Simply Glamorous by Gary Cockerill – My Review of This Beauty Bible

I love makeup and have since I’ve been a girl. I used to do “beauty days” with my friends when we’d apply DIY face masks concocted from egg whites or oatmeal or whatever we thought would be beneficial to slather on our faces. Then we’d comb through the pages of our favorite magazines and try to duplicate the beauty looks with dimestore -bought cosmetics. When my daughters were growing up, I introduced them to the fun of a beauty day and now that they’re grown, I love the too rare times when they still indulge me. My love for makeup and beauty products has never waned and I don’t think it will.

And now, a little aside about makeup shaming. Yeah, it’s a thing. It’s when people make you feel bad about wearing makeup. They imply (or state outright) that people who wear makeup must have low self-esteem, are vain and send an unhealthy message about beauty standards to young women. WTF? This makeup fan does not have low self-esteem, is admittedly a bit vain (and what’s wrong with a little vanity, by the way?) and, as for the last, seriously? Since when did wearing makeup become a social issue? For every argument that says young women shouldn’t wear makeup because it prevents them from accepting their natural beauty, I can give you ten arguments to the contrary. I don’t wear makeup to hide my face. Never did. But, makeup can be used, deftly and beautifully, to hide scars, acne, blemishes. What is wrong with that? I don’t like to see little girls in makeup but think there’s nothing wrong with a young woman using it if she chooses. And that’s the thing about makeup. It’s a personal choice to wear it or not. Why should anyone else care? It’s sad that the worst makeup shamers are other women. Let’s stop judging and start accepting the choices of others.

And now to the point of this post which, as you probably guessed, is aimed at makeup aficionados. I recently received a complimentary copy for review of the most beautiful book. It’s called Simply Glamorous and it’s by celebrity makeup artist Gary Cockerill. (Ok, I don’t like the term “celebrity makeup artist” either but Mr. Cockerill has the chops that have earned him the title. He is one of the UK’s most well known and respected makeup artists and has created looks for the stage, screen, editorials, ads and events. His client list includes Eva Longoria, Jerry Hall, Isla Fisher, Rachel Hunter, Rupert Everett and David Beckham, among others.)

Simply Glamorous has been referred to as “the ultimate beauty bible” and it too has earned that title. It contains more than 200 pages that include full color photos, illustrations, beauty tips and makeovers. It’s a beautyista’s dream book. (I love to scroll through Pinterest for beauty ideas, but here they are, in one handy and gorgeous book.) Simply Glamorous is organized by facial feature – Face, Eyes, Lips – and each section is divided into chapters. Sample chapters include Healthy Skin, Eye Shapes, Lip Shapes and How to Wear Color. Simply Glamorous provides step-by-step how-tos on highlighting and contouring, application tips, and shows on real women how makeup can help you go from a daytime look to a nighttime one to one that’s all out glamorous. Full page photos provide easy to follow instructions. And here’s perhaps the best part of Simply Glamorous – the models in Simply Glamorous are not only real women but real women of all ages and ethnicities. Their before photos show women like, well, like me who are not necessarily model-gorgeous. But after Mr. Cockerill applies his artistry, with step by step explanations to make it easy to copy on your own face, every one of them looks beautiful and, yeah, Simply Glamorous I love this book!

Simply Glamorous is a beauty bible and it is also a keeper. I’m adding it to my gift list for this year’s holidays. I know my recipients will be very happy, indeed.

And now, I’m going to be a total tease and show you a couple of pages from Simply Glamorous. Want more? You’ll have to buy the book! (Sorry about the quality of the photos. I’ve taken them several times and don’t know why I can’t capture the beautiful quality of those in the book.)