I have this fascination with imagined apocalypse lifestyle details. The idea of living in primitive ways really appeals to me for some reason. Recently, my husband and I were watching Pewdiepie's play-through of "The Last of Us," which is a zombie game, and I said, "I wanna live in the apocalypse."
"No, you don't, babe," my husband said. We were watching the main character kill a lot of people in her quest for revenge. More people than zombies.
"I wanna be dirty," I said.
"No, you're going to complain about not being able to shower."
This might be true. Because a part of me was wincing at how much dirty stuff the main character touches and how she never washes her hands or uses sanitizer. For example, she moved a dumpster to gain access to a roof and went about with her life-- not a squirt of hand sanitizer to be found. Just "ho hum" germs and all.
But the other part of me wants to try life in a world where everyone is dirty. And where I'm forced to accept that I cannot wash my hands after each and every contact with an item that is not mine. A world where I cannot shave my armpits and stuff.
And one might ask-- but do you even shave your armpits right now, in this world and time that you live in?
Well, the answer is no. I mean, sometimes.
But now that we are living in a pandemic, and things have been uncertain, stuff like beauty maintenance doesn't seem to matter as much any more. I can go without a haircut for half a year, and my bangs will cover half of my face. The other half of my face-- makeup free and hidden with a mask. This is my version of apocalyptic beauty routine. It's pretty much nothing. Easy peasy, pandemic squeezy. I feel a little liberated in that I don't have any desire to purchase new makeup things. Have I reached true enlightenment?
This summer we're not trying to be bronzey, glowy or radiant. We're trying to stay healthy and face mask chic. And maybe some of us are a little grimier than usual, but it's ok, man, this is like, the new normal, or whatever it's being called these days.
-j
