Princess Lessons by Meg Cabot Page A

no?

    5.
Deodorant/antiperspirant is a must! Whether you are playing croquet all day, or
sitting under the hot lights of a television studio being interviewed by a
famous news journalist, a principessa never lets them see her sweat—I mean,
perspire.
    6. Shave or
wax unwanted body hair. The Principessa Amelia insists that this is a personal
choice, and that women should not feel that they have to shave just to conform
with “the societal mores of their culture.” I, Paolo, could not disagree more
strongly—even if you are French.

    Waxing is messy and can
cause rashes! It is best left to salon professionals like me, Paolo. Hair
removal products like depilatories are expensive, smell bad, and don’t remove
all the hair. A good razor and lots of shaving cream is the way to go if you
choose to be hair-free, as a principessa should be (even French
ones