11 years ago by
If my goal in life were to be perfect, I’d be in deep s%#t.
It’s a huge job to be perfect. Like a full time job. I mean, let’s just take beauty products for example: have you ever counted the number of hours it takes each week to make yourself bottom-line presentable?
The number of hours it takes to moisturize your body, serumize your face, try to make your hair look like something, put your make up on… Then add to that the number of hours you spend waxing, manicuring, putting on masks, getting your hair dyed, going to the derm, getting lasered or whatever other weird thing you do (if you don’t have anything weird, go see a derm in America : They’ll be happy to find something)…
Yeah, I don’t know how much time you spend, but for me, I can definitely say this:
TOO MUCH TIME.
It just takes too long.
And so my lazy brain figured out a way to save some time and get rid of a few of the daily tasks: just forget about stuff.
I forget to do my nails. I forget to tweeze. I forget to put lotion on my body. Or a I put it on just a part of my body and forget the rest. I get my legs waxed and forget the armpits. I’ll forget to do a close inspection in the magnifying mirror (so important to do a close inspection in the magnifying mirror).
Bottom line : I get this feeling that I’m constantly a “Work in Progress”.
Guys, it’s annoying.
Because even if I don’t have the goal in life to be perfect, I do like the feeling of being well groomed.
And we can’t ignore that the more time passes, the more time it takes to look your best. The more times passes, the more you have to go the gym. The more times passes, the more you have to put all your lotions on. The more you have to take a second, a third, and a twelfth glance in the magnifying mirror.
Oint, protect, mask, cleanse, tweeze… You get the point.
The more stuff I have to do, the more my brain rebels and tells me to go out take a walk when I should be in my bathroom or at the spa taking care of something.
Yeah so last time I had an idle little moment (or maybe I was just bored to death getting my feet done at the spa ?)(no because can we all admit together how boring these activities are?), I made a check list of all the stuff I tend to simply forget. You want to take a look?
… I know! And this doesn’t count the stuff that I just do automatically… This is JUST THE STUFF I FORGET.
What do you think? Am I crazy here? Do you succeed in doing everything according to plan? Or does this stuff come naturally to you without a second thought?
Je me prends moins la tête depuis que j’ai des enfants, même si je me sens plus féminine et mieux dans ma peau… Tous ces diktats sont oppressants. Oui à la crème de jour, non au SPF50+ la journée. Le gommage, c’est quand j’y pense, par contre les couleurs je fais attention, comme les ongles… Tu as bien raison d’oublier, un peu de naturel, ça ne fait pas de mal!
Mafalda
http://www.mafaldadotzero.blogspot.fr
society has too high expectations from women ….
http://littleaesthete.com
I’ve been doing this for a while now so I don’t usually forget anything. Society does have high expectation for women, but honestly I love pampering myself.
xo
http://pinksole.com
J’ai la même checklist! La mienne est encore plus ridicule car j’y ai même mis “Laver mon chien” et “toilettage de chien”. C’est un beauty checklist pour moi et mon canin!
Gaby Lang,
http://www.gabylang.com/
Great idea to make a check list! I need to write one like this, I always forget a lot of things, specially the night cream. I’m in love with your illustration!
http://heelsandpeplum.wordpress.com/
WOW! I do maybe less than a third and I still feel pretty! Just RELAAAAAAAAX Garance <3 <3 You are VERY PRETTY
Passé un certain âge il semble raisonnable d’être très vigilante … ce qui m’intrigue et m’alarme c’est de voir les jeunes femmes de vingt ans se tartiner la bouille comme celles de quarante. Arriver avec des trousses de toilettes pleines à rabord de produits inutiles à leur âge. la plupart sont américaines dois-je dire. J’ai l’impression qu’elles s’abîment prématurément la peau. leur capacité de transformation me scotche entre le naturel (la plupart vraiment jolie) et le résultat = elles ont l’air d’abord trente ans et quant aux cheveux elles les lissent à va, alors que les boucles ont tellement plus de caractère et de charme ! Vivre dans le milieu de la mode à NYC est un stress en plus pour toi, tu te compares tout le temps !
Oh c est exactement ça ….
Je me rappelle avec nostalgie du temps ou a 20 ans je partais en WE avec un sac contenant un jean, un débardeur une B a dent un gel douche – shampoo et un mascara …. Rahhhhhh c cro cro dur d être une femme !
Great post and love the illustration – she looks so chic!
http://illustratedlines.blogspot.co.uk/
L’impression d’être toujours en travaux : c’est tout à fait ça, je partage cette impression à 1 000 %.
C’est bizarre à dire, mais c’est une impression anxiogène : le point d’équilibre arrivera t’il enfin, un jour?
0_°
Merci d’avoir partagé ça :-)
Je ne fais presque rien de tout ce dont tu parles sur cette liste:
ma routine de tous les jours c’est: je me douche, je me nettoie le visage le soir (lait + lotion + creme = 5 min), je me mets de la creme protectrice le matin, je me démêle les cheveux, parfois un peu de maquillage..( = 5 min aussi).
tous les 6 mois je tente le vernis (j’aimerais bien plus souvent mais j’oublie, hehe)
Je vais chez coiffeur une ou deux fois par an, et je fais un masque pour le visage quand j’ai le courage.
Mais voilà: je ne travaille pas dans le milieu de la mode, mais de la recherche en maths, où la pression est beaucoup moins forte, tellement moins forte même que ca me fait du bien de venir lire ton blog et rêver un peu…
Ceci dit, je pense qu’on se met trop de pression pour être parfaites, alors qu’à la fin du mois personne ne nous remettra de prix parce qu’on a tout fait parfaitement niveau beauté. Et puis, honnêtement, je ne suis pas sûre que les femmes qui me fascinent le plus sont celles qui ont tout bon là-dessus.
En plus cette quête de perfection peut s’étendre à tout le reste: boulot, enfants, sport, vie sociale, culture… les journées (en tout cas les miennes) sont trop courtes pour tout faire parfaitement et surtout arriver en plus à prendre du plaisir à vivre. Donc je fais des choix, qui ne sont pas forcément les mêmes que la voisine, mais qui visent à me rendre heureuse. Des fois ça passe par un masque visage + pose de vernis, et des fois pas…
Gros bisous Garance, j’adore ton blog.
ravie de trouver une autre mathematicienne sur ce blog !
moi aussi! ça m´a tellement étonné, que je n´y ai pas cru ^^ un coucou d´une mathématicienne qui vit en Allemagne :)
On est donc au moins trois :) je n’aurais jamais cru!
Bon moi je suis designer mais je suis entierement d’accord avec toi!!!!!!
Et moi graphiste mais aussi complètement d’accord avec toi! Devoir faire tout ça, c’est un job un part entière… et il me semble que ce doit être celui des mannequins, non? Je préfère penser à rester en bonne santé, on est déjà plus belle si on est en forme.
J’essaie d’être rigoureuse sur le demaquillage, soins de la peau mais j’oublie generalement, la creme de nuit, le masque, et je m’epile plus souvent en ete, l’hiver je me prends pas trop la tete juste quand ca deviant necessaire! Depuis que je vis a NY je vais me faire les ongles regulierement surtout l’ete. Et je ne maquille presque pas sauf pour une soirée ou important rdv, pour resumer je suis plutot low key et je me demande souvent comment font ces filles super “high maintenance”, franchement respect!
http://Www.lebazhaar.com
Mais on s’en fout, c’est tout dans la tête! Personne ne t’inspecte à la loupe, franchement.
Hair: Try to find the style that needs THE LEAST preparation time while looking OK (maybe more than OK, maybe your signature look that everybody’s used to see you in, BELIEVE ME when people get used to see you with the same (mostly same) hairstyle everyday, they kinda start to think “ooh, ok, this is HER, she looks good even it’s a braid, a messy bun, or whatever) For me it’s been a messy-side-braid for YEARS but I cut my hair shorter and now it’s a messy side bun :)
Lotions: Can’t live without them. Although this is me, I mean I LOVE ALL kinds of scented creams, LOTIONS, hand creams etc. If your skin isn’t that dry/ dehydrated you can totally skip “lotion mania”.
Nails: The hardest part! When you start, you can not stop! You decide and say “OK I’ll be a cool girl with my ORIGINAL nails (cuticles), paint them in cool shades and no one will even notice but at the end of some(!) weeks you give up and spend one hour at the salon.
Makeup: I recently have a new easier regimen for my everyday office look. Tinted moisturiser (organic COOLA is the best!), MAC mineraize powder, blush, LIP COLOUR and SKIP the mascara. Believe me it works.
P.S.Hair: If it’s not REALLY necessary (hello grays!) totally full dye is a nightmare. I tried it for a couple of months (copper) OK it looks great but the stains on the towels or darker roots in 2 weeks. No way again. Highlights are the best!
Ah le perfectionnisme…cette maladie qui pourrie la vie!
Mais pareil, à défaut d’être parfaite j’aime me sentir nickel, et se dire que se faire les ongles, un masque ou autre doivent rester le petit +, pas une corvée qu’on a l’absolu obligation de faire!
