DORÉ

Hey Christine, you and I must have seen the same girl. I’m all for saving time in the mornings but I agree, it was a bit much.

Encore hier matin je voyais une fille appliquer son fond de teint poudre et son Khôl dans le bus (je vis à Paris)…. Moi vraiment je ne pourrai pas. Faire ça devant tout le monde …C’est juste pas possible, ça casse un peu “la magie” de l’illusion ;)

The fear of dropping something on the subway floor is enough for me to avoid the process but I’ve always envied the people that can apply eyeliner on the moving train, with no re-dos!

Lifelong NYer and I think its gross. I don’t eat the train either.

I live in the Netherlands too, and there are a lot of girls who do it on the train or in the metro. I only do it when I overslept, just like Suze, I prefer my look to be finished when I step outside. Make up is something that is supposed to happen in private, just as putting on clothes, no one dresses in public either!
But, if you really have to put on make up in a moving vehicle: try to touch as little of the vehicle as possible, that way you will not feel the bumps as much. For eye liner, rest your hand who holds the brush/pencil against your face if possible, that way if your head moves so does your hand and you don’t get a sudden strange eye liner line across your face…

She Wears: Fashion Illustration Blog

C’est vrai que des fois je suis un peu gênée de me re-maquiller en public (je fais une drôle de grimace), alors je me cache dans les toilettes les plus proches pour le faire!

Ca arrive de temps en temps à Paris, mais pas si souvent que ça, je trouve !
Je ne pourrais jamais le faire à cause du manque d’hygiène dans le métro.
Mais ça m’attirel’oeil : lorsque je vois quelqu’un se maquiller dans le métro, j’ai toujours envie de regarder, surtout depuis le jour où j’ai vu une fille se maquiller tellement bien qu’elle se métamorphosait au fur et à mesure !

Not for me either… the worst is when your sitting in an eatery and the lady at the next table just reaches in her bag whips out her hair brush and gives her mane a brush through! disgusting!…. lip gloss or lip stick in public is ok… but tweezing?…. applying full make-up??….. not for me.x

http://www.myclayexperience.com/

I do apply every morning while on my way, though I do it in car not in subway. But as I am dancer I think I have applieed make up and tried to dress up in every possible place. I don’t see anything wrong about it but it does not look as good as applying a hint of lipstick :)

Ca se fait à Paris aussi, ça se fait dans tous les métros du monde je pense! Je ne ferais jamais ça, et je comprend pas les filles qui font ça! Je préfère prendre 10 minutes avant de partir pour faire le minimum plutôt que faire dans le métro, devant tout le monde, ça bouge, … non merci!

http://www.laurablogmode.com

Yeah, applying makeup while driving is just stupid. There is no way you can look at your face and the road at the same time. If you’re truly driving with your full attention (well, you wouldn’t be applying makeup then would you?), your makeup would come out horrid. It’s best to get to your destination in one piece and without hurting anyone else, and do your makeup in the parking lot. You can touch it up in the bathroom once you get inside. It’s just careless and extremely selfish to do it while driving. I’m not aiming this at the person who wrote the comment, btw, just at anyone who does this. Would you really want to look someone in the eye and tell them their son or daughter is on longer on this planet because your mascara was more important? Not worth it.

On the other hand, car makeup if you are not driving is certainly ok. My mother is perpetually late and had to drop my siblings and I off at two different schools, so I got to be a pro at car makeup. Honestly, I think I do my makeup better when I’m in the passenger seat than I do at my vanity. The annoying things about car makeup, though, are when the driver swerves (my parents don’t take their turns very well) and the entire contents of your bag go flying around the car and under the seats, and also the people who think it’s ok to stare at you while you’re at red lights. It’s not really that strange, hairy old dude, and also eyes on the road.

