Wednesday 7 September 2011

The colour of memory

A few months ago, I married.


Only a month later, my new mother-in-law died. Needless to say, what was an immeasurably happy time became a drudgingly sad one.

Kerstin was many things to many people. Mother, model, friend, shopkeeper... She knew where in Stockholm to find the finest cakes, source the most proper furniture and get the best haircut and styling. Some of these things she told me about, some I have learnt while visiting her city to attend to the various bits of admin that surround a family member's death.


One thing I was surprised to learn from her posthumously, was the absolute right red lipstick for me. This is a close to impossible task for many women, and is something I know she would have been immensely pleased I achieved thanks to her, and the make up she left behind.



The colour is Ravish Me Red, from Revlon. I put it on and it makes not just my lips look better, but my eyes and hair too. It makes them softly kissable and has reasonable staying power.



The best thing is, wearing it I remember Kerstin. I remember the glamorous woman she was. A woman who knew about lipsticks. A woman who moved from the Swedish countryside, to Stockholm, to LA, to London... And back again. Who brought up two devilishly smart children after her husband died only a couple of years after the second was born. Who welcomed me lovingly into her family. And who had bucket loads of style. I wish I had known her as the vintage style party girl she once was. I think we'd have been friends. Friends who shared lipstick.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

3 comments:

  1. Lovely post Han. I am sure she would have loved it - and what a stunning lady she was. Those photos are amazing and she looks very like a certain someone in that last one! xxx

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  2. Thanks, dears... could seem trivial linking remembrance of someone to a lipstick, but she loved all things glamorous so have no doubt she would have been pleased.

    Betty, we have some amazing pictures of her... love the camera and matching dress and headscarf in that one. Think was on holiday in Spain. There's another black and white one with her answering a phone in an office in LA in the sixties. Her hair swoops out and the whole set up looks too utterly Mad Men, that's when I feel sad we can't ask her more about it. xxxxx

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