Bringing joy through beauty…

Serve the City brought joy to the women of Foyer Paula Bove recently, through beauty treats, makeovers and kids’ activities.

Experienced beauticians made the ladies look and feel amazing, and then our lovely Almyra took professional photos for them to keep.

We had a wonderful day, pampering the ladies, making garlands and playing with the children. Thank you to all the volunteers who came along, 11 in total, looking after 12 women and 15 children!

We hope to host another beauty event in the near future and if there are any other beauty professionals out there who would like to contribute their time, please get in touch.

Two volunteers have written a short review of the day, so please read on to see how much joy our beauty events bring to everyone involved:

“Blush. Foundation. Mascara. Nail polish. Everything is disposed on the table with mirrors, colourful make up and lip-glosses. We’re waiting for the women at the Paula Bové shelter for a Beauty Day that they’re looking for impatiently, since our last visit. Volunteers from Serve the City are no aestheticians, they’re no experts, they’re just doing the best they can to put smiles on other people’s faces. One team deals with manicure and nail polish, another juggles with makeup and tries to meet the needs and wishes of the participants, and the third one plays and takes care of the children. After a little time of adaptation, everyone feels comfortable at their place and the women glow under our compliments, our patience and our care. Drinks, cakes and snacks are welcomed with enthusiasm and our volunteering project changes into an animated social event, where women talk, laugh and share their beauty tips. French, English, Luxembourgish, Spanish and Portuguese, all these languages are shared amongst us and the women’s self-esteem, through the make up or through our act of charity, flares up. After their makeover, they joyfully agree to take part in a very unique photo shooting where they can take up the role of a glamorous model! Their happiness is our reward, even if all the volunteers get a beautiful rose at the end of the day, to remind us, that a simple thing as beauty, can make a difference.” – Kim Waldbillig

“Alongside the skilled team working with the ladies at the Foyer beauty event, a group of four  volunteers were assigned to play with the children. They moved around a lot, and they varied from babes in arms to pre-teens. We had been kindly donated some lovely craft materials with which to make Autumn garlands, pretty cards for the mums and generally have fun with glue and glitter! The children enjoyed having finished items to give to their mums, who came into the creche looking very beautiful after their make overs, to have their photos taken with their children. With garlands aplenty and a fine autumn day outside, the children had fun playing outside after their hard work and a veritable feast. When we all came together at the end we as volunteers were very touched to each be presented with a beautiful rose by the staff, who has made us all so welcome and supported the children and adults throughout the afternoon.” – Isobel Weller