Sinon la solution pour être “parfaite” et avoir le temps de tout faire je l’ai: être au chômage…mais c’est juste pas une période heureuse et être parfaite sans avoir de relations sociales pour le montrer n’a plus aucun sens, donc…bof.
Malheureusement, je plussoie. Au chômage, tu prends le temps de mettre de la crème sur le corps… parce que ta journée est très vide, et le vide c’est angoissant. En fin de compte, avoir le temps (et le prendre par-dessus le marché!) de méga bien m’occuper de moi me file le cafard. Un comble, non?
J’ai trouvé la solution : je fabrique des trucs avec mes dix doigts, plein, je créé mon entreprise, et je suis tellement à donf, pressée de rejoindre mon atelier, que je zappe plein d’étapes, et que mes mains ont des traces de colle, mes ongles ne sont pas vernis et… Je suis très heureuse ! :)
Omg what an stress, but a beautiful stress
xx
naiLee
http://www.naileechic.com
I have a whole long list as well. Do I always do everything, NO. I forget most of the time and then I feel bad about it. Every time I go back to my facialist, I’m embarrassed that I didn’t follow her routine that she had laid out for me to a T. I don’t it’s possible to be perfect every day in following all of the things that society deems is important for women to do in order to up keep. Those people that are perfect in doing them aren’t living their life because they are too busy stuck int he bathroom.
It would be so much easier if I was just a guy.
xo Quinn
Quinn Cooper Style
Je me sens soudainement moins seule : sur ma liste j’ajouterai presque “ne pas oublier les clés avant de sortir”… Alors, en plus de la liste de courses (sur l’iPhone) de la to-do list pro (idem) et de la to-do list perso (toujours au même endroit, imaginez un peu ce qui risque de m’arriver si on me pique ledit iPhone), j’épingle des feuilles blanches un peu partout, histoire de ne rien oublier… Dans la salle de bain, les jours de masque hydratant, ceux pour le masque purifiant, pour le masque pour les cheveux, le scrub…) à côté du lit un petit reminder pour penser à la crème pour les pieds, dans la cuisine un pense-bête pour ne pas oublier de changer la cartouche de la Brita…
Alors soit on est toutes dingues, soit c’est la normalité de ce siècle…
Moi je fonctionne un peu par phase, je pense que j’ai besoin de laisser certains trucs en “jachère” quelques temps avant de reprendre plaisir à m’occuper de moi, sans que ce soit une immense corvée impossible à en venir à bout (sincèrement, les seules fois où j’ai dû m’approcher de mon plus haut niveau d’entretien beauté, j’ai dû me péter un ongle au dernier moment ou me retrouver avec une saleté de bouton vicieux en plein milieu du visage).
Bref, savoir lâcher prise de temps en temps me paraît salutaire (mais je travaille dans un milieu pas glamour du tout, donc je ne subis certainement pas la même pression que toi), et plutôt que de s’astreindre à une check-list longue comme le bras, je pense qu’il vaut mieux gérer sur les règles de base et de fond : bien se nourrir, bien dormir, nettoyer et hydrater sa peau (bon… son visage et son cou !) et faire un minimum d’exercice, sans tomber dans l’excès comme on souvent tendance à le faire les New-yorkais.
Bon, après il y a la vraie vie ;-)
Oooh, you really touched me now :) There are things I forget, but more often, it’s not that I forget them as much as I get too lazy to do them… Eyebrows, mascara, hand cream, chipped nails, body lotion, let alone the leg and armpit shaving (I can’t wait for a whole month for depilation…) Grrr!
I found that if I carry some of those stuff with me, in my bag, I am more relaxed in the morning and have an excuse to procrastinate at work – fix the nails, put hand cream, fix the hair… I would like to be one of those women who just do these things with pleasure and don’t even think about them, but I’m not. I like to sleep in and walk around the park instead of visiting salons all the time… And being like this, as if it is not too much already, two weeks ago I changed my hair color dramatically so now I stress out about it growing out in the natural color and how often will I have to go to the salon and have it done… so now I just HAVE to go and get groomed :)
It took me a long while to figure this out:
Perfection is an opinion. You will never be perfect to everybody, so you might as well be pleased with the way you are instead of chasing perfection, because you might as well start chasing unicorns.
Being well-groomed is something different ofcourse, but who cares if your hand are a bit wrinkled because you forgot to put on sunscreen because you did something else that made you happy at that moment? If you don’t care yourself, then it’s no problem.
But ofcourse this is just my opinion (: It made my life a hell of a lot easier too!
Ugggh! Isn’t it all too annoying?? I pick what’s most important to me (SKIN/shaving/yoga), focus on them, and make sure the other areas of “beauty” are pretty low key. For instance, I wear my nails really short and don’t get them done; my hair is long and natural, so there’s no coloring or frequent hair cuts. My brows are tweezed, but I don’t cultivate a hard-to-maintain shape, etc. I couldn’t be a skin girl and a manicure girl and a hair girl, no way!
xo
Ha Theresa, you make a good point!
And I never realised that I do what you describe. I have some basic routines for body and hair and then usually put more effort in nails and eyebrows and lips.
It shifts a bit though, like with the seasons (focus more on getting rid of body hair in Summer) or when I change haircut.
franchement passer ma journee a me faire belle,comme une kardashian,non merci!ce qui me rend belle c est faire de belles promenades,danser ,prendre un verre en terrasse avec des copines,rire,faire l amour,bouger,me faire une expo,un film,embrasser l homme que j aime,promener mon chien,,je n ai pas envie de ressembler a une poupee barbie,sinon a une femme..d ailleurs celles que je trouve les plus belles,xomme caroline de maigret,lou doillon,kate moss sont un parfait exemple de ca!!
It is seriously a full time job, ok the facials I love and I can do my own nails, but it is crazy and crazy expensive. There are days I want to be one of those natural girls, but I don’t even wear a lot of makeup. To be honest, I do look my best after a yoga class and a shower, in baggy jeans and something comfortable. That is when everyone says, you look great. That’s the irony.
To be honest I am too lazy to do half of the stuff…never put lotion on my body for example…I think it is key to choose what you can’t live without and then ignore the rest and focus on a fun life instead. Otherwise you miss out on fun things.
Plus I never exercise to look good, just walk for fun or swim in the summer. And the boy I am seeing likes me more without make up on :). I think we put too might expectations on ourselves. The most beautiful women I have seen are happy in their own skin and don’t care about society’s expectations on them.
What I always forget is touching up. And actually is quite important. I put my make up on every morning (not much, I have to admit. I’m quite lazy) but then I forget to reapply my lipstick, check if my nose is as bright as Rudolph’s or see if my eyes looked like Courtney Love in the 90’s. But I just forget it. Yesterday for instance I worked for 12 hours non stop, so the last thing I was thinking about was my eye make up. Big mistake, because when I got home at 11 p.m. the subtle smoky eye make up in lovely brown shades had turn into a black-ish blur with really weird brown-ish stripes in the corner of my eyes. I attended the opening of the theater festival I spent a year organizing with those eyes!!!!!!! I hope everyone thought I’m oh so avantgard.
I even forgot to touch up on my wedding day. There are lots of pictures where my right eye was… well, let’s say that it was different from what I wanted. But I was having such a nice time that I simply forgot about my looks. And everyone else around me forgot about it too, apparently. When I speak about it with my friends and show them the pictures they always tell me they even didn’t notice it!
I guess it’s ok to forget about your looks… even more if the reason is loving what you are doing or having a great time!
xx,
E.
http://www.theslowpace.com
Femininity is a performance…you don’t always have to step into the role. Remember, these are choices we make, and those of us with “beauty privilege” do see payoffs in return for all that hard work.
There are only 2 beauty rules I live by…. NEVER EVER SLEEP IN MY MAKE-UP and ALWAYS MOISTURIZE AFTER A SHOWER…. that’s it! everything else just happens when I have the time and feeling to do so!…. some days I feel like pampering myself and will go the whole hog!… this takes place normally once month…. but that’s just moi…. for the lady that enjoys doing it all religiously and has the time to do so… its not a bad thing, too each their own.
http://www.myclayexperience.com/
Maybe it’s because I’m still young, but I keep trying to reach “perfect,” although I know that it can never be accomplished. I haven’t given up yet, but this checklist will help along the way.
Your Friend, Jess
It`s not an investment, it is a BLACK HOLE
Yes. This. I saw this list and thought you seemed to work quite hard at your appearance, Garance. Not a lazy groomer by any stretch of the imagination!
It’s a black hole, AND a trap – that feeling of guilt is an illusion. The fact that you forgot to get your armpits waxed or you haven’t conditioned your hair properly etc, that just means you had other stuff in your brain. We should NEVER feel guilty for having so much wonderful stuff in our brains! We’re not failing, we’re living incredible, chock-full lives c:
Garance, je viens de commencer un livre intitulé “La femme parfaite est un connasse”, de Anne-Sophie Girard et Marie-Aldine Girard, et en plus d’être hyper drôle, je me reconnais à chaque page dans les récits sur cette femme totalement imparfaite.
