Grubby Girl Beauty Hacks
Photo by Melanie Fenwick
Written by: Josette Deschambeault
I’m not the traditional feminine lady. My version of “open-toe sandals” are Birkenstocks, and my “going-out attire” includes a clean hoodie. (My ladyfriends are the exact same way.) When I was guiding in Alaska and Colorado, it was not unusual for me to go to sleep with silt in my hair and “shower” the next day by dunking my head in a 40℉ river. (By unusual, I mean that this was a daily occurrence.) Staying feminine in an outdoor job (from farming to guiding to being an arborist to loading bags onto a plane) is not a no-brainer, but it is possible. It’s all about simplicity. Really, it’s about shaping your wardrobe to reflect the environment and the activity, without losing you.
Here are 5 tips (and the ladies I learned them from) that allowed me to feel (and look) like a girl in the grubby world of outdoor jobs:
1 — EARRINGS
Photo by Aaron Henry
Jewelry in the outdoors can be sketchy — there’s a reason rock climbers don’t wear rings (bye bye, fingers), ranchers don’t wear nose rings (ever caught a nose ring in a horse’s tail?), and raft guides don’t wear bracelets (too many moving pieces). But that’s not to say that outdoorswomen can’t wear jewelry. For me — as a skier, a hiker, a boater, and (once upon a time) a climber — the one piece of jewelry I can always wear without fear? Earrings. They fit under helmets and hats, haven’t gotten tangled in my gear, and since all of mine are simple and light, they stay out of my way. But someone will comment on them, or I’ll see a photo someone took of me with my hair pulled back, hat on, and earrings on display, and I’m grateful I put them on. Especially when I haven’t bathed or brushed my hair in a week.
The woman who taught me how to raft, Kami, has always been an inspiration to me — not just as a kick-ass raft guide, but as a mother and a manager who always manages to look feminine, whether she’s taking care of her kiddos or just got off the river. Her secret is earrings. She rocks a pair of dangly earrings nearly every day, and I took my cue from her. If I’m crawling under a truck to change the oil, trudging uphill on a backcountry ski day, or inventorying a storage shed, I wear a pair of earrings. It’s just enough to remind me that, yes, I am a lady, even if I’m covered in grime.
2 — SKIN CARE
I won’t lie to you. During my guiding days — alright, fine, even now — I found an old tube of sunscreen under the front seat of a box truck, and used that as my moisturizer. My facials occurred when the silt from the bottom of a raft fell onto the sunscreen coating my face, and I tried to rub the dirt off. My arms and legs were covered in bug bites that I treated with the yarrow that grew around the parking lot, or with the Devil’s Club salve that I “borrowed” from someone else’s life jacket. But whenever I thought about it (which wasn’t too often, I admit), I would bring a small tube of lotion, and that was what kept me from feeling like a shriveled hag. Our skin gets thirsty, especially as we dehydrate — there are tons of salves (Devil’s Club, bag balm, etc.) that can help, or just get the travel-size lotions from the grocery store. Your hands, face, feet, knees, elbows, and noses will thank you. (Bonus points if it has SPF in it!) Shout out to Stasia, Mitzi, Kate, Julia, and Sarah for teaching me this.
3 — MAKEUP
I spent a good chunk of time growing up in the South. If you’ve ever set foot in the South, then you know that makeup is a relatively non-negotiable thing for women. You’re taught to wear it young, and then you wear it ‘til the day you die. I have a makeup case with the words “War Paint” on it, and I swear it was designed by a Southern woman.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash
When we moved out west to the high desert of Colorado, I realized — not every woman wears lip liner. (Or eyeliner, for that matter.) So my perception of “getting made up” shifted drastically. When I went on my first backpacking trip as a college sophomore, it was the first time I’d been makeup-free since eighth grade. It was revolutionary.
As a guide (and as an everyday lady), I still wear makeup. There’s a part of me that always will, if it’s on hand, and there’s also a part of me that recognizes I can live without it. But I live by the Southern saying: “Dress well to feel better.” Even if I had clocked 12.5 hours the day before, gone to bed at 10:45pm, and woken up at 5:45 am, by dabbing on concealer and swiping a mascara brush over my lashes, I had my war paint on. I could take on grumpy clients, tired guides, screaming radios, soggy weather and silty boats with that war paint.
4 — NAIL POLISH
I am a firm believer that fingernail polish is an inane luxury for most professions. As an EMT, nail polish is discouraged because what if (God forbid) it flaked off into a patient?! As an outdoor guide, it’s chipped in 3 seconds. And doing anything — from washing the dog to cleaning out a car — leaves the polish looking flaky.
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash
However.
I am also a firm believer in toenail polish. Oh, trust me, it can still look rough after rubber boots, Chacos, ski boots, or water shoes. But there’s something about popping out your toes and seeing that jazzy blue or autumn purple that reminds me that I don’t have lizard feet. (Usually.) And, with 2-3 coats of paint, those puppies generally stay looking nice way longer than your fingers will.
5 — HATS
Photo by Sarah Ammons
Hats are a necessary accessory if you’re going to be outdoors. For hot, sunny days, you’ll be craving the shade provided by a ball cap’s brim. On chilly mornings and colder nights, a beanie is the difference between being competent and being miserable.
The fun part about hats is that they’re designed to be a fashion accessory. (For the most part. I write gear reviews about hats as a side hustle, and some of them are purely for warmth. Trust me.)
As ladies, we have such a fun array of hat options at our disposal. One of my favorites is a blue-and-white ball cap from the Access Fund (helps when your bestie works for the organization); it’s feminine, it’s functional, and the mountain design is beautiful. If it gets a little dirty, or crumpled in a backpack, it’s okay. Just try to avoid the Derby hats. You scoff, but I’ve seen it.
Photo by Aaron Henry
If you want to get a little crazy, take a tip from my girl, Sarah: she rocks the headbands in cold weather, and looks fantastic doing so.