I have been blogging along for a couple of years now and I notice that no one is asking me for beauty tips. I wonder why that is?
It couldn’t be that I offended with last week’s rant about non-helmet wearing riders who have more concern about their hair than their brains.
It can’t be a grudge about the blog where I referred to my truck as The Perfect Purse, that was just common sense.
I admit I don’t dye my hair anymore. When I first moved to the farm, I would put the peroxide/dye on my hair and while waiting for rinse time, wander out to the barn to feed. Then I might tidy up the feed room or maybe fix some fence. Or just talk politics with the goats.
AWK! I lost time- and the peroxide on my hair was way over-done, dry and crunchy. I raced to the shower, knowing that the water would rinse every hair off my head and leave a shiny, naked skull. But no, I did it several times, and amazingly, my hair was still attached. Eventually, even that got boring and I quit the whole dye process.
It can’t be my fashion sense. This year I got new Carhartts– actual women’s Carhartts that are a stylish dirty lavender color with elastic in the back waist. Still, I confess I like the fit of my old men’s Carhartts better. Sometimes I glance in the mirror while pulling them on and think they make me look tall and thin. I realize this is an unrealistic fashion perception. I also realize that the word unrealistic is an understatement.
Last month I was all set for a couple of spa days- complete with massage and hot soaks. Plans changed when my grandfather horse got sick and we had a costly midnight vet visit. I still took a couple of days, but not at the spa. I gave myself a facial- my skin can start to look a little like an old hay tarp from time to time. I used Miracle Clay. The product really is a miracle when ingested for equine ulcers and colic. (This clearly isn’t a paid endorsement.) The package label says it’s also a poultice, so I mixed some up with milk, lemon and honey and slathered it on my face. There was a big improvement, no kidding! Now I look like a slightly younger 57 year old woman who is out in the sun and wind every day.
It’s New Year’s resolution time and beauty tips abound. And again, not that you asked, but here is my one real beauty tip and it works for everybody: Stand next to a horse you like, and smile.
After all, it is all about accessorizing, isn’t it?
(P.S. At all costs, resist squealing in a high-pitched, girly voice, “Look, he matches my hair!”)
What’s your best irrational barn beauty tip?? I dare you…
Anna, Infinity Farm.
Snorkle! Fortunately I have Martha’s Body Bueno to draw on so when the face in the mirror has more lines than tree bark I start slathering on the defense cream and/or avocado oil. Congratulations on managing to put a mask together and get it on your face. With my track record I’d forget, go outside, and scare the UPS driver
Anna Blake, you are hands down one of the most beautiful women I know…entirely…
Thanks, but really, it’s the horse.
Once while grocery shopping after a day at the barn a man asked me “so, do you actually ride or is that just for fashion?” I wasn’t quite sure how to reply as there was horse hair stuck to my lip-gloss, horse dirt under my fingernails, horse slobber on my sleeve, and my breeches were sprinkled with a medley of shavings and hay. Now THAT is a high-maintenance look!
And I bet you spent hours at the barn, getting it all just right!
Who needs blush? My complexion never looks so good as it does in the hours after I ride my horse! And personally, I find horse manure to be a very alluring aroma…
I started going gray at 26 and stopped coloring my hair at 49. I feel sorry for the ladies who are stuck on the beauty treadmill. I feel so darn free. It took a little getting used to, but it’s nice to finally look like I’m supposed to look. And guess what? My horse doesn’t care a whit!
By the way, I’ve nominated your blog for the Versatile Blogger award. Visit here:
http://curtalefarm.wordpress.com/2012/01/14/versatility/ to read why I chose your blog and to get the directions on what to do next if you want to play! 🙂
Love your fashion sense… I have a pair of those (men’s) Carharts coupled with the Bogs boots, the best outfit ever! Figure comfort over fashion any day!
That’s the best beauty tip I’ve ever heard. I think I’m on the right track…yesterday I went to a new tack store I’d not been to before. I came away with a New Market Tote Bag made by Horseware Ireland that perfectly matches my mare’s New Market fleece cooler. We’re dressing alike now.
Wow, kind of like gang colors gone RIGHT! Very nice!
Hi Anna, I loved this post. You got me thinking about my barn attire. I’m really happy that ripped jeans are ‘in’! I’m there!
I decided to post about beauty, and have linked to your post… I hope you don’t mind!
I am so going to have to take on this dare…possibly in a blog post. No one has been asking me for beauty tips either, but I think that has more to do with being mistaken for a homeless woman if I deviate from barn to home. Of course I’m dirty. I groom. (And my horse uses me as a napkin.) Of course my parka is bulging, it’s my purse! Of course I smell like rotting vegetation. I lost a carrot somewhere in an inner pocket? Last year? (kidding. sort of.)
What a hoot. Every couple of months at the grocery store, the check-out person calls me “Sir”. It’s an easy mistake. Lots of men my age wear pearl drop earrings. You know, with the ball cap.
I love being part of a group of women who dress to impress….their horses.
Anna your beauty is from within, your happiness shines through and gives you a healthy natural glow. That is better than any ‘make up’ I would love to be brave enough to chop my hair off too.your teeth are very white too! I live in Florida and its hot.
So as I am about to be in a barn in midsummer Fl heat with 90 thoroughbreds, do you have any tips? Yes decorating now.. how about Feng shui and your barn.
My barn tip: hose off your head and put a hat on! And the obvious, have fun!