"For Those Who Lack Tying Skills, Here's a Stylish Alternative."

My Grandmother, the Beauty Icon - she could primp more than a Southern bride.

Photographs by Robbie Caponetto

My Granny was a natural beauty who didn’t believe in trusting beauty to nature. When I think of her, years after her passing, I picture her painting her nails or pin-curling her hair and tying it up in a kerchief (a la Rosie the Riveter). She was always moisturizing, spritzing, brushing, combing, and spraying. It took her a whole month just to plan her look  for my cousins wedding and two days to execute it. She was gorgeous, as always – with Clairol-dark hair in loose waves and curls, an elegant evening dress, and just the right jewellery. She told me once that a man at church had asked whether her hair color was natural, (apparently, he had a death wish.) Granny’s unflinching retort: “It’s the color I was born with". – Valerie Fraser Luesse

1. “Granny’s hair wrap was a simple scarf tied around her head. For those who lack tying skills, here’s a stylish alternative.” The Kate Hair Wrap - SILKE London
2. “Granny had dark, shoulder-length hair all the way into her nineties. I intend to follow her lead, and I’ve got the chemicals to do it.” Clairol Root Touch-Up Color Blending Gel
3. “On a hot summer day, Granny used to say, ‘I don’t mind feeling this way, but I sure do hate to look like this.’ She loved good-smelling bath powder.” Este Lauder Perfumed Body Powder
4. “I don’t recall her brand of moisturizer – but she applied it religiously. This one does double duty.” Supergoop Daily Moisturizer
5. “She was never a fan of the natural look, especially when it came to her meticulously shaped brows.” Almay Brow Styler