Elle Canada - The Elle Word

It doesn’t matter where you live–or how “well” you live—it’s a universal truth that women take pleasure in simple beauty rituals. That became especially clear to me earlier this year after I spent two weeks in the Colombian town of Leticia participating in a volunteer eye mission. I was in the heart of the Amazon—500 miles from the nearest road. The only way into this frontier town is by airplane or by boat. At the makeshift clinic, which we set up in a local school, we were able to treat 5,828 patients in 10 days. Just under 200 people required eye surgery, while the majority received donated prescription glasses.

It’s a rare experience to visit a foreign place and have the privilege of connecting with people in a personal and meaningful way. I’ve been on these volunteer trips before to Colombia and Bolivia and each time I am humbled by my encounters—in part because they make me take stock of my life.

That said, it is a mistake to think that caring for one’s appearance, or wanting to indulge in a little beauty therapy, is only a first-world flight of fancy. After just a few hours on the first day, I began to notice that the women—who came from the nearby Brazilian town of Tabatinga or other Peruvian and Colombian villages several “river-boat days” away—were mad for nail art.

 Read more about my Amazon eye adventure.

Before launching into my typical opening line: “¿Ha tenido gafas de antes?” (“Have you had glasses before?”) I would point to their nails and say: “Me gusta tu esmalte de uñas.” Once they understood what I was trying to say—my Spanish is less than eloquent so it required a little pantomime on occasion—they smiled and any awkward formality between us was broken.

Suddenly I wasn’t some stranger from a cold, foreign country. I was just a woman, like them, who wanted to share a personal moment and pass along a compliment. It’s the kind of intimate dialogue women fall into easily and soon we were chatting about their children, their lives and in some cases their personal struggles.

While the point of the exchange was to help them see—and thankfully we were able to achieve that in most cases—it also shed light on the importance of noticing the simple and beautiful pleasures in life and in taking the time to share a few kind words.

Here are a few of the women who allowed me to photograph their nail art.

Have you had “beautiful moments” either volunteering or in other unexpected places and circumstances? Please share!