Is it okay to apply makeup on the subway?
I’m always late, so now I just pack my makeup and do it while I commute to work, but sometimes people stare. Is this as rude as, like, clipping my nails? —Della
I love to watch people do their makeup on the subway, but I’m a beauty journalist, and it’s literally my job to report on makeup trends and talk to people about their grooming habits, so I’m not an impartial observer. In order to get a more accurate idea of how the average straphanger feels about subway grooming, I polled 40 people during a Monday morning commute. Here’s what they had to say.
What’s the most outrageous personal grooming you’ve witnessed on the New York City subway?
Almost everybody I spoke to had seen someone clipping their fingernails. “Ohh, you know when you hear that sound — you know exactly what it is,” a Brooklynite named Valentina said. Four people I polled had also observed a toenail-clipping session. “He was wearing sandals, so it’s not like he had to take off his shoes to do it,” a woman named Laurie said very graciously.
Three people I spoke to had also seen New Yorkers brushing their teeth, though in all cases, they were standing on the platform. “He had toothpaste, a water bottle, and everything. Maybe he was between shifts?,” a Brooklynite named Miles offered. “When he was done, he spit the water onto the tracks.”
Other subway riders reported seeing people brush their hair, put on deodorant, and apply sunscreen. And one woman, named Linda, told me she’d watched a woman sit on her boyfriend’s lap and “begin to pick at his face, like doing skin care, popping pimples and things.” Two people standing nearby gasped when they overheard that one.
What’s the most personal grooming you’ve done on the subway?
The range of people I polled had plenty to say about others’ behaviors, but only a few admitted to doing any public grooming of their own. “I’ve brushed my hair, but I have short hair, so it wasn’t like hairs were falling off,” said a man named Jerome.
A woman, Sara, told me she once flossed her teeth while riding public transportation. When her friend who was with her told her she was gross, Sara explained that it’s not a regular thing; she only did it because she had something really annoying between her teeth. I asked her what she did with the floss afterward, and she said that she hadn’t used floss; she’d used a piece of her own hair. Her friend’s response? “Ew.”
And when it comes to applying products, most people have done it at some point. “Lip balm is the extent,” said one man, Otis, as he waited for his train. “I’ve applied gloss and lipstick, but foundation is messy, I feel like that would be uncomfortable for me,” a woman named Lauren shared. A few people had also done their eye makeup in public — but only when it was an easy-to-apply product. “I’ve applied mascara, but I think once you get into eye shadow, where the shadow could be loose or coming off into the air, that’s too much,” said a woman named Kayla.
Is applying a full face of makeup on the subway rude?
Most of the New Yorkers I spoke to were unbothered by subway makeup application. “Any kind of makeup is totally fine. We all spend so much time on these subways, you might as well take that time to do what you’ve gotta do,” said a woman named Olivia.
What is not okay on the subway grooming-wise?
A few people draw the line at perfume or hairspray. “Like, it’s okay as long as you’re not spraying things into the air.”
Filing your nails is another no-no. “I’ve seen people filing their nails, which is not okay for me,” said a Brooklynite named Alicia. Another no-no was anything with loose powder: “If you’re doing blush or powder and it’s going everywhere, I guess that’s kind of the same.” “I’ve seen people take out their whole makeup kit and sit it next to them, the blush, the eye shadow. No. That’s unhygienic,” said a woman named Ashranka. Another woman, Jade, thinks applying face powder, blush, foundation, or anything where there’s dust is unacceptable. “If you blow on the brush or stuff goes off into the air, that could make people sneeze,” she said. But mascara? “Yeah, why not?”
In general, the consensus seems to be that if your makeup application impedes on other people’s personal space or air quality, then you should do it at home. But if it doesn’t involve any brushes or powders, and you’re able to keep it wholly to your own face and within your own space, then I think it’s fine to keep doing it on the subway. People may stare at you, but it’s probably because they’re curious. “I don’t know how women do the eye stuff, with all the breaking and jostling,” said a Brooklynite named André. “The funniest thing I’ve seen is those little clippers that curl your eyebrows,” said a woman named Jane (she was trying to describe an eyelash curler). “It didn’t bother me, but I don’t understand how people do that.”
My final piece of advice as you continue your adventures in commuting: New Yorkers aren’t fazed by much, but you can’t assume people in other cities or countries will be as accepting of your subway makeup routine. As the morning rush started to slow and tourists replaced commuters, I asked a man named Tomáš, who was visiting from Slovakia, what types of makeup application or personal grooming he’d seen on public transportation, and he was genuinely confused. I offered some examples, like applying lip gloss or maybe brushing one’s hair, and his confusion deepened. “People do this? I haven’t seen it,” he said. So, I asked him what he thinks is acceptable behavior on public transportation. “Sitting,” he replied.
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