For my grandma, I think make up represents something more than adding color to a face, but a transformation from dependence and a lack of control to independence and determination. My grandma was sent to the Philippines as a child, far from her parents in Hawaii and grew up there, laboring on rice farms where luxuries like shoes or make up didn't exist. Later in life, even when she married my grandpa she still had no control over her own life. It wasn't until my grandma was widowed and raising three children as a single mother in a country she didn't speak the language that she finally gained independence, as rough as it was. Despite the circumstances, my grandma learned English, began a stable career and provided for my dad and uncles. She didn't have much of anything for a long time and when I see my grandma apply her lipstick and put on her favorite perfume, I see these small actions as giant leaps toward gaining her independence, control over her own life and that to me, is pretty powerful.
To win the Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful Palette, please tweet me at @andreakerbuski who inspires you or what makes you feel pretty powerful using the hashtag #prettypowerful. For an additional entry, visit the Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful web site and vote for your favorite submission and tweet it. The giveaway will end Thursday, October 24 at 9:00 PM CST and is open to U.S. readers only.
