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Home » This doesn’t even seem humanly possible

This doesn’t even seem humanly possible

The New Neo Posted on by

In this makeover, she says she doesn’t even recognize herself, and I believe her.

I knew when I saw her “before” that neither of her two original haircolors (gray and brown) were good for her coloring, so I knew the makeover would have to go in this general direction. But still, the transformation is simply astounding:

Comments

This doesn’t even seem humanly possible — 84 Comments

  2. She might have done that for herself, but if her husband doesn’t love it…something’s really wrong with him!

    Waidmann

  5. She’s elderly, overweight, and unkempt. She doesn’t need a ‘makeover’. She needs to lose some weight, get a proper haircut, brush that hair, and perhaps make use of tools to contain it like barets or headbands.

    She might also limit sloppy clothing to shlepping about the house, get a string of pearls for that neck of hers, and forget about contact lenses and wear a tasteful pair of glasses.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=elder+women%27s+glasses&client=firefox-b-1&source=univ&tbm=shop&tbo=u&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjbweOk5fDfAhUETN8KHbqnDBIQsxgIKw&biw=1269&bih=743#spd=14685798306270911594

    Whatever you do, tell the hairdresser to cut your hair and leave it at that. In the postwar era, women and hairdressers got the idea in their head that hair was sculpture. It is not. Women paid good money to look worse than they would otherwise.

    And forget makeup. Makeup belongs to people on stage, not on your face in mundane life.

    And be sparing with bright colors and prints.

  6. Proper people do not color their hair. Ever. Or wear enough gold on them to cause a panic on the Eurodollar market. Ever. Or wear any more cologne than an impecunious secretary would have worn in 1952, when you couldn’t afford to waste the stuff.

    See the Queen’s niece.

    https://www.google.com/search?q=lady+sarah+chatto&client=firefox-b-1&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj9__SU5vDfAhXQdN8KHQx3BokQ_AUIDigB&biw=1269&bih=743#imgrc=VSVwk912GYTgRM:

  10. “Be just what you is,
    not what you is not.
    Those that do this
    is the happiest lot.”

    Mr Peabody (I think)

  11. What Art Deco wrote above reminded me of this that I read, about 40 years ago, in Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner:

    In one of her letters, speaking of a family portrait she saw in the Ward house in Guilford, Grandmother exclaims that the subject has “such a charming last-century face!” Her own pictures should evoke the same comment now. But what does Miss Morrow say, bending in her miniskirt so that my peripheral vision is filled with a yard of fat thigh, her hair in a mound years out of style, her lips ghastly with colorless lipstick and her upper lids as green as shutters–what does she say, bending this mask over a row of photographs taken of Grandmother through many years, all showing her cameo profile and her indomitable elegance? She says, “Gee! Same hairdo all her life!”

    Yes, Miss Morrow. Same old hairdo: classic knot and bangs. Anything good was worth sticking with. Susan disliked what she called “too much forehead.” She liked two hair styles—the one that she had determined suited her own face, and the low, sweeping curve, with a deep wave, that Augusta wore.

  12. Nothing wrong with a little jump start to the transformation! She looks – and clearly feels – great.

  13. Several friends in my age range have naturally curly hair and look MUCH better since they adopted this lady’s new hair style, with or without the color. One of them, aged about 50, has hair that has entirely turned gray and looks wonderful short and curly.

    The advice against makeup won’t fly with women in my age range. When I was in my twenties I didn’t bother. Now, I do, within reason.

  15. Gosh! She lost 20 years in the salon! “After,” she reminds me a little of Shirley Maclaine. –And yes, it make take some upkeep.

    The dress is perfect for the new look, too. I’m so happy for her!

    And thanks for the video, Neo. It’s enough to put a girl in a good mood! :>)))

  18. Is she auditioning for Endora on Bewitched? Because that is who she looks like in the end.

    Brutal, but true. A little more eye makeup, and she’s Endora.

  19. Art Deco:

    She’s elderly? She’s 60. That doesn’t even usually qualify for a senior discount, nor does it entitle her to social security or Medicare.

    She’s unkempt? She has curly hair, and not even all that curly. Her hair “before” is fine, and after it’s fine too—the only “unkempt” thing about it in the “before” is that she is growing out the dye and growing in the gray, and so there’s a line of demarcation. As a person with curly hair (see this and this), let me clue you on something—if she were to brush it, it’s then that it would really look unkempt. Brushing curly hair makes it look bigger and much frizzier, very unkempt.

