Big Hair and Lots of Makeup

During spring break of my sophomore year of college, I vacationed at my usual sea side condominium with my roommate Sephora and our close friend Molly Margaret. Per the classic college girl custom, we spent two hours getting dressed every evening in part for the potential Facebook photos that would result. Sephora is a native of Virginia. Whether Virginian or from the Deep South, the consensus is that Virginia is southern in geography only. So it's no surprise that one of Sephora's friends from Virginia, upon seeing spring break pictures of us at a crawfish boil, asked Sephora: "Why do all of your southern friends have big hair and lots of makeup?" (Good thing she couldn't detect the event and venue.) The funny thing about culture is that, upon entering into a different one, assimilation occurs at least in part, and something that was a part of the new culture ends up becoming a part of you. At this point, Sephora had resided in the Deep South for the better part of five years. That being said, at present I know of no one who wears as much makeup as Virginia's own Sephora. Not that it is representative of the whole, but if you could stereotype southern women based solely on these photos, "big hair and lots of makeup" would be an accurate description. Not that our cosmetics lack sophistication. But when compared to women in other regions of the country, I can see why someone would think it abundant. What can we say? It's part of our charm.