All hail the red nail
Red fingernails - as good as red shoes?
A while ago, Betty Sue pointed out the swinging step that red shoes give a girl – a feistier, pluckier, cheery edge that they lend you for the day. Which is so true. But just this week I have discovered that ridiculously red nails are also fun. I bought cheap as shit sheer red polish from a late night nail polish and jangly bangles shop on George St on Saturday night on my way to a party to cover up the woeful state of chipped metallic purple left over from the weekend before. Anyway, just today I removed all layers of cruddy polish and started again (huh I bet you didn’t think you’d be getting a nail polish removal chronology here) with a nice single coat of my sheer red. It is the bees knees! It is a funny thing because despite all the ‘red=sex’ hype, it is by no means a sleezy, insinuating, sly and alluring kind of experience this red nail polish – on the contrary it is all sheer and shiny and hence like wearing red cordial, it makes you slightly hyperactive, jubilant, bouncy. Now I know this sounds positively deranged, but I reckon typing is actually more fun with coloured nails – it’s like 10 little pet beetles are scuttling around at the end of your fingertips. Funny little shiny beetles.
I think I am especially appreciating it because I kind of gave up nail polish about a year ago when I decided not to use any petrochemical based cosmetics. How has that gone? Well, various levels of success. I only buy non-petrochemical skin cleanser, toner and moisturizer these days (lets face it, I don’t actually use these things, but I try to have some in the cupboard for spot checks from the wrinkle avoidance guilt police, or for visitors who are feeling especially dry and scaly as they adjust to the uncannily dry mountain weather). Actually I find water best for face washing, and if I’m every very dry in the face I use sesame or almond oil at night and make a mental note to drink more water and eat more nuts (mmm moist on the inside). Lippy I still wear but haven’t bought any new. Lip balms made from beeswax and vegetable oils abound, so that it cool. Anyway, I sometimes get supermarket shampoos and bubblebath, which are all synthetic, and am stuck on regular toothpaste and deoderant (I will just have to get parkinsons and aluminium poisoning along with everyone else) so it’s a fairly erratic policy. Like most of my personal policies! Anyway – nail polish was definitely on the banned list, because I decided that all that crap that smells toxic and just ends up swiped off with other smelly crap and going into landfill, or worse coming off and going down the drain just wasn’t worth it. Ditto hair dye, which I seem to have happily given up and have no interest in taking up again, 2 years and abundant emerging white streaks later.
This sounds like a recovering addict huh? A recovering hair dye addict. Well I think that similarity is not coincidental. I have a friend who refers to it as being ‘in recovery from consumer capitalism’. I like to think I’m in recovery from the incessant marketing of the ‘make women feel like crap’ industry. Oh sorry beauty, beauty industry. So I love not using hair dye, or wearing foundation, love not using wrinkle cream, and feeling no the worse for it.
So what happened on Saturday night to my care about persistant organic pollutants and supposed beauty products that make waterways ugly? Well, that concern disappeared and all I wanted was something colourful and shiny. And I’m loving it, especially today when I was tired and teary and I felt like my life was a mess, at least my fingernails were funky and spritely. Colour therapy. And to be honest I still like make up which is about dress ups – liquid eyeliner on the odd occasion that you want to be a saucy librarian or 50’s diva, lippy to match a top, smoky brown kohl when you’re feeling all gypsy.
3 Comments:
Has anyone mentioned that that lack of sleep, might make one slightly delirious? Halluncinatory, perhaps? Little beetles on the keyboard??!!! The sad thing is I kow exactly what you mean.. I quite like a bluey/purple for that effect.
I also love that I only wear make-up one day a week at the most and my real only "must do" is my green hair roots. Yes - green. Because when you dye your hair red then the roots are green in comparison when they come through.
Unfortunately the skin has required a fair bit of gop smeared on it of late, due to the very painful acne caused by medication. Yech!
I like that I can use make-up and hair product as an "extra" type of thing for going out rather than an every day thing. For some reason I treat body hair the same way - I'll only shave my legs when I'm in that certain mood to have smooth legs on clean bed sheets. I feel sad for all the women I work with (my standard for the usual white, straight, middle class gal) who do that shit to themselves every freakin day and think that if they don't then something is wrong with them. I have actually been confronted by a colleague in the change rooms for not shaving my arm pits and told that I'm not feminine!All this despite the fact that she hadn't noticed for over 2 years of getting changed together and me wearing singlets that I have hairy pits. Kooky!
What was I crapping on about? I think all that stuff is great if it is for fun rather than some sort of compulsion. Love the beetle analogy!
I'm with Mermaidgrrrl there - only wear makeup and remove body hair for special occasions. Get some lengthier than usual stares at my legs sometimes, but oh well, I'm taken anyway and not interested in attracting anyone else! Have gone sans hair dye since 2001 I think. Grey streals are the new black/red/blonde, I say.
Post a Comment
<< Home