I don’t see a problem here – I am always, always late because I just do not know what to wear most of the time and usually leave the house only with foundation and mascara on, eyeliner and lipstick are applied on the tram or bus if needed. It’s a great way not to waste time on public transport, I couldn’t do anything more productive in the early morning…

Sabrina
apixiesviewonfashion.com

This is a thread that goes on on many blogs and always generates a lot of comments ! And each time there is a “‘war” between the “pro” and “against” :-)
What I really want to do, is to ask Christine, the 1st comment, why she relates to the woman putting on her make-up as annoying ??
I don’t know how it can annoy anyone. Annoying people are the ones who listen to music too loud, smell or cough in your face… But putting on your own make up ???

Ah oui, moi aussi je trouve ça horrible les gens qui se coupent les ongles dans les transports publics, avec leur coupe-ongle qui fait un bruit sec à chaque fois! La lime aussi, c’est terrible.
Quand au fait de se coiffer les cheveux dans le métro, j’ai longtemps eu la hantise d’y attraper des poux… On a tous nos phobies!
Le maquillage, oui pourquoi pas… mais appliquer du fond de teint avec des mains pas très propres, je ne sais pas, je préfère ne pas me maquiller du tout. On n’est pas obligée de se maquiller pour sortir de chez soi, si?

I was in the Paris Metro…This guy sits next to me. He starts shaking a deodorant can and then lifts his shirt to spray his arm pits with the deodorant….I was so shocked because I have never, ever seen someone do this on the metro…It was funny to say the least…

I did see a guy cutting his TOEs, can you believe? In the Train of course and putting on make-up in busses and trains is half-common

Get up 10 minutes earlier ladies!

I never do it, but if I saw it I don’t think it would annoy me in the slightest. I would be fascinated!

http://www.FashionSnag.com

I’ll admit to being guilty of putting on makeup on the train and I know it’s totally awkward and inappropriate but when I’m running late I do it…but I’ve seen people cutting their nails (not just fingers, toes too!!!!) and then I feel better about myself. :)

I’m not even kidding. I once saw a regular looking business guy in a suit take off his socks and shoes and cut his toenails on the train! During rush hour! I wish I was making this up. Also, I once saw someone pull a weave out on the train, I saw someone shave on the train and….oh gd, my subway stories…. I can go on and on! But yeah, totally guilty of the makeup thing. Eyeliner on the train is not an easy thing. :)

http://asequinloveaffair.com

Je suis complètement d’accord avec ton article, je ne me vois pas du tout me maquiller dans le métro. Si je dois le faire, je me lève un peu plus tôt pour pouvoir me maquiller tranquillement chez moi … et pour la petite info, bienheureusement, en France, il y a aussi des métros à Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, etc ( Paris n’est pas la seule à bénéficier de ce fabuleux transport ! ) :-)

Oui, ds les métros ou bus parisiens ça se fait aussi, les utilisateurs des lignes 10-11 m’ont vu le faire des tas de fois…mais bon , apres, mon make up est minimal, anticernes pinceau, blush, mascara( au arrêts) … Ce n est pas systématique, mais en tant que retardataire pathologique ca rattrape quelques situations !!!!!!!!!! et mini gel pr les mains of course !!!!!! En revanche ai beaucoup plus de mal avec le RAL, je trouve ça plus personnel, mais c est aussi ss doute car ça ne fait pas partie de ma routine et reste cantonné aux situations exceptionnelles !!!!

This happens all over the world :). Even though I don’t like doing my make-up on the metro/train, I end up doing it every now and then (I’m not a morning person…). On a quiet train, I actually enjoy it because I can take way more time to apply everything and do a double check than I would at home. But it is important that no one can see me!
By the way: shouldn’t applying nail polish in a public area be forbidden? The smell is awful. Oh, and using a nail file, because of the sound it makes. And biting nails, for the same reason. LOL :)

As a Londoner I see this every day and can’t see a problem with a quick sweep of mascara and a bit of lipstick. However when I see whole transformations taking place on the Tube with foundation, concealer, BB creams, bronzer etc I can’t help but think that just waking up a few minutes earlier would be far easier rather than risking getting your lotions and potions all over the people sitting next to you. I have seen this happen. Seeing a man in his black pinstripe suit suddenly become covered in splodges of cream foundation because the train jolted suddenly and the lady didn’t have a decent grip on the bottle makes for quite an interesting argument.

