attempting to be European

A few weeks ago I came across an article about a writer who decided to take the plunge and "try on" the woman European beauty habits. This meant not keeping up with hair coloring appointments (it's more chic to have an inch or two of regrowth), also to not wash your hair more than once or twice a week. They use something known as dry shampoo which helps lift the oils that weigh the hair down and make it look greasy. (baby powder actually just does the same thing and smells better) The most famous one is not shaving any body hair at all. Less is more is the idea for make up. Usually eyeliner, mascara and some lip gloss is sufficient. And slightly altering the wardrobe to make it more classy and timeless. This writer was challenged to do this for a week. She decided to go all the way and adopt these "rituals" for a month. After living the alter ego she did keep some of the beauty habits and discarded others. Yes, she decided to keep shaving. But her prep time in the mornings went down considerably and she felt more natural and put together than before. I found this concept intriguing and had been thinking about trying it out. Then I had a look in the mirror at my roots and saw the regrowth starting to appear and decided that this was the perfect time to start. The dry shampoo thing wasn't difficult, and the less make up. Even trying to dress more simply wasn't hard since that's right up my alley. But the one thing I couldn't quite give into was the shaving. I'm to active and have to many other people around me frequently with dance rehearsals to be to inconsiderate to them to not shave. After a few weeks I didn't like seeing my roots so blatantly obvious and made a hair apt ASAP. I am okay with keeping the dry shampoo concept and the "less is more" make up routine. My morning prep time has cut down almost an hour most days. I could accept my American lifestyle and use that hour to catch up on my beauty sleep!