Friday, August 5, 2011

Day 133: 5 Full Days in Front of a Mirror??!

Cosmetic giant QVC Beauty conducted a survey among its female customers (1,000 of them) to see how much time the allot daily for their beauty routine and how many beauty products they use.  The results of the study found that women spend a cumulative of 5 FULL DAYS in front of the mirror each year.  Holy smokes!


(This fun fact found originally here, at The Daily Mail)


Speaking of spending a lot of time in front of the mirror... the results of my latest poll are in.  Thanks to the 134 readers who participated.  How do we stack up?  Here are the results:


How frequently do you look in the mirror?

0% Never! Your no-mirrors project is nothing compared to me! 
7% Rarely. Like, if I'm getting a haircut or trying on clothes. 
63% Several times each day, like when I'm getting ready 
or when I'm washing up in the restroom. 
28%Constantly! I check myself out whenever I can... 
in mirrors, windows, silverware, other people's sunglasses.... 



91% of respondents look at themselves in the mirror either frequently, or constantly! 
Is this what you would have expected? 


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15 comments:

  1. Dear No-Mirror Girl:

    Really? Of course I believe that you are accurately reporting your results;
    however, just who are these "constantly" people? I think NO ONE that I know.

    Not only can I not imagine taking that time, but oh, the vanity of it all!
    Very scarey!!!

    How does one spell 'scarey'? without the 'e' it looks like scar-y (as in
    having many scars)... hmmm.

    Love ya'

    Marilyn

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  2. so, i voted #3, but of course, it's different when i'm in africa. no mirrors. and everything is dusty. no reflections. i'd have to scrub my one metal pot down with gritty mud for an hour to really get a good look. when i finally get back to the airport after 3 months in the field, i find that i spend an hour in the bathroom waiting for my flight trying to remember what i look like from all different angles - and scraping off all those blackheads on my chin that i was happily ignoring!

    for three months, it's fabulous. i get to chill in too-big t-shirts and wrap skirts or dusty jeans and flip flops. all. day. it's amazing. i couldn't care less what i look like, if my hair is greasy (which is probably since we're down to an every other day hair wash regimen), if my shirt is fitting me in all the right ways, etc. i'm comfortable. it's damn hot. most of the people i'm with smell worse than me on a good day. and we're all ok with that. but you know, i really love that hour when i come back too. not in an obsessive way, but an exploratory way. as a reference point for the rest of my life back home. and when i get home, i find i use mirrors less. it's hard to live in LA and not care like i don't care in africa. but i give it a pretty good go. fashion/make up/self-loathing be damned, most of the time.

    at any rate, if you want to hear from people with no mirrors and no reflections, ever, for real (since you had 0%)...i know where to find them.

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  3. I *just* found your blog, and I have to say, how insanely inspiring you are. You rock, girl! I'm not totally vain, and I'm not a fan of looking at myself in the mirror, but I can't express the amount of respect I have for you.

    At a point in my life when I had little to no self esteem what-so-ever, I had a friend tell me to strip down stark naked, and go look at myself in the mirror for at least five minutes. They told me to come back to them and tell them at least ten things that I loved about myself. I haven't done that in a while...and that person is now not only my best friend but my husband. So while I know that you aren't going to look in a mirror for quite some time now... I have a similar question.

    What are a few things that you love about yourself, that you wouldn't have realized that you loved about yourself before the start of this project?

    You go, girl. Congratulations on your wedding!

    -Amber P.

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  4. Tara I think I'm going to need a guest-post from you one of these days! I'm trying this no-mirrors thing out in a culture that is full of them... they're hard to avoid and I'm trying real hard! It sounds like you've unintentionally (but enjoyably?) avoided mirrors in an almost mirror-less culture, thanks to your work in Africa. I'd love to know more, and maybe you could connect me with someone from your travels who'd be willing to write about what it feels like to look in a mirror when you're not accustomed to it!

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  5. Amber! Thank you so much for your kind words. I think I'm going to write a post based on your question, so sit tight! Thank you for the inspiration - your own mirror story is amazing. :)

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  6. "91% of respondents look at themselves in the mirror either frequently, or constantly!
    Is this what you would have expected?"

    Yep. Our architecture and decor are set up so that mirrors follow us everywhere. Try brushing your teeth twice a day without being subjected to a look in the mirror.

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  7. Our son--who is now a responsible adult with children of his own--has always been very concerned about his appearance. When he was younger we had to make sure he sat on the side of the table with his back to the window or else he would be looking at this reflection during dinner!!

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  8. Very interesting blog, looking forward to more wonderful! Ross fake

    ReplyDelete