I saw one girl applying her makeup on the train the other day in Paris. Having lived in London for a long time, it’s something I was used to witnessing on a daily basis, so not a big deal for me… sometimes one can learn something new :)

Hana

http://www.journeyintolavillelumiere.com/

je suis parisienne, et oui, ça arrive à Paris, mais pas si souvent, je trouve … (moi perso je ne le fais jamais)
et oui, on ne peut pas s’empêcher de regarder la fille dans ses cas là … Moi ça me rappelle quand j’étais petite et que je regardais (avec fascination) ma mère qui se maquillait …. C’est à la fois féminin et touchant.

Grâce à une fille qui se métamorphosait sous mes yeux dans le RER, j’ai compris comment utiliser correctement un pinceau estompeur :D
Tuto maquillage en live!

I live in Melbourne and I’ve seen it once or twice, but it’s not so common here.

I’ve never seen anyone apply their whole make-up in public until I moved to London. and women here do it all the time. I thought this was a London thing but now I see it happens in New York as well. To be honest I find it very weird and also makes me feel a bit awkward. I could never do it as I would be very self-conscious and I believe it’s the kind of thing one should not do in public. It’s a bit tacky. Lipstick on the other hand is a different story. I wear a lot of red lipstick as well and it does need to be re-applied from time to time but as you said re=applying lipstick can be rather sexy while applying foundation is not.

Oh, hell no. It feels totally wrong to put make-up in public. The exception is lipstick, of course, and I may allow powder in that list. But other than that… no. I think it is actually a bit funny and mysterious to pretend that you don’t use make-up and just perfect that way. Some men can’t see make-up on the face (although I find it absolutely baffling – what? are you blind?) and there were occasions when men asked me if I had any make-ep on. Without hesitation I answered “no”. Because, really, I am a woman, and it’s no ones business what do behind closed doors at home, it’s like a question about age, it is considered to be a bit impolite…

I usually never thought this would ever bother me.

But one day i was having a weird bout of nausea while waiting for my plane in Paris’ CDG airport. and a lady sititng next to me at the gate was painting her nails. It was an eye-watering-ly bad moment. And if that was not enough when she was done she doused herself in perfume. It was Chanel perfume but still…i almost threw up.

Il est fréquent que je termine mon maquillage dans le train lorsque je suis en déplacement professionnel. Une fois que je suis installée, j’applique mon mascara. Il paraît que les hommes trouvent cela très sexy et charmant. Ils ont l’impression de se glisser dans l’univers secret féminin. Et leurs regards me le confirment , en effet.
En revanche, jamais je ne pourrais m’appliquer du fond de teint, du terracotta, de l’anti-cernes ou du blush en public. Là, effectivement, ça casse carrément le mythe. Le mascara, ce n’est pas pareil. On sait qu’une femme n’est pas radicalement différente selon qu’elle porte ou non du mascara. C’est juste la petite touche qui donne de la sophistication et de la profondeur au regard. Mettre du mascara, c’est aussi un geste de coquetterie. Mais le teint, tel qu’il apparaît parfait après qu’on a mis crème, poudre e tutti quanti, est supposé être celui que nous avons en permanence, dès le saut du lit. Donc, hors de question de dévoiler quoi que ce soit. Ca serait comme s’épiler en public. Horrible !
Le truc, c’est de donner l’impression qu’on ajoute une petite note de féminité et de coquetterie avec son mascara ou son rouge à lèvres, alors, qu’en réalité, on n’en a pas besoin, puisqu’on a le teint absolument parfait et lumineux…
Bon, en fait, je termine mon maquillage avec le mascara dans le train, parce que, je ne sais pas pourquoi, mais ça me prend toujours un temps fou d’appliquer du mascara. Autant le teint, c’est assez rapide, autant le mascara exige de la précision et de la minutie. Donc, pour ne pas être en retard, je zappe cette étape chez moi pour faire cela dans le train.

