2007-10-14

Girlie Things!

I was pointing out something that needed to be filled in by a prospective new tenant on the paperwork and she noticed that I had done my nails and commented on them. She said that she never got into doing the girlie things like that. This girl is 21 or so years old - I felt like telling her she had lots of time to get into it.

As for my nails, all I had done was put clear polish and flower stickies on them. That to me is nothing compared to what I have been known to do in the past. I did this because my nails have been breaking a lot lately and I am tired of it.

She said that her mom wasn't that type either so she didn't learn. Huh? Mine wasn't either. She wore makeup, consisting of powder, lipstick and mascara & eyeshadow ONLY when she was going out to a fancy function. She always wore lipstick going out of the house, she was always well dressed and her hair was neat. Or at least that is how I remember it. My sister was more girlie than I was in high school, she wore makeup and did her hair. I kept my hair short and didn't wear makeup. Besides, that is just a further step in grooming, not girlie!

When I moved to Edmonton to go to college is when I started to pay more attention to my grooming. My brother lived down the street from where I lived & he was apprenticing for his hair dressing license at the time. I was usually his guinea pig. I had my hair coloured, cut & permed regularly & I rarely looked the same from one month to the next. He attached long finger nails, plucked my brows, added false lashes. He taught me how to walk in four inch heels (oh, how I miss heels), apply makeup & would make dresses for me. In other words, I was his living Barbie doll. I also learned how to apply nail tips on myself, by myself.

During all of this, he also taught me to be proud of myself and boosted my self image. He gave me the confidence to come out of my shy shell.

Some people will say I turned into a bitch about then, not really, it was always there, I just was too shy to express myself.

Over the years, I have given up the artificial lashes and nails, but I still change my colour and hair styles often. I have fallen into the habit, like mom & sis, of only wearing full face armour when I need to impress. We are blessed with good skin in our family (and hair and nails).

Besides, there is nothing wrong with taking care of your appearance. In fact, a whole lot of people could stand to put more thought into their appearance before they step out of their houses.

So, is it girlie or not?

Good evening.


11 comments:

Hilary said...

About once every couple of years, I manage to grow my nails long. They've been long now since sometime in August and I bought light pink nail polish for the first time in decades. So yeah.. I feel girlie! I've never dyed my hair though.. never lightend nor streaked it. I won't hesitate to when enough grey shows up.. I've been lucky that way so far. Good genes, I guess.

Reb said...

Oh, you are lucky. The grey starts at about 16 yrs old in our family - lol. When I said we had good hair, I should have qualified that with, strong, and curly. All the abuse I put my hair through, it never broke & I seldom have split ends.
My nails are usually kinda long, but they didn't break all that easily. Now that they are feeling my age (and the chemo changed something), I am trying out a new hardener.

Leah J. Utas said...

I've never been particularly girlie. I did wear makeup for a few years. I don't care for it and mascara makes my eyes itch.
I manage to look adequate when I leave the house. I am clean. My clothing is in good repair, and my fingernails are clean.
I tried highlights in my hair a few times. Looked okay, but I hated the way it made my hair feel stiff and artificial.
If you're curious, I found my first grey hair at 24.

Reb said...

Leah, compared to some things I have seen people wear, what you describe as adequate, is so much more. As, you said, you are clean and your clothes are in good repair.
Now, quit bragging about how old you were with the grey's - lol

the Bag Lady said...

Girlie girl...not any more!! The bag lady knows the cows don't care if she's wearing mascara.
No more nail polish, unless for a special occasion. She has polish on her toenails, leftover from July...
Still blonde, after all these years! (and will remain so as long as they keep making this colour!)
Oh, and Mother didn't need much make-up as she was a natural beauty.
Leah, you don't need make-up, either. Great skin doesn't need to be covered. You & Reb both have good skin - brats.

Virginia Lee said...

It's so funny that you wrote about this. About two weeks ago I bought the first nail polish I've had in several years and used it. When I was so anemic my fingernails went to heck and I gave up trying to keep them long enough for polish because they were just shredding and peeling so there was no point. Even though the polish I have now is clear, it's quite the change for me. Both my grandmothers kept their hands very pretty and so did my mama before she retired. Now I want to rebuild my lost collection of polishes. Revlon Red for my paternal grandma and nearly nude pink for my maternal one. For me? Black, of course! :D

Reb said...

Oh, Sis, you have good skin too, don't kid yourself!

Virginia Lee, thank you for visiting. I know all about nails splitting etc from treatments. The stuff I am trying right now is "Nutra Nail - Calcium Nail Thickener" it is a gel formula that is supposed to thicken and reinforce weak nails. You can put any regular polish over it too.

Crabby McSlacker said...

I am so NOT girly and never have been. Makeup is mysterious and scary to me, and I look at the clothes and shoes many women wear and think holy cow! Why would you wear that stuff voluntarily?

I know one is not supposed to stereotype, but I don't think it's entirely a coincidence that I was a tomboy from an early age and eventually ended up with a female partner. Obviously not all gay women prefer Levi's and T-shirts to stilettos and mascara--but some of us sure do. I'd feel as silly in a slinky dress and a ton of makeup as any NHL hockey player would. (Well, I don't know about all of them. Maybe some would be into it!)

So hooray for all you gals who get into the girly stuff. But for me, yikes! No thanks!

Reb said...

Crabby, thanks for dropping by my blog!
I know some gay women just like you, and I know some gay women that like their makeup.
My makeup days are now restricted to interviews (looking for work) and once I have the job, it kind of peters out. It's just too much work and I feel icky.
I can't believe I went through all of that for so long, but, I was thin then, so maybe that had something to do with it too. ;)

Penelope said...

I wear a pink collar with rinestones on it. That's Karen though-- I'm not exactly sure why I wear a collar at all since I don't leave the house.

Karen doesn't wear nail polish. She doesn't like the way it feals on her nails. She's a little nutty that way. She doesn't wear a huge amount of makeup either. However, she won't leave the house without some. . .

-- P

Reb said...

Penelope, I am sure you don't need to be made anymore beautiful than you are. Maybe Karen likes to see you dressed up, or thinks it brings out your beautiful eyes.
I am sure she doesn't need to wear make up, but sometimes it is appropriate.