    She’s overweight? How would you know? No part of her body except her head and shoulders is in the picture, and you can’t tell much from that. I’ve seen thin faces on fat bodies and puffy faces on thin bodies. Once you get to a certain age—not elderly, but close to it, as with this lady—for many people the chin and/or jowls start sagging, as hers do. I’ve seen it on thin people and I’ve seen it on fat people, and I’ve seen thin people without it and fat people without it. It’s not a guide to the weight the body carries, although sometimes there’s a correlation. And the only thing a person can do about it is cosmetic surgery. Losing weight can just make that chin/neck skin saggier.

    I won’t even comment on your expressed attitude towards hair coloring, except to say that it seems rather Victorian. Same for makeup. Most women who wear a moderate amount of makeup aren’t even noticeable as wearing it; it can be quite subtle but very flattering. Why not look one’s best? And what’s with the antipathy towards bright colored clothing? Are your comments meant to be some sort of satire or spoof, or are you being serious?

    Of course, at a certain point hair, makeup, and clothing can become garish and in bad taste. That point used to be reached a lot earlier than today’s fashion would have it. I don’t think I ever come even close to that point, but I assure you that I have curly hair, use makeup, and wear bright clothing, and have for a long long time. I even used to dye my hair (I dyed it my original natural color, as close as I could match it) for a while, but gave up a couple of years ago because I thought it looked better gray.

  22. Agreed on all points, Neo, although in my case, my hair WON’T curl no matter what I do to it, so I’ve given up and let it grow below shoulder length. It isn’t all silver yet. On me, this looks best, just as that cute shorter hair looks great on this lady. You were right about the hair color. The new color (and the dress) suit her much better.

    And the sagging chin is genetic. You either get it or you don’t, and the only way to eliminate it is cosmetic surgery.

  25. She’s elderly? She’s 60. That doesn’t even usually qualify for a senior discount, nor does it entitle her to social security or Medicare.

    She’s still elderly.

    She’s unkempt? She has curly hair, and not even all that curly.

    No, she has poorly maintained hair.

    Her hair “before” is fine,

    You need to raise your sights, some.

    and after it’s fine too—

    She had it dyed Lucille Ball. Red hair looks fine on those born to it, and only those born to it.

    he only “unkempt” thing about it in the “before” is that she is growing out the dye and growing in the gray, and so there’s a line of demarcation.

    See response above.

    As a person with curly hair (see this and this), let me clue you on something—if she were to brush it, it’s then that it would really look unkempt. Brushing curly hair makes it look bigger and much frizzier, very unkempt.

    The term ‘curly hair’ means … curly. This woman does not have curly hair. She has bad hair.

    She’s overweight? How would you know?

    She has jowls.

    Once you get to a certain age—

    Keep on’ spinning.

    I won’t even comment on your expressed attitude towards hair coloring, except to say that it seems rather Victorian.

    You say that like it’s a bad thing.

    My grandmother, btw, looked the bees knees in the fashions of the 1920s. She did not wear makeup or dye her hair.

    Same for makeup. Most women who wear a moderate amount of makeup aren’t even noticeable as wearing it; it can be quite subtle but very flattering. Why not look one’s best?

    You’re under the illusion it’s an improvement.

    And what’s with the antipathy towards bright colored clothing?

    Generally looks awful. Grey, cream-colored, black, forest green, Navy, bit o’ paisley. Hats. Lady Sarah Chatto will, now and again. show you how it’s done.

    Are your comments meant to be some sort of satire or spoof, or are you being serious?

    Dead serious.

    Of course, at a certain point hair, makeup, and clothing can become garish and in bad taste. That point used to be reached a lot earlier than today’s fashion would have it. I don’t think I ever come even close to that point, but I assure you that I have curly hair, use makeup, and wear bright clothing, and have for a long long time. I even used to dye my hair (I dyed it my original natural color, as close as I could match it) for a while, but gave up a couple of years ago because I thought it looked better gray.

    I get it. The dame in the video is your sister. If she’s got good sense, she’ll listen to ME! Or perhaps my cousin Nancy, who has good hair.

  27. Art Deco:

    I guess the great Art Deco has spoken, and that settles the issue.

    Your views on this subject are rather idiosyncratic, and that’s putting it kindly.

    Among other things, she has curly hair. Absolutely no doubt about it. And jowls have little to do with weight; they have to do with skin and aging, and you don’t have to be “elderly” to have them, either, unless “elderly” begins in middle age for you. I’ll leave it at that.

    I guess you did answer one of my questions, which is that you don’t seem to be joking about all of this.

  29. Hmmmm. I found myself agreeing with everything that Art Deco said but then saw the disdain our hostess had for the comments, so I will not express my agreement.
    But my first thought was “Fix your hair, it’s so no maintenance.”.
    So many women let their roots show.
    It’s your hair, but if you’re going for the illusion, maintain it.

