12 thoughts on “girly girl.”

1. I think that sometimes, when we do up the outside, the inside feels better and more confident.
   I mostly DON’T bother with the whole stuff anymore, but I used to. I still do, when I go somewhere and I want to look and feel my best. I don’t mind curling my hair (in fact, my hair is probably the one thing I’m pretty vain about, because I love the natural color of it and well, it’s pretty), and my makeup ritual is short but makes me look pretty okay.
   I don’t think there’s a thing high-maintenance about wanting to look (and therefore feel) at your best, most self-confident.

   To me, high maintenance women are those who spend all their time “looking good”, they are demanding and selfish, acting as though everyone-including the world-owes them something just for the privilege of being near them.

   High-maintenance you ain’t. :)

2. I didn’t have my first not-at-home pedicure until I was 36 years old and had been a single mom for 16 years. I cried, completely overwhelmed. They’re still a treat, an indulgence I only rarely allow myself, but I smiled to think about the reactions of the women at the camp, what a thoughtful thing to do for women who are usually so busy trying to be everything they have no time to be still and no one to pamper them without an expectation of some kind being attached.

3. All hail the girly girls! And I mean those like you and I, not the vapid, image-obsessed creatures like Ms Hilton.
   Yes, I like to wear makeup and nice clothes and yes, I have a great weakness for products but I also leave the house without makeup sometimes, and the things I do in my spare time, mountain biking and boarding, require me to wear a helmet that leaves my otherwise curly hair flattened to my scalp, body armour that grips in places that it just shouldn’t and leaves my face red from exertion or cold and everything just a little sweaty.
   So it makes me laugh when my boyfriend jokes that I’m high maintenance. The boy doesn’t know he’s born.

4. I don’t really use many products and I rarely wear makeup but I totally get why people do…it’s fun.

   Here’s a secret: I’ve been putting lotion on my entire body after I get out of the shower since I was 12. That is 16 years; you know I’ve got some soft skin. You know why I do this? My 6th grade teacher made fun of my dry knees one day in class..she actually pointed to them and said something. I don’t know if I should dislike her or thank her for teaching me to always use lotion (I guess I could thank her but perhaps tell her there might have been a better way to let me in on the secret of lotion than humiliating me in class.)

   I am very brand loyal when it comes to cosmetics and toiletries. The products I do use have been with me for years and I always stick to sensitive skin type with no fragrance. I just like it better.

5. I love it, and I am totally with you. Hearing about those single mothers is so heartwarming. It made me think about my own mother and how her first spa visit was right before my wedding. We went together, and after we each had a massage I still remember her sitting in that manicure chair like a queen with this blissed out look on her face and she looked over at me and said, “Why did I ever wait so long to do this?” I’m glad that you could bring some of that into the lives of these deserving ladies.

6. Today is a day that I am without any frosting, simply because I did not get up in time to put it on or to do my hair. Some days, though, I LOVE getting all…well, girly! It makes me smile and feel good. My last year of university I got an apartment with three other girls that WERE NOT girly girls in any sense. At first they scoffed at the time I put into getting myself together-although it was never more than an hour-but by the end of the year they too had become girly girls! They saw the value in spending a little bit of time on yourself.

   That spa night at the camp sounds like such an amazing gift. I am sure that each year you gained so much by being able to do it. I hope that they have continued the tradition even now that you are gone.

   By the way…you ARE hot stuff! We all are!

7. Your best post that I’ve read so far.

8. “I know for a fact that I’m a damn good cake before I even apply a bit of frosting.”

   Amen, Meg!

   Very good insight into the mystique of being a woman and doing it simply because you like it and it makes you feel good.

   You story of the spa day is wonderful. And I totally relate to the hair-brushing ritual. I did it for my mom, my daughter did it for me and her daughter does it for both of us. It is one of those wonderfully relaxing rituals that has been handed down for generations in my family.

   Yes, I have been accused of being “high maintenance” too – but I just carry on my little ritual, which makes ME feel better. It is a confidence booster for ME. I like soft skin and an even complexion. I like to frame my eyes with a bit of mascara and shadow and add a dash of blush to my otherwise dead pale cheeks. I simply look better and more “alive.” And *I* simply feel better for it.

   Women have been plastering, spackling and painting themselves since time immortal. It has been used both to attract others and to feel good about yourself. A bit of pampering is not high maintenance – but like you said, if that is the case, then so be it.

9. Wonderfully touching. I always end up getting all misty-eyed after these posts!

   My favorite moment: “You are teaching those young women to honour other women in a manner that is as old as history. It’s far more about the ritual than the result.”

   Exactly. Thank you for reminding me! I’ll start planning my mother’s day gift now!

10. That’s funny, because I don’t think of time spent in the bathroom when I hear “high maintenance”. I think of people who require constant attention from their mates. Heck, you could spend all day in the bathroom as long as you earned a living and didn’t expect me to, you know, help apply your eyeliner.

11. You may be a “girly girl” — which is perfectly alright as long as your not 5-8 minutes late because of it – but your ( and this is just based on your blog entries ) not high maintenance. Those women you gave such a warm evening to, their children, and all children for that matter, are high maintenance. There are adults out there that require just as much attention. They are high maintenance, taking care of yourself and appearance could be considered considerate to the rest of us.

    Just a thought

12. Really, what is it hurting? You’re not perpetuating some myth that women have to be cover up or change their natural selves to be better people. I guess I am a bit biased because I feel similarly about products (you know I love ‘em) but I don’t put on makeup for anybody but me.

    I say do anything you can, short of hurting yourself, to make yourself feel a little more able to face the world. Lord knows, the smallest bit helps.