Tag: makeup

I am a big believer that men and women are different, and that the best way to maintain a strong family is to recognize these differences, embrace them and use them to our advantage. Of course, this is a traditional way of running a family household. It has worked for thousands of years. Today, I would like to concentrate on one of the fundamental elements of this traditional family setup; the Woman’s very-own Personal Vanity Space.

Men need their own spaces, of course. In Pittsburgh, the men would be given the basement, the garage, and the lower levels of a house. (Complete with a commode in the middle of the basement.) The women would get the largest bathroom in the house, and it would be “hers”. It was off limits to everyone else.

However, the need to use a bathroom as a personal vanity space was out of necessity. The ideal, of course, would be to have a separate room or area consisting of a vanity with large mirrors, great lighting and easy access to clothing. Here we talk about the specific design attributes for a vanity devoted to making a woman beautiful.

The Vanity

The most important element of this “personal space” is the vanity. This is a large specific piece of furniture that has only one purpose; for the woman of the house to preen herself and to make herself beautiful. This is because, in a traditional family, the way a woman takes care of herself is a direct reflection of how well the family is taken cared for.

It is important for a woman to take care of herself, in health, in emotion, in behaviors and in beauty.

The Mirror

Make no mistake. The most important aspect of the vanity is the mirror. In general, the bigger the mirror, the better. In the above picture, we see a moderate sized mirror that is wider along the horizontal axis. This shows the great consideration to the importance of a mirror.

The need for a large mirror is so that the woman can see herself as she would look within a larger setting.

That is true. During the preening and makeup process, the woman will spend hours getting ready and looking beautiful. She will look at every facial imperfection, but in the end, the real issue is how she will look when it is all finished. That is the purpose of the vanity mirror.

Note that this main mirror is NOT the primary mirror. The vanity should have a smaller mirror, often with good lighting so that the woman can spend time working on the details of applying the makeup. There are all sorts of smaller makeup mirrors that serve this purpose. Some have built-in lights. While others have an enlargement mirror that enables really closeup views of the face.

The best vanity mirrors, in my mind are 1.5 yards in diameter. (Roughly four feet.) If you have the room, an enormous mirror of two yards in diameter would be excellent. Though, often this is not possible simply because of the constraints of the room.

What ever you do, you want to avoid the vanity table that only has a singular small mirror. That is good for closeup and facial preening, but it is totally useless for the final and overall finished effect. If you have a smaller vanity table, then you will need to supplement it with a standing full-length mirror…

But, the standing full-length mirror is a poor substitute. A woman needs to see HOW SHE LOOKS IN A ROOM.

A full-length mirror only shows the woman how she looks. She can see if her shoes match her outfit, or how her hair looks, or whether or not her outfit matches. The best mirror for a woman is a mirror that takes it all in. The woman can see how she looks in totality.

The Table Surface

The vanity needs to have a wide table top. Here the woman can place her beauty equipment, her masks, her facial cremes, her blushes, her eyeliners and her brushes in easy reach. The ideal vanity would be wide, but not so deep. Everything on the top surface would be easy to reach and would not fall off the side.

Some surfaces have a nice wood finish, while others might have a velvet top or nice mat. It all depends on the person who is using the vanity. Usually, it should be big enough for some small pictures in frames of loved ones, children or pets.

Drawers and Storage

There should be one lockable drawer. The rest can be regular drawers to contain other elements that the woman might want to store. I say that the drawer should be lockable simply because everyone should be afforded privacy.

Sure, any police or criminal can easily break into the drawer, but the purpose of the lock is to prevent children from getting into personal belongings, a nosy neighbor who suddenly “needs to use your bathroom”, or inquisitive kids.

Remember, having privacy does not mean that someone has things to hide. It simply means that we are permitted our own space to do with it as we may without consideration from others.

Under Storage

Underneath the vanity should be enough area for the woman to put her feet. Also, to kick off some shoes or other items so that they are comfortably placed.

Some women like to have a pillow under the vanity so that they could rest their feet on the pillow when they put the makeup on. Such as in the 70 year old vanity picture above.

The vanity is a womans’ space. It is designed solely for the comfort of a woman using it. When a woman is “getting ready” in front of the vanity, she should be relaxed and comfortable.

The Chair

The chair should be so that it is light with a very shallow or low back. The seat must be cushioned, and adornment is fine as long as it is tastefully done. In general, the woman should have a chair that matches the vanity. It should be easy to move around and match the overall tastes and styles of the woman who uses it. Some women prefer to use a piano stool, but I do not think that that is a good idea. I believe that the chair should fit the overall style of the vanity itself.

Why Women Need a Quality Vanity

I argue that both men and women NEED a personal place or space. In the American sitcom “Married with Children”, the father of the family treasured “his” bathroom in the basement. I have friends who have their own workshops or shed that are “theirs”. I am of the belief that we need to accept the importance of privacy in our own lives. We need to have our own spaces to take care of ourselves and relax in our own “personal space” free from interruption and concern.

For the woman of a family, she is often kept quite busy with family responsibilities, the children and a multitude of other tasks. it is her time getting preened in front of the mirror that should be her little space…her little bit of time… her place where she can relax, center herself and devote all her attention on one thing, and one thing only; looking beautiful.

Conclusion

"My mom always had her own bathroom, vanity, and dressing area.  It was filled with things that fascinated me as a little girl. Things  that smelled nice and had fancy packaging. My dad also had his own area  consisting of a workshop and office. I was also fascinated with his area  and used to look inside of his toolboxes and ask him what all of these  odd-looking things were for.

Husband and I are the same way. I will not share a bathroom, closet,  or dressing area with my husband and made it perfectly clear before we  married. He has his personal space as well. I think this is extremely  important in a marriage and contributes to overall harmony in the house.  Men and women are different and complimentary. Everyone needs their own  stuff and personal space for said stuff."

- grimalkin 

Life is far too short to ignore the things that are important. If you are part of a traditional family, then you must take the time, the resources and the money to buy the best vanity that you can afford. It is important for the woman of the house.

It is the woman who will keep the household together in a wildly careening world. She must be given the necessary equipment to maintain the family unit to the best of her abilities. It is the responsibility of the man to recognize this fact, and to take action to make it happen.

Today we live in a world where everyone carelessly announces the desserts they eat, and what their favorite colors are to complete strangers. There are people, known as trolls, that make fun of these people, and find joyous abandon in making fun of everything they find on line. Yet the fact remains, we as people need some time alone. We need to compose ourselves and to gather our life about us. We need to define life on our terms. A pleasant space, and a moment of solitude can do wonders in this regard.

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