Having friends that were ?model perfect,? while I was finding my footing as a person, gave me an early education on the art of being Manhattan pretty. My skin was always flawless and perfectly made up, nails manicured and buffed, and my hair was always cutting edge, but stylish. You learned to comparison shop at Saks and Bloomingdales for cosmetics and find cutting edge designers by asking other women who they were wearing. As far as jewelry was concerned, if it didn?t come in that powder blue box, I didn?t want it!
I remember back when I was in my twenties, having a ?I am women, hear me roar moment,? a friend and I showed up at our favorite bar (in the afternoon, of course) while we were waiting for our clothes to finish at the neighborhood laundromat. We were sans make-up or any other kind of cosmetic enhancement. I?m …