When I look back on my life, it amazes me how much energy and money I have put forth trying to fight against nature to look different than I actually look.  I was a teenager in the 1980’s.  Hair was big.  Very, very big.  Mine was naturally straight and fine.  So I spent lots of dollars on perms and curling irons and hot rollers.  And lots of time trying to make my hair do things that it just didn’t want to do (like be big).  The same kind of effort went into makeup.  Paint on a layer of foundation.  Add blush.  And eye shadow.  And eye liner.  And mascara.  And lipstick.  Being oh so careful to make it look like I’m not wearing makeup at all.  Baffling!  And today’s contouring makeup trend baffles me even more.  I can’t even imagine trying to paint on that many layers to make my face look like something my face doesn’t even resemble.

The older I get, the more I realize just how futile the whole exercise is.  “Doing my hair” now involves using a blow dryer and adding a little smoothing cream to tame the flyaways.  I have absolutely no intention of covering my increasing grey with hair color (though I spent a fortune on coloring my hair red and blonde throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s—and am very happy to have arrived back at my natural color).  I haven’t touched my curling iron in years, and on weekends how it lands after I wash and air dry is how it will be.

I gave up on nail polish years ago.  So much effort and time and money and it’s just going to chip off anyway.  “Doing my nails” now means using a clipper and a file to make them short and smooth.

Makeup is now something I use for the theater.  And if and when I feel like it (I pulled it out for New Year’s Eve this year).  It’s not something I feel like I need to do because it’s a day that ends in the letter Y.

There are two things I’ve noticed since I made this transition into being a lower-maintenance woman.  First, I have more time.  Time spent in the beauty shop or in the bathroom at the mirror is time invested in something I don’t really care about.  I’d rather spend that time watching Netflix or reading a book or sleeping. The other thing I’ve noticed is that I have more money.  The beauty industry is built around separating women from their money.  The less makeup I wear, the less makeup I have to buy.  If I don’t color my hair, I don’t have to pay for dye. It’s amazing how that stuff can add up!

I feel pretty.  My husband thinks I look pretty.  I’m not fighting against nature.  And I’ve recouped a lot of my time and money.

Have you been fighting against nature?  If so…should you be?