When Judy Moscovitz was invited to participate in INSPIRED’s Makeover in Vancouver in September 2017, her first reaction was trepidation. Determined to not allow fear to make her decisions, however, she elected to lean into the opportunity and embrace the experience.
As a counsellor and New York Times bestselling author, Judy has walked the walk of personal struggle. Having dealt with body weight issues since the age of seven, she has lost an astonishing 140 lbs – not once, but twice. Now, she counsels individuals and groups to walk their own journey with courage and hope – and help.
“Losing weight has been transformative, impacting not just my body, but my entire life. Doors have opened, and options appeared, calling upon me to shed the old and embrace the new,” says Judy.
Of the Makeover experience, she says her favourite part was the expert hair styling. “A great cut and multi-coloured highlights, which still look great four months later. A bouncy style that everyone says makes me look younger. I also love my new micro-bladed eyebrows. I had never even heard of such a thing, but it’s astonishing what a difference it makes.”
The Makeover made Judy feel anything is possible. “Despite my age, I can still have surprising, stimulating adventures,” she says. “It brought me to life again, seeing the world as full of possibilities, a place where I can still be fully engaged and productive.”
To learn more about Judy’s journey, www.nextstepweightloss.ca
What Our Stylist did:
Hair:
Judy has beautiful, fine hair. I wanted to give her some lift in her hair and open the style around her face to showcase her exuberant smile.
I brought the bottom up and created some graduated layers to create more height on the crown of her head. For the colour, I added warm tones to help draw more rose tones from her skin. I used the newest colour line from Redken, the HD resolution for high-definition colour, which is extremely gentle on the hair because it has no ammonia. I then added some baby highlights to add dimension and give the hair texture. I finished off with the beautiful Redken Shades EQ toner – the colour so gentle, it thinks it’s a conditioner. I recommended Judy use the Redken Color magnetics shampoo and conditioner to hold her colour longer. For styling, I used volume products, such as the full frame mousse by Redken, which is heat activated, so it will give her volume when she blow dries it.
All the colours and products used are by Redken 5th Ave.
Makeup:
For Judy’s makeup, I wanted to keep it simple. I applied a primer to smooth the surface of her skin and then I added the foundation. I did some contouring by lightning the top of her cheekbones and adding a little darker shade under the cheekbone to accentuate it. I applied a cream blush, which I love to use on skin over 50 because it doesn’t settle into fine lines; its creamy texture blends smoothly. I brightened around Judy’s eyes with an eye primer and concealer. Then, I slightly darkened around her lash line and created a bit of a smoky eye. To bring attention to her beautiful lips, I used a lip liner and added a beautiful shade of soft pink lipstick. To finish off the look that will last all day, I used a makeup setting spray.
Judy also had a special technique done to her eyebrows – microblading – to enhance their look. This was done by Haniya Ghajar (www.haniyeghajar.com): When Judy arrived two days before the show, I chose Microblading technique for her brows, which is a manual method delivering the most natural hair-like effect. This new technique uses micro needles to deposit semi-permanent pigment under the skin like a tattoo. Unlike tattooing, however, microblading deposits pigment only one to two layers under the surface of the skin. While the strokes appear fine and crisp, they fade away without a trace over time. The result lasts up to a year depending on the chosen colour and skin type. The semi-permanent eyebrow procedure took two hours and when it was completed, Judy commented, “That’s it?! I had a wonderful rest and now I have beautiful eyebrows, too!” |
Special thanks to the entire INSPIRED Makeover team:
Hair Stylist – Hana Akai of Akai Hair Design 2559 Quadra St. Call Hana for details about hair and makeup 250-383-3227. Visit online at www.akaihairdesign.com Hana is an educator for Redken; all the hair products were sponsored by Redken 5th Ave. and Icon Salon Systems.
Makeup provided by Hana Akai.
Clothing was provided by Olsen Europe, stores in Vancouver (Oakridge Centre & Park Royal) and Victoria (The Bay).
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