My mother wears bright lipstick. The kind that women “her age” are not supposed to wear. Well, at least that was always my opinion on the subject. My attempts to gently lead her away by purchasing a nice, brown-colored L’oreal and lecturing her on looking more “appropriate”, failed. She wouldn’t budge. ” It doesn’t make my face appear fresher. It’s so muted,” she complained, setting down that brown tube of disappointment.
The short days visiting my hometown were fleeting by. As I observed the daily activities of older Eastern-European women and my mother in particular, I began to realize how hard and well, boring, their lifestyle was. Getting all the groceries from all the different places (reason being always low on cash and hunting for bargains), being yelled at by numerous salespeople (it is still a wide-spread practice in Eastern bloc), squeezed in public transportation while laden with heavy grocery bags, then cooking, a process that could take hours but the result will not last for very long… There’s a word in Russian that describes that sort of day-to-day required activities: “byt” [быт] . It can drag a person into the depths of deep depression. But byt had to be done in order to survive and so women continue to pull through day after day.
Fashion icon Isabella Blow believed that if everyone looked glamorous, they would have a better time. Watching my mother apply her bright lipstick I suddenly realized: this bit of glamour was making her day, so to speak. This little bit of color would light her way through all that pushing and pulling, would make her feel stronger and beautiful. It was sacred. And indeed, she looked fresher, because her face would light up.
No longer I object to bright lipsticks. You know what? It’s fabulous.
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Моя Мама красит губы яркой помадой. Такой, которую женщины “её возвраста” носить не должны. Впрочем, это всегда было моим убеждением, а не фактом. Все мои попытки внушить ей пользоваться помадами помягче, провалились. “Этот цвет не освежает моё лицо”, сказала мама, осторожо отодвигая мой подарок, коричневую помаду Лореаль.
Дни моего визита домой подходили к концу. Невольно я наблюдала за жизнью женщин в Украине: ежедневные походы с тяжёлыми сумками за продуктами, стирка-готовка-уборка без конца и края. Быт их действительно заел. И я поняла, что яркая помада, это тот кусочек женственности, что помогает ощутить себя красивой и уверенной, помогает прорваться через серую стену быта и действительно делает лицо свежее.
Думаю, что каждому из нас не повредит кусочек чего-нибудь яркого.
