So much more than putting a brave face on

Published on Monday 5 March 2007 01:30

A GROUP of 12 women and three volunteer helpers cluster around a table in the bright light-filled meeting room of Maggie's Centre in Edinburgh. They range in age from late twenties to early sixties, some have just been diagnosed with cancer, others have been living with the illness for some time.

Annette Finlay Price, a veteran make-up artist and skin care specialist is buzzing around the table demonstrating how to put on moisturiser.

"Always tap it on to the face, never stretch and pull the skin, particularly around the eyes, where your skin is five times thinner," she explains.

"I've never tapped before," laughs one of the women. The laughter comes easily. Some of the women are nervous, some are self-conscious but as they follow the step-by-step skin care and make-up routine, the room becomes noticeably more relaxed.

Sometimes, Finlay Price confides "it can get quite raucous. Everybody starts throwing off their wigs and howling with laughter. Today was quite quiet".

The formidable skincare and beauty specialist, who works for Givenchy at Debenhams, Ocean Terminal, is the regional co-ordinator for Look Good Feel Better, which holds fortnightly sessions at Maggie's Edinburgh. Started by the cosmetics industry 12 years ago, Look Good Feel Better offers free mobile makeovers to women suffering from ill health. Since it began, the service has benefited more than 30,000 women at hospitals and clinics around the UK and has attracted celebrity supporters including Kyle Minogue, Elizabeth Hurley and Lorraine Kelly.

The aim of the programme is "to increase women's self-confidence and self-esteem at a very difficult time in their lives".

Andrew Anderson, head of the Edinburgh Maggie's Centre, is a great supporter of the programme.

"It's very much a shared experience," he says. " It's often the first step women take towards looking after themselves. It also allows women to take stock and realise they are not alone."

Today, Finlay Price has two helpers, Carol Breyer, from the Sisley counter at John Lewis, and Sandra Rutherford, from Boots in the Gyle. While, in theory, the volunteering is done in work time, both Breyer and Finlay Price are doing the workshop on their days off.

Rutherford says: "I just love to see the end result and I get a buzz from helping people. Make up is a part of your everyday life.

"It's a pick-me-up; you put your face on and go to face people. It lifts your spirits and makes you feel good about yourself."

Breyer adds: "In many ways it's not hugely different from what we do at work. You are working with people and making them feel better - but here people are more vulnerable and need a bigger boost."

While you might think learning how to put on blusher would be the last thing on your mind if you had cancer, the Look Good Feel Better events are among the most popular sessions at Maggie's Centres. Staff say they are very often the thing that gives patients the incentive to step over the threshold and ask for help.

The "goody bags" given to every woman who attends the sessions are legendary. These bulging pink-and-white carriers are full of skincare and make-up kit, with full-sized products from some of the top cosmetics brands. Graded according to skin tone and colouring, the bags include products from Chanel, Clinique, No 7, Givenchy, Kenzo, Elizabeth Arden, YSL, Borghese, Maybelline, Clarins and Lancome, and have a retail value of around 200 each.

But, while the bags are an ice breaker, the opportunity to bond with other women, to take their minds off things and relax, are what the women appreciate the most.

Rose McCormick, from Dumfries, who has just been at the oncology clinic for treatment, is clearly enjoying herself.

"This was the first time I have been here," she says. "I heard about it from other patients. I heard it was a nice fun day and that you got a goody bag to take home.

"It's a great way of meeting other people who have gone through what you are going through. It's a nice social day and you can forget about your troubles for a bit.

"And it has been a bit of an eye-opener for me. I think I will make the effort to use the make-up - it's certainly made me feel better."

Irene Ellis, from West Lothian, agrees: "The best part of it has been meeting other people."

And Pat Allan, from Edinburgh, says spending time with other cancer sufferers had been a huge help to her.

"I never realised how much I like groups before and how much you can take inspiration and motivation from other people in the same boat," she says. "At the end of the day, we are all the same."

And, no matter how ill you feel, it seems a bit of pampering can help. Mary Cook, who has come from the Marie Curie Hospice in a wheelchair, has cancer in her lungs and bones and is on a morphine drip, but is smiling and at ease after her makeover.

"They phoned me today and told me there was a cancellation and asked me if I wanted to come - and I'm glad I did," she says. "It's been great, better than I expected." After the session is over and the table has been cleared away, Finlay Price shows me a huge pink folder stuffed full of photographs and thank you letters. She has been working in cosmetics for 50 years and says she has already "retired twice", but she is indefatigable in her support for Look Good Feel Better and for Maggie's.

"I love it. I love the people and I love the work. You get people who sit down and say they don't want to talk to anybody and then they open up.

"I have had people who haven't been out of the house for ages and who don't like themselves any more. You tend to gravitate towards them and give them special attention."

Like so many who volunteer at the centres she had her own experience of cancer ten years ago, when she had already begun co-ordinating workshops for Maggie's. "I am a very strong person," she says. "One day I was here waiting for someone and the centre manager, Andrew, came up to me and asked: 'Are you all right Annette?'

"I walked outside and suddenly the tears were falling down. I couldn't cry in front of my family because I had to be strong.

"After I had cried and broke my heart I washed my face, got into my car and drove home. For that, Maggie's will always be a part of me. My heart is here. It all stems from here." While cancer treatments sometimes bring about changes in the skin - and people can benefit from advice about how to apply make-up if they have lost their hair and eyebrows - the most important thing is the human contact.

"Everybody is different and everybody has to be treated as an individual. The most important thing for people is to feel good about themselves.

"People really appreciate it. About four months ago I was walking round the supermarket and I heard this voice calling: 'You are the lady who changed my life. You are the make up lady.'"

MORE INFO

To read more on this story visit www.maggiescentres.org www.lookgoodfeelbetter.co.uk