoid a lot of post-makeover upkeep, I wanted to give her something that would grow out nicely and complement her complexion. Because her hair was white, I wanted to add some colour and depth, so I used variations of the gray tones, pearl tones and titanium tones throughout her hair. I did a more modern shadowed root, which is slightly darker on her root area while keeping her ends lighter. I used Beautiful Shades EQ gloss, which is a beautiful conditioning colour. It will keep the hair in nice condition, but it will give it a little more body because Mary Lou has very fine hair.
For the cut, I brought her up to a chin-length bob because of its classic shape and also because Mary Lou has such fine hair. The length she arrived with was too long causing her hair to lay flat. Cutting her hair to chin-length gives the appearance of more volume. And a great product she can use to keep her colour looking fresh is the new gradient shampoo and conditioner from Redken that maintains those pearl and titanium tones.
For Mary Lou’s makeup, I started with the primer as I often do because it gives the surface of the skin a smoother texture, filling in any fine lines and pores. I then used foundation to do the contouring, using darker shades in the hollows of her cheeks, around her hairline and down the sides of her nose. I then used a cream blush on the apples of her cheeks and a light highlighter down the bridge of her nose.
For her eye makeup, I wanted to keep it simple and not use too much powder because it tends to fall into the lines around the eyes. I smoothed out the tone of the eye, brightening it up with a bit of yellow, mauve and charcoal shadows. For Mary Lou’s lips, I went with a fresh, natural lipstick.
Special thanks to the entire INSPIRED Makeover team:
Hair Stylist – Hana Akai of Akai Hair Design 2559 Quadra St.
Call Hana for details about hair and makeup 250-383-3227.
Visit online at www.akaihairdesign.com.
Hana is an educator for Redken; all hair products sponsored by Redken 5th Ave.
Makeup provided by London Drugs, Yates Street, Victoria.
Shiela’s clothing was provided by Blue Sky Clothing Co.
Facial and nails: Shimmer Body & Nail Spa.
After makeover photo taken by Regina Akhankina of Portrait Couture.
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Very interesting. I would love to have a makeover.