...jersey smoke



© MyStyle.com

 I don't watch much television.  And I hate reality shows.  There are too many, and who wants to sit on a couch and watch someone else's life?  I avoid all reality shows like the plague.

Until Jerseylicious.  I was sitting in the living room doing some watercolor sketches one day, with the television running in the background, not really paying attention to it.  Then I heard something that made me look up and noticed it was a show about a salon full of overmade up, aggressive women.  I decided to watch, mainly because my sister owned her own salon for 25 years and I thought it would be fun to compare the east coast to the west coast.

By the end of the show I was hooked.  DRAMA.  Big drama.  Lots of arguments, and people trying to outmaneuver others.  Competition. Love. You name it, they had it all on the show.

What really fascinated me were the women.  The makeup and hair were unbelievable.  The stylists said it was the "Jersey" look.  I couldn't look away from the heavy tans, white pink lipstick, hair extensions, and skin tight clothing.  So I set the DVR to record it for me.  Because I knew there was no way Steve would ever watch this show. 

And I watched, week after week.  And you know what?  Underneath all the makeup, and hair, and weird clothes were a bunch of women just trying to make a living.  I started to look past the drama, histrionics and thick layers of makeup and see what was really going on.

Just a bunch of regular people trying to get ahead.  Not any different than anyone else really.  They might look and sound different (I live in the south after all, so their looks and accents are horribly fascinating), but they were just a bunch of girls (and guys) living life large.

I realized at the end of the season that I had a different attitude and perspective about the show.  I could see the realness of them.  Past the hyperbole and flash.  Past the bravado and glamtrash looks.

And I liked what I saw.  I still hate reality shows.  But I love Jerseylicious. 

But don't tell anyone I said that.  Oh, and I am trying to master the art of the Jerseylicious signature "smoky eye" look.

So far I just look like a racoon.