It’s often said that getting ready is half as much fun as going out, but according to research released by hair care pros Goody, women spend the equivalent of two days every year getting dolled up for a night out. Now I love my glass of wine-drinking, mirror-hogging, makeup-applying pre-night out schedule, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t add up to that much.
The study of 3,000 women revealed that for an average night, women will spend 111 minutes getting ready – that’s getting on for two hours for those of you as mathematically challenged as me. For an office party, i.e. getting ready in the toilets after work, the average is 49 minutes. 49 minutes! My office bathroom is as harshly lit as an operating theatre and I reckon you’d be lucky to squeeze three of the 150 staff in there. Goody call this quick too! I guess compared to 111 minutes it is, but still.
Speaking of which, here’s how the 111 minutes breaks down. Showering takes 19 minutes. Fair enough factor in leg-shaving and the like, I guess. A bizarre seven minutes is spent on teeth. WTF?! I guess brushing is supposed to take two minutes, but then what? Flossing and mouthwash, fine but does that take five minutes or am I missing some dental technique that no-one has told me about?
Anyway, 16 minutes on makeup allegedly which I call bullshit on. I love makeup and probably spend twice that, but then I’m a bit of a tranny in disguise. 20 minutes goes on choosing an outfit, but I reckon if you’re leaving that ‘til the last minute you’ve only got yourself to blame. The final 29 minutes go on plucking, nail care and tanning.
Rose-Marie Jarvis, brand and marketing manager at Goody, says:
“At this time of year every woman wants to look her best for parties but might not necessarily have the time they normally do to get ready. Interestingly, we found that often it’s the time spent on getting ready that gives women a confidence boost – a nightmare if you only have 20 minutes to spend on your hair before a party.”
Goody go on further to break it down to hair colour, which is kinda crazy. According to them the average blonde spents 26,280 minutes a year getting ready, with brunettes just behind at 24,090. Of course they don’t include redheads, because they never do.
Hmm. I reckon I’m pretty high maintenance and I sure do like to get dolled up, but here’s my break down of a better way to spend that 111 minutes...
1-10 minutes for a shower
11-14 for drying off
15-16 for moisturising
17-18 running from bathroom to bedroom in a towel, stopping to pick it up half way
19-59 makeup
60-109 consumption of as much alchohol as I can get in, preferably while watching the Top 100 Rock Party Anthems on VH1 (it’s awesome)
110-11 tooth brushing
DONE
According to Goody, 79 per cent of women don’t think they take a long time to get ready. They’re liars. Getting ready for a party should be about drinking, snacking and dancing around in your underwear. Spending seven minutes prepping your teeth for a night at the pub is plain weird, and no-one can convince me otherwise.