Grooming in public
by Rere — Friday, April 24th, 2009 at 10:01 pm
in Misc and tagged with Ettiquette
It’s okay to quickly apply lipstick at the table if you’re with close friends or relatives in a non-business situation, and at a non-deluxe restaurant. In general, personal grooming should be done in private for the simple reason that it can be annoying and it’s tacky (Emily Post, ettiquette expert)
If you often take public transportation like I do, you will have plenty chance for people watching. It’s actually one of my favorite past time activity (aside from sleeping) during my daily 30 minutes commute by train. As usual, it’s the ladies that are more interesting to watch. Be it their choice of outfit, too much information conversation on cellphone, or their public grooming habit, they never cease to amuse me!
Back in the days when I had to take morning train to get to my 9 AM class, there was this blond girl I always enjoy watching. She must lived on our off-campus dorm, which was only 3 stops away from school. She always dress casually in sweats and messy pony tail, carrying a big backpack and smaller handbag. Typical college girl attire. She would stand near the door, open her handbag, and start applying eyeliner and mascara the minute she got on the train. I always amazed how she could apply eyeliner in a moving train (not to mention, in public) without poking her eyes. Then she would take her lipgloss out, did her lips, and voila… in short 5 minutes train ride she would had her eyes heavily lined and shiny lips done. She never use powder or blush, and didn’t even fix her hair. Apparently, lots of mascara, eyeliner and bit of lipgloss were all she need to start her day right.
Another time when I take the 11 AM-ish train, there was this young lady who did her whole make up on the train. I sat catty-cornered behind her, so I could openly stared while she was doing her face. First she put the powder on (with sponge), but I couldn’t see what powder she used. Then she took a small palette with mirror (Benefit?) and put the blush on. Next she took out something I could easily identified, the green and pink tube of Maybelline Great Lash mascara, and finished with a tube of black lipstick that could be MAC. As this lady finished with her make up routine, another woman got on the train and sat half car away facing me. Would you know it, she also did her make up the minute she got on the train! I had a field day watching them from afar and guessing what products they use, realizing that without FD I probably won’t have the knowledge of various make up items.
Then today I saw something that would probably give Ms. Post a heart attack. An attractive Latina with dark sunglasses on got on train with her boyfriend while I was busy watching another couple (a retro style girl with the most gorgeous strawberry blonde hair I’ve ever seen with her scruffy faced boyfriend). 5 minutes into the ride, to my surprise, the Latina took deodorant out of her handbag and just apply it! When I look around, I found that most women also saw what just happened and tried so hard to suppress their laughter. After that, everytime she opened her handbag I was wondering what she would put on next in public!
While it seems more common now to see people do their primping in public, I’m still with Ms. Post on this one. I personally think that more than a quick touch up should be done in private. And for the deodorant, well… that’s the thing that MUST be kept to yourself. As for me watching, I know it’s rude to stare… but hey, it’s fun! Of course I mean the make up, not the deodorant! 
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hueuhe.. rere.. kebayang jelas bgt di kepala gue! tp emang cewe2 di US sini sgt cuek bgt utk hal begituan yah..ck ck.. gw juga suka geleng2 kepala.. dan gw pernah liat jg cewe yg make roll-on deodorant di subway NY! hehe.. kalo makeup2xan rada byk siy, dr yg cuma touch up sampe yg bener2 makeupan dr awal: dr nutup2in blemishes sampe akhirnya mulus cuma bbrp menit doang.. jago bgt..dan byk jg kecelakaan mobil dimana cewenya makeup-an sambil nyupir
hadoh serem!
Rere, I love this post! Very entertaining. Back in high school, i used to ride with my 3 sisters, all of us were always late so we put on makeup in the car, just lipstick, mind you. I learned applying lipstick without a mirror then. Now it’s a very useful skill when I want to reapply discreetly. If it’s up to me, I want every woman to apply makeup right in front of me so I know how they get their perfect looks. However, I draw the line @those filing nails in public.
