HOMEReal Work Stories That No Sitcom Writer Could Ever Make Up5 min read

Beauty Work and Other Miscommunications

A makeup client asked for something light and nude. Foundation, soft shadow, fluffy lashes, a glow on the cheeks. She looked in the mirror. “Where’s the makeup?” Nude looks natural by design, the artist explained. “Oh,” the client said. “I thought nude meant dark, with glitter and eyeliner.” They redid the whole thing. Dark smoky eyes with glitter. That was nude, apparently.

During a pedicure, a client confided she suspected her husband was seeing someone. The evidence: he’d remarked that all women seem to have dry heels in winter. Where was he seeing other women without socks, in winter? Both women sat with that question for a long moment. The session ended without a verdict.

A Man With Good News and No One to Tell It To

A taxi support rep took a complaint call from a man who said the driver had been silent the entire ride and had tried to humiliate him with his gaze. Instead of logging the complaint, the rep asked him to just talk for a while.

He’d been promoted that week. His cat had just had two kittens. His son got into college. He talked. The rep listened. No complaint was ever filed.