Et ca fait un bien fou :)
Ce livre est une merveille, si vous saviez le nombre de fou rire que l’on a pu avoir avec mes amis en lisant des passages… Car oui nous l’avons lu a 4, nous delectant chaque jour d’un (ou bien plus) chapitre. Son seule defaut: il se termine trop vite
I “forget” to do stuff all the time when it comes to taking care of my appearance; though it’s more of an “I don’t have time for this,” and less of an actually memory slip. It’s so important to take care of ourselves and take that moment of indulgence, but as 21st century woman trying to have-it-all, the hours in the day seem to slip through my fingers and at the end I’m further from it-all than when I started. For me it’s about prioritizing. What can I let go of and what is an absolute necessity?
I’d love to hear how you squeeze in your routine and what you think are beauty routine essentials for those of us still striving to be “chic.”
I think you are wonderfully beautiful, mostly because you are aware of the ridiculousness of such social constructs piled on women today. Being aware is a gift– you have been my hero for almost ten years because I truly feel you are “living the dream”– not in that you are able to dress well, or have a driver, but in that you are an ILLUSTRATOR and a PHOTOGRAPHER and CREATIVE– and successful to boot! I am a burgeoning artist and look up to you and your success and your CREATIVE beauty!
xo Hanna
Non mais quelqu’un a conscience que dans la vraie vie (enfants, leclerc, travail, …) on a à peine le temps – voire les sous – pour faire ne serait-ce que 10% de tout ça ??? (et ça n’empêche pas d’être un peu plus que “juste sortable”, merci !) Allez sans rancune !
It’s like I’d be reading my own thought here. The same: I feel like I’m always a “work in progress”. If I do this, I forget to do that. If I do that, I forget to shave. If I shave I forget to broom my eyebrows. It’s just too much!
Maybe I should just forget things like these more often and relax a bit about that perfect mosturized skin and perfect nails. Meh.
xx
http://gita-oddsandends.blogspot.com/
I think its nice to be well groomed if it makes you feel good. Personally, I do forget stuff all the time so I came up with the idea of including those things on my planner haha :)
C’et très simple, (re)viens à Paris Garance! Ici ton dermatologue te diras que les tâches sur ton visage ne se voient pas tant que cela et qu’il n’y a nul besoin de les effacer, que tu n’as pas besoin d’un meilleur gommage car il n’y a rien à gommer (véridique!) et que la lotion c’est pour les grands-mères. Puis ton coiffeur te diras que tu peux garder ta coupe courte poivre et sel, que la teinture cela peut encore attendre quelques années.
Alors prête à revenir?
Mais ça rend heureuse de s’occuper de soi! Ne regrettons pas …. Et résultat , toutes les femmes font de plus en plus jeunes !
Ce que je saute c’est l’étape nails , des ongles bien courts et bien limés , des mains super hydratées me vont , j’aime les mains discrètes…. Du temps de gagné . J’ai rajouté des séances de gym mais c’est agréable , ça me relaxe . Je perds du temps chez le coiffeur mais les couleurs toute seule c’est impossible !
I have to pass on a comment my mother made when I was 35 (I’m now 45) – she said ‘Try to enjoy how you look now and realise you are beautiful because you’re not going get more beautiful than you are now! Just enjoy your youth!’ And yes, I know women over 40 can be beautiful, well-groomed, whatever you want to call it, but there is nothing to compare to the sheer beauty of youth. So put down the tweezers, cancel the hair appointment that will steal two hours of your life you’ll never get back and go enrich your brain or laugh with a friend.
Roh ouais c’est clair, être nickel c’est un job à plein temps! Moi aussi je suis mauvaise élève, je zappe plein de trucs et du coup, je culpabilise! L’horreur! Bon enfin c’est pas la mort, mais ça me pourrit un peu l’esprit quand même tous ces trucs “à faire” qui traîne dans un coin de ma tête!
I was wondering the same thing. I’m 23 and if left to myself, I wouldn’t care one bit but since you’re an adult, you reason with yourself that Yes, you do need to make your hair, put on make-up and cologne and be all presentable. And yes they take up a lot of time.
You should read Nora Ephron’s essay, “On Maintenance”. Hits this nail right on the head.
Sunday evening is my night for this kind of stuff. On the couch while watching TV I pluck and thread and cut my nails and polish them, maybe a mask, and I look at my calendar what my week is going to be like. Shaving is for the shower, for which I use babyoil, so at least my lower legs and armpits are moisturized… And I stopped colouring my hair, because I could not keep up! This way I know that on Monday my face and nails are OK, and the rest depends on what comes up during the week. Before I did this, it could be a month before I actually really looked at myself in such detail, and the stray hairs and too long nails would be a surprise. Pure proactive self protection, my sunday routine.
Si ça c’est pas de l’aliénation féminine !
Non sérieusement, à 20 ans j’étais tirée à 4 épingles, et sans aucune assurance (alors que plutôt jolie fille). A bientôt 50 j’ai laissé tomber le fond de teint et le brushing impec, je fais des soins mais ne vit plus sous le regard des autres, me simplifie la vie sans rien déroger à ce qui me paraît essentiel : être propre et élégante, et me faire plaisir. Honnêtement, quel bonheur aussi, parfois, de s’en foutre ! Aujourd’hui je suis moins belle, mais je m’aime plus.
héhé, comme je te comprends ;) Je suis toujours admirative des filles qui donnent l’impression de sortir d’une boîte toute neuve ! Douce soirée !
http://www.sirenebio.fr/
naturally~ besides bodylotion & face-cleaning+cream (because my mom kind of hypnotized me as a teen to do it without realizing) mah~ not really… but I enjoy to forget stuff on purpose and then do a full half treatment-day once every two weeks…
what I do count as treatment is the gym~ it’s also great way to relief stress
I’m not quite as diligent as you are. And I try to multi-task — put on a facial mask while I’m making the bed and brushing my teeth; stop off at Boom Boom Brow Bar on my way home from getting my hair colored every 5-6 weeks; haircut every three MONTHS. Shellac gel manicures that last 2-3 weeks and are instantly dry. I adore makeup but keep a separate box with all my go-to essentials so I don’t have to dig around in the morning. Basically, I get by with what makes me feel and look good.
Oh là là non mais moi j’ai jamais compris comment on peut passer 2h tous les matins à se tartiner de produits divers et variés. Bon, ok, j’ai 23 ans, une peau lisse et assez unie (enfin je crois!) donc c’est facile à dire. Mais bon, moi le matin, je me rendors 3 fois après mon réveil, donc j’ai clairement pas de temps à perdre une fois dans la salle de bain. Et hors de question que je me lève 20min plus tôt uniquement pour me maquiller! J’ai donc une routine beauté super simple qui me convient très bien, pas la peine de se mettre une telle pression! En plus ma nature de peau (très sèche et sensible) et de cheveux (fins, secs et avec peu de volume) limitent fortement les possibilités!
oui dingue!!!!!!
Yes , you have to enjoy life …and others !!http://intelligently-fashionable.blogspot.com
Interesting.
xoxo
http://www.fashiondenis.com/
C’est normal qu’on soit tjs en travaux puisqu’on lutte contre le temps qui lui travaille contre nous tt le temps. Pas grave !
I think I spend way too much time on hair and makeup.. I try to keep it at a minimum and not get too crazy but it’s hard not to! It becomes a habit for me.
http://downtownhautefashion.blogspot.com
I hate the time I need to spend keeping my hair cut/highlighted. As a result I never go often enough! You always know your hair is falling apart when you thinking about having it done and suddenly you have an AMAZING hair day — that means you are in deep trouble tomorrow and all is lost.
J’ai noté dans mon agenda “faire un masque visage” 2 fois par semaine…
Entre les posts “nothing to wear” et “the beauty checklist”, je m’amuse a lire les commentaires, les francais restant mes favoris car ils me font rire de bon coeur.
Tres beau dessin, by the way.
This could have been written about me. I forget everything – some days even the basics like moisturising. But then I have a six-year-old to get to school every morning and its amazing how easily one can forget to look after oneself when you’re responsible for someone else.
Solution: Have a few kids and forget EVERYTHING :^)
(It’s the sleep deprivation…)
There is no beauty in perfection…. To me it’s just scary. One of the reasons I think we all love you so much is that you look gorgeous in a real and natural way. You strike the perfect balance. Happy day! Jo
I really enjoy grooming when I spontaneously feel like doing it, but I try to cherish the fact that most of the days I forget ALL of those things. Apparently I’m feeling good enough about my own apperance anyway, and that certain feeling is one I think that every woman should be entitled to. Each morning when my boyfriend jumps out of bed, easily slips in his clothes, washes his face, letting his hands go through the hair a couple of times and then consider himself as done – it’s an inspiration to me. I want every one of us women to be that free too. When our daily care about ourselves stems out of must-do-lists and such instead of inspiration and joy it seems like we’re wasting our lives. Anyway, that’s my opinion! Thank you Garance and the rest of the studio for a really beautiful and great blog!