  30. Ed Bonderenka:

    I don’t mind differing opinions, but when expressed as facts even though those facts are incorrect or based on things that are unknown—such as that she’s overweight (when there’s no way to tell) or that jowls are caused by overweight (which they’re not)—then yes, I have disdain for the speaker’s doctrinaire know-it-all attitude. I don’t include your comment in that description, by the way.

    Her roots are showing, however, because she was growing in her gray hair, not because that’s the way she usually wears her hair.

    I also will assume you are not a woman with curly hair. I think that’s a safe assumption, although of course on the internet one cannot know. Let me just say (as a woman with curly hair) that her original hairdo is not necessarily no-maintenance at all. People with curly hair have to do quite a bit to make it look even that smooth.

  31. Art Deco is full of it like the Christmas goose.

    You can dye your hair for various good reasons & effects. Having a moral position on hair-dye is a therapy-addressable issue.

    Calling her elderly is just a non-clever way of flicking buggers at other’s pleasure in the exercise & results. School-room name-calling.

    So, it’s an anti-makeup Crusade, is it? Did we not notice the 50,000 yo makeup-kit from the Denisova Cave? The Denisovans and Neanderthals were Stylin’ in the Middle Stone Age … and classier than some current specimens.

    Weight per se is always a Yin-Yang. Now, different gals carry weight in different places … and it is common, that it’s helpin’ where it is. Or if not, in that spot, maybe a tool or service? But “overweight”? We have the technology.

    Art Deco dredged up a load of dreck, in a misguide application of the ol’ bah, humbug imprimatur.

    But don’t feel too bad: even Albert Einstein thought Antarctica had been settled, and had avert-thy-gaze opinions about other races … which a few minutes on the Internet would have dispelled … like this wad o’ beauty-drivel.

  32. Neo, I was not referring to the curl. (I self-identify as a male with very short hair).
    There comes a time in a lady’s life when a shorter haircut seems more appealing.
    Pardon me while I walk on eggs here (yet my wife and her friends agree with that statement). As demonstrated by her makeover, a shorter, even-colored haircut looked more maintained.
    If she was growing her dye out, which I applaud, I think it would look more attractive in the short term to color or cut the non-gray to match.

  33. You can dye your hair for various good reasons & effects.

    No, you dye your hair because you fancy it looks more attractive or you dye it to stick it to what you fancy is convention. The latter is obnoxious and the former is deluded.

    Having a moral position on hair-dye is a therapy-addressable issue.

    I stated an aesthetic position. This isn’t that difficult. But, yes, vanity is a vice.

    Calling her elderly is just a non-clever way of flicking buggers at other’s pleasure in the exercise & results. School-room name-calling.

    No, it’s blandly descriptive. You’re either going to die young or get old. Get over it.

  34. Don’t be an ass. Your opinion is not gospel.

    It’s an opinion like any other stated in this thread. It’s just that my opinion gets under the moderator’s skin.

  36. And jowls have little to do with weight; they have to do with skin and aging,

    There’s a reason “Miss Lillian” Carter (and my grandmother) had visibly aged skin but very little jowl.

  37. Art Deco:

    Nope, you’ve proved to all that you are an ass on this specific comment thread. Stop digging your hole deeper.

  38. “It’s just that my opinion gets under the moderator’s skin”

    Like your gratuitous cheap shot insult at neo on the dance thread previously? You’re a legend in your own mind.

  39. Like your gratuitous cheap shot insult at neo on the dance thread previously?

    You might feel better about life if you grow a sense of humor.

  40. “if you grow a sense of humor.”

    Well I replied to that with something that was at least as funny. Admittedly not a high bar. But I apologize, Arty. I forgot about all the times you showed humility. Or acknowledged you might be wrong about something or that someone else’s opinion might have some validity. Or didn’t go out of your way to make it clear that you think you are vastly more intelligent and worthy than the other commenters, or anyone else period that crosses your sights.

  41. My wife at 71 is still beautiful, and that is not just my opinion. But yes, it takes a lot of work. Good bone structure goes a long way.

  42. She went from oldish, dumpy looking, tho with nice smiles to —
    middle agish kinda still cute, even nicer smile.
    Mostly the better hair (it’s curly, it’s hair! it’s in the air!),
    tho also better make up
    and better dress.
    Perhaps biggest improvement is the self-confidence “I’m fabulous”.
    Good for her.
    Only a very foolish husband would fail to be pleased, even very pleased; xxx rated pleased. (Can we even use the term “xxx rated” on this blog?)

  43. FOAF, there is what I say and there is what you hear. They aren’t the same thing. And I cannot do a blessed thing about what you hear.

