Makeup Artist Uses Beauty as a Weapon Against Cancer

How good do you look right now?

If you're dealing with cancer, Morganville makeup artist Ceylone Boothe Grooms will tell you, the answer could determine how this journey ends. 

"A little lipstick, it uplifts your spirits and puts you in a positive mood," she said.

And if there is one trait Grooms has seen in every survivor, it's positivity.

"There's nothing like Mac's red lipstick to change your perspective of yourself."

When a client comes to Grooms she's often lost the characteristics of outward beauty that once made her feel strong and feminine. Gone are her eyelashes and the natural glow in her complexion. She may have lost one or both breasts in her battle and now deals with a feeling of being less of a woman.

To that woman, Grooms says, "Let's focus on what you have and not what you feel you've lost," as she goes about pointing out her clients uniquely beautiful facial features. Then she gives some lessons along the way, like how to apply false lashes. She lends her own natural confidence as she brushes on bronzer and applies lip color, and as she does, Grooms can see the woman's eyes brighten.

By the time her clients (those fighting cancer and those just going about life) leave her chair, Grooms says, they all say they feel the same thing,"There's nothing I couldn't do."

Grooms, who makes her living helping women look their best, doesn't charge for clients battling cancer, partly as an act of service and honor to her own sister, whom she lost to cervical cancer. She's also a spokesperson for Kick Cancer Overboard, the local charity whose mission is to give a free cruise to everyone affected by cancer.

"My reward is you feeling good," she said, "and this will help save your life."