Waxing Philosophic On the Autumn Aesthetic

Take a moment to fully absorb this transcendent beauty:

(Photo from: OCRegister.com)

Though my blog mostly covers beauty as applied to cosmetics and personal upkeep, beauty is beauty. At the top I list as one of the topics applied here as 'aesthetics' which is defined as "the study of the mind and emotions in relations to the sense of beauty". This season is the best time to wax philosophic on Nature's beauty.

Also, because I'm a huge sci-fi geek, I'm tying in an esoteric philosophy from Battlestar Galactica. Don't go yet! This will make sense! But if you're not into philosophy read no further. I'll see you next post.

Keep in mind that this:

(Photo: USA-fallfoliage.com)

...is a picture of death, of dying. That which we are most afraid. Nature shows us a morbid beauty in dying. The Cylon character Leoben states in an episode to another character, Kara, who is soon to die and just witnessed her own mother's death and is positively afraid to die, "See? There's nothing so terrible about death. When you finally face it, it's beautiful." After this Kara accepts her reality of impending death.

Once I came to revere and respect Nature, pagan that I am, I found that Nature Herself, specifically the Autumn aspect, teaches us a profound lesson: death need not be ugly and dreadful. Not that any of us should go running to the grave prematurely, that's just a waste of life. But I think we should all strive, to the very best of our ability, to leave this life with beauty and grace.

(Photo: Vtweb.com.)

Fall is the season of decay. Winter is the actual dead season, Autumn is its funeral processional. That space between life (spring/summer) and death (winter) and it is indeed beautiful. How many people travel to the northern reaches of their (northern hemisphere) country to see leaves essentially dying a beautiful death, yet how few travel to see those very leaves born again five months later?

Finally, yet another Galactica tie-in is a philosophy espoused by the Cylon D'Anna Biers (portrayed by the awesome Lucy Lawless). Her species, you see, can die and be reborn an infinite number of times. D'Anna has remembered what she has seen in between lives. I want to end this post with something she told one of her brethren, "This is something beautiful...in that space between life and death."

(Photo: Northcoastcafe.typepad.com.)

Eyebrow Threading

Getting your eyebrows threaded is a singular experience, especially if you are accustomed to waxing. How do the two compare?

Threading: A hair removal technique popular in the Middle and Far East for millennia, it is now receiving its fair share of customers in the West. The aesthetician uses a loop of thread, though it looks like two separate pieces, and twisting it around your eyebrow hairs and tweezes. At first I typed 'pluck' but then I remembered my aesthetician correcting me saying, "You pluck chickens, not eyebrows." Thanks, Autumn!

The first time I had my eyebrows threaded it felt...odd. It didn't hurt at all, then again I have a high pain threshold. Nonetheless, I think it much more pleasurable than, say, tweezing. Or at least the way I tweeze because I'm just not good at it. My regrowth period was about the same as when I have my brows waxed, which is three weeks. If you're interested check at your local salons. Irritation is slight but do not have threading done if you have any bumps or pimples under your brows. You do not want to go there.

As I said, threading is gaining in popularity over here so some of everyone is providing the service. If you are in Chicago check out Sarah at Havana Nights Nails & Spa, but it is best you get a reference from someone you trust. Since it is popular someone may attempt to do it even though they do not have the skill. Though not as tragic as a poorly done chemical service, who wants to walk around with wonky brows? Prices for threading start at a minimal $8.


Waxing: My personal preference. I enjoy the hot wax on my face. It just feels so relaxing. I had my eyebrows waxed for the first time when I was about eleven years old. Basically because I am so very hairy. My aunt took me and it was almost like a ritual, a young lady getting her first eyebrow manicure.

The redness factor is a big minus but if your aesthetician is worth their weight in wax, irritation will be next to nothing. The wax is smoothed onto the hairs that need removal, then the strip is placed on top of the wax and it is taken off quickly. Though parodied in sitcoms, the quickness of the removal is to ensure total removal of the hairs and it is much less pain than if it were done slowly. Usually they will place a cool cloth on the brow afterward to counteract redness and irritation. Once again a reference is preferable for this service. Prices range from $20 and up but whatever the price it is always worth having beautiful, sleek brows.

(Photos courtesy of Shobha Threading and Alfredton Hair and Beauty.)

Welcome to Oshun's Mirror

Hello all!

I go by the name Elisabetta and this is my blog dedicated to my devotion, nay obsession to cosmetics. The purpose of this blog is to give advice and technique tips that I have found useful in my life. Also to trade suggestions with readers, highlight certain books and products that I adore. I suppose novices to the wonderful world of cosmetics will get the most out of this but the experienced are more than welcome.

To give a little personal background, my love of cosmetics has been lifelong. I come from a long line of very feminine women for whom donning fine clothes and impeccable makeup was second nature and expected, but not to the exclusion of any other personal growth. According to mi madre, when I was a baby I would stare and study her face as she put on her makeup. It became very obvious that I was an excellent student.

As a young girl I was a classically trained ballerina from the age of four and from the age of six we had to wear makeup on stage. Not a great deal but for an enthusiast like myself I was ecstatic that I had the opportunity to wear shiny lip gloss outside the house! The rest, I suppose, is history. My madre didn't let me wear makeup outside the house on a daily basis until I was about fifteen though, unbeknownst to her I would put it on at school and wash it off afterward.

With a couple notable exceptions, I was the one my friends turned to when venturing into the sometimes intimidating world of cosmetic application. At university before a night out I usually had a line of four other girls waiting for assistance while I did my own makeup. It seems I should have become an aesthetician but it really is just a hobby.

My next post will introduce Oshun and explain why I chose that name for this blog.

I don't allow public comments but feel free to email me: oshuns.beauty@gmail.com