  44. Baloney Art. You’re not as smart as you think you are but you are smart enough to know how smug and arrogant you come across and you enjoy it. Then again maybe you didn’t recognize the irony in my comment.

  45. A makeover is about customizing your human avatar the same way people customize their cars and yachts with hello kitty labels.

  46. Art Deco splashes himself with the Dunning-Kreuger lemon juice before he posts his comments here.

  47. Art Deco digs himself deeper;

    You can dye your hair for various good reasons & effects.

    “No, you dye your hair because you fancy it looks more attractive or you dye it to stick it to what you fancy is convention. The latter is obnoxious and the former is deluded.”
    ====

    Ahh … now he remembers the people with bright pink or vivid blue hair. That’s progress…

    A large part of the hair-dying population can be seen to fall into a pair of large, easily-identified groups (among others). One is those who have always been disappointed in the quality & results of their own ministrations, who find that they are not natural-born beauticians, and realize or accept a suggestion that they could visit a real one.

    At the parlor, a worker she instantly clicks with makes a few suggestions, “And how about we try just a touch of tint? It washes right out! Honest!” A while later she is wheel around to look in a mirror, and is SHOCKED. She had tried for 10 years to learn to perform this basic task & chore well, and this worker did it great, in 45 minutes.

    This is really just a matter of recognizing that we recognize professionals ‘as such’, for perfectly good & valid reasons.

    The other big group is Working Girls, of all ages. People come from all kinds of backgrounds, and sign up to join a given economic environment. In the military, all the varying (discordant, jarring, disruptive) background stuff is dispensed with, by issuing uniforms, and prescribing hair & grooming details. In office-pools, in service industries, in all manner of work-places … it is not as different from the Armed Forces, as one might off-hand assume.

    Working-men, bearded-men, very close parallels. You buy the kind of work-cloths and foot-wear that others in the work-force are using. You do something with that formerly Viking-red, now dead-animal-looking beard, or you do what a lot of other guys do, and plunk down a few bucks and submit to the ministrations of someone who – guess what? – actually knows what they’re doing.

    So most hair-dying is really a matter of … learning a little humility.

  48. It’s obvious to all (except probably Art Deco) that the “before” video was designed to show the subject in an unflattering color, unflattering light, and without any makeup. I’ll bet she wore makeup routinely and didn’t look like the “before” video except first thing in the morning. The “after” video is with the hairdo change and with makeup and flattering lighting. If you did makeovers professionally and wanted to display the results of course you’d maximize the change like this.

  49. I find Art’s comments so narrow-minded. There is nothing wrong with having a opinion/preference, but as stated, it comes across as mean and condescending. At 58 I dye my hair to its original color (covering the gray) because I look better (younger, prettier) that way. Truthfully the time and money are such that I would stop at this point, but my husband prefers that I continue so I will–for him. I’ve been wearing eye makeup since I was a young teen, but in July I stopped because of a dry-eye condition (though the eye doctor didn’t state that it was something I must or even should do). I’ve worn eye make-up about 6 times since then (special occasions). There is no question that I look better with the makeup, but I want to do everything I can to take the best care of my eyes. I liken things like dying your hair, wearing makeup and so on to beautifying oneself. Most people I know do a great job with it, the exceptions (overdone) not very frequent. The ones that don’t do it, “to each, his own”. I like to have a beautiful garden and always set a lovely table for every meal. You can eat the same things on paper plates, use plastic forks and cups and sit at your counter, but I more fully enjoy every meal with a table that is adorned.

  50. Kate on January 16, 2019 at 1:23 pm at 1:23 pm said:
    It’s obvious to all (except probably Art Deco) that the “before” video was designed to show the subject in an unflattering color, unflattering light, and without any makeup. …If you did makeovers professionally and wanted to display the results of course you’d maximize the change like this.
    * * *
    Exactly.
    When dressed and groomed for normal public appearances, I suspect Debbie looked just fine before the make-over. She just wanted something different.

    FWIW, my older sister is a natural red-head (Irish ancestry), and dyed it to maintain that color up until a few years ago (past 60). As with other elderly ladies clinging to the past, it began to look as fake as it was, because her natural color was too harsh for her aging face. She finally gave up and went grey, and it looks very nice. Her hair is also very, very curly (we called her Li’l Orphan Annie) and she keeps it very, very short now.

    Debbie’s new light red hair (almost pink in the video; I think we used to call that strawberry-blonde rather than red) is better suited to her age.

    In re color choices: Many women, of any age, look better in bright colors, so long as they are in the correct pallette for their skin & hair, and they can still choose the natural hues if the occasion warrants (with scarves or accessories for contrast).