Sara from Stockholm
I agree, Sara!
I generally love grooming and like to take my time, but when it becomes tiring, or feels like it would be a chore, it ‘s time to focus on something else. I think of all of these elements as a bonus. Beyond the basics of being clean, they are extras, not something I should feel guilty for not doing. I believe I should never feel guilty about my appearance, and find the American trend of wanting every inch of the body to be ‘perfect’ to be worrisome and problematic. Human bodies are not perfect, there is an inherent flaw in desiring them to be, or even in imagining that they can be.
I don’t have the time to do HALF of that stuff! Lotion all over the body? Who has time for that when you’ve got to be in lectures by 9:30! I hardly get the time to swipe on the lip balm and moistureise my hands. Being well-groomed is only for ladies who have enough time on their hands to BE well-groomed. I’m not getting up at 6 just so I can conform to some standard of what looks good and what doesn’t. Man, my roots are showing and I won’t be able to see the hairdresser for another 2 months.
Men. Have. It. Easy!!!!
i have a theory called “the paper bag”. heehee, sounds silly but is actually true. some girls are naturally born groomed and have to put in much less work to look groomed. (my friend sandra is like that. she has naturally healthy hair and very smooth baby skin!) anyway, i noticed that when messy girls carry shopping bags, they tend to get creased and wrinkly by the end of the day’s shopping. when naturally groomed girls carry paper bags, at the end of the day, their paper bag still looks pristine, perfect, like it came right out of the store 2 seconds ago. its like their messy/neat vibes translates to the paper bag itself!
Ahah! Certains commentaires me font rire! Ta quête de la perfection fait réagir ;)
Bon moi je me dis régulièrement que je laisse tomber cette quête de la perfection, mais dans les faits bah je ne m’avoue jamais vaincue -bon oui c’est clair que c’est peine perdue mais les objectifs impossibles sont souvent stimulants! ;) …Cette semaine ce sont mes ongles que je n’ai pas eu le temps de faire:
Femme parfaite: 1 point / moi: 0 point …
Kiss ;)
J’ai toujours eu des défauts auxquels je pense au quotidien et qui m’oblige à être vigilante : teint un peu terne, petites rougeurs, cernes. Je ne sors jamais pas maquillée.
Mais j’ai accepté une chose : c’est un rêve de croire que les filles ayant l’air d’être parfaites ont aussi une parfaite routine de soin. Le vrai secret est qu’elles ont plus de chance que moi — des pores naturellement serrés, un teint naturellement lumineux, et puis si cette fille parfaite est blonde, il y a de fortes chances pour qu’elle passe beaucoup moins de temps à s’épiler, et il y a même des parties de son corps qu’elle n’aura jamais ressenti le besoin d’épiler, et si avec cela, elle a des origines méditerranéennes, on peut parier sur un grain de peau velouté, etc.
Bref, n’importe quelle routine, sur cette fille-là, fera plus d’effet que sur moi, on ne part pas du tout du même point. Je ne pourrais jamais être comme elle, effortless, mais je n’y suis pour rien, et elle non plus.
Alors j’ai une routine longue, souvent j’ajoute des étapes, comme le vernis, le gommage, le masque, mais toujours selon une règle : le désir. Celui de me sentir mieux, d’être plus jolie, plus lumineuse, surtout en harmonie avec moi-même.
D’une certaine façon, je n’ai pas de “routine”, j’ai des rituels.
Et quand vraiment l’état général va mal, au lieu d’empiler les crèmes, je suis un petit programme diététique : jus de citron frais, levure de bière, huiles en complément alimentaire, produits bio, SOMMEIL.
Là d’un coup, tout paraît facile.
Pour moi c’est la clef : quand vraiment je me sens trop “en travaux” comme tu dis, je vais à l’essentiel du côté des soins externes, je n’utilise que ce que je connais et ce que je sais être sur moi le plus efficace, et je me concentre sur ce que ces signes extérieurs disent de mon état d’esprit, en étant attentive à mes spécificités, et en ne cherchant pas à imiter un modèle inatteignable.
Lisant ce post je me suis rappelé d’une amie qui disait:chaque matin il me faut au moins une heure pour ma “beauté naturelle”.
Tiens tiens, mais c’est tout moi, ça!
J’aime bien prendre soin de moi et avoir de chouettes produits de beauté mais il ne faut pas que ça tourne à l’obsession. Les seules moments dans ma vie où j’ai pu être très rigoureuse dans ce domaine c’est que je n’avais rien d’autre à faire et ce n’est pas franchement mon idée du bonheur.
La vie à la newyorkaise a surement du avoir beaucoup d’influence sur tes rituels de beauté quotidiens car il me semble que la plupart des éléments de ta liste sont perçus comme un luxe exceptionnel par la plupart des françaises.
je vis le fainéantisme! de plein coeur,. Sans remords.
le matin: brosse à dent, brosse à cheuveux, douche à savon d’Alep (qui rend la peau très douce, j’adore), et voilà me prête pour la journée.
couleurs? non merci, je n’ai jamais trouvé une qui s’accordait vraiment avec mon teint, et après il faut tout le temps le refaire.c’est même pas la peine de commencer. Maquillage? non merci, avec mes lunettes à verres fortes ce n’est même pas la peine.
je ne vois pas l’intérêt de mettre et faire tout ce genre de choses, ça n’a jamais réussi à me rendre plus belle (ou bien je suis une complète incapable dans cette domaine). Et j’aime plutôt bien ma mêche grise, je trouve elle fait un effet intéressant et agréable.
I think I spend too much time on all of it too but honestly, I love how I feel after I do all that stuff! When I go somewhere for even a few days where I can’t do all of this (e.g. camping), the first thing I do when I get home is do ALL of that stuff and it just feels good. Do it if it makes you feel good, and forget it if it doesn’t!
Being a woman is like being a farmer. It is easier to take care of the garden bit by bit, little here and there every day rather than attacking everything at once with a big weedwhacker! Just the idea having to get out that weedwhacker stresses me out:(. But it is a work to look presentable…..from head to toe. At the same time isn’t it amazing how much better one feels when everything looks nice and neat? Unfortunately my self esteem seems to depend on it even though I wish I could say unshaved, natural look makes me feel like a godess:). The truth is that red nail polish, Chanel blush and Hermes perfume do more than make me look nice, they make me FEEL great and like great things are just waitng to be happen.
Mais qu’est-ce qu’être parfaite ma chère Garance, je vous le demande?! Tirée à 4 épingles c’est un d’un ennui non? Je l’avais évoqué d’ailleurs il y quelques temps http://handmode.wordpress.com/2012/12/13/habillee/. Partisante de la vrille, je prône l’allure contre le control freak :)
Je pense aussi que tu t’imposes trop de trucs. Toutes ces choses ne sont pas forcément nécessaires pour se sentir “nickel”. Penses-y: c’est uniquement parce que tu as intégré certaines choses à ta routine beauté qu’elle en paraissent indispensables. Il y a bien eu un moment de ta vie où tu ne faisais pas des pédicures régulières, où tu ne te mettais pas des sérums tous les jours sur le visage et où tu te sentais tout de même nickel voire au top !
Alors bon, oublier de mettre du vernis ou du mascara de temps à autre, ça ne fait vraiment pas “travaux en cours”, c’est uniquement dans ta tête que ça te met mal à l’aise, les autres te trouveront tout de même radieuse, relaaax :) . Je pense même que s’imposer une checklist aussi rigide fait oublier un peu le côté naturel (bon d’accord, je parle pas de l’épilation & co, ça faut pas zapper) de la beauté, elle en devient trop travaillée …
I should do this! specially with lotion… I just forget and then I complain that my skin is falling into pieces. I guess we try to do so many things we forget about us. if we are not entirely happy there is no way we can create better things.
Xo,
Belen
http://www.androbelinsider.blogspot.com new post! :)
Personne n’est parfait! déjà tu bosses dans la mode donc évidemment tu es toujours au taquet sur les looks et l’apparence physique.
J’ai une routine quotidienne minimale (shampooing-douche-crèmes-mascara = 30mins), sauf quand j’ai des occasions au boulot (je voyage bcp, événements premiums, là je me pomponne & la totale^^)
Parce que aussi, quand je suis “top of the top”, ça me fait plaisir, je me sens bien.
Et bien figure toi que j’ai eu des petits amis qui me trouvaient belle naturelle au réveil! je crois qu’il faut avoir confiance en soi aussi, se trouver belle, désirable, ça resurgit sur l’apparence, c’est sûr! alors on positive ! prendre soin de soi oui, mais aussi se sentir bien dedans!
Bisettes, Cat
The best thing I’ve ever done for my skin was to start drinking Alkaline Water!
I am praying to god that you would respond! let me begin by saying that i am INLOVE with your hair! i have been obsessing none stop with going pixie. I have super curly hair, similar to yours, and the one thing stopping me from chopping my hair is the lack of time i possess as a student, and my religious affiliation with not heat styling my hair.
