What We Do For Beauty

Women do interesting things; adorning their bodies with clothes, jewelry, 

make-up, and nail polish, to look professional, unique, or beautiful. For the clothes, 

we are grateful, most of the time. There are times when more clothing may be 

desired, or even less gaudy clothing. It is a true art form to dress well, an art that 

more women would do well to learn, especially myself. Figuring out color, texture 

and pattern combination is challenging. Add to that the task of incorporating 

jewelry and life got just a little harder. As if coordinating clothing was hard enough, 

getting your jewelry to complete the look is an equal challenge. “Does gold go with 

this or would silver be better?” “Dangle earrings or studs?” Why oh why do we make 

it so difficult! And then, we add make-up. The trials of finding the correct colors for 

our skin tone, and will we need mineral make-up due to sensitive skin or will 

regular make-up be fine? Do I wear it everyday, or only for work, or just special 

occasions? All this work just to look halfway decent makes your head spin. And then 

there are the brave souls who decide that life is not complete without nail polish. 

Nail polish, when done well, is expensive and time consuming. It is so personal, each 

bottle looked after with great care, each paint job tenderly done. 

Before I ever got caught up into the trap of nail polish, I made the assumption 

that all nail polish was the same. The only difference in my mind was the price tag. 

Why pay $9.50 for one bottle when there was a $3.00 bottle of almost the same 

color? I was cheap. I didn’t wear it that often, so why invest the money into 

something that I didn’t believe was any different from what I was already buying. 

My friend tried to tell me how nice the expensive polish was, and I used hers 

occasionally, but it didn’t phase me. It never occurred to me that the reason my nails 

were chipping so soon after application was due to poor quality polish. When I 

started working as a waitress, I couldn’t stand how bad my hands looked, especially 

since that was the part of my body that the people I served saw the most. My cheap 

nail polish wasn’t standing the test of the kitchen, so I gave in and bought the $9.50 

bottle. Why would I stop there when I could give myself manicures right from the 

comfort of my own room with a few more tools? I purchased a cuticle trimmer and 

cuticle oil, and lotion that I liked. It became an obsession. 

There is something to be said about getting a manicure or pedicure. Having 

your hands and feet massaged is delectable. You have a wider variety of colors for at 

least five times the cost of the bottle. But hey, you get to sit down for a couple hours 

while someone else helps you on your journey of beauty, and if you’re brave and 

want to live with the same nails for a while you can get acrylic or gel nails applied. 

At least then you’re good for a few weeks. 

I used to hate wearing nail polish. It smelled bad, it took forever to dry and I 

always forgot to wait long enough and smudged my nails every time. I could never 

figure out why people liked it so much. So why bother? I started to realize that there 

are several reasons why women wear nail polish. There are those who wear nail 

polish to make a statement. They use it as an art form, doing wild designs and 

bizarre colors. Then there are the beauty queens who can’t be without their nail 

polish and heaven forbid that it chip! And then there are the rest of us. We wear nail 

polish to attempt a look of professionalism. When done well it can make your outfit 

shine, when done poorly it will stick out like a sore thumb. A good color will go a 

long way in making many a hand look wonderful. Quality nail polish will last longer 

on your nails then cheap polish. 

I enjoy turning on a good movie and picking out some nail polish and doing 

my nails. It has become a weekly routine, one that I wouldn’t do without. It has 

become a habit, akin to taking a nap on Sunday afternoons. It’s a great way to relax, 

forcing you to stop long enough for your nails to dry, giving you time to enjoy a 

movie, fellowship with other ladies or just time to think. By choosing to paint wild 

colors or designs you have the option of making your nails an icebreaker in new 

environments. I always enjoy the wild nail polish choices of others, to see what 

others are brave enough to wear on their nails. 

While we women do some of the most interesting things to adorn ourselves, 

there is a sense of community and expression that goes along with our adornment. 

Women tend to do things in packs, going shopping together, having matching outfits, 

and even getting our nails done together. The fellowship involved in nail polish is 

irreplaceable. I have spent countless hours with my friends painting nails, laughing, 

swapping stories and sharing life together. There are times when I wish I 

could abandon the habit of needing to wear nail polish, because it is so time 

consuming. It is a hidden blessing though, since it allows time to sit and think or 

spend time with others. I wouldn’t trade the fellowship it has allowed me to 

participate in. Through time spent doing my nails I have spent time fellowshipping 

with friends and grandmothers. So in all, it’s a habit of beauty.