    Art Deco seems to have chosen his nom for a reason; however, note that there are still splashes of brights for interest.
    https://www.bhg.com/decorating/decorating-style/modern/art-deco-colors-281474979492500/

  51. So most hair-dying is really a matter of … learning a little humility.

    1. I’m really not interested in whether she used a home kit or she went to a beautician. It’s dyed, ergo bad.

    2. You used to see a product marketed called ‘Grecian Formula 16’. I haven’t seen an ad for it in a generation or more. I don’t think there’s much of a market for hair color among older men. As far as I can recall, I’ve never met a man who admitted to using it (leaving aside the young punks with their hair dyed chartreuse) and the last time I can recall crossing paths with a man whose hair color was protean in a way which suggested Grecian Formula use was about 35 years ago. Never met anyone who had his beard dyed.

  52. I find Art’s comments so narrow-minded. There is nothing wrong with having a opinion/preference, but as stated, it comes across as mean and condescending.

    That’s my warm and wonderful personality you’re experiencing.

  53. I was under the impression that the Boss didn’t permit outright name-calling…

    Guess I missed the memo lifting the ban for this thread.

    And aside from simple disagreement on opinions…Art Deco is correct that “vanity is a vice.” That nice lady just became high maintenance…welcome to the jungle.

  54. John Guilfoyle:

    I haven’t had time to read all the comments here so I’m not sure where the name-calling was. Maybe you could direct me to the name-calling you’re referring to and I’ll take a look. It’s all a matter of degree, anyway. And saying something such as “Art’s comments are narrow-minded,” for example, isn’t name-calling. It’s a description of the comments. But I’m assuming that’s not the sort of thing you’re thinking of.

  55. Art Deco:

    Male hair dying has been increasing, not decreasing, in recent years. It still lags far far behind women, for many reasons.

    One, of course, is that a lot of older men don’t have much hair to dye. Another is different attitudes about older men (or the appearance of being older) vs. older women, both in the workplace and beyond.

    Grecian Formula used to be marketed as a way for men to color their hair by themselves, without going to a salon, and to tell themselves they weren’t really dyeing it. These days men are less sensitive about such things, and although the product is still sold, there are many alternatives.

  56. John, are you tattling on someone?
    But to the point….. you say the “nice lady” became “high maintenance” and thus “welcome to the jungle.”
    Because she looks 100x better? She sounded pretty happy about that. What jungle is she in now? The one in which a lot more of its dwellers will be looking out for her protection, I suspect.

  57. John Guilfoyle, Kai Akker:

    By the way, I’m not sure why she’s so high-maintenance now.

    She dyed her hair before and only had just started to grow it out, and wasn’t sure she was going to continue to grow it out even if she hadn’t gone for a makeover. So hair-dying was already something she had been maintaining for years. Her hair wasn’t down to her waist; clearly, she’d been having haircuts right along, too.

    She doesn’t have to go full makeup all the time to wear some makeup. I can take as much as 15 minutes to do makeup, or 5 minutes. More often it’s 5 minutes unless I’m going somewhere special. And I often choose to go without makeup if I’m just going out on an errand or two.

    No one has a gun pointed at her head. She can “maintain” exactly as much as she wants, as often as she wants.

  58. –She can “maintain” exactly as much as she wants, as often as she wants.–

    Yeah! ITA. I’ve been surprised by the negativity to her makeover, mostly from a couple of men. Sometimes men are threatened when their mates improve their looks.

  59. This vid really brought out the mean scold in some commenters. Weird. It’s one thing to have an opinion – even a strange one like women should not wear make up. That’s fine; it’s your opinion. You like the ladies au naturel. Or maybe you just don’t like the ladies. Whatever. I once knew a guy who hated people who wore perfume or cologne or any product that had a smell to it because it “wasn’t natural.” He was one of those guys who would fart anywhere because holding it in was unnatural and supposedly somehow bad for you. Passive-aggressive, Man-Dude! Anyway, presenting an opinion, especially in a trivial case like this, like it’s written on a stone tablet by God himself and punitively disparaging anyone who disagrees is not only rude but it detracts from credibility on other topics. Who can believe or take seriously someone who carries on like this? The lady in the video is the final arbiter of how she looks and she seems pleased.

  60. Look…I got no dog in this fight. Nice lady ain’t my wife mom or sister. But go check the 5-year trajectory on “extremes” weight-loss, makeovers, financial windfalls…most “extremes” revert back to or beyond the before. So…she will have to work harder than she currently does to maintain. Nuff said on that.

