Why Makeup Artist Tim Quinn Does His Mother's Makeup Every Day
After a series of tragic familial events, makeup artist Tim Quinn, who works with Giorgio Armani Beauty, moved in with his mother full time — both to help take care of her and also, as it quickly turned out, to do her makeup. After noticing how therapeutic a little bit of "glam" could be in bringing her personality back to life, it became a daily ritual. One that, lucky for all of us, Quinn also documents on Instagram (because, as he says, "she loves an audience"). Here, in celebration of Mother's Day, Quinn tells Allure, in his own words, how their incredibly special bond has evolved during the past few months of following stay-at-home orders.
It started as a temporary situation about two years ago — maybe a little over two years ago — after my dad moved into an assisted living facility in Boca Raton, Florida. It was more of a physical situation, not mental, but we didn't know if it was going to become long term. At the time, my mom was living at home alone, and she never really fully recovered from the loss of my little brother; it's been almost five years since he passed away. I saw that my mom was starting to slip mentally, then, I don't recall exactly what medical issue happened, but she ended up going to the hospital and was there for a while. They eventually put her into rehabilitation to recover — it was really for depression, I think.
She started showing signs of the beginning stages of dementia — which, by the way, has never been officially diagnosed because the only times that she's completely with it is either when she's with me or a male doctor, of course — so they would just medicate her. I would go over to the facility and all of a sudden, this very vibrant woman was just sitting in a hallway, not at all herself.
So, when I would visit, I started doing her makeup. I found that when she was in the rehab center, and I would go and visit and get her back to her normal "look" with a little hair and makeup, she was much more engaged — and people also treated her differently. It brought her personality back to life. I think maybe she had been there for a month or so when I realized that she needed, and was ready, to come home.
So, my sister and I took her out of the rehabilitation facility. My sister, who lives in Connecticut, and I ended up taking turns coming to visit until I eventually moved in with her full time. I had to take her everywhere with me because she can't drive. So, one day I said, "Let's just do your makeup and go on a drive," and that's when she started to really get into it. It just escalated from there to a whole new level.
Tim and Glams
We would do her makeup and then I'd take her out for a drive so we could go visit my dad because he likes to see her all dolled up. My sister, who is not a professional makeup artist, would come down to visit while I was traveling, and she would make an attempt at doing mom's glam. But my dad is so funny, he would have a noticeable reaction at the difference in my mother's makeup when I came back into town. It gave him such a sense of pride, seeing her like that. It was really cute watching them — they've been married for a very long time, since 1961.
Tim's parents on their wedding day in 1961.
Now, I do her glam literally every day — especially since quarantine, and we've been having so much fun. We have a daily routine; it almost reminds me of being a kid, only reversed. In the morning, I normally check on her around 7:30, take her to the bathroom, and then put her back to bed. Then, I take a walk; I have Nest cameras throughout the house, so I can check on her while I'm out, but she usually sleeps for another hour-and-a-half before waking back up again.
Then I'll come back, get her showered and dressed, then we do her makeup and sometimes her hair. I don't do her hair every day, sometimes we just slick it back (it's much easier to maintain). Then we'll come downstairs — luckily the house has an elevator because she uses a walker — and make our coffee (she likes espresso with cream). We'll turn on the Today Show, which she loves, though I have been monitoring it lately — if it's too much news, it can be upsetting, so then I switch it over to the Hallmark Channel. I swear, it's always the same movie plot with the same characters and just a different title, but it's always happy and she likes it.
When she sees herself getting all made up, her personality comes back.
For breakfast, she likes her gluten-free waffles with berries, or sometimes eggs, depending on the morning. Then I'll usually be on work calls during the day, which is fine because she likes to watch her shows. We'll reconvene for lunch and then she'll watch more of her shows. The one show that she absolutely will not miss, even if the world is ending, is Ellen. She knows, every afternoon, when it's time for [The Ellen DeGeneres Show]. It's so funny, she's not really as happy now that Ellen's broadcasting from home — she's got such an opinion about it! I guess the producer is outside, behind the window most of the time, and mom will scream at the TV, "Get the Hell out of there!"
When Ellen ends, she knows it's quickly approaching cocktail hour — what we call Aperol Spritz time, because that's her favorite drink. That's usually when she comes out here by my desk, and we'll do a live Instagram, touching up her glam. It's become a whole thing; she has to have her lips, her face, and her hair done.
Though we're still not 100 percent medically sure, I know in my gut that she is showing signs of dementia. She's not on medication, but I am also 100 percent convinced that when she sees herself getting all made up, her personality comes back. When she has an audience, especially if I mention that people are watching the Instagram live, her face will light up. A friend of mine came up with the Instagram account name — @Glamsincharge — and the name "Glams" just stuck.
Then, we'll go see my dad and wave through the window. The assisted living facility he lives in has been fully locked down since March, nobody in or out, so it's become our daily ritual, driving by and waving at him when she is all glammed up. When we get back home, we'll watch a show together. I usually like to go to bed early — when I'm on the road, I'm in bed by 10 — but the other night, we stayed up until midnight watching Netflix. She'll ask, "Can we watch one more episode?," and I can't say no.
Glams visiting dad
For Mother's Day, I bought her a big pearl-clasp necklace, because she loves pearls. So many people have reached out to me and asked where she gets all of her fabulous clothes — I get them all on the RealReal. I just find the most amazing things. For Easter, I got her to put on a big fabulous hat, and she loved it.
We were close growing up, but it's incredible how a mom's love never changes. For me, even though she's not always with me mentally, at the end of the day, we are physically together. The love is unconditional, and I feel like during this time together, I've rediscovered that. It's something that I truly treasure.
I never dreamed that living in Boca Raton, Florida, full time was going to be my life. I went from traveling literally non-stop for the past few years to a grinding halt. But I consider it such a gift to have had this time with her because we're all always so busy, and I don't know that I would've had this much time with her otherwise.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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Originally Appeared on Allure