I mentally picture myself inhaling the debris. gross, ei?
bwahahah pake deodoran aja bok!! yg roll on kali ya, klo yg spray mesti annoying buat skitarnya(?). it’s like that in most places dimana public transportnya beres -indo, not so much-. di aus juga gitu. there was an ad running on tv/internet about public transport etiquette, tongue-in-cheek manner. included was a bit about personal grooming, intinya it shudn’t be done on the train.
but!!! i once saw here in jakarta, gue lagi jalan kluar dari forever 21 there was a girl sitting on the bench in front of the exit who was CLIPPING HER NAILS. i kid you not. i could hear the click-click-click even when i went on the escalator!! parah bokk.. penampilan si boleh kece, tp knape begitu yak -_-*
bwahhahaha… gw baca yang pake make up hmm masih normal ternyata penutupannya pake deodorant
gw kemaren2 nonton acara korea judulnya global talk jadi foreigner disuruh komentar mau bisa ngelakuin apa.. mereka pada bilang mau bisa pake make up di public transportation. menurut mereka orang korea juga canggih2 pake make up di public transportation
Very funny posting! Speaking of yuk things and etiquette I personally still can’t work it out with people burping to my face -especially when it comes to women- those who spit around, pick their nose, these should also be kept private
hahaha..
walah.. gue belom pernah liat yang kayak ginian. But to imagine it.. eeeuuuwww..
I think grooming in public itu ada limitnya ya. Satu yang gue nggak gitu suka is nyisir in public. Hihi mungkin normal aja buat beberapa orang but I just don’t like it hihi.
Persnally I think people shouldn’t groomed in public..and I used to go by that rules..but I find the facts that people still do that a lot and eventually I surrender…hehehe. Alhough now I would like to go back to my old habit which is do not groomed in public. Come on guys let’s try to be more polite and be a lady. Cheers⌣
Pia: the reason I was looking is because I want to see how they do their makeup… and a little curiousity of what products they use. Make up, no problem. Deodorant, no.
Ragil: I’m guilty of nyisir in public… ngumpet2 dikit sih
di jepang udah mulai ada himbauan untuk tidak berdandan di kereta. dan memang sekarang udah mulai jarang yg dandan di kereta.
), dan bisa dandan mulai dari pake liquid foundie dst. gue pernah liat waktu dlm perjalanan dari toyota city ke nagoya yg makan waktu kurleb 40 menit deh, ada cewek dandan mulai dari muka polos sampe full make up 
.
btw kalo cewek jepang biasanya bawa kaca yg gede (bisa keliatan satu muka
bwahahahaha yaoloh, kalo gw yg liat kali udah gak bisa nahan ngakak guling2 re……
Rere.. no offense, it’s just me
mungkin gue ngerasa gitu karna gue belom liat orang make deodoran di jalanan kali yah huahahhaa..
rere, i looove people watching too. be it on the train, on the street or at the park. i also always secretly watch women who do their make ups on the train. usually in the morning. maybe because they don’t have time to do it at home before stepping out the house. i think it’s amusing to see what they do and it’s also nice to see the final result!
Great post Rere! The deodorant story was hilarious and gross
Di jkt tentunya sih jarang ada yg pake makeup di public transportation (gak kebayang deh pake maskara di dalam transJakarta pas lagi dempet2an gitu, bisa2 keculek). Tapi gue pernah sih pake lipstick di bus trans bintaro, lippen merah pula yg lama makenya. Tp berhubung tempat duduknya ngadep ke depan semua (bukan yg hadap2an kyk trans jkt atau kereta) I felt like it was somehow discreet enough.
Oya, I am also a skilled ‘applying makeup while driving’ girl! Not recommended ya ladies. It was a stupid thing to do and I’ve given up the bad habit years ago.
Ewww Deodorant ya bok..tapi nggak papa lah daripada dia nggak pake deodorant trus mengumbar bau tak sedap kan?