    And Art’s not my brother father or bff so he doesn’t need me to defend him…but calling him an “ass” seems out of line based on the usual SOP of the blog.

    Disagree if you must but really…
    Oh… “threatened”? Scuse me while I laugh uproariously.

  61. She wanted to look her best before embarking onto the unknown land of 60. So sue her. She looks adorbs and ready to slay dragons!

  62. If anyone had watched The Makeover Guy’s videos on youtube, as I and Neo have, one would know that he asks the models (women and men) to arrive with no makeup, and with no special hair stylings. Christopher needs to see what the “real” person looks like.

    About makeup – I am over 10 years older than the model and I wear makeup every day, unless I am sick. I feel better wearing it; I feel better putting some effort (sometimes more, sometimes less) into my appearance and I believe that I apply it with a deft hand, enhancing my face more than camouflaging it.

    Makeup application should change as a woman ages and it can require a bit of study, thankfully a lot easier now, thanks to all the beauty influencers and tutorials available on the web.

    I have heard since I was a child that older women look better with short hair and some do, but my retort to that was always to ask “What about ________?”(fill in the blank). It’s easy to find older women (over 60) with long hair who look stunning. For a time, it was Jackie Kennedy, who wore her hair shoulder length or longer until her death. Take a look through magazines next time you’re in a waiting room. We’re out there with long hair, mine 2 inches past the shoulders and growing. I am letting my gray grow out with highlighting to help hide the line of demarcation but if I decide to go all Lucille Ball, I will, if I and my hair stylist think it will work. Actually, the color is strawberry blonde.

    Art Deco’s and Bonderenka’s attitude reminds me of men who want to keep their women so plain looking that no man would dare to look at them approvingly. I have known men like that, happily, none that I was involved with. They must suffer from an insecurity so deep that they cannot take pleasure in their wife/girlfriend being as attractive as possible. What a pity!

    From what I have seen, Christopher Hopkins, AKA Makeover Guy, explains what products the model needs to use, how to use them, and a lesson in how to style her hair. Will it take this woman longer? Who knows? At least her hair is shorter and won’t require much more than towel drying, applying some styling product and a little scrunching. Her only problem will be finding a stylist who can replicate the new hair color. That color can be a hard one to maintain.

    Enough from me. As one can tell, these two gentlemen pushed the wrong buttons. Us old broads can be feisty! ‘Scuse me while I refresh my lipstick.

  63. Susanamantha:

    It has also been my observation that many men—who, after all, do not ordinarily wear makeup or study how to apply it—often think women are not wearing any makeup when in fact the woman is wearing subtle makeup.

  64. John Guilfoyle;

    Weight loss is FAR more difficult to maintain than a little makeup. Actually, I’ve seen makeover (makeup and clothing, that is) shows that do follow-ups years later, and at least the people they feature seem to be maintaining the look quite well and report no great difficulty.

    Weight loss is a whole nother ball game. As is hoarding.

  65. Art Deco’s and Bonderenka’s attitude reminds me of men who want to keep their women so plain looking that no man would dare to look at them approvingly. I have known men like that, happily, none that I was involved with. They must suffer from an insecurity so deep that they cannot take pleasure in their wife/girlfriend being as attractive as possible. What a pity

    Thanks for the ad hom, sister. Been an education.

    About makeup – I am over 10 years older than the model and I wear makeup every day,

    Your attitude reminds me of the sunk cost fallacy.

  67. Art Deco,

    “1. I’m really not interested in whether she used a home kit or she went to a beautician. It’s dyed, ergo bad.

    2. You used to see a product marketed called ‘Grecian Formula 16’. I haven’t seen an ad for it in a generation or more. I don’t think there’s much of a market for hair color among older men. As far as I can recall, I’ve never met a man who admitted to using it (leaving aside the young punks with their hair dyed chartreuse) and the last time I can recall crossing paths with a man whose hair color was protean in a way which suggested Grecian Formula use was about 35 years ago. Never met anyone who had his beard dyed.”
    ====

    1.) Dyeing hair is no different than dyeing anything else, like clothing. No different than painting fingernails or attaching fake nails, using eyelashes, mascara, or getting a suntan. Earrings? Necklaces? Uh-oh.

    This “hair-dye = bad” call would need to be supported a little better, to have some kind of meaning. Bad like shaving the face? Are armpits ok to shave? Legs? How about bras? Are you old enough to remember National Geographics’ penchant for topless African villagers? And the pancake-specimens? Howard Hughes designed a breakthrough bra for Jane Russell, apparently having been scarred by NG villager-pics. They say he had issues.

