The Red Effect
I don’t typically paint my fingernails. It takes too much time and chips in the polish make me crazy, so I end up removing it a day after I put it on. Saturday I decided that I wanted to paint them, so now they’re red—bright, shimmering, shiny red. It’s hard to image that something as simple as a coat of red enamel could alter the way a person is perceived, but that seems to be the case so far.Saturday night, my friend Wings’ ex saw me and asked if I was going to the pub-crawl as a vixen. (I wasn’t.) The Wal-Mart cashier when I bought my mixer for the evening didn’t even glance at my face until after he took the bills from my had. He seemed surprised.
Sunday morning, I went to the coffee shop to get my jolt the lazy way. The elderly man in the suit behind me (presumably post-church—I live in the Bible Belt) gave me a dirty look for no apparent reason. I was confused until I saw him looking down at my coffee cup in my hand. Wait, no, I was still confused when I realized why he was glaring.
Today I was sitting in my YA lit class, wishing for the clock to go faster (or for God to strike
down my incompetent professor) when I noticed the boy across the circle* staring at me, his eyes focused on my hands as I doodled. Of course I had to test him. I laid my pen down and lifted my hand to toy with my necklace. His eyes followed. I lifted my hand further to toy with my silver hoop earring, and his eyes followed. I finally raised my hand to brush my bangs out of my eyes. His eyes followed and he finally noticed me looking back. He seemed somewhat startled, and I couldn’t hide my smile. He returned it and I felt absolutely validated in spending an hour of my Saturday afternoon painting my nails.Perhaps it’s the color. I just purchased a pair of hot red heels. I’ll wear them out and see if men start staring at my feet. If that works, red lipstick is the next step.
*Curiously, this boy’s first and last name are the same as Iris’ first and middle name. when my professor called role on the first day of class, I almost had a heart attack. That feeling has subsided to a palpitation at this point, but I’ll never be able to ignore it.
posted by nicalyse @ 4:00 PM
6 Comments:
So, red, huh? Interesting. It's amazing what connotations people put to different things like with The Girl Next Door and their lifestyle and with you and red nailpolish (although by how it sounds, you don't really mind much . . . ;) ). Not much to say really, although I wonder how that red high heels experiment will turn out . . . :P
Nic I'm like you, I can't stand painting my nails, and I never get to the point of it chipping off. What happens to me is that I paint my nails, sit around for 15 minutes in frustration because they are not yet dry. Get more peeved when one slight movement causes the polish to bubble and overall look like crap. I then run to bathroom in a fit of rage and remove the polish vowing never again to paint my nails.
It always saddens me because I would love to have my fingernails painted as I agree that it changes how people look at you. I always notice when people have the beautful french tip acrylic nails. Oddly I always find myself looking at them, caught like a deer in the headlights.
More than anything I else I find that when I have something special on, and it makes me feel good; that I radiate confidence. So if it makes me happy, I'm going to wear it, and wear it proudly!!
Good luck with the red heels and the red lipstick.....I hope it has the desired effect ;)
Yay! I was finally able to open the page! And I was pleasantly surprised after reading the Red Effect. I mean putting on nail polish makes me a little self conscious. So, I stopped applying it. I don't have long nails anyway, so it wouldn't look good. But even when I did, there was no way I would touch red! It's so bright and shiny. Just like you implied in the post, it does attract attention. lol.
By the way, I am sure the red heels and red lipstick will look on you. Walk with a little bounce in your step and skip every now and then, so that people can't help but notice those high heels *grin*
Men are suckers for red. It's odd, yes, but true. Something in their code must associate it with sex, though I don't know what exactly it is. Could be interesting to look that up. I'm sure there's a study somewhere about it. But I can't be bothered...school requires enough research as it is, I don't need to be doing it in my free time too. I'm sure you feel the same way ;). lol.
But interesting nonetheless. I myself am not a fan of painting my nails either, though I think it's for different reasons. I've always thought it looked really tacky on me, no matter what color the polish was. Although I may have to try out the red nails as an experiment now that I've read about your experience. I'll let you know if I do. But yeah, nail polish and Scrib don't mix, usually. I'm so not a girly girl when it comes to stuff like that. Meh...
And odd about that boy's name being the same as Iris'. It would have startled me too. Life is weird. That's my take.
But yes, please share any more red experiences if you have them in the future. You've piqued my interest. It's official. Good luck with that. Let's just hope you don't attract any weird guys with strange foot fetishes...could be a little awkward. Unless, of course, you're into that sort of thing ;). You never can tell....lol.
delta: I admit, I was pleasantly surprised by the attention. I mean, it was just nail polish...of course, if I have the time and inclination, this might happen a bit more often.
Tiff: I'm not sure if nail polish can radiate confidence. Maybe it's the perception that one has of red as a color meant to draw attention. And, of course someone who wants attention is confident. Right?
Tahi: I never mind getting extra attention. ;)
Scrib: I'm glad you're interested! I'll definitely share any other experiences, and don't worry about those creepy guys. I think I kick hard enough to kill any thoughts of a foot fetish.
Lyn, I had no idea that people cared about my fingernails either! Perhaps it was the shade of red that I chose? Perhaps it's just where I live that makes people wonder, or maybe I don't look like a red nail polish kind of girl.
And don't worry; as soon as I have an occasion to wear those heels, I will let everyone know about the reactions.
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