After being questioned by her daughter as to why women wear make-up and men don’t, Australian TV presenter and journalist Tracey Spicer decided to wean herself off “extreme grooming”.
Fast forward one year, and Spicer has given up spray tans, hair treatments and serums. She’s reduced make-up to a bare minimum, and has cut down on blow-dries and dye jobs by half. Last month she stopped shaving her armpits and plans to next give up shaving her legs. Spicer’s beauty regime now consists of a cleanser and moisturiser.
“Grooming is a cost of doing business borne by women, not men. I couldn’t be happier, because I’ve bought myself an extra hour a day - more time to play with the kids, ride the paddle board and strum the guitar. Oh, and work. I’m definitely more productive. The best thing? I feel like the real me, instead of a painted doll,” Spicer wrote in an article for the Daily Life.
“Heavy make-up and helmet hair is part of a presenter's uniform. But it's not just TV: extreme grooming is becoming baseline. In 2013-14, beauty industry revenue in Australia is expected to grow by 2.9 per cent to $3.6 billion. In Britain, the beauty market has grown by 120 per cent in the past three years.
“According to one survey, women spend about 3276 hours primping and preening over a lifetime, while men devote only 1092 hours to their looks. So how do we exude confidence without over-grooming? For me, it's a three-step process: deconstruct, reconstruct, SHEconstruct. In other words, gradually cut back until you feel comfortable with the real you.”
Image: James Brickwood