    Puritans had this kind of issue with color. “Bad”. Yet they achieved high levels of stylishness, using only shades of gray, black & white. (Color = Pride … that’s how it’s done, in the calculus of moral imperatives. Like, we could try Color = Consumerism. Bad.)

    2.) Special gender-based hair-product lines for males are not necessary. The very wide diversity of female-marketed products work fine for males … and mostly it’s not to color the hair and especially the beard, but to whiten it.

    A few brown, reddish whiskers remaining in a basically ‘gray’ (ie, white) beard, make it look dirty. Often, these whiskers are in a pattern that looks like chronic spillage or smoking-stain. Or … “What is that mangy thing on your face?!”

    Black beards, otoh, can look pretty sharp with just a little gray, or with just a little blackness remaining.

    My African American girlfriend was combing her profoundly curly hair in the window-light, and I said ‘You got a good little glint of red in your hair’! [50% German] “I do not!” she countered. Days later she looks over at me, “You were right”. “What”? “My hair is red”. “Ohhh – you can hardly ever tell! You have to hold it just right in the light!” “I’m thinking about dyeing it black”.

    So we looked on the Web and heck there’s scads of products for AA ladies, to make sure their ‘apparently’ black hair, is totally-truly BLACK. That made her feel better, that others were suffering this not-perfectly-black-hair issue, and then she didn’t have to dye it.

    For these gals, the normally sublime “color-highlights” = “Bad”. Mm-hm.

  68. Dyeing hair is no different than dyeing anything else, like clothing.

    Your clothing is manufactured in a particular color. Even if, on the rare occasion, you send it out to be dyed, it’s an adornment. Your hair is not an adornment. It’s part of you.

    No different than painting fingernails or attaching fake nails, using eyelashes, mascara,

    I once asked my mother how she’d been redeemed by 27 years of marriage. She says, ‘he got me to quit using nail polish and chewing gum’.

    or getting a suntan.

    That’s something which happens naturally when you’re outdoors. Not to me (I burn), but to others.

    Earrings? Necklaces? Uh-oh.

    People overdo it on jewelry as well.

  69. John Guilfoyle:

    ass – a foolish or stupid person.
    “that ass of a young man”
    synonyms: fool, nincompoop, clown, dolt, simpleton;

    A pretty mild rebuke for one who seems to have a blind spot on how he is received, or doesn’t care. One who boasts about “getting under the skin” of the hostess. Classless? You decide.

  70. Art Deco:

    At this point you’re just being rude to be rude.

    Consider that an official warning.

    I really have no problem with disagreement or even a little snarkiness. But on this thread you’re skirting with troll territory.

  71. A pretty mild rebuke for one who seems to have a blind spot on how he is received, or doesn’t care.

    You’ve got issues. I’ll let someone else care about that.

    One who boasts about “getting under the skin” of the hostess.

    The term ‘boast’ does not mean what you think it means.

  72. Art Deco:

    Please note that about an hour ago I issued you a warning. Your most recent comment occurred only a few moments later, so I’ll assume you didn’t see the warning. But I’m calling your attention to it now. Cease and desist.

    I don’t have the time or inclination to police petty squabbles, or troll-like behavior. State your opinions and stop the troll-like behavior.

  74. Please note that about an hour ago I issued you a warning.

    1. What people say usually doesn’t bother me viscerally, and I’ve lost track of who said what. But reviewing matters I see ‘om’ has offered several interventions which had nothing to do with your topic; they had to do with me. Followed by multiple remarks by FOAF. Followed by some text wall from Ted Clayton. Followed by more text wall from Susanamantha. I gather repeatedly calling someone an ‘ass’, telling said person they’re ‘full of it like a Christmas goose’, telling said person he’s one of those ‘men who want to keep their women so plain looking that no man would dare to look at them approvingly’ &c. is all withing bounds here.

    2. What’s out of bounds is telling one of these characters he has issues (after the third time he insults you a propos of nothing in particular), telling another he needs to grow a sense of humor (he evidently really dislikes Seinfeld), correcting false statements (“boast” has a fixed meaning, and not the one he conjured), and reminding another that ad hominem arguments aren’t the sharpest tools in the box (especially when you don’t know the other party from a cord of wood).

    3. You issue me a warning for being rude after a rather bland post remarking on the difference between dye on clothing and dye on hair.

    Let’s just say the standards here are somewhat…opaque.

  75. Art Deco:

    Your rudeness and snark is manifest in this entire thread. Many commenters here who don’t usually take offense at all have taken offense.

    I am the person who is the judge of what I consider troll-like behavior, and I am the person who makes the decisions on this.