Finally after my long intro, my question is…. DOES IT WORK FOR CURLY HAIR?! (even though i know you promised to not talk about your hair) i am dying! because us curly ladies are quite neglected in the fashion world, and I’m hoping no PRAYING that you would finally give us an answer, on how to pull off short hair when you have curly hair.
P.S please if you end up answering me, don’t spare us details on how you style it!
Love, your loyal fan Alia
Oh God, I hear you there! I always forget to put a body lotion after a bath, even though I have like errr 3 or 4 different ones (one for post-pregnancy belly (even though my belly looks as fat as before the pregnancy;), one anti-cellulite, and another one organic for the rest of my skin;). Fortunately I have blonde hair, therefore I don’t need to get rid of hair on my legs that often as brunettes, because yes, I do forget to do it now we have a colder season, I don’t always remember to put a conditioner after shampoo, and don’t even get me started on face masks I accumulate with great passion- I only put them like once in a month if I really really have nothing else to do (and given that my baby is only 3 and half months old, it means I only done it ONCE since July…ha ! See, you are not alone there!
This is a great topic, Garance, thank you! It annoys me too from time to time how much time it takes to look groomed and to stay in physical good shape while getting older (I am 48) . On the other hand. I want to look fairly natural as well, I think I am allowed to get older and I do not want to spend too much time nor thoughts on all this. I guess it’s necessary to find a personal compromise…
This drawing is perfect! Love your style, Garance! :)
http://andreavytlacilova.com/
Why should you cut your hair every 3 weeks??!! I think it’s much too often, I cut my every 3 months haha ;))
You know life has a way of taking us out of our own selves and just letting our natural wholeness shine thru regardless of what we look like or what we are wearing..
Je pense de la même façon c’Est épouvantable!! Toujours des travaux en cours!
Sandrine x
http://www.iamsandrine.com
Ah, etre nickel ! Moi j’ai exactement le meme genre de programme et je constate qi’il y a des choses que je fais toujours bien (les cheveux) et d’autres que je reporte systematiquement (les masques desincrustants), et d’autres que je temporise legerement (l’epil). Le plus dur, c’est le lait pour le corps. Impossible de m’y mettre ! J’ai aussi tente d’etre reguliere sur la methode carole maggio et je n’y ai jamais reussi…
Perfect = boring!!!
bises
M’enfin, on oublie que pour avoir une belle peau, il faut déjà commencer par bien manger! L’extérieur reflète aussi l’intérieur voyons! :) Tiens, j’ai lu aujourd’hui que le vrai yaourt bulgare, plein de probiotiques, faisait la plus belle peau qui soit.
Et puis, à quoi bon se tartiner trop? Toutes ces crèmes sont aussi remplies de produits pas joli-joli, pas bio-bio quoi (héhé!). Et puis ça coûte cher. Et puis ça fait plein de bouteilles en plastique qui polluent la planète. Alors je préfère en utiliser moins!
C’est le fait d’être à NY qui te rend dingue comme ça ?? Parce que cool….hein, on fait les trucs quand on y pense c’est tout, y a pas mort d’hommes ! :-)
http://www.mode9.fr
Hi, girls at the studio! :) I loved this post, Garance! So on point.
I do lots of this stupid women-things to look my best. Recently (after I turned 25) I started spending more money on good skincare and even developed some kind of skincare routine.
But I’m so lazy. I can go on weeks without manicure and you know what? Nobody died!
My boyfriend always keeps telling me that he prefers me barefaced, without all the fuss.
But as I work from home, for me is so fun to put on some make up, do my hair in some new way…
Just don’t forget the BEAUTIFUL LINGERIE… Just for you, as a secret ;)
Margot
http://www.miroirdemuses.com/
Ca me rappelle beaucoup le principe du “body monitoring” et du fait qu’en moyenne, une femme vérifie si son physique apparaît de façon avantageuse (position des jambes, façon dont la lumière la met en valeur, pli des vêtements, arrangement des cheveux) toutes les 30 secondes. Ce qui n’est pas sans conséquence sur le reste de nos facultés cérébrales, naturellement.
Si jamais le sujet vous intéresse : http://awessumpossum.tumblr.com/post/65612680273
Parfaite ? What for ???
” There are only 2 beauty rules I live by…. NEVER EVER SLEEP IN MY MAKE-UP and ALWAYS MOISTURIZE AFTER A SHOWER…. that’s it! ” Aaah pareil ! hydradation + démaquillage c’est le plus important, le reste c’est bonus !
J’aime me faire belle mais pas m’imposer des choses. Par contre je suis extrêmement rigoureuse sur l’hydratation + démaquillage. Par contre, pour le reste, c’est comme ça me vient… Ah si l’épilation je suis hyper régulière aussi, comme une machine…
Mais je bosse dans le milieu du développement donc ça peut aider pour que je sois pas stressée par ces trucs. Et le meilleur truc que j’ai trouvé pour paraître radieuse/plus belle/peau plus jolie, etc. c’est… de bien dormir… (Pour une insomniaque anxieuse droguée au boulot comme moi, ça vaut de l’or)
Donc ce que tu racontes ici ne fait pas partie de mon quotidien. Mais quelque part, ça me laisse songeuse, m’intéresse et me fait rêver (comme le reste de ton blog), alors merci Garance ! (Ouais, pour une fille qui bosse dans l’informatique, rester féminine c’est hyper important et ton blog aide !)
ah my dear. So many of us “forget” to do many of these things. When I think about it, I might, however, it is not always the case. However, the essential things I do do –> brush teeth, wash face, shower and put on clean undies :-).
There are things I do seasonly , shaving legs and underarms mainly in the summer; deep conditioning hair appointments in mid summer and winter; and I attempt to do it regularly each year. Yet, as I have matured into my fourth decade of life, people have inquired what I do, because I look young and radiant. I take that as a compliment and work to live my life more fully (good friends/family, good food/wine and great conversations, helping those in the community). What’s inside counts so much more.
You are truly a beautiful woman and I hope you realize this. :-)
Your post reminded me of this the wonderful Mo Gaffney’s “Morning Ritual” – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stBLwLI8gIs.
And that’s just what we do to walk out the door in the morning…..
It takes so much time that by the time I’m done I either a) I’m too late to go anywhere b) I don’t want to go anywhere or c) have had a nervous breakdown–oh, and don’t forget the worst feeling when your significant other gets there and you aren’t ready so he can see you putting all of the crap you need to put on just to look like you haven’t done a thing…
effectivement cela prend beaucoup de temps, après il y a des réflexes beauté, ceux que tu fais sans avoir besoin d’agenda. Pour moi, ce sont mes ongles, ils doivent toujours être au top ! Il est minuit passé, je vais faire ma manucure avant de dormir… par contre, je peux zapper une visite chez le coiffeur sans problème. Et puis, il faut prendre en compte le degré de “coquetterie” qui varie suivant chaque femme… et personne n’est parfait, don’t worry !
I can understand the frustration. It is a full time job to be stylish and chic. Everything from inside out has to be address; nutrition, rest, beauty routine (all that you mentioned in this entry), fitness, keeping up with trends, looking for/buying/styling outfits/shoes/bags….all these besides a job (if you work), a marriage/relationship, family (if you parent your parents/sibs), children (if any), finance (even if talking to your investment agent), chores (grocery shop, cooking, cleaning…).
I honestly don’t know how some women can look so put together all the time if they don’t have assistants/helps to shoulder the burden.
I don’t even do half on your beauty list and I am constantly playing catch-up (flossing and hair dye are constanly neglected). That’s why I have nothing but respect to those who are seldom having a mistep even if they were just out walking the dog.
I don’t forget, but simply choose not to do most things that you have on your list and go for a walk on the beach instead. It is relaxing (therefore softens the wrinkles in my face), I get a lot of fresh air that make my cheeks rosy and healthy looking, the wind and the salty air gives my hair that fab beach look and the walking on the sand is not only good to keep my body fit but also exfoliates my feet. To summarize, it is cheap, it is good and relaxing and you are therefore not so worried about your look anymore!
We’re all in the same place dear
I’d rather sleep more than waking up earlier just to do all the beauty routine.
http://sundaydesire.blogspot.com
I completely agree! I’d rather sleep than spend half an hour applying make up in the morning. I think sleeping is underestimated as a beauty routine
You think you need to do all this because you live in NY and work in the fashion business, but really you don’t.
Skip 75% of it and you’ll still look fine, literally 75% of this is just unnecessary. You’ve drunk the Kool-Aid.
Oh boy, did you hit the nail on the head! Being a working mother seems to make it even harder. I am trying to teach my tween good grooming too by scheduling most things in advance. I think if 90% is done, you are ahead of the crowd. Who wants to be perfect?
I try to keep on top of it all but it is all so bloody boring! I hate sitting at the hairdresser for a couple of hours having colour done but it does look better as my natural colour is pretty mousey, I epilate my legs and it seems to take so long to do, I put it off for a few weeks before i do it. And as for nails – really keeping them short and clean is as much as I could be bothered with; painting them is just such a waste of time – nail polish has to be perfect and even if I can get it one perfect it is usually chipped within 24 hours. I do wear makeup each day and I enjoy the porcess of putting it on but then I have short, low maintenance hair – I couldn’t be a a hair girl and a makeup girl, it has to be on or the other.
