Okay, to outline quickly: a female employee says she felt she had no option but to leave Harrods because she didn’t want to wear make up. I’ll say upfront that she signed a contract obliging her to fulfil the dress obligations, including wearing make up. Whether you agree with that or not is a different matter. But, nonetheless she did. I’ll also point out that she is a perfectly pretty girl who worked in the HMV department, not the make up hall.
So, Liz Jones wades in with her Mail column with helpful comments such as ‘British workers don’t want to make an effort,’ and ‘Why does a young woman think her desire to show us her open pores and ruddy complexion outweighs the wishes of her employer to present a polished face to the customer?’. This whole feature smacks of someone who has been told to write a counter argument and Liz could so easily have been told write the same feature but from the angle of not wearing make up being acceptable and Harrods being silly. It’s all on the whim of an editor to garner opinion and ‘outrage’ from readers. But sorry, it’s all a bit boring now. Manufacturing an argument to make it sound ‘real’ and ‘outspoken’ when there are SO many things to be real and outspoken about that actually matter is typical of a world where media loves to shock for the sake of it and to raise readership.
Back to the woman who won’t wear make up. She’s clean, her skin is nice, and she doesn’t work in the make up or fragrance department, or even for that matter, any department where mascara matters. I get that if you’re selling make up, of course you should wear it. Of course. But selling DVDs? Does it really matter so much? However, if she adamantly didn’t want to wear make up, then probably best to not apply to a luxury department store where you know it is a requirement.
Possibly the bigger issue is that she alledges that Harrods have an attitude that if you wear make up you are somehow improved. I say that, while I wouldn’t be caught dead (hello Illamasqua) without blusher, it’s really not for anyone else to make the call that make up improves. In fact, it’s rather insulting to make the assumption that the unreal you is far more acceptable to look at than the real you. I would suggest that if you’re lucky enough to have beautiful, creamy skin, bright eyes and the perfect arch naturally, then covering that up is the crime.
So, Liz of the recent facelift fame, butt out – you’ve made a career of your insecurities about your weight and looks so don’t dive in now to have a go at someone who was doing just fine without your input about ruddy skin and enlarged pores. Any second now you’ll notice a pore of your own that needs a little attention and then we’ll all end up hearing about it, no doubt with a Daily Mail spin that it’s your divine right not to be judged on the size of your pores.
Leave a Reply