My mother worked as a housekeeper for a wealthy family in Brentwood, CA for almost 12 years. The lady of the house, was a former psychologist who married well and asked (via intercom) that her diet coke be brought up every afternoon around 2 pm. She had a makeup artist and a hairstylist who made house calls regularly. Yes, she led quite the glamorous life of an LA socialite but, she also was a mother. As a mother , she understood that children got sick and that they had two months off once a year, so i was allowed to go to work with my mother whenever she needed to take me. For a 7 year old, this was awesome. I swam in the pool, ran on the treadmills and explored the grounds of the property with the nannie's kids who also were frequent visitors. The best part of my day was in the morning. My mother would tidy up the bathroom after her boss would leave for the day. Scattered all over the vanity were all the greats, Bobbi Brown, MAC, Laura Mercier, Chanel , you name it, this lady had it. I'm quite the "experiencer" now, so you can imagine what i was like then, i didn't have an understanding of boundaries, so I would try everything on. I would end up with a face full of makeup, ready for my close up. At the time, there was no way my mother would ever spend more than 7 dollars on a lipstick. Yes she was quite the girly girl, but she was/is a minimalist, so as long as she had her essentials, she was set. This was as close as i would ever get to Neimans.
Sometimes if we were really lucky "la patrona" would give away product when a color didn't work or for any other reason. My mother would bring it all home and use it on herself, so while my friends were playing with Lipsmackers lip balm, i was lathering in La Mer. I loved going to work with my mom. She exposed me to a world completely different than my own , a world that at the time seemed impossible to be a part of, and now the industry i belonged to.
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