Dear Garance:
I would suggest that you relax. YOu are great as you are. I know you live in the fashion world, where most women look so groomed and perfect but still I think you are a natural, so just enjoy the now! I take care of myself but are no perfectionist at all. I am learning to love my crazy hair sometimes, no make up and some hair here and there. There is one thing I don’t forget though, my weekly yoga classes :)
For me, it all changed a lot and became much more relaxed.
First I changed my hair color from high maintenance blond (hello roots, every two weeks) to natural ( as in “natural looking”) ombre strawberry blond, and now I just do color touch-ups every few months or so.
Then, I also decided I wanted my hair to be loooong and a bit wild, so- i just go for minimal cuts twice a year. Then I started having keratine treatments, which meant- bye, bye regular blow dries, suddenly I became a girl who can just wash her hair and leave the house, letting it to dry naturally. Then I realized that I can go with just one keratin treatmen a year- remember, I want it to be a bit wild. And keratin also means that I can forget about the whole hair-packing, hair serum, anti frizz product ritual.
I switched gym for occassional 30- minutes power plate sessions, time-demanding after work yoga studio sessions for quick morning yoga with on- line tutors, switched my “base-liquid foundation-powder” rutine for Clarins BB cream, decided my eyebrows looked better when I let them grow naturally and I completely stopped plucking, and to top it all, this summer I bought an original arabic powder kohl on a holiday, which replaced about 3-4 make up items I used daily…
I always hated, hated, hated going for mani-pedi-vaxing, it is sooooo boring, so I did laser epilation and I shave in my morning shower what remained, and I just decided I would do my nails by myself: I do it in the evening, while chatting with my friends on the phone (with speakerphone on, obviously).
So, in little steps, I went from “always chasing perfection” girl to a nonchalant version of myself, and you know what- it feels so much more comfortable, sexy, young and true to my rock’n’roll roots. And I have so much more time to spend wisely.
puff, there is this thing/trend”? in my country where women product ad´s are so annoying, they even go and use Anne F. last diary line to advice on to BUY their product!!!!
i even complaines in my fb Wall on this.i dont know what your ads are like, but, no.wrong.
second, ive been having beyonce up in my mind, singing “if i were a boy….” in my head these couple pf days….suited.
we even get entangled in the bussiness side of all of this, cos, who is making those silly fashion/women magazine lines??????? im thinking few boys do that. so, WE should STOP demanding ourselves and others to look a certain way. no matter what. then, WE should treat us with enough respect to value us for everything, and not just flawless skin/hair/nails. WE ARE 7/1 in propportion to the boys, WE are doing THIS as much as THEM, society is NOT outside ourselves. Unless we are able to choose consciously, what we want for ourselves, i dont think we should play the blame-rule. take charge, its YOUR life after all. take care of yourself (G, and everyone else, me included) or not. YOUR life/choice. if wanted, just simplify. Love to all!
No joke, I was just having a spicy as hell bloody mary and shitty bar food dinner with my husband talking about this exact topic.
One thing I realize now, and started to feel more clearly after I turned 30 (I’m 34), is that I don’t have to be perfect. It is such a relief! It was an epiphany for me. All of a sudden I was like, “Holy sh*t, I am the only one who expects myself to be perfect.” I think our 20’s are confusing because we are expected to know who we are and what we want, to get a foot in the door, to be educated and independent, and yet for many it is a time of high anxiety and pressure.
I think it’s weird that many of us learned that we have to be perfect, and that failure is the worst thing that can happen. Hmm… I want to be stronger to resist the negative messages to make thoughtful decisions about where (or how) I direct my attention. I also want to be kinder to myself, and to enjoy my life as much as I possibly can.
The human quality I find irresistible is the kind of confidence that is based on self acceptance and humility. I think imperfection makes us who we are. But that doesn’t mean I plan on letting my facial hair grow in.
It’s very hard to be a woman ; if a man doesn’t shave his beard for 3 days, he looks drop dead gorgeous. If we don’t shave/wax our legs, we come straight out of La guerre du feu.
I’ve started to count what routines I do on a monthly basis after reading this article and I must say, it’s unbelievable I have a(ny) minute left to spend time other than doing my maintenance !! Ha !
Now I know why – just like yesterday – I’m not bothered in getting out of my sofa to attend an opening of a new store in my hometown and miss all the great stuff.
Having kids puts an end to that kind of anxiety. at least for me. Well, not that I don’t want to look good or take care of myself, but if I don’t have time or if I forget something, well, too bad. I’ll do better tomorrow… maybe. What’s important to me is to do my best for my kid, and feel the best I can. I don’t think beaing a full time fashionista who spends her whole day taking care of herself is interesting or important to me. Better relax about it.
“Est-ce que vous aussi, vous zappez certaines étapes sans même vous en rendre compte ?”
Pas du tout! Moi je les zappe sans remords et en m’en rendant tout à fait compte! Non, franchement, c’est trop de travail et générateur de stress, et le lendemain il faut tout refaire, comme pour le ménage à la maison!
Ta liste me fait penser à celles que je fais pour mon boulot, donc en rajouter une deuxième non non non.
Mais c’est sûr que j’ai un métier nettement moins glamour que le tien (le mien est paraît-il intellectuellement glamour, mouais bof) , ça aide à être plus relax.
Et s’il m’arrive de laisser des ongles rouges s’écailler un jour ou deux, et que je m’en rends compte loin de la maison, je me dis que je suis aussi sexy qu’Helena Christensen dans le clip de Chris Isaak, et roule ma poule!
Il n’y a que la colo à laquelle je fais gaffe, j’ai beaucoup de cheveux blancs, hors de question de laisser ça en jachère.
Yes it takes way to much time. So my little lifehacks are in the shower i use a a body oil to shave. after that i dont need do moisture anymore and i dont need an extra shaving foam.for my face at night i just double cleanse my face to get rid of my make up. 1step is a good oil like argan olive what ever works with your skintype. I massage it gently on my skin and put my lashes between my fingers to melt the mascara.2 i just cleanse to get rid of the oil make up and dirt. And thats it .i just need to 2 products and i dont need to moisture afterwards because of the oil. If i feel fancy i use a toner ;) and on my hair i use tiny bit oil as well because i am too lazy to use every day conditioner. I just use organic shampoo because it is not that harsh so i dont need that extra product the industry create to make the hair soft again after the harsh chemical bomb shampoo damaged it.
:) kat
Cet article : http://m.huffpost.com/mg/entry/4217993?utm_hp_ref=maghreb
nous montre combien on se fait du mal… Et le physique est le premier poste de guerre!
As soon as I start to freak out and feel guilty because of missing the most of my beauty ritual, I remember a feminist article I read: all the hours spent by a woman in bathroom with beauty rituals – a man has those hours ahead of her to work on his career…
Pour les fainéantes : http://madame.lefigaro.fr/beaute/maquillage-underground-061113-608628
That’s exactly how I feel. You are a woman after my own heart!
Ma philosophie c’est qu’il est inutile d’en faire trop au quotidien.
Ca peut paraitre un truc de flemmnarde MAIS qu’est ce qu’on fait pour etre au top du top le D-day si on l’est deja tous les jours? Ben rien!
Donc oublions de nous faire belle tout le temps pour mieux en redecouvrir la saveur lors des grandes et vraies occasions (premier rendez vous avec Georges a tout hasard)
Merci pour ce blog
Bisous d’une exilée à Madrid
La vidéo du moment pour tout comprendre…
http://videos.arte.tv/fr/videos/tracks-john-perry–7678570.html
Don’t you ever just think there’s probably more to life than worrying so much about this stuff?
Dear Garance,
I think you could consider the issue in reverse, i.e.: what can i remove from this endless list of femininity-related chores while remaining or possibly growing as a beautiful and substantial woman. Are these time-consuming tasks REALLY what being an accomplished, happy, healthy, beautiful woman is about? If you forget about some of those things, isn’t it, quite simply, because you are not genuinely interested in them, because “something” in you does not consider you need them that badly? Being lazy is not necessarily a curse, but quite the opposite: things you will do naturally and happily, without needing to remind yourself to do them, might simply be the things that really matter. The rest being things that you force yourself to do in order to obtain social validation or else. Maybe you don’t need to hang onto this second category of actions that much and write lists of things to do lest you forget.
You are a beautiful and creative woman. All the time that you save forgetting about the armpits and the eyebrows and whatever is time you can allot to the things that really matter to you!
Maybe if women, throughout ages, had generally dedicated more time to being genuinely creative and less time grooming for social validation, the gender imbalance in the attribution of the Nobel Prize would be slightly less appalling…
Chill out- half the things you worry about nobody else will notice. Do what you can when you can.
