Friday, April 07, 2006

Eyebrows or, I Have Failed at Life

I have a few great groups of women friends. I love them dearly. I really do. In all seriousness, my survival depends upon them.

One of them is a group of online friends who coalesced to form a book group several years ago. Needless to say, we have moved far astray from fictional plot and character analysis in our discussions.

A couple of weeks ago we were talking about various beauty regimens. Someone mentioned "getting her brows done" and I innocently asked, "What does that mean?" Wonderful friends that they are, these ladies quickly enlightened me about brow waxing, one of them noting how "low maintenance" I am.

Well, yes. It has now come to my attention, thanks to this morning's discussion of the new TV show The Real Women of the O.C., that there are OTHER bodily areas which one might have waxed. After I finished rolling around on the floor laughing, I went to check out the show's website and then I laughed some more. Decadent Slut City might be its other title. I can't wait to see it.

You have to understand my community. A few weeks ago when I was out with a group of close women friends, one was lamenting the fact that she had been urged by another friend From Away to get her hair colored. "I was amazed," she said. "I looked at her and said, "I'm from C.H. and WE DON'T COLOR OUR HAIR."

Now that's not entirely true. Many of us do, or have. I've given up, but my last haircut was so terrific that it really absolved me of any need to think about highlights, lowlights, or anylights. Thank you, God. Because now, apparently, I need to think about brows.

On the whole, in this town we are a clog-baggy-jeans-t-shirt wearing crowd. The college sweatshirts tend to say Grinnell and Brown and Chicago and Wesleyan, which might tell you something. We have some pretty cool jackets and jewelry (not department store-issue) and sometimes some of us wear makep. Some of us even get manicures and pedicures. That would not be an activity that I could tolerate, given my general ADD where no reading is possible, but I do paint my toenails in summer. I'm partial to dramatic reds and sparkly stuff. (In other words, it's fun. Not something I could take seriously.) I even bought a lipstick a few weeks ago and it looked pretty damned good. But I have no idea where I put it.

Thanks to my dear friends, however, I have started looking at eyebrows. I can't believe that with all the things I have to do and think about, eyebrows have found their way into my consciousness. But hey. Life can be very very silly sometimes, which is a good thing.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love it! I am so glad we have moved away from "The OC". I am now in my own element of clog wearing, baggy (well not so baggy for me these days) jeans and sweatshirts. I've gotten my brows done 2 times in my lifetime and both times it was extremely painful and gave me a rash. Not fun.
Marian

Anonymous said...

I'm still baffled by eyebrow waxing. Do they remove the whole brow and then paint one on? Do they somehow remove a small part you don't like?

I live in a inner-ring burb like yours and it fits my low maintenance style. The wonderful man who cuts my hair is under strict orders not to do anything that requires more than a wash and one pass with a comb.

Anonymous said...

I own a lipstick. It is to keep my lips from chapping in winter. Guess what? My lips are chapped.


My uniform is a Land's End Cotton crew sweater and jeans in winter for outside the home, Sweatshirt, nice kind with Winnie the Pooh or someone embroidered on it , for home. My college sweats are long gone.

Summer is shorts and a cotton t-shirt.

Eyebrows are okay, smile wrinkles and others are untouched by Botox.

This afternoom, my naked face was going to go to an antiquarian book fair where my fave kidlit purveyors, Cattermole were showing. Hail, fog, tired, not going,

Nap time.
Eve

Lisa :-] said...

Methinks Stacey and Clinton would have a field day in C.H.

And you probably don't have the slightest idea who I'm talking about... :-]

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this entry! It is amazing how different the expectations are in different areas, even in different neighborhoods. The eyebrow thing depends on your brows a lot too though. My 21 year old daughter, who will not wear so much as chapstick, gets her brows done. She has inherited many of her Italian father's physical traits so really does need the eyebrow thing and looks so much better when she keeps up with it.

Bedazzzled1 said...

Uh, no way is hot wax going to be applied to my eyebrows. Don't need it anyway, since mine are thin (too thin, but you can't grow hair where it doesn't want to grow). As for the waxing of OTHER bodily areas, NO FREAKING WAY. The naughty part gets shaved. Ahhhh, that in itself is an erotic experience compared to hot wax being put there and torn off...and possibly removing all signs of my gender. ::giggle::

Anonymous said...

Been coloring my hair since at 43 a nurse asked my 9 year old son if I was his grandma. I will probably get a pedicure when it hits 90 in a few days and it's officially sandal season, but it makes me feel uncomfortable to have someone slaving over my feet, so bourgeois. (I can NEVER go up to the altar for the foot-washing.) But since bending over to do my own toes is even more uncomfortable and it does last a long time, I tip her generously and enjoy the result. I never did this until I turned 50 and figure I have worked hard enough to splurge. Brow waxing is another story--no qualms at all! My high level of tolerance for pain everywhere else does not extend to my brows and plucking requires a lot more frequent pain than waxing. I love the pampering and invariably, if I've let them get thick, someone comments after the waxing--they don't know what it is, but I look younger, or my eyes are pretty, or something. I think you should try it--ask for thinner, not just cleaning them up. For 10 bucks, this could be the start of your life changes. They'll grow back if it's too high maintenance for you! *debbi*
P.S. So dd is going back to Oregon? You said she misses it. Cool!

Paula J. Lambert said...

I "did" my eyebrows (myself) for the first time just a couple of months ago, at age 41. Never dreamed I would and can't explain why I did. Just felt like trying it, all of a sudden. I hate the wax--messy, and not much more comfortable--and have figured out how to pluck so it doesn't hurt, much. Nothing dramatic, and not one person has commented or noticing anything different. Just for me, cause right now I kind of like it. I definitely consider myself a "low maintenance" person in these areas. No color in my hair, never more than ten bucks for a cut, very little make up and most days none at all. Pink toenails once in a blue moon just because it's fun. Had the apt manager in to fix my water heater the other day--it's in my bedroom closet. He noticed my shoe rack and said, "Boy, you like clogs, don't you?" It's all I own. I'm a sensible-shoes kind of gal. Couldn't wear heels if someone had me at gunpoint.

I enjoyed this entry, and all your comments, so much!

Theresa Williams said...

This is really, really a wonderful entry. I've never colored my hair or done my brows. Anyway, I'm too busy tweezing the chin hairs to be bothered with the brows!

Cynthia said...

I nearly moaned in jealousy. Here, women put on makeup to go to the grocery store, and if you don't, well, you're just not the right sort. I know I'm not the right sort, but I never got over being able to pass. Even at exercise classes, women will wear waterproof mascara and lipstick.

Virginia said...

I think a woman is at her most beautiful in her natural state. For me, anything more amounts to things that just cover up natural beauty.
I am going gray and easily accept that is simply who I am and the point I am at in life. I don't put energy into trying to be anyone other than myself. That is perhaps not a popular way of being, but it is my simple way.

Peace, Virginia

DesLily said...

When i was young I plucked my eyebrows to shape them.. now I'm old and the hair in the brows is thin enough to ignore them... now I get to pluck my newly acquired moustashe!!

emmapeelDallas said...

I've never had to do anything to my eyebrows, but I freely admit that I color my hair and I put on mascara and lipstick every morning, and I have to admit...if I had to choose between mascara and panties, mascara would win out every time...but I think that's come from years of living in the South.

Judi