Madame Nicole aka Nicole Dextras gave free makeovers to shoppers as part of the StoreFront, objects of desire project at the Lansdowne Centre. Madame N was dressed in a white lad coat to emaulate the clean fresh authority of science of cosmetics and to mimic the free makeovers offered in shopping areas, which serve as a guise for selling products. Instead of makeup i applied flowers and leaves to embrace beauty plus the service was free with no strings attached. The intervention was staged in the middle of the atrium beside a white vanity with an ornate frame with no mirror. The participants ranged in age and cultural background, from shoppers to cleaning staff and it enabled intimate conversations and broke the new modern taboo of touching.  This work is based on the concept that adorning the body is a healthy and natural thing to do. Working with plant material allowed me to pay tribute to the many cultures past and present that practice the art of body adornment with botanicals. I hope continue to explore the modern implications of beauty and adornment in future works.

Silvia and Luane get the last makeover of the day and pose in front of the vanity