Chère Garance, BRAVO !! Merveilleux de voir à quel point tu as évolué tout en restant toi-même. Tu rassembles les matheuses, les jeunes folles de mode et de beauté, les “jeuneviellispas” (c’est tout moi!). Nous avons toutes, ou la plupart, un quotidien pas très glamour ; même si je vis et travaille à Paris, dans le 17ème, je côtoie beaucoup de misère sociale (mes dossiers de divorce ne sont pas tous composés de revenus à 5 chiffres) et te lire me rafraîchis la tête (à défaut de ma peau).
Et oui, tu as mille fois raison, qu’est-ce que c’est chiant et rasoir de se manucurer, épiler, crémer, quel temps perdu ! Et pourtant je ne zappe ni démaquillage ni maquillage, ni crème corps après la douche, mais bonjour au retour des ongles nude, adieu la dépoileuse en hiver, adieu l’autobronzant, adieu le vernis sur les pieds, bref merci à l’hiver! Amitiés.
Le matin : crème hydratante visage et mascara, 5mn
Le soir : démaquillage et crème hydratante visage, 5mn
Epilation ; 1/2 jambes tous les 2 mois
Gommage… 2 x par an?
Pas de démêlage cheveux, je les lave avec un après shampoing qui les démêle (1x / semaine).
Vernis : pas la peine, avec le fait de peindre et de se laver les mains très souvent, ça ne tient pas.
Bon ben je m’en sors bien finalement.
C’est très simple Garance quand on est comme moi en train déménager depuis 4 mois et entre deux habitations pendant 2 mois, on zappe sur tout et on se dit ouah quel luxe de pouvoir penser à la mode et au maquillage. Je m’effondres dans une baignoire parce que je suis créeve et puis basta!
Non non, tu n’es pas folle!! Perso, je prends super soin de mon corps: soin, alimentation… c’est hyper important. Parce que pour moi happy= happy mind+ happy energy+ happy body. J’adore sentir que mon corps sourit quand je m’endors :-))
I like simplicity as a general life philosophy. (Easier said than done…) Whether food, fashion, or personal care/beauty. I wash my hair with baking soda and apple cider vinegar (90% of the time; and my hairdresser says my hair feels v. healthy), I wash my face once, at night, and moisturize with a combination of three different oils (homemade mixture; facialist says keep doing it, no need to use his products), and lotion is quick after-shower. I have curly/wavy, thick hair and don’t use product, just curl and let the cool air set it. (Summer’s a different story.) I get pedis, massages and waxes, too, but that’s 1x/month so doesn’t feel like a big deal.
Things can be as simple or complicated as you want them to be. I used to keep to-do lists like crazy, then I told myself, “If it’s really important, you’ll remember. If you forget, obviously it wasn’t that important anyway.”
Moi je suis assez paradoxale : il y a des choses qui sont devenues plus que des routines, des OBSCESSIONS et certaines choses que je ne fais jamais. par exemple j’ai 36 milles baumes à lèvres et je m’en mets tout le temps, je ne peux pas me passer de ma lotion bioderma 2 fois par jour, mais j’oublie tout le temps de me faire des gommages, de me mettre de la crème sur le visage, etc.. C’est impossible d’être parfaite je crois bien !
I focus on the structural to make the day to day easy (have to get up at 5.30 for work). IPL got rid of the shaving/waxing issue, facials make me nervous, but polaris to stimulate collagen once a quarter is manageable plus I look after my skin each day (but can’t bear masks you have to wash off again), highlights once a quarter & a haircut so good I can dry it upside down in 2.5 minutes, no product (my hairdresser used to try to teach me blowdrying techniques until I explained that I was going to dry it upside down for about 2 minutes & his challenge was to cut it well enough to survive this), acrylic on my nails every two weeks so they don’t tear & the polish lasts (if it’s well done, the nails aren’t damaged), my skin is so dry that I have to use body lotion am & pm , but that only takes a minute, 5 minute makeup, at home not on public transport. Eat well, exercise (that you enjoy) regularly. Best to have a manageable routine that you do do than products in the cabinet & good intentions.
It’s exhausting isnt it? I say its better to embrace imperfection and use all that time and money to make ourselves more interesting, kinder women instead: learn a new language, call your parents, volunteer at an hospital, these are the things that bring fullfilment and purpose to life.
darlings, do any of you have kids ,well its all ovah,no seriously its even more effort
We must share thoughts sometimes! I was thinking about this a few days ago and was going to write a list!!! I envy men sometimes. Women have a lot of expectations generally about themselves and sometimes towards other women which can add pressure even if not spoken. However the other day a red blooded male basically said he can’t stand women with excess fat…. So it’s a cruel world really. I believe it’s best to be happy in your own skin and try not to be someone else or please others before yourself.
Thanks
Polly xx
Maybe you’ve been living in New York too long? This list sounds super hard, surely no one actually does all of that. I think of your post about the beautiful women you know in Corsica, surely they don’t have lists like this but are beautiful despite it…. Chill out ;-) xx
Omg, the list is exhausting! The worst thing that I forget is sunscreen. I don’t spend too much time outside. I forget to shave, especially if no one is going to see that area. Sometimes I forget to pluck, but when it gets noticeable I remember. I never put body lotion on. Never have, for some reason. I don’t paint my nails because they chip too quickly and I get pissed. I do forget to get my hair trimmed as often as I should.
So don’t forget, just eliminate some things! That’s too much for anyone.
Donna
Prettysparklythings
So many good comments here! I think it’s good to concentrate on only the ones most important to you. For me, it’s always washing my face, never going to bed without doing so, putting on my masks, wearing sunscreen daily, rain or shine (I live in California). I touch up my own hair, do my own nails, and like to swim in the gym, (because I love it, not because I have to maintain the perfect body) never these weights and stuff. Not fun. I think perhaps the French mindset is a woman must be perfect all the time. You need to breathe, live, and surround yourself with natural people who aren’t that overly-concerned with appearance, but inner beauty. Let’s not forget this. Do good to/for others, love, love God, nature, old people, animals, our children. Proverbs 31:30: Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.
Garance, you are beautiful!
I can totally relate! It’s nice to know that you’re not the only one who gets quite obsessive-compulsive with grooming..especially the basics. And it can get a little tiring sometimes. But after a while (or too much time), when you see yourself almost-perfectly polished, it feels so rewarding. So yeah.
Hi, very good topic! Recently I saw a video with the so adorable DvF interviewed by Elettra Wiedemann. She said, never rely on Beauty… because it fades… never forget.. the most important relationship is with yourself.
For me, that means also, less dependance and more independance from what I assume my social environment wants from me – maybe that helps also my inner beauty to blossom….;-) haha.
I stopped spending too much time with that beauty regime (esp. constantly doing your nails can absorb soo much time…) and I stopped buying most of the expensive cosmetics for facial, body, etc. (well, one small exception…really can’t resist that black-box packaging from Chanel..just looks too good in your bathroom.) So maybe better you keep going to forget…;-)
I try not to obsess to much about my looks and focus on the inside but then after two weeks I look in the mirror and all of the sudden my uni brow is back and my eyebrows are connecting to my hairline and I look like a hairy ape — I think its important to do a daily upkeep and utilize long lasting treatments m ex. shellac manis and waxing? I think the secret is to make just a little time for yourself every day and try to enjoy the process .. even the hair pulling.
btw. way easier said than done !
Chère Garance,
Avant je pensais tellement comme toi, et j’avoue que cela revient vite au galop quand je ne me surveille pas. Mais ce “control break” prouve un vrai manque de confiance en soi et je trouve cela triste.
Pourquoi nous les femmes nous devrions autant prendre soin de nous pour un résultat souvent juste “correct” ?
Je tiens à souligner en plus que les hommes n’y voient en général que du feu, pour eux on est belle un point c’est tout, pas de décryptage “elle est belle parce que sa peau est hydratée deux fois par jours par tels ou tels sérums….”.
Je pense avec le temps (je n’ai que 21 ans pourtant) qu’une femme vraiment belle, une femme irrésistible est une femme accomplie, une femme qui se sent bien avec ce qu’elle est et du coup cela transparait sur ce qu’elle dégage. Je pense qu’au lieu de tous ces produits il vaut mieux tomber amoureuse, avoir un projet, être animée par quelque chose. Parce que de toute façon la génétique y est pour beaucoup et que pour les moins jolies d’entre nous prendre autant de temps à se barbouiller et à se remplir la tête d’obligations n’arrange en général pas grand chose. Non, soyons libre en acte et en esprit, soyons belle d’être heureuse et accomplie, prenons plutôt du temps à se délecter d’un bon livre ou d’une belle expo que de perdre tant d’heures chez le coiffeur, la manucure etc, buvons un verre, prenons soin des gens qu’on aime, prenons soin de nos trésors intérieurs, de notre bonté et alors je vous assure, nous irradierons la terre entière. Ayons confiance en notre pouvoir d’être femmes.
Superbe commentaire Fiona
J’adhère complètement, entièrement
you have beautiful handwriting. i can’t get past it.
All the time it takes! All the products! All of the time it takes to find the right products!
But, I have to do it—I don’t want to look mousy.
Well it seems you really embraced the american way of like or, rather the new yorker way of life!
