While drinking my morning cup of coffee, wondering why my body ached so much – ‘cos it’s Monday – my eyes kept closing – ‘cos it’s Monday – and genuinely worrying about my upcoming tax-return saga – ‘cos it’s Monday – my inbox presented me with The Guardian’s fashion digest. Among it was an old yet fantastic report on beauty fixes that require no surgery, written by Sali Hughes. In my opinion, Sali is a pretty decent beauty writer. She bases her reviews on products that have been tested by herself or by her friends. Through her I have learnt a lot about make up and beauty, but also, life – she’s particularly brilliant at The Pool . Having read this article when it first came out almost 2 years ago, I went to the comment section to check whether any of the regulars had used the products mentioned or had other suggestions.
However, what I found was hate. No other word for it, just pure, undiluted, heavy hate. Hate for Sali, hate for her writing, but mostly hate for the “beauty myth” and anyone who dares buy into it. Apparently, if you are a feminist, or of sound mind, or if you have any self-respect, beauty products are a massive NO-NO. Here are some of my favourite quotes:
“Advice for the obsessively vain on how to spend (or should that be “waste”) vast amounts of money on their vanity. Makes you wonder why we bothered with feminism.”
“This article makes me sad.”
“Is society really that obsessed with wanting to pretend to be young? What’s the point? We’ll all be dead in the blink of an eye.”
Oh and the winner:
“The Guardian readership might be interested in the columnist’s Twitter feed or the comments on her site http://forum.salihughesbeauty.com/forum.php – to see what she and her group think of those who have dared express an opinion here which is less than flattering.
Reply: Why? I am not in the least interested in your bitch fest.”
So, in view of all of this, I’m just going to say the following:
- If you are so bloody confident you ditch beauty creams, facials, make-up, good for you. Now piss off
- If you have a perfect face/hair that requires no make up, no colour, no re-touching, good for you. Now piss off
- If your life is about judging others for not being as “awesome” as you, good for you. Now piss off
You see, I’m a feminist, a strong-minded woman with my own political, philosophical and social views. I have a Master of Arts, I speak 4 languages and, guess what? This morning I put on make-up. I did so in the way tutorials by Sali Hughes taught me. I work from home, I am not going out today and spending my day alone. So why did I dare plaster my face with the ointments the patriarchy wants me to use? Because when I look in the mirror, I choose not see an exhausted version of myself, as guess what? Looking like I’ve just been dragged through the sewers is a style I don’t favour.
Make up and facials, creams and red lipstick have A LOT to do with being a feminist. Women rights today allow us to make our own mind, taking decisions for ourselves and no one else. Oh and also,
4. If you ever think I overdo it with the eyeliner, or the number of face creams I buy, good for you. Now piss off
I’m off to play with the eyeshadow palette I bought myself for my birthday, so I’ll leave you with this:
fashionlimbo 