I really think it is a kinf odf international thing: there are lots of girls in Rome aplying anything on the metro, on the bus (how do you do that?! I mean in rome it is impossible fro the bus not to move fast or unexpectedly and let you ruin all your make up job).
It’s not for me either.

letyourselfbeinspiredby.blogspot.it

‘I don’t believe the 5 second rule applies to anything on the subway.’ Great line!

As for applying make up in public…for me it’s a definite no. Like some others stated above: just wake up a few minutes earlier. Same goes for brushing your hair in public. Always gives me the heebie jeebies. Lipstick on the other hand doesn’t bother me, perhaps because it’s similar to applying lip balm.

Loved this article, Alex!

Applying lipstick in public is sexy and applying full makeup in public is entertaining for those who care to watch:)

I am not a self conscious person, but this is just asking everyone to look at me become more beautiful or I need this to feel beautiful…whichever is not the way to go about it. Applying lipstick especially red requires you do it but with a little more panache than applying your full face. I have seen this on the train and bus and it just makes me wanna say STOP you’re applying too much ever heard of less is more?

Disgusting!
I cannot relate to women (if you can even call them that) who groom or put on makeup in public. It is so revolting and not very lady like at all. How can they allow men to look at them and see how blah they look and the need to show you have to wear makeup and to look decent/presentable? Why oh why would a person do this? I see this done daily on the train, and it is so revolting. Organize your life and be prepared to be the best you can be. If you ran out of time for makeup, go without. Every woman has lipgloss or lipstick in their purse or pocket to quickly put on.

“And for those of you in Paris, do you see this happen on the metro or is it just a New York City public transit phenomenon?” Alex, do you know that metro is not only in NY and Paris right? ;)

I live in Mexico City and women do it all the time. I suppose it’s normal in places where you have to move great distances. I don’t do it because I’m shy and I don’t like being watched, but I actually enjoy watching the women that do it! I feel like I learn how to apply make-up in different ways.

Oui pour le rpuge à lèvre. Je mets du rouge à lèvre le matin à peu près oú du moment oú c’est nécessaire: dans le reflet de la vitre dans le métro, dans l’ascenseur ou même dans la rue ( merci les rétroviseurs de voiture)

The worst is when people use hairspray!!

This happens in Chicago too. To each his/her own, but I find it a little off-putting. I think a lipstick or powder touch-up is one thing, but a full blown morning regimen is another. And I agree with Garance–it attracts too much attention. I’m too shy for that!

It does happen in Paris too, and i always find it disgusting. I mean, how anti-hygienic is it? AND i find it as disturbing as seeing someone brushing their teeth in the street would be. I think it’s a highly intimate thing, making up. I mean, you wouldn’t do it in your office in front of everyone, so why do it in a metro packed with strangers -and maybe some of your colleagues? Seems so strange to me, people doing this.

J’ai toujours une vision d’horreur.. un freinage brusque et la fille qui se crève l’oeil avec son mascara ou son kohl..
et ca me refait penser à cette fille l’autre jour qui a fait tomber sa houpette par terre en se mettant du fond de teint poudre ou du blush.. elle a soufflé dessus.. vu la propreté du métro à paris, JAMAIS je n’aurais jamais osé la réutiliser..
je n’ose déjà pas m’asseoir ni toucher quoi que ce soit…

In 2011, I read an interview of Tom Ford for Vogue.com, where he was saying that although he believes that a woman should never do her make up in public, he once met a beauty that pulled it off perfectly, just because it was “her thing”. I think that I kind of agree with that. I always finish my make up at home, but there is something sexy in applying your lipstick in public. Especially a red one! I find it empowering and provocative (in a good way!) to stand in the middle of the street, or even in the subway, and get out my mirror and my lipstick, to reapply a perfect shade of red!

I live in Paris. Sometimes, I just don’t have enough time to get ready before leaving my apartment (too lazy to get up on time…) so I put my make up on in public. And YES some people are watching you, you are doing a show for them, and especially for men. They are very curious about the way we apply our make up (they watch every step of the process) and they can’t wait to see what we look like right after.
I find it funny because I have to assume the fact that they are looking at me because I put them into my privacy area without asking them for their permission.
And it´s time-saving because I put on the make up during my subway time (useless time ever!) and now I know exactly how to apply my make up in a dangerous place full of vibrations!

