Hair & Make-Up

I do usually wear make-up. I think it polishes me up. Some days I go all out (foundation, eyeliner, eye shadow, bronzer, blush), other days I just put on a few heavy coats (yep, like five or six) of mascara, top lashes only, because I think it makes my eyes stand out. On an in-between day, I'll do a little eyeliner (inner, upper lid) and mascara and a light dusting of bronzer.  Why? I think it looks nice. But I'm also a sensitive contact lenses wearer, I'm also an eye-rubber, sometimes I work out mid-day, so I don't find it practical to wear a full face of make-up.

Around November of last year, when things slowed down at work and I had time to breath I started making a concerted effort to really get dressed up and do makeup (eye-liner, shadow, bronzer and mascara every day) and I thought about a month ago that maybe I should take a break from the make-up routine because I was starting to prefer the way I looked with it on. So I took a break. I like the way I look, my skin is nice and I have nice features, I don't want to forget that I love the way I look sans make-up. I know this sounds ABSURDLY cheesy, but it's true.

Do you remember when you were little waiting to leave the house to go some place fun (like McDonalds, or the library, or a party!) and you had to wait for your mom to put on her make-up? My mom wore (still does) wear a lot of make-up and though I'm sure I'm exaggerating a bit, I remember waiting on her foreeeeeevvvvver to put make-up on so we could leave the house. I used to tell her, to hurry up she didn't need any of it anyway.  I understand know why she felt she did, but maybe this memory is what makes me what to feel less dependent on make-up.

My hair. I have never dyed it, I've never permed it or treated it chemically in anyway. It's thick and hasn't started to go gray (or if it has, it sure blends nicely). It's is rather voluminous and humidity can cause it to do things I'd rather it didn't, but I know I'm very lucky to have the head of hair I do. For years I've been telling stylists that I don't and won't spend more than 10 minutes on my hair, please give me a cut that can dry naturally or require only 5 or so minutes with a blow-dryer and round brush in the front. Those are my limits. The result is that while I may not be perfectly coiffed every day, I am at least tidy.  I wear it pulled back a lot because 1) that's what I've always done (all that hair around your neck gets in my way and makes me hot -- temperature hot, just to be clear) and 2) I am very under the perception that curly hair is not professional.

I know, I said it. I don't think curly hair is professional. I am a curly-haired individual and I don't think my curly hair is professional.

Anytime I've had a job interview I've straightened my hair. On days when I have meetings or something equivalent at work, I'll straighten the front and pull the rest back so you can't see it's curly. I remember seeing a very prominent Senator's curly-haired Chief of Staff interviewed on CNN once during a huge newsworthy event in US history, and all I could think was, does she really think that hair is professional? She looks like an unpaid intern. The other funny thing is I don't lack for curly-haired role models at my current company! I am surrounded by women in "upper management" who wear curly hair to the office, but I just can wrap (curl?) my mind around it!

As for hair cuts, I noticed while reading through the comments on Healthy Tipping point that a lot of folks don't consider haircuts a necessity. And I don't think they mean style, like they're going to get their "Rachel" every month, but that even trims are not important. I disagree. I have long been a 1-2 haircuts a year person mostly because I was in college and I was cheap and then mostly because I was cheap. It doesn't help that I feel I struggle to find someone who will cut my hair properly (it's a tough world out there for curly-haired women!). But I think it's akin to trimming your nails. You get your hair cut because it's part of being tidy and taking care of yourself. 

It's not secret that I'm a fan of a nice style and blow-out. And I'll be truthful, I do make it a priority to get the money together to get a nice cut at a nice salon by a skilled stylist. But I want to believe that if that wasn't possible. I'd at least go to Hair Cuttery and get a maintenance trim every 8-10 weeks or so.
  
If you've been reading Molly and Caitlin's update posts you'll remember they talked a lot about intention. What's the intention behind the action?

Thinking about my intentions in the above mentioned actions has been sort of like repeating a word over and over again until it no longer makes sense and/or starts to look funny. I can vaguely pinpoint a few things, like I'd rather sleep till the last second than spend a lot of time getting ready for work, or my memories of my mom putting on make-up, and how they may have consciously or subconsciously influenced what I do. But I honestly can't tell you why it matters to me that I mascara makes my eyes stand out. I like it. But why? It looks nice? Why does it look nice...It's like having a conversation with your two-year-old self asking Why? Why? Why? Actually when I was little I used to say "why come?"

Also, as I re-read and edit this post before hitting publish, I find myself looking for my biases (hello AP US History from 1999....). Especially the curly-haired thing, where did that come from?  Even my word choice I think reveals something about how I think: I compared the Senator's Chief of Staff to "an unpaid intern."  In case you don't know, I don't like unpaid interns very much.*  My choice of adjectives like practical,tidy, clean and even the fact that my IMMEDIATE reaction is discuss all of these in terms of work life FIRST is, I think, revealing. The very fact that Molly and Caitlin are calling it the NAKED Face Project instead of perhaps the Natural Face or something is revealing because Naked implies vulnerability and powerlessness. Not a criticism, just a deep thought, if you will, on the whole process.

What's your regular routine, what are you limits? Have you been prompted to thought about why you do what you do or maybe things in your life that have changed your routine or thoughts over time?




* I lived with one once, it was a terrible experience. My apologies to any unpaid interns (current or former) who are reading this.