  76. Susanamantha: “…Bonderenka’s attitude reminds me of men who want to keep their women so plain looking that no man would dare to look at them approvingly.”
    What the heck.
    I should ask my wife talk to you.
    You totally misconstrued what I was saying.
    I was just saying that the woman could have looked better with a little effort on her own part before professional intervention.
    That’s the exact opposite of what you accused me of.

  77. Ed Bonderanka:

    I think that perhaps Susanamantha was focusing on this remark of yours and taking it literally: “I found myself agreeing with everything that Art Deco said…”

  78. I find it amazing that this woman’s pleasure in looking and feeling so much better created such a storm.

  80. Kate is rear-ended in WalMart lot: mild whiplash.

    “I find it amazing that this woman’s pleasure in looking and feeling so much better created such a storm.”

    Yeah … the phenomenon has been a known-known phenomenon, for some years now. 😉

    It started with Before & After pictures, for like weight-loss programs, etc. It then migrated to Makeovers.

    People ‘challenged’ these paired-photos; “Do they really lose weight that fast, and look that good? Or is this some kind of trick? PhotoShop-magic?”

    And the various Oracles of Delphi replied, “Oh no, there’s nothing to it … here, watch this”, and they’d take some defenseless employee, have them strip to their Haines in a drafty room with bad light, for the Before.

    Then they put on fresh pot o’ Java, turn the heat up, get some calisthenics going, put on a Blooper Tape by someone likeable, walk on the treadmill, tell a bunch of un-PC jokes … then bring in some proper lighting, a fan going through some bracing air conditioning, and … TA-DA!, presto chango.

    It’s mostly about encouraging folks to make an attitude-adjustment … which really most of us do several times a day, anyway, we’re just not real conscious of it … and we don’t have a practiced ‘drill’ by which to make it happen, on-demand. (Several different drills, actually.)

    But you can bet that professionals and people who need to use cameras & PR effectively, on a schedule (hey there, DJT!), darn well get this down pat. (Um, AOC, for sure.)

    If our subject-gal here can come away realizing that she can do this for herself, she’ll still be the bell of the party when she’s actually old!

    What? In a recent Olympics? Something. There was this teenage girl runner who ‘danced’ just before her race, in the pouring rain. Whoa..

  81. Oh well…in for a penny…

    I find it sad for anyone to limit the self-appraisal “fabulous” to their looks, when the reality is she IS fabulous because with or without the makeover she IS imago dei, in the image of God, & therefore tov meod…VERY GOOD. And how dare we muscle up the hubris to declare that her 2 God-given (natural) hair colours are “no good?” “Grey hair is a crown of glory.”

    “All flesh is grass & its beauty like the flowers of the field. The grass withers & the flower fades…” What does she do in 5 – 10 years’ time when that fade continues? How does she maintain “fabulous?” Or is she once again “unfabulous?”

    Human “fabulousness” is vanity (as in fleeting & temporary & meaningless) if we can only find it in the fleeting human achievements & accomplishments & outer trappings like looks or wealth or status…

    This is why I despise “social media/reality TV voyeurism,” it forces us to judge/evaluate/weigh in on that which matters not a tinker’s dam. And too often it reveals our worst…evidence abounds in this thread.

    She is beautiful and fabulous (as are you btw) not because of her looks or her self-evaluation, but because she is loved & beautiful & fabulous to the One whose image she shares…and whose desires for her fullness of joy are unequalled.

    Thank you Boss for your indulgence. If I was out of line…I apologize.

    Ok…pass the offering…I’m done 😉

  82. On the spiritual aspects here, I agree totally with John Guilfoyle.

    On the lady’s physical transformation, she didn’t look as horrible, in harsh lighting and with no makeup, as some of the guys here thought she did. But what’s wrong with the transient joy of suddenly looking better to oneself? As someone commented, I’ll bet her husband appreciated it too. Unless she becomes a spendaholic shopper, I say, no harm, no foul.

    And I recently underwent a transformation myself. I didn’t pay anyone to do it. First, I made the decision that trying to emulate this lady’s cute short hair style with my aggressively straight hair was pointless. I still have lots of hair; I grew it below shoulder length and it’s now better looking and easy maintenance. Second, I found out how to lose weight and keep it off without effort (other than my usual exercise routine). With thirty pounds gone, I am as happy with the change as the lady in the video is with hers.

    Perhaps the solution here is this: When Neo posts dance videos or about cosmetics or makeovers, it would be wiser not to comment unless you’ve got something to say which isn’t demeaning to the subject of the post or to the hostess. We can all reunite on posts of more interest to all.

  83. “wiser not to comment unless you’ve got something to say which isn’t demeaning to the subject of the post or to the hostess”

    It may not be caused by the subject of the post. And obviously not by the hostess. Just sayin’.

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