I saw a show a few weeks ago, where a gorgeous beautician from L.A. switched places for a week with a punk beautician from Vegas. The gorgeous beautician worked in a posh salon, where she had an assistant and lots of glamourous celebrities go to get beautified. The beautician in Vegas worked at a salon called "Curl Up & Dye," which was gross gross gross gross gross. Everyone had ugly tattoos and piercings on their bodies, and nasty hair, which looked like they poured a mixture of Wesson oil and Kool-Aid over. They were also dressed in shredded/dirty clothes and everyone smoked, even inside the salon. It was just dirty and slummy. The point of the show was to test what the beauticians knew, outside their respective elements.
Both of the beauticians had a really hard time; the punk one had a hard time making clients look pretty, and didn't even know what chemicals she was putting on the client's hair. She didn't take help from her assistant, and she had a super bad attitude -- which didn't help her look pretty, with piercings in her lip and cheek, and mismatched makeup on her washed-out skin and some orangey-red greasy hairdo. The glamourous beautician was really out of place making liberty spikes with some woman's pink hair (which she had to shave on the sides first, to make the mohawk). This woman was a tattoo artist, who had given tattoos to every employee at the Curl Up & Dye salon. The ambiance of this salon was really dark and dirty, and I could feel the cigarette smoke at the back of my throat, and it was making me sick.
Both girls were severely out of place, but I was amazed at how beautiful the glamourous beautician was. She probably wasn't anything out of the ordinary. She was a blonde girl with awesome skin, who obvously cared a lot about her body -- and it showed. Her teeth were white, her hair was perfect, and her clothes were clean and light-colored. I kept thinking, "Why doesn't everyone want to look like her? She may be an airhead, but she's a kind of person who makes you smile because she looks so clean." Maybe she looked too clean? I don't know. But it got me thinking, about beauty.
As I walked toward the glass door at my work, I saw my face in the reflection, and I thought how beautiful I really am. I wear makeup, but it's not overpowering; sometimes it looks like I'm not wearing it at all. I don't have any enhancements. I rarely even wear earrings, since my ears aren't even pierced and clip-on ones can sometimes pinch a little too hard. I'm not thin, so my body isn't anything to gawk at, either. But I'm beautiful -- not any more beautiful than anyone else, and not glamourously beautiful, either. No one is going to take photos of me and try to sell fragrances or magazines or fruit snacks with my picture. I'll never make a work-out video like some models do.
I started looking at other people, and noticing how beautiful they are, too. I started being happy when I saw some people smile or walk or think -- people are just beautiful! I notice that some people put lots of piercings in their bodies -- guaged holes in their ears or big rings in their noses -- and those things are so distracting. Those people are beautiful, but you have to use your imagination to see how they might look WITHOUT those things! This is hardly a revelation, I know. But I was just thinking about that.
At about the same time I was noticing that people are beautiful, I was approached by one of the hostesses at my work, who is bubbly and sweet. She pulled me aside to tell me that she noticed my "light," and that she had a hard time finding people with that "light" where she works. Having her tell me that was comforting, because I had also been in a cranky mood about then, trying to find another job to keep me afloat, so knowing that someone saw my "light" under that dark cloud really made me feel better.
When I worked at Safeway one summer, there was a cranky lady who I thought was ugly. There was also a sweet lady who I thought was most lovely. One day I looked at the cranky one and thought, "Wow, she's actually pretty. She just needs to wipe off that thick eyeliner and smile a little!" I then looked at the beautiful lady and it shocked me to notice how homely she actually was -- she just tricked me into thinking she was beautiful because she was so pleasant to be around!
Interesting.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Human beings ARE beautiful, and are intended to be so. I have always been fascinated by the phenomenon that is beauty. In high school I remember thinking it strange that all the "hot" guys went out with such ugly girls, while all my beautiful friends went boyfriend-less. I could never grasp it until I finally decided my perception of beauty must be different than a teenage boy's. And it was, boy howdy! The girls who, to me, seemed model-esque gorgeous, were not ones to be caught with their bosoms falling over themselves, trying to escape the confines of too-tight blouses. Nor were they the type who troweled on layers of goop, like frosting, to imply sophistication. My taste leans more toward simple, clean, and bright. I sympathize with your musings. I often lament the hidden beauty of so many people who seem to drown in over-sized, dark, dirty, dingy clothing. Those who mask their loveliness with distracting hair and appendages. I drive past the high school twice a day, so I feel constantly disturbed by the fact that a rising generation seems intent on defacing themselves and destroying the natural beauty God gave them.
p.s. I laughed out loud at your fruit snacks quip.
So true. I enjoyed this post!
Thanks for this, Bethani! It's funny how when you're a little girl, and you hear stories about how the girl in the fairy tale is the prettiest in all the land, and that fact somehow makes her the best and the most desirable. Barbie is the prettiest because she's skinny and has blonde hair and blue eyes and long legs and tiny feet and a ridiculous figure. It's not because she's good or kind or any other virtue. In fact, most of her clothes reflect a lack of virtue! Vanity, that's all.
All my life, I have worried that somehow I'm not pretty enough; and therefore, I'm not good enough. And then I realized that the pretty girls who grow up to be pretty wives don't necessarily have the best marriages or beautiful lives. They may have beautiful children, and handsome husbands, but that doesn't qualify them for happiness. Many times, they are ugly inside.
Without making this about me, I have tried to accept the fact that I may not be the model of beauty. Who cares?! Why does there have to be a model of beauty by which we are all judged? You're right, Bethani. We are all beautiful, and that light that your co-worker recognized in you is the beauty that really matters.
And don't you think I could model for fruit snacks?
They have Disney Princess fruit snacks. Why not Orton Princess fruit snacks? Really.
At the Orton party on Saturday, I think we need to take lots of pictures in preparation for this new item that is sure to be a hit!
Oh, I'm a model. A toy truck model. I made the toy truck so glamorous that nobody even recognizes the toy truck, just my goofy expression!
Beauty is such a simple concept. You're so right that the world covers it up so that you have to use your imagination to find it in so many people. It's interesting to see different people's idea of beauty, when it's right there in front of us!
Yes, take lots of pictures at the cousin party. I would love to see them!
I have to apologize for spelling your name wrong on my sidebar. Maybe it doesn't matter to you, but that kind of thing bugs me. Several blogs I know have MY name spelled wrong, and it just kind of itches when I think about it. Consider your itch (Bethany) scratched (Bethani).
Thanks, Andrea! It doesn't bother me when people spell my name wrong. I mean, my name IS spelled wrong! Heck, I've even signed my name wrong on the bottom of notes (and one time the note was to a guy friend at church, and it was my last piece of paper, so I couldn't just rewrite it, so he got the misspelled signature and he didn't get over that for a long time). I got over people spelling my name wrong a long time ago.
When I worked at Safeway (in high school), my boss would always spell it "Bethany." It bothered me then, because it was on my name tag. When my name is printed on me, I like it to be spelled correctly. So I decided to change the spelling to "Bethyne." If he wanted a Y in it, it wouldn't be at the end. And he could remember to spell it THAT way!! Good grief. After that, though, I kindof just decided it's a battle I can't win.
I'm awful flattered and pleased, however, when people DO make the effort to spell my name correctly. It makes me feel like they care. So thank you, Andrea, for caring! ;)
Post a Comment