Mind your beauty manners

NEW YORK—It happened during a nondescript train ride from home to work: I was quietly enjoying music on my earphones—just like everybody else who commutes in New York—while my seatmate was serenely reading her book.

Suddenly, without warning, she whipped out an emery board and started filing her nails. In plain sight, under the unforgiving glare of the subway’s fluorescent lights. Grit, grit, grit... There was no escaping (and filtering) that distinct sound of one’s nails being shaped and sculpted to the perfect “squoval.”

Bothered and distracted, I immediately scheduled an informal “etiquette lecture” with a Manhattan publicist/Park Avenue dweller who has hobnobbed with socialites and Hollywood celebrities, and has also been privy to important gatherings that required the utmost attention to one’s table manners and beauty bearings.

Over bubbly champagne and a viewing of Gossip Girl, we discussed primping rituals and their corresponding appropriateness in public, as I scribbled notes and listened intently:

Nail clipping and filing. An obvious no!

Powdering your nose. It really depends on the crowd you’re with and where you are. But you never see celebrities retouch their makeup at the table.

Using oil blotting tissues. Okay if used discreetly, but never on a date. That’s a major turn-off!

Hairbrushing. As a mannerism—like running your fingers through your hair while talking—it’s acceptable. But with an actual hairbrush? No.”

Applying lipgloss. It’s okay.

The publicist observed that girls who reapply makeup too often lack a sense of tact, which can even translate to insecurity.

“Aim to look flawless before you head out, so you don’t have to worry about retouching. And when in doubt, that’s what the ladies room is for,” she said.

Mariel Chua is the former beauty editor of Cosmopolitan, Seventeen, and Ok! Magazine. She is now based in New York City.

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(Original article link here.)