“Makeup should make a woman look like herself, only better.” Robin Givhan’s quote in a Style article from The Washington Post about Hillary Clinton not wearing makeup in 2012.

I guess I should know.  The sentence is my mantra and the way I go about doing male and female politicians’ makeup and grooming.  My job is to make politicians look good for the covers of magazines, their books, websites, Presidential campaigns and events, as well as, any other times they are in the public spotlight.  At some point in their career, I’ve worked with big names like

Hillary

and Barack

 

to lesser know

Barbara

and Rand.

 

Do you care about how politicians look or the clothes they wear?

Does it matter to you if their image projects their opinion? 

 

Although I always wear black, I’m “Purple” on the job.  My neutrality is a must when working in Washington, D.C. with Republicans and Democrats.

Red + blue = Purple

 

Here’s an excerpt from Givhan’s article about the fashion of politics over the years. Readers comments were intense.

 

The Fashion of Politics

2010

Barbara Boxer’s ‘so yesterday’ hair

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) wears her hair in a perfectly acceptable, conservative shag. But in a quip to her staff captured by a live mic, her California Senate challenger Carly Fiorina called her style “so yesterday.” The words weren’t a simple critique of Boxer’s beauty. Looking “so yesterday” doesn’t necessarily mean unattractive.

Fiorina’s words were an example of style bullying.

The phrase was an assessment of Boxer’s cultural knowledge, of her connection to the here-and-now. It suggested that she didn’t understand what it meant to be in sync with the times.

Many folks might argue that women are burdened by an unfair emphasis on their appearance. Certainly, there is more public consideration of how they look. But is it unfair? With their rich style vocabulary, women can say so much more than men. What man could make as nuanced and layered an assessment of a competitor with a single remark about a hairstyle? Style speaks softly, but it can deliver a cruel blow.

***

 

I’ve worked with both Carly and Barbara.  They are both strong women with strong opinions.