Primping on the L train

One particularly satisfying part of traveling by subway in New York City, is having entry into worlds you would otherwise never see. Today I am riding the L train from 14th street, Union Square in Manhattan, to Hasley Avenue, in Ridgewood Queens.

The woman opposite me looks to be in her mid-30’s. She is wearing a yellow polkadot top and blue jean shorts. She is staring intently into the phone held inches from her face. In her other hand an eye lash curler is clamped tightly to the long lashes of her right eye.

Opposite her, to my right, sits a woman in her late teens. She is wearing a tight Mickey Mouse t-shirt and short shorts. She too is staring intently into a hand mirror held inches from her face. She dabs her eyelashes with a mascara wand and bats her eyes at her reflection.

As we arrive at the DeKalb Avenue station both women hastily put away their beauty tools, grab their things and leave the train.