I am easily amused: shallow makeup thoughts

[cupcake_goth]

In between editing things, I've been reading the reviews at Makeup Alley of Chanel's black nail polish. It's very fun to read the contortions the trendy fashion junkies are going through to explain how Chanel's black nail polish is So Much Better than any other black nail polish, and how it Isn't Goth At All, but Fashionable and Elegant, Dahling.



"This is a true elegant black. Slightly punky but not goth, it's the black you get from a soft black kajal eyeliner or the black of a true shot of espresso."


"So you think this is you average $5 black polish or even the Halloween black polish that Wet n Wild puts out. Yeah, I thought the same thing. I didn't want to spend $18 for a black nail polish. But I did. Think of that sleek black Maserati that when the sun hits it, the black paint emits many dimensions of its undertones-blues, silvers, greys, etc. Black is not black but more of an illusion of it as the light rays bounce off the polish. It doesn't look goth nor does it look playful. It looks sleek and sophisticated like that sports car!"


"Once it gets messy looking, your black nail polish goes from stylish to "goth"."



Now, I wear black nail polish all the time, and consider it as work appropriate as the strange, hyper-white tipped French manicures I see on other people. But, black nail polish ALWAYS says "goth" or "punk". Always. Anyone who believes otherwise has mainlined too many fashion magazines, and should probably take a little break and try and find their own style, instead of having one dictated to them every six weeks or so.

Comments

[serenada.livejournal.com]

I...I'm not goth.

I don't think.

And I'm pretty sure I'm not punk.

But the manicure before this one (which is the red of venal blood) (and probably the one after too) was black.

I suppose it's possible I'm not mainstream. It's an icky word. I just don't feel alternative.

[poetry-lady.livejournal.com]

I don't know that I'm goth or punk either, and I adore black nail polish--have since I was a teen. Right now, my nails are a lovely hematite/graphite grey. I'm saving the black for my second week of my new job (I'm job-hunting). And right now, I'm wearing a bright orange/yellow tie-dyed sundress, over which I wore a black t-shirt to work. Oh, and I have red, purple, and amber streaked hair.

Don't know what I am, but I know what I'm not--I'm not one of the "In-duh-viduals" that Dogbert is always conning in the "Dilbert" strip.

I'm also partial to electric and royal blues...

Oh Lady of the Manners, is there a category for me?? :)

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

Your category? Gloriously eccentric. :)

Oh! The next time you're at the ... Firehouse? Whatever the youth centre you volunteer at is called, be sure to say hi to Ashley. She's the alterna-kid, vaguely goth girl who's here from TX. She's the neice of one of my co-workers, and she's hung out and talked with me a bit. She's a good kid, and I think she'd like (and needs!) some support from gloriously eccentric adults. We've been e-mailing back and forth.

[poetry-lady.livejournal.com]

YAY! That's a good way to put it, thank you.

(Goes off to enjoy her chrome-purple nails and Wet&Wild #415 blue toenails...)

[cupcake-goth.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't classify you as punk or goth, but you're your own person. You don't take every word the fashion publishing industry says as gospel.

I am both miffed and amused by the people who previously looked down their noses at alternative fashion types, but are now scrambling to get black nail polish because it's by Chanel.