Gue sih nggak ok ok aja kalo ada yang makeup-an disekitar, I wouldn’t mind it at all, dari sekedar touch up maupun full makeup, nothing gross about it, if anything it would be fun to watch. Tapi gue sendiri agak2 risih sih untuk touch up di public, nggak tau kenapa kok ya nggak pede aja. Paling sekedar pake lip balm atau swiping a little of of Bobbi Brown Pot Rouge.
ahahahaha, only in atlanta!
gue paling kesel kalo ada yg gunting kuku in public place, how gross!
kalo soal grooming di jalan, paling saru di antrian bayar tol di pintu tol taman mini, yang menuju ke jkt. gue pernah liat lho ada bapak2 shaving with electric shaver sambil nyetir!
yah ampun.. gw ngakak pas baca ada yg pake deodorant di kereta.. kadang2 ajah gw masih suka malu pake deodorant di depan laki gw.. hihiihi..
gw pernah di Grand Indonesia, ada yg potong kuku di lift, tepat dibelakang gw.. uuuggghhh… sebel bener gw..
kalo gw juga paling sekedar pake lipbalm ajah sih..
hey I’m one of them. hahaha.. ga sering2 amat sih kl lagi buru2 mending diliatin 5 menit drpd di tanyain “are you okay? you look pale.” for the rest of the day. hihihi.. Tergantung isi trainnya juga sih, kl pagi2 banyak wanita2 muda yg mau pergi kerja ga sempet make up an pada make up di train, its a pretty common morning scene. Kl siang2 yg banyak elderly pasti di stare. hehe.. Limit nya sih cuman face grooming, the “5min make up” aja. Kl deodorant duh gak deh, malu2in banget angkat armpit diliatin org2. hahaha..
ceritanya gue mau eksperimen, berani gak gue pake make up in public. sabtu kemaren buru2 gak sempet deh mau dandan di rumah. padahal gue rasanya naked banget kalo gak pake concealer… jadi udah siap2 mau pake di kereta. ternyata lagi ada event di downtown hari itu, jadi kereta penuh… gak jadilah, ga berani gue, hahahahahahaa…..
i’m one of them who wouldn’t like to do touch up in public. unless if i’m putting on my lipgloss. itu pun kadang ngumpet juga.. heheh.. and that’s why gue males touch up my make up.. hihi.. dasar pemalas itu mah!
funny story on the deodorant, re! i love watching people on the train. whether it was in ny or on MRT in singapore. tapi berhubung gue lebih seringnya naek bus disini, it’s fun to watch too!
Hihihi, jorok pisaaan! Funny story, Re. Really entertaining.
) pluck his eyebrows on the train in Tokyo. Yep, fully-equipped with the mirror and the tweezer. Hehehe…
I once saw a man, (or half-man, i’m not sure
wow, nice stories, uhm gw jrg liat ituh di philly org pada grooming in public transportation,maybe gw ajah yg ga perhatian
But, gw juga ga nyaman siih kecuali lip gloss….
But i dun think I have an objection buat org2 yg doing that, uhm..not the deo ya tapiiii
Deo on public scene…wouldnt dare to do so
gw aja cuma bisa berdandan express klo lagi jalanan jakarta lagi macet or di red-lights, bahaya-nya setengah mati… gak worth bela-belain dandan sambil nyetir dengan resikonya nanti.
be careful ya jeung:)
euuw…
tapi gw sekalinya nemu orang grooming in public justru cowok, dia di MTR lagi nyabutin jenggot dan kumis pake koin trus dikumpulin di tissue.. malesin banget..
i’ve been guilty of charge for doing any of these in public scene:
-blotting oil face paper on my super oily face
-dental flossing after lunch while hiding under office desk
-combing hair in the elevator (since i’m always arrive at the office at the last minute)
-secretly (without anyone looking, or i tought so) pulling stucked leaves/vegetables in beetween teeth
I realized with conscience all of those might be irritating to some, but sometimes u just can’t help it it’s irritating urself heehee..