Come on breath, enjoy the life and give up all that stuff which is not really useful to help you live (or do they?).
Taking car of one’s skin and body is important, our body is our envelop true, pampering oneself is a good idea but .. this is madness and I’d much rather be in my place in France than to yours!
Les années se sont accumulées pour moi, j’ai adapté mes soins mais je ne passe pas 3 heures au “salon”, mes ongles sont propres mais naturels (et alors ?!!), mes cheveux vivent leur vie (assez de ces lissages intempestifs, pourquoi avoir peur des boucles, de la folie, de la différence ?) et, mes cheveux blancs se voient au travers de mon hénné, et je m’en fiche; Quant aux cheveux courts, j’ai donné, pff trop d’entretien, pas le temps ni les moyens ni l’envie. Mais j’ai une pêau propre, sans fond de teint. Pour le reste, j’essaye de profiter du peu de vraie nature qu’il nous reste pour me promener et admirer ce que nous sommes en train de détruire.
Hold your life and your skin instead of geeting held by it and all the diktats!
Wow, NY really got to you… As someone already wrote: think about being beautiful the Corsican way! Having said that, I do realise that when you work in fashion standards are different.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who forgets to do all this stuff…there was a time when I was pretty regimented in my beauty routine, and I couldn’t imagine forgetting to put on all my lotion all over my body, straightening my hair, etc. -but it was also when my life was a lot more BORING. Now I have goals, a job, a family – so when I have free time, the last thing I want to do is sit around and preen – I want to live! So I think this is better. :-)
Don’t forget to apply SPF on the back of your neck, now that your hair is short! Leather necks are only for turtles….
Dans une vie pleine et épanouie, le nombre de couches de vernis n est pas très important…
Moi j’ai l’impression de pas avoir trop le choix pour certaines choses comme les soins visages : quand on a des problèmes de peau, tous ces petits gestes aident à avoir confiance en soi, à se sentir bien. Après ça ne me dérange pas car j’adore prendre soin de moi !
Hello Garance,
Quelle pression, c’est fou… Pour ma part je fait le minimum : douche, crème visage et corps, épilation…
un gommage au sucre et huile d’olive quand j’y pense….
Je crois qu’il faut ne pas se prendre la tête et rester dans le plaisir et le moment présent…et vive le naturel!!! :-)))
belle journée
Alex
sad to say… sometimes i forget to eat :(
Great post, as always! You hit the nail on the head – as time passes, the list grows. But, what I’ve realized is: I’m spinning my wheels if my goal is to look the SAME as I did in my younger days. That is called fighting a losing battle. I would just like to be the BEST version of the age I am NOW (45). It is hard, though, when all of the mags and TV commercials are using the younger models who perfection is unobtainable to us “middle-agers”. Do you know I actually saw Coco Rocha used in a L’oreal Anti-Wrinkle cream — isn’t she like 27??!!! Wrinkle cream? Really?!!!
Why do we try to be perfect? What’s the point in being perfect? Does it make us happy?
J’avoue que je tombe un peu des nues en lisant ce post. En quoi faut-il être “nickel” pour être “sortable” ? ça m’est aussi arrivée de faire ce genre de check list, mais de là à me sentir coupable si je n’ai pas mis de vernis ou d’hydratant sur le corps… Je trouve ça ridicule et assez rétrograde pour les femmes.
It’s hard being a woman! Yes, I want to be as natural as possible, but nowadays expectations on beauty are higher than ever. “The model” gets thinner, a nip ‘n’ tuck is more popular than gluten, and we have less time as we work, take care of the home and kids, socialize (face-to-face and in cybermedia), etc.
How have expectations of men changed throughout the years?
P.S. I love your handwriting!
My full beauty routine requires something like 40 products and tools…that’s way too many to do every day!
You don’t need to do all of that stuff to be pretty or well groomed… you should be doing it because you want to and because it makes you feel good, right? If you are bored getting your feet done than don’t. A.) it is winter so no one sees your feet anyways B.) it should be relaxing, not boring…
I would say to enjoy forgetting some of that stuff!
http://behindthemirrorbeauty.com/
Bonjour Garance, et les autres lectrices,
Je n’ai “que” 22 ans et je suis passée par plusieurs phases concernant la case beauté / soin.
J’ai une peau très difficile et je suis brune à la peau claire … donc autant vous dire que les médecins s’en sont donnés à coeur joie…
Je vais me faire épiler très régulièrement et je scrute ma peau en permanence… je fais des gommages, je m’hydrate, je fais du sport, je mange équilibré, et pourtant rien n’y fait, ma peau est nulle.
Pendant un moment je pensais qu’il n’ y avait que les cheveux lisses m’allaient bien donc je me les lissais tous les jours… mais je me suis aperçue au bout de deux ans que je ne pouvais plus sortir de chez moi sans fond de teint et que j’étais capable de refuser d’aller à une soirée si j’avais un peu la frange grasse et les cheveux pas impeccablement lisses.
Cet été, j’ai été hospitalisée et la bas je n’ai rien pu faire de tout ça pendant 5 jours… et ça a changé ma vie.
Depuis cette expérience le regard que j’ai sur moi a changé du tout au tout: je ne me lisse plus les cheveux (et en fait c’est bien mieux!), j’ai laissé poussé ma frange, je ne fais plus de couleur et il m’arrive même de sortir sans maquillage. Je refuse tout traitement hormonal également, je ne fais plus d’UV, et vais chez le coiffeur le moins possible
Je pense que cette société nous met toutes sous pressions et qu’elle modifie le regard que nous pouvons avoir sur nous même. Quelle injustice comparé aux hommes (le temps de préparation dont tu parles)…
J’adore te lire depuis plusieurs années, car je trouve que tu es une des rares blogeuses qui soit aussi sincère… et aussi professionnelle biensûr… Pourtant je ne peux pas m’empêcher de penser que même toi tu te mets une pression qui n’est pas nécessaire et que c’est le milieu de la mode (que pourtant j’ai tendance à “admirer”) qui nous met ces stigmates dans la tête… je n’invente rien en disant tout ça mais je pense que le travail commence peut-être à votre échelle vous qui êtes un peu les intermédiaires …?
Un peu de naturel par pitié ;-)
Less is so much more. I just shaved my hair so short, and stopped wearing make up, and have never liked how I looked more! For real! Shower less and you need less soap and moisturizer, and it’s better for your skin anyway. Zen is beauty. Love yourself and you will love how you look, love how you look and others will love how you look. As for body hair, let it grow! You are French for crying out loud! Read a book and your brain will be prettier. I keep my nails short. Products are sold to us with empty promises.
ta liste comporte plein de soins auxquels je n’aurai pas pensé!! je me suis bien organisée et depuis j’ai une vraie beauty routine qui me laisse du temps pour faire autre chose parceque c’est vrai que c’est trop long sinon:
– une trousse de toilette spéciale pour les soins du week end (gommages et masques), que j’emmene aussi au spa ou j’essaie d’aller une fois par mois
– la creme pour les mains et le stick à levres sont dans la voiture et j’en mets à chaque feu rouge
– pour l’épilation… > laser!
– la teinture a la maison pendant que je fais les ongles, un gommage corps, ou que je lis le journal !!
voilivoilou, je cours à la piscine maintenant !
oh my gosh, i love you! This is exactly my life. But unlike you I dream to be perfect. I would love to be perfect and flawless and beautiful. But as I look down at my nails they really need a paint, and I was lazy to wash my hair so it is going to be in a bun today. I would love a facial but I don’t have time to go and get one. You are amazing, and I’m glad that you shared this, makes me feel ok. And makes me think it’s ok that I don’t quite get there because it is normal. :P
Thanks x
HALLELUJAH !!!!!!
Puinaise.. moi aussi j’en ai marre de ces heures que je perds a faire tout ca ! Et qu’est ce que j’en ai marre d’oublier la moitier comme toi! A un tel point oú l’autre soir, en me demaquillant et me lavant comme tout les soirs, j’ai regarder dans le miroire (déjà j’aime pas sa parce que je suis vraiment horrible 2 min après m’avoir démaquiller parceque j’ai les yeux rouge a force de frotter etc beurk!) en me demandant ce que j’ai oublier .. impossible de trouver .. En fait j’avaii oublier de me brosser les dents … Alors pour te dire .. sa deviens grave!!!!!
Contente de savoir que je ne suis pas la seul a se sentir comme sa !
Super article!!
Bisous
fLow
http://thechanelflow.wordpress.com
I loved this article/post. I agree, I do however tweeze every evening and morning, I never forget to look into the magnifying glass and I mask twice to once a week, I only shave me legs on Sundays and apply my lotion and self-tanner too. I get my haircut once every two to three months and I use Keratin based haircare products, I get my grey dyed every 3 to 4 weeks, lately it seems like it’s growing out faster. I do use age appropriate skincare daily/nightly and I only wear makeup during the work week, weekends if I’m going somewhere where it matters how I look, and I’m lazy! I do what I have to be because I am vain, the health of our skin, hair and nails is important.
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