It also happens in London! I have previously applied powder, kohl and lipstick but is not something I do often ( only if I am going somewhere after work). The only thing is that you need to make sure you grab a seat!

Yesterday I was talking with my friends about putting make up in public and we have the same opinion that it is too intimate to do this in public and you need to have some acrobatic skills to do this on moving vehical ;) and this situation happens not only in New York but also in Edinburgh buses and bus stops. Cheers!!!! :)

A week ago I was riding the District Line of London Underground, sitting next to a girl with a large Prada bag, open and perched on her lap in front of her. I tried not to notice, but during about the next 10 minutes she removed from her bag and applied makeup from a compact with a brush, mascara, blusher and ultimately lipstick.

I was expecting her to pull a bottle of perfume from the bag next, but that didn’t happen before she got up and exited the train at her station.

I see this in London all the time and it never looks good. Firstly, terrible lighting and a bumpy moving tube train hardly foster excellence in make up application. Secondly, I have seen foundation & powder spilled on the person next to them, so that’s a risk. Thirdly, some things just shouldn’t be done in public, it’s inappropriate. Fourthly, the tube is filthy (as are many of the make up applicators that I have seen).

Filing nails is particularly disgusting, I don’t need to breathe in other people’s nail filings. Painting nails is just mad (it’s not a smooth ride)

Re-applying lipstick, yes. Anything more, for everyone’s sake organise yourself to have five minutes at home, wait until you get to work. It’s a public space & we should be considerate of others

I live in London and see full makeup application on the tube frequently! I have to say I am of the old school in that personal grooming should be done in private. It seems to me that making yourself up, hair brushing, etc are private activities we do to face the world looking a certain way and that doing it in public negates that. Why bother with makeup if we’ve all seen you without it anyway? Then that leads me to the thought that these people only do it in front of us because they don’t know us and therefore to them we don’t exist as critical beings. They wouldn’t do it in front of friends or at a party. It’s the anonymity that allows them to act like they are in front of their bathroom mirror while actually sitting on a tube train surrounded by strangers. Therefore they are treating us as if we don’t exist! That’s annoying! Also, brushing your hair and pulling the strands off so they float away and land on my clothes IS disgusting.

Depuis que je fais régulièrement des aller-retour en train pour voir mon amoureux, je n’hésite plus : c’est préparation du teint à la maison, puis maquillage des yeux 45 minutes avant d’arriver en gare (après l’inévitable gros roupillon sous le plaid…) J’évite ainsi les vilaines bavures de mascara et j’arrive telle une fleur pour rejoindre mon cher et tendre.Bon par contre j’avoue que je me contente du recourbe-cils, crayon, mascara et que je prévoie toujours des lingettes pour me nettoyer les mains avant de commencer.

I live in Melbourne and though it’s not common, I do see it on occasion. Personally I find it disgusting. I know that’s a strong word but it’s the truth. It revolts me. Especially when it’s foundation being smeared all over the face, globs of mascara, powder… UGH.

Once, a woman next to me whipped out a compact of pressed foundation (which normally I don’t find so bad, if it’s just a touch up) but here’s the thing, the sponge she was applying it with STANK to high heaven. I’m not kidding. I literally gagged. Ladies, if you’re going to apply makeup on the train at least make sure it doesn’t stink like some type of hot mildewy bog in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

And another thing, where is the joy in your morning and daily routine if you’re trying to apply makeup on the train?!!!!! I love my morning routine with my coffee and everything set out in my bathroom nicely. Walking out the door all ready to face the world with confidence – good lord I sound like one of those advice columnists from the 50s – but it’s true! I can’t imagine trying to juggle make-up and bag and book and phone etc etc. Just get up early, or don’t wear make-up!

