Feminine Behaviours/Comportamentos Femininos

EN/ Feminine Behaviours

In this post I intend to put together some behaviours that over the years I’ve been observing in women who live in London and compare them to the Brazilian women, questioning the way that Brazilians in general think about them.

1- Makeup

London – It is quite common to find women on the underground in the morning on their way to work doing their make up, or on the way back to go somewhere else. The ability is such that the movement of the train does not stop them, neither feel embarrassment when handling brushes and pencils among strangers.

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Nice painting of girl doing make up/ Pintura legal de menina fazendo maquiagem.(Pinterest, ma-zaika.ru)

Brazil – I do not remember to see the last time I  have been there, no women apply makeup from foundation to the eyelashes mascara on any public transport. The max I saw discreetly put lipstick, or maybe they do this in the comfort of their cars?

2- Nail polish

London – Here you do not have the habit of removing the cuticles, or to get a manicure every week, unless you get very well paid. It is quite expensive, and usually women here adhere to the “do it yourself” (DIY), painting nails at home, or on the subway (yes, indeed). When doing manicure, they get fake nails, decorated and coloured polish or gelly. Here the gel practice is a bit more affordable, costing around 20 pounds only for hands, which guarantees to last around 15 days. The funny thing is that because it is not easily removable, unless you go to the beauty salon, nails grow leaving a strip of natural nail color. Sometimes not only a stripe, more than that.

Brazil – There is in Brazil a search for impeccability of nails, no matter the income of women, many manage to do their nails with a certain frequency as with a 15 reais (depending on the area and salon), can you do your feet and hands. Many do it  at home same, but different from Londoners, Brazilians care about the durability of the nail polish, and when they chip and reaches the fifth day, they get removed. It seems that there is a fear of seeing the unkempt fingernails, or to show that it’s time to revisit the salon. In London I see many chipped and poorly made nails, that sometimes only lasts the special event’s day.

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Me this week, nail polish remover finished and I could only remove nail polish from one hand. Had to go out like this to buy more/ Eu essa semana, a acetona acabou e só deu pra tirar esmalte de uma mão. Tive que sair assim pra comprar mais.

3 – High Heels

London – Many women walk on heels on the very well levelled pathways of London, for going out, work, nightlife. If you take the subway in the morning peak hours, often see women with smart clothes matching her beautiful, TRAINERS! Yes, they go out with trainers, tights, skirt and social shirts, to extend comfort time.
They carry their heels in a plastic bag inside their hand bag, a pair of heels to change at work or on the underground, why not? Another moment shoes’ change  is on return from pubs and clubs. They go out with flats and carry the heels in the bag or hands, exchanging it in the middle of the street, putting the flats in the bag and wearing high heels. It is easier to spot it on the way back, because they are already tired of suffering on heels, and at the first opportunity, jump down from their high heels and wear flats.

Brazil – Maximum I’ve witnessed were women walking wonky because he could not walk anymore (what I see in London too), or walking barefoot on the way back. I think it worth adhering the flats on the way back from a dancing night out or taking your trainers on the way to work. Comfort should come first, after all.

Well these are the first observations. Correct me if I’m out of date!

Could you apply makeup on the underground or bus?
How often do you do your nails?
Would you face going out with trainers wearing smart clothes?
How about the idea of ​​taking flats in a bag to be able to take heels off?


PT/   Comportamentos Femininos

Nesse post pretendo juntar alguns comportamentos que ao longo dos anos eu venho observado nas mulheres que moram em Londres e compará-los aos das mulheres brasileiras, questionando a forma que brasileiros em geral pensam sobre os dois.

1- Maquiagem

Londres – É bem comum encontrar mulheres no metrô se maquiando no caminho pro trabalho de manhã, ou na volta dele pra ir em algum lugar. A habilidade é tanta que o balanço do trem não impede, muito menos têm vergonha de manusear pincéis e lápis entre pessoas desconhecidas.
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UK vs Brazil – Plastic Bags Use/ Uso de Sacolas Plásticas

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EN/   Plastic Bags Use

This past week it was announced a change to the way all large shops and supermarkets in UK provide plastic bags. Now it is a general government rule, and not a matter of preference up to the market chains, like it was before. Prior to this new rule, Lidl would only provide a multi-use plastic bag at a cost, similar Spar in other European countries, what charge for single-use plastic bags. While a few already followed this strict attitude towards their customers, other chains like Tesco, Sainsbury’s, etc, would keep both options of providing free single use and a charge for multi-use plastic bags for the most ecologically conscious.

What I would like to point out is something I will do with a series of posts, to compare these rules, behaviours and manners that have different reactions from populations of UK and Brazil. In Brazil, a couple of years ago there was an attempt to introduce some consciousness about ecology by removing single-use plastic bags from customer’s reach. This caused rebellion, people complained that the cost of plastic bags were included in the tax that is payed combined with the cost of the products in store. From London I observed the news, and for me it seemed more a commodity matter, rather than suspicion of being charged twice. There was such a negative feedback from the population that the rule was cancelled and single-use plastic bags are again being provided for free.

This year the rule is trying to get back in practice in Sao Paulo, providing “green bags” at a cost, made of bioplastic the initiative attempts to stimulate people to rethink the way they consume these bags, inspired by (guess what?), “…international standards and can be applied elsewhere in the country.”, stated by Marina Estarque from Carta Capital.

Here are some opinions taken from the article:

“I think it’s bad to have to pay, I will bring a house,” says Josmy.
“When people have easy access, they end up accumulating or playing outside”, said Camila Oliveira, 21.

Well, this is what is called “change” and this takes time to get adapted to people’s everyday life.
Hopefully here in UK and in Sao Paulo, people get their head around it, preparing for a more sustainable future!

Particularly I found this new rule amasing, I am ecologically aware and end up storing all plastic bags at home so I can reuse most of them. Unfortunately I have been a little lazy and could have invested in multi-use/more resistant plastic bags or carrier bags made of other materials to take my shopping home. This laziness to take such attitude has been fed by the commodity of having free bags available at the supermarket, what can be a little more practical as you dont have to think in advance and remember to bring yours from home. I know I will forget at times and complain others, but this rule is a favour really.

Single-use plastic carrier bag charge – video
Published on Jul 24, 2015

A short video for consumers and others explaining the 5p charge for single-use plastic carrier bags. The charge is being introduced in England from 5 October 2015.

For more information see https://www.gov.uk/carrierbags

P.s.: translated by myself.


PT/   Uso de Sacolas Plásticas

Na semana passada, foi anunciada uma alteração na forma como todas as grandes lojas e supermercados no Reino Unido fornecem sacolas plásticas. Agora é uma regra do governo geral, e não uma questão de preferência das cadeias de supermercado, como era antes. Anteriormente à essa nova regra, o mercado Lidl só fornecia um tipo de sacola de plástico multi-uso, por um valor, similarmente o mercado Spar em outros países europeus, cobra pelo uso de sacolas plásticas descartáveis. Enquanto alguns já seguiam essa atitude rigorosa perante aos seus clientes, outras empresas como Tesco, Sainsbury´s, etc, preferiam manter as duas opções fornecendo sacolas plásticas descartáveis de graça e uma taxa por sacolas de plástico de multi-uso para os mais ecologicamente conscientes.
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