http://news.bostonherald.com/politics/view.bg?articleid=1011981Mitt’s makeup wakeup call: Romney pays $300 for predebate primp-fest
By Casey Ross and Lauren Beckham Falcone
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
After chiding Democrat John Edwards for his $400 haircuts, former Gov. Mitt Romney dropped $300 at a California beauty salon to ensure his face was properly powdered during a televised presidential debate.
Romney, always perfectly coiffed on the campaign trail, spent the cash at the Hidden Beauty salon in West Hills, Calif., which employs a “mobile beauty team” to provide on-the-go hair and makeup services for men, according to its Web site.
“For $300, I hope he got a manicure and pedicure, too,” Democratic political consultant Michael Goldman said. “If Mitt needs to spend $300 to look halfway decent, I can only imagine what Rudy Giuliani is paying.”
Romney campaign officials said the former governor only used Hidden Beauty for one $150 session, but had to pay $300 for a pre-booked second appointment that was never used.
“It’s pretty much standard in the business, especially before a nationally televised political debate,” spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said of the makeup job. He added cosmetics have been a campaign trail necessity “ever since Richard Nixon’s 5 o’clock-shadow incident.”
During a televised debate in 1960, Nixon did not wear makeup and looked pasty and grim next to the carefully groomed John F. Kennedy.
The woman behind Romney’s concealer admitted primping the politician was a simple job.
“I’ll tell you this,” said Stacy Andrews, “he is adorable. He is so handsome, I just thought, what am I supposed to do with him? He was just as sweet as pie and so cute. I just put a drop of foundation on the end of his nose and used some pressed powder. He’s nice and tan and doesn’t need anything. Less is more.”
Boston-based Elizabeth Moon, a makeup artist for more than 18 years, said Romney’s blush and brush session was well worth it - and a deal as well.
“He got a bargain,” she said. “If he were to call me? It could be as much as $350 an hour depending on travel, how long, if I had to cancel other appointments.”
The cost of the makeup job was disclosed in second-quarter financial filings released this week. Romney spent $21 million to maintain his campaign juggernaut, much of it going for high-cost advertising in early primary states.