And another another thing! What the hell do you do if you see someone from work or a guy that you kind of know and like but don’t know that well, and probably your going to see him at a party this Saturday and you’re just in the stage of checking each other out but it could totally be a Thing, gets on the train – and your like – ‘oh, Hi! let me just put down my mascara wand to shake hands or kiss or whatever’ – would you want to see him trimming his beard and nostril hairs? I actually met my, now long term partner on the train so these things do happen!

I feel very strongly – no personal grooming should happen on trains or public transport.
Gross things are:
– Brushing your hair so that the longish, badly bleached strands all float over and land on my black trousers (including the little glob of hair follicle at the very end which I can’t but help focus on with one horrified eye that bulges and throbs out of my skull);
– Scraping into your ear canal with your finger nail, pulling it out, inspecting it and then flicking or scraping your findings along the seat or your shirt or whatever;
– Scratching at your scalp. Scratch scratch scratch. Check nails, scraped whitish scalp grease off nails and flick it. Scratch scratch scratch – rinse and repeat.

La 1ère fois que j’ai vu des filles se maquiller nonchalamment dans le métro, c’est à Londres. Tout de suite, j’ai trouvé ça abusé, limite un peu vulgaire, comme si on était projeté de force dans leur salle de bains avec elles.
Et puis un jour, je l’ai fait, et j’ai compris pourquoi elles le faisaient : parce que comme moi, elles sont des grosses loutres, se lèvent à la dernière seconde, et préfèrent tuer le temps du métro à se maquiller dedans plutôt que de perdre 10 minutes de sommeil pour le faire chez elles !!!
J’ai arrêté de le faire pendant plusieurs années, et puis je m’y suis remise. 10 minutes de sommeil en plus quand on a un bébé, ça compte !
Par contre je n’aime pas le faire, c’est clair, même si j’ai réussi à dominer mes à-priori du style “oh la la, ça fait vulgaire, tout le monde me regarde, je force les gens à entrer un peu dans mon intimité”. Et puis on n’est pas libre de ses mouvements : chez moi j’ai plus de pinceaux à disposition, je peux m’étaler, je peux me laver les mains entre chaque produit (car je me maquille beaucoup avec les doigts).
La semaine dernière, j’ai investi pour la 1ère fois dans un fond de teint fluide, j’ai aussi acheté un Beauty Blender pour l’étaler, et là, il va falloir que je me l’applique chez moi, hors de question de faire ça dans le métro, j’aurais, comment dire….l’impression de mettre mes sous-vêtements devant les gens !!

Voilà Alex, si ça a pu répondre à certaines de tes interrogations…

Je me maquille peu, sous l’impulsion du regard bienveillant de mon amoureux qui me dit “j’aime ta peau nue”, mais aussi parce que je préfère passer 5min de plus au lit (avec ou sans l’amoureux). Du coup ces 5 minutes sont reportées au temps des transports en commun: anticernes sur l’arcade et sous l’oeil, mascara, feutre à lèvres, et surtout du bon son dans les oreilles (la pèche et la joie ça fait 80% du travail selon moi)

Timai en parle très très bien sur son blog (notamment dans tous ses post tagués “s’en foutre”): http://www.superbytimai.com/2011/06/20/la-survivor-trousse/#content

I wouldn’t do it, but mostly because I’d feel like I’d mess up all over – I never carry a mirror with me!
Also, some of the comments are really harsh and judgemental! Live and let live indeed, the metro/ subway/ underground is disgusting in the first place, so don’t make it any worse, that’s all!
But the whole speech about “women should keep some sense of mystery/ always be at your best” is very sexist. Why oh why do we force ourselves (and other women, by judging them!) to do things that men wouldn’t even consider thinking about? Why are we so obsessed by appearances when men can just be?

De plus en plus souvent!
Au début j’avais peur de me crever un oeil, mais avec l’habitude c’est devenu un petit plaisir et ça me permet de gagner du temps. Je n’ai aucune honte à le faire en public. C’est vrai que les gens regardent, mais ça leur fait quelque chose à regarder comme ça ^^ on voit pire dans les transports en commun!! heurk!!!
Le plus marrant c’est quand je retrouve des collègues dans le train. Certains matins nous sommes 3 à nous maquiller en papotant, c’est pas génial ça?! :D

My position on this is somewhere in the middle … I agree the number of comments that call making up in public “inappropriate” are kind of disturbing; a very 19th century attitude I think. Let’s drop this pretense that “I don’t care how I look/it doesn’t matter how I look/I just rolled out of bed this way”. We all care, because it does matter, and no, you didn’t. Better just admit that last and work with it, because these days there are some circumstances that just about require you to show your unvarnished self to the world (Japanese-style commute, or transatlantic flight, or whatever).

Unhygienic, though, is a concern I can get behind. Subways are pretty dirty-germy places. Any kind of finger-based application is totally out of the question under such circumstances; hard to get to your seat without touching anything, and then .. it’s microbes in the makeup (or growth medium, as they call it). And, what *if* you drop a brush? Yuck. But I too have seen women who, based on the condition of their makeup applicators, must not worry too much about cleanliness.

Then there is the question of spilling on others … love the story of the London woman who coated here suit-wearing seat mate with foundation. There’s an excellent reason not to make a habit of it, right there.

I can’t bear to watch another woman apply mascara or eyeliner on a moving vehicle; not at all judging, I’m just cringing at the thought of an accident. Urgh. And I would **never** do this, personally, because I like having two eyes. A quick nose powder or lipstick re-apply I will do in public, on the train, or on the street corner, or in a coffeehouse, if tucked away in the corner; but not at the table in a nice restaurant. I mean, there’s a powder room for that, and in a posh place, don’t you want to see it?

Tweezing brows, clipping nails, brushing hair, or doing anything else that inherently sheds little bits of you … should NEVER be done in public, and certainly not at the table. Yuck, yuck, yuck.

I think whipping out makeup in a metro or bus is a risk for contamination. What if someone closeby sneezes and gets germs all over your precious makeup? It’s bound to happen. And more often now that we’re in the colder seasons.

I also find some ladies especially selfish when applying makeup in public transit. They sit next to someone, start to rummage through their purse and then to bump into the person seated next to them. Then they elbow the poor neighbour while applying blush, mascara, lipstick, etc.

Really, there a much more dignified ways to look beautiful. And it starts with having manners.

i ride the paris metro all day long it seems like and i only ever see women putting on lipstick. i think it has to do with the “i woke up like this” look but also the metro is bumpy bumpy bumpy!

Kudos to any girl who can manage to do her makeup in a moving vehicle – however it is not for the clumsy, so it’s not for me!

I find a quick swipe of lip balm usually does the trick.

Interesting discussion. I like the San Francisco approach, not judging. I don’t do it but I can totally understand it happens since it is so early in the morning and we don’t feel like putting on make up at home or simply don’t have time. I find it cool that some trains have a folding table and don’t see why not. If you don’t like it, don’t look at it. It can be weird but we are all weirdoos in a way :)

Very well said Emma! Thank you

One day I saw a girl putting some make-up and perfume on in the bus in Paris, after work. I thought that she was going on a date and thought is was touching.

Then she started SHAVING her UNDERARMS.
IN THE BUS.
I was disgusted and couldn’t stop laughing at my own naiveté of 2 sec earlier.

I have never seen that again since, even in the very open-minded San Francisco ;-)
(where I do some discreet blush/lipsticks touch-ups in public myself, using my iPhone screen in a very geek-chic fashion…)

Selon moi le truc dans le metro ou dan le train n’est pas higienique et il est très genant pour les autres…

In Mexico’s City subway I saw girls put on they hole make up every morning. That was very annoying for me, but it seemed everybody else was used to that. However I have to admit that mexican girls are very pro when it comes to mascara.
I’m from Rio de Janeiro and here you don’t see anyone applying make up on the subway or bus.

I loved the article, congratulation. I was researching some make up articles and I fell out here. Before see this post I found one in a Brazilian website : http://nerddamoda.com/2013/10/inspiracao-de-domingo-batom-dvf/ It’s in portuguese but it’s a more pictured article, the author teach how to make simple but impacting make up.

That’s it I’ll come back always here, wonderful blog!