Beauty Is Pain. Literally by Dhvani Tombush

At Eve & Tribe, we face a journey of similar experiences and struggles as women. We talk, rant and laugh about it. Over all, we believe it’s important to share it.

A colleague went for a wedding this weekend, and got her nails done. When she came into work on Monday, we all loved her nails, and she waved them in our faces so we could all get a good look. She might as well have been dancing along to Single Ladies by Beyoncé. But a while later, I ended up laughing at her. Why? She was trying to type an email and she was struggling. I mean, really struggling.

People normally speak of peer or societal pressure like it’s a phenomenon that ends in secondary school when you feel the need to eat Kellogg’s over Nasco cornflakes or buy mechanical pencils over wooden ones.

Well, it doesn’t end just there. Women as a whole in this country are under a lot of pressure. At least, that’s been our personal experience. A big part of this is the pressure to show up wherever, whenever, looking good or as some would say, on fleek. And sometimes, just sometimes (or maybe most of the time) it is a real pain. But we do it for the compliments, the stares we get and probably because we can’t really argue about how flawless we look.

So here are some of our troubles that are worth it, but sometimes, don’t feel like it. And to the babes who can flawlessly rock any of these with ease, hats off to you!

 

Weave:

Indian, Brazilian. Peruvian. You name the country, we have the weave. And believe me, these weaves can be glorious. Do you like it straight or wavy? Do you like it long and flowing or a cute Michelle Obama bob? Either way, weaves can be so trans-formative to your look, taking you from mere mortal to goddess status with a few carefully sewn tracks. But how annoying is it when your scalp starts to itch but you have to do the graceful head-tap that somehow ends up being more headache-inducing (you ladies know exactly what we are talking about don’t lie).

 

Body revelations:

These come in a myriad of dimensions. One instance is wearing that tight, fitting dress that sculpts you in all the right ways but allows for absolutely no eating…even water is a dangerous undertaking. Yet there you are, looking like a hot cake and starving, worrying how you can possibly eat without your tummy looking like you ate a person. Or even worse, you wear a perfect jumpsuit that everyone loves but going to the bathroom is survival of the fittest. Our list in the category is literally endless, so we’ll stop now.

 

Heels:

These can totally do it for you. Whether they make you taller, elongate your legs or just match perfectly with your outfit, heels can be a Killer addition to your look. They can also kill your feet. Let’s reminisce on those moments where a really cute guy is talking to you and all you can really think is “chai, who sent me? is it by force to wear heels?” Yet time after time, we break those bad boys out and the Aldos, Christian Louboutins and Asos of the world (your wallet’s arch enemy) certainly don’t help.

 

Make up:

Let’s just cut to the chase here, do you fear and avoid white outfits? Do you become a less friendly person in the face of a white shirt…no kisses and certainly no hugs? If you say no…we don’t believe you! (well maybe its more that we envy you).

Make up can work miracles, that is a fact. It works wonders and can accentuate the best of your facial features, so though we don’t appreciate the growing pile of make-up painted laundry, we definitely won’t be putting down our brushes anytime soon.

 Nails:

Gel nails, acrylic, stick ons, even real nails. If you get it right, your nails can look flawless and your rings stand out and look prettier. It makes you want to open every door first, so everyone behind can get a peek, and demonstrate with your hands in everyone’s face, including yours. Who cares if it takes you 3 minutes to type ‘hello, how are you?’ For the babes who have mastered the art of functioning efficiently with talons, kudos to you and please, how do you do it?

Looking at this list ladies, we ought to congratulate ourselves every day! Looking good is not easy, but we make it work. And every now and then, we have moments when we wonder why we bothered. But when you feel the hesitation…when you question your sanity… we say put on some Beyoncé and start feeling yourself!

Note: This article was originally posted on Eve and Tribe by Dhvani Tombush, all credits including photo credit and writing brilliance are attributed to the original writer.