What We Do for Beauty

At the age of 32, I’ve finally started wearing makeup. Now, for me, this means a bit of clumsily-applied mascara and some much-needed powder in the oily afternoons … but still! It’s been a long time coming, and I blame it all on Sonja.

Sonja writes incredibly engaging posts about beauty and beauty products over at The Coveted, and hers are the only writings that have ever piqued my interest in makeup. A while back, I got into a spirited conversation about eyelashes with this witty, accomplished, and utterly lovely lady. I had tried curling mine, it had gone badly, and I had lamented this fact on Facebook, and soon, Sonja and I were chatting away about eyelash alterations. The discussion quickly turned to how women go to astonishing lengths to look and feel beautiful, and then the lightbulb went off, and I demanded a post-swap.

So, fabulous Sonja is the author of today’s fascinating and informative post about some rather extreme beauty practices, and I’m guest posting over at the Coveted about the link between style and self-love. Please peek at both, and weigh in!

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There are so many things we do for beauty. Personally, I can’t imagine life without an elaborate skin care routine. I get that partly from growing up with a mom who is all about skin care. I also love the ritual – the inherent relaxation that comes with taking the time to slather on luxurious lotions and potions. I’m also very into makeup. I love to paint, so makeup is just an extension of my creativity and an opportunity to “paint” every day.

But there are some things we do for beauty that just aren’t fun or pleasant and can be downright painful. Sal and I have been e-chatting about this subject after her experience using a lash curler. I was so flattered when she asked me to write something about this for Already Pretty.

The Eyes Have It
In light of our conversation, I put together a list of some of the odd and painful things we do for beauty, with a focus on the eyes. From lash curlers and lash perms to lash tinting and eyeliner tattoos, we do so much to play up the windows to our souls.

Eyelash Curlers. These are funny contraptions that I’ve only recently begun using. I’ve got pretty long lashes that have some curl to them so I’d never bothered with them. They kinda freak me out – the whole squeezing something along my eyelids. I actually got pinched once when I was getting my makeup done at a department store. That was unpleasant.

But over the last few months, I’ve learned that many women swear by these and use them every day or even more than once a day. It makes sense. Lashes can be a little goofy. Lashes tend to curl down for Asian women. And one of my friends, who isn’t Asian, says she has “donkey lashes” that stick straight out.

I finally broke down and bought one after seeing what a big difference the shu uemura curler made when I got my makeup done at their boutique here in San Francisco (here’s my post with a video of my makeup lesson and said lash curling). I picked up their swanky, 24K gold limited- edition version at Sephora (may as well have the extra pretty version!). But I have yet to get into the habit of using it. I keep forgetting I own it.

Note to the lash curler curious: all lash curlers are not created equal even if they all look alike. Something about the softness of the steel of the shu uemura curler and so forth make it a stand out so it’s become the gold standard, so to speak.

Lash Perms. Now if you don’t want to bother with everyday lash curling, lash perms are an option. Yes, lash perms. These make me giggle. I didn’t realize anyone did this. In fact, I had just been joking with Sal about the possibility of someone inventing tiny little lash curling irons or teensy little lash curlers for us to wear overnight. And then lo and behold, the next day my low-maintenance friend Christine surprised me and told me she’s been getting her lashes permed for years.

She says it can sting a bit but that it’s nothing unbearable and the stinging doesn’t last long. She says perming makes her life easier and simplifies her routine. She does it every two to three months at $55 a pop.

Lash Tinting. I got my lashes tinted for the first time a few months ago at one of the San Francisco Benefit boutiques. It burns! It burns! I know it’s not because the woman did anything wrong – I’ve read that’s normal with tinting (see this super funny post at the babyassface blog). I didn’t help my cause by continuing to chat with my friend after the nice tinting lady told me to stay mum. Keeping my trap shut would’ve prevented my face from moving around and thus making the dye less likely to get in my eyes. And yet, I kept on yapping and thus you can see my sad little stream of tears in the pic.

I don’t really need my lashes tinted, because they’re pretty dark to begin with. I was taking one for the team, as it were, so I could see what it was like. While I wouldn’t recommend it for women with dark lashes, I highly recommend it for women with fair hair. My friend Erin, who’s blonde, got her lashes tinted when I was having mine done. It made a huge difference on her. It really brought out her beautiful eyes.

Fake Lashes. I have to admit these can look amazing. Why else would all the mascara ads mislead us by putting fake lashes on the models? (Yes, they lie to us!) I rarely ever put on false lashes, though. I find I’m incompetent in this area. I had to get assistance when applying them for my sister’s wedding. I kept putting them on wrong and they would point the wrong direction (we were using individual fake lashes). Plus, I can’t imagine that using glue on your eyes on a regular basis can be good for the delicate skin around the eyes.

But I may actually start wearing them every so often after being inspired by how awesome everyone looked at a shu uemura party I attended, where they showed off their super dramatic, unique new lash collection (you can see pics here). I’m going back to the boutique next month to shoot a lash application lesson and get some tips so I can, hopefully, shore up my skills.

Tattoo You. Now for the big guns … er, needles. My friend who gets her lashes permed also got her eyes tattooed a couple years ago so she doesn’t need to wear liner. This is not for me. I don’t want anyone poking and sticking dye around my eyes. No sir. Christine says this can definitely be painful. She recommends finding someone who applies numbing cream first and uses numbing solution as she goes along. She says it makes a huge difference.

She also says she had to go back for touchups after her first tattooing, because she was too timid and asked for a very natural look, which turned out to not be very noticeable. She also had her eyebrows tattooed to fill in areas where there are gaps and to extend the length at the ends.

Along with being painful, tattoos are costly. Her salon charges $300 for eyebrows, $300 for upper eyeliner, and $250 for the lower eyeliner. She says you can get it done cheaper at tattoo expos but there’s no guarantee anyone will be doing permanent makeup at a show. Christine thinks the cost is crazy but “if it helps us feel beautiful inside and out, it’s worth it.” Plus it makes her beauty routine a lot easier.

The Ultimate Beauty Torture
I’m sure there are plenty of other things I could add to this list, like Botox, plastic surgery, and things I can’t even think of. Surely, a list of what we do for beauty could go on for miles. But I’m going to wrap it up here with what I consider the ultimate beauty torture … the Brazilian. Yes, the wax job that spares no hair down there.

I’ve heard that it’s the most amazing thing, that you feel so different after having it done. But I’ve also heard that it’s seriously painful and you really need to get a recommendation to find someone who’s way pro at this. I find it hard to imagine getting all those hairs ripped out. But I have to admit, I am quite curious. One of these days, I’m gonna have to finally go for it.

Do Tell
So what do you do for beauty? Is it painful? Is it worth it? Do tell.

Lash perming image by Apolinar Fonseca,