January 1, 2022
By Laura Claverie

In an earlier Hip Grannie, I wrote about our granddaughter Amelia’s love of fashion.

Even as a four year old, she could walk into my closet and pull together a great outfit, often using combinations that I never would have thought of. And if you could see the condition of my closet (does the word avalanche mean anything to you?) you’d know what an accomplishment it was.

Now that she is 12, and almost a teenager, Amelia has become interested in makeup. If the eyes are truly the windows to the soul, as many poets aptly said, Amelia’s soul is laced with color and mystery.

I’m never quite sure which Amelia is peering at me. The other night at her brother’s Newman soccer game, Amelia’s eyes were a smokey, sultry gray. The drama was palpable. Last week, she lined her eyes with a hot pink liner. It looked hip and fun as it accented her deep brown eyes and eyelashes. If I had lined my eyes with a hot pink liner, I would look as if allergy season were in full force….hello ragweed!

Her friend Gigi has taken a different route. She has a different hair color each time I see her. I’m pretty sure these are not permanent colors, at least I think they are temporary. At one St. George’s volleyball game, Gigi had hot pink tips on her curly, dirty blonde locks. At another, the tips were bright blue. At the most recent game, she was a full blown brunette with jet black hair.

None of this is news to me. I remember returning from speech and debate camp when I was in the ninth grade wearing bold Cleopatra eye makeup, complete with neon blue eyelids and long black eyeliner stretching across my eyelids. My mother had a true hissie fit, which of course, made me want to slap on another pound or two of makeup. And, honestly, I wasn’t a rebellious kid.

I first tried dying my hair “blonde” with McCormick’s yellow food coloring. All it did was make my hair stick to my scalp. Over the years, I’ve colored my hair, frizzed it, straightened it, highlighted it and low-lighted it. I’ve spent a bloody fortune on makeup, skin care products, shampoos, conditioners and hair stylists. In a former life, I was probably a beauty school dropout.

What Amelia, Gigi and I (many years ago) are doing is first and foremost, fun. Thanks to YouTube, Facebook and TikTok, there are lessons on the correct way to apply makeup and hair products (not surprising, McCormick’s food coloring isn’t on anyone’s recommended list). With a little talent and some cool supplies, they can transform their look from ingenue to vamp with the strike of brush or a dollop of foundation.

All of this, of course, is the beginning of what psychologists call separation and individuation. It’s an adolescent girl’s way of staking claim to her life and who she is. It’s a critical part of asserting an independent identity and establishing a sense of self. Think of it as a pre-teen girl’s way of saying, “Look out world! I’m coming at ya!”

I say, bravo to the hot pink eyeliner and blue tipped hair. Under all that goop are smart, hardworking, caring human beings who will one day rule the world.

And Lord knows, they will rule the world with a style all their own.