Photo © Joshua Bright
This week’s muse is Ali Smith, who I met several years ago through a mutual friend. She invited me and my daughter to be featured in Momma Love, her fabulous photographic & essay collection about moms, which has been praised byThe New York Times and Gloria Steinem among others. Photographer Amy Arbus says of Momma Love, “Ali’s work is gripping, uncompromising, and unprecedented…an essential book for anyone searching for the truth.”
A native New Yorker who lives in New York with her husband and son, Ali has danced with Nureyev and toured the world with her rock band, but her true love is photography. She is passionate about exploring women’s lives through her work, which has been featured on Oxygen TV, in New York Magazine, Cosmopolitan Magazine and in The Onion.
Here are Ali’s beauty secrets:
- “I have colored my hair since I was 15 years old. It’s been magenta, white, hot pink, black and white spider web, rather than ‘blonde to cover the grays.’ For most of my life, though, I have been a redhead. It makes me feel like the type of women I want to be – I have always liked the red-head reputation for being a bit intense and out there. Couple that with green eyes and being a Scorpio, and you could strike the fear of God into most men. In a nice way 🙂 I always dyed it myself until I hit around 35 and had a little more money and realized how much better it looks when Lindsey at Lovemore and Do Salon on East 9th Street in NYC does it. She’s phenomenal.
5. It sounds corny, but i feel the most beautiful when I’m reflected in the eyes of my husband and son who seem to think i look ok no matter what I do (almost).
So, time spent with them and feeling appreciated as myself gives me such a welcome break from trying to present myself well the rest of the time. And when I say “present myself well”, gone are the days I labor that too much. Mostly it’s about feeling my hair looks cute – not like “mom hair”- and that I’ve got some eyelashes happening and maybe a little Burt’s Bee’s Tinted Lip Balm or High Tea lipstick from MAC (my second most pricey makeup item).
6. I spray rosewater on my face because my gay friend told me to and you have to take the beauty tips your gay friend offers you very seriously. It’s refreshing and it’s a natural anti-inflammatory agent, so that’s good. Then I slather on argan oil, which is super hydrating, and Neutrogena SPF moisturizer. I wish I could find an all natural one that’s as cost-effective, but haven’t been able to yet.” Note: if you’re on the hunt for organic stores to buy products like Argan Oil, here’s a comprehensive, global list.
