larissa and PDGs (public displays of grooming)

It was this past week in Vancouver that drew my attention to it.

On the bus, on the sky-train, on the ferry. It seems that public transportation is quickly replacing the bathroom mirror. Apparently, open-air preening is a growing trend.

During my short visit, I was exposed to a wide range of examples, all varying in gravity. There were the basic cases (women applying lipstick or touching up their powder on the bus), but there were also the more extreme ones (man cutting his fingernails on the ferry, woman tweezing her eyebrows on the plane).

My attention was brought to so many PDGs that I had to lay down a personal ground rule. What is it that makes public lipgloss-application acceptable and public nail-trimming offensive?

This is the guideline I came up with:

If it goes on, it goes on without any trouble (with the exception of perfume).
If it comes off, it grosses me out.

Case in point: applying hand lotion, mascara, or even deodorant won’t put me off (being heavy-handed with cologne in a small, poorly-ventilated bus will).

Anything that comes off of the groomer’s body- whether it’s facial hair, fingernail dirt, or toenail clippings- is unwelcome.

So dear stranger, next time you are sitting beside me on the plane, do not ask me for tweezers. Do not ask me for a nail file. Just keep the guideline in mind, and save yourself the breath.