1. I don't wear high heels anymore. There was a time when I equated being a grownup with wearing really high heels, kinda like Barbie. I had stilettos in brown suede and forest green suede (they matched, separately, a pair of suede pants and a suede skirt I owned - wow, how many times can I write "suede"?) plus a pair in navy, one in red, and many, many in black. And this was all during my first two jobs out of college.
They make your legs look awesome, I will admit, and when the rest of you is sleek and svelte, well, then, you only have to step out of your car and wait for the wolf whistles. But - big but here - they're so very bad for your knees and hips. They throw everything out of alignment, all your joints, all your bones, and your muscles have to torque in many different ways in order to compensate. But not anymore. Not for me. The highest heels I will wear now are a pair of black polyester zip-up boots that are kind of funky with skirts and dresses but at the end of the night, I can't wait to take them off.
2. I don't wear liquid eyeliner anymore. This was another one of those "grownup-y" things I used to do. Along with base, concealer, powder, eye shadow, liquid blush, mascara, lip liner, and lipstick, I thought the more makeup I wore, the older and more mature I appeared. Looking back at old photos of myself, I can see the layers of makeup I wore and I cringe!
Nowadays, I use an SPF tinted moisturizer, a little translucent powder, a swipe of bronzer and pinkish lip gloss. That's it. If I'm going to a function, I'll wear a little mascara on my top lashes only but that's the extent of it. If I follow my grandmother's footsteps, by the time I'm 80, I'll have reduced my makeup to a dab of lip gloss that I apply to my upper lip and then moosh it with my bare bottom lip. Gotta admit, it takes a lot less time to get out of the house this way and no need for expensive makeup removers.
3. I don't drink diet soda anymore. I used to be addicted to Diet Coke, drinking it from late morning until bedtime, in place of water and tea and juices, until a bad, ahem, experience in grad school when I realized there is such a thing as too much diet soda. Now I don't drink soda at all: just coffee (black, no sugar), tea (herbal or Earl Grey with a little honey) and water (no ice).
4. I don't smoke anymore. Yes, it was the cool thing to do when I was in college and grad school. Yes, I was a dancer and back then we all smoked instead of eating. Yes, I thought I was cool (did I mention that already?). Until one day when I hyperventilated during a grand allegro combination. And the smell? As I cut down on my way to quitting, I started to get my sense of smell back, and oh god, it was horrible. In my hair and my clothes and on my fingers...double yuck. I finally quit not long after we moved to LA and it was - hands down -the best thing I've ever done.
So 4 things I don't do anymore...and I'm glad.
