Alex took the beautiful young Clara as his date again, just like last year. The year 12 formal is a more formal affair than the year 11 one, with the boys required to wear dinner suits.
They grow up so fast don't they?
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| Clara & Brebles, 1997 |
The Brebner Griffin household hosted pre formal drinks, which was a lot of fun. Brebles invited his mates and their partners and the invitation was extended to their parents to stay for a drink and for dinner after if it suited.
The evening was lovely, but not without incident, though. Limousines had been booked to take the 10 couples who came to our little do to the main event. Mum received a phone call about 25 minutes before the limos were due to arrive, informing us that one had broken down and that they could not provide an alternative in time.
This was very disappointing. Initially we couldn't work out how on earth we were going to choose which couples would ride in the limo, and who would go in cars. One of the mothers had the genius stroke that, because the girls were attending as guests of the boys, they should ride in the limo.
What made the formal really exciting for me is that Clara asked me to do her makeup. Whilst I do not wear makeup very regularly, I love doing makeup for special events. I did my own makeup for the formals I went to, as well as for my sister's. I also went over to Adelaide to do my cousin Joanna's makeup for her year 11 formal a few years ago.
Makeup is a bit of fun. I was fascinated by it as a child, like a lot of girls are. When I was 10 or 11 I wanted to wear it and by the time I was 12 I went around looking like a parrot. Thankfully very blue eyeshadow and pink lipstick just look like playing dress-ups on someone that young, if I'd been any older I probably would have looked like a prostitute.
Thankfully I got better with practice. I was quite good at art at school, but didn't pursue it beyond year 9. Doing makeup well requires an artistic eye and I find it quite intriguing how applying gunk from tiny pots to a person's face can change how they look quite dramatically.
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| Clara's "selfie" of the "finished product" |
It frustrates me that so many teenagers and makeup artists cake so much product onto young faces. At 17 or 18, young ladies are naturally beautiful; their skin is wrinkle free and taught, eyes are bright and their lips and cheeks are naturally plump. Even those who have acne just don't have that many flaws to hide at this age. I think makeup should enhance, rather than mask, young features.
Clara is naturally very beautiful, so it was not difficult to make her look a million bucks. She wanted to look like a bronzed goddess, and I had a lot of fun with blush, bronzer and lots of shimmer spray. A girl's appearance seems very important on nights like the formal and I was tickled pink and very flattered that Clara wanted me to do this for her.
I'm completely biased, but I think Clara and Brebles make a remarkably photogenic pair. It is so lovely that after so many years of friendship that they are sharing some of these milestone occasions together.
The formal really showcased some of the great friendships Brebles has. Over his time at St Kevin's he has formed some friendships that I suspect will last a lifetime. On one hand formals can be superfluous and extravagant, but (within the bounds of sanity) it is so important to find the time to come together and celebrate.
In time I doubt the boys will remember how much the suit hire or the corsage cost and I hope the price of the dress is not what is burned into the minds of the young ladies. At the end of the day, time spent in good company is what really matters and is worth far more, in the scheme of things, than any suit or dress.
