Inara Scott | Owning My Lazy

I've heard people talk about owning your crazy. I appreciate this notion. I have a lot of crazy to own. But today, I want to talk about something else. I want to talk about owning my lazy. In some ways, I'm a pretty hardworking gal. I hold down a job, keep my house tidy, do the occasional load of laundry, and even crank out a book here and there. (Hello Heartbreaker!) But when it comes to my face? Wow. That' s a lot of lazy.

I could tell you the things I do for my face, but it might be easier to tell you what I don't do. I
don't wash my face before bed. I don't use fancy moisturizers, despite having entered those
golden mid-forties where the wrinkles and sagging and bagging seem to grow up overnight.

I don't wear makeup, not because my face doesn't need it, because of course it does. More
because I'm too lazy to take it off at night. I don't pluck my eyebrows. (I do pluck the hair that
grows out of my chin. Is that TMI?) I don't exfoliate. I'm not even entirely sure what that is.

The heroine of Heartbreaker, Tess, is a little like me. She's got a lot going on: juggling three jobs, attending school, generally working her tail off to try to make up for mistakes she made as a teenager. She doesn't have time for her face either. (Admittedly, I only hold down one job, but let's not focus on that!)

I didn't realize how lazy I am until I became the proud owner of a teenage daughter. Just
watching the time, energy, and effort she puts into her face leaves me shamed. She has bins
of makeup - dozens of palettes and brushes and tubes and containers. Getting ready to go out
involves a combination of concealers and foundation, mascara and eye shadow. She tweezes,
combs, and adds some kind of magical junk to her eyebrows. She does clay masks and facials
on the weekend.

She's beautiful, of course, without any makeup at all. And she tells me she enjoys the makeup.
It's fun to decorate her face, she says. And she doesn't wear nearly as much as some young
women. Honestly, while I adore her naked face just the way it is, I have to applaud the sheer
effort she puts in. The time and attention. The determination to get up early enough to apply it
all, and the care to take it all off at night.

When I go on a book tour or attend conferences, I try to make myself a bit more presentable. I blow dry my hair. I put on mascara. I've even been known to dig out my sole tube of lipstick and give it a whirl. But within a few days, I'm exhausted. Do you know how much time that takes? How much effort?

You probably do. You probably wash your face at night. Well, today I'm raising a glass in your
honor. Here's to your effort, and here's to my lazy.

Now it's your turn. What's your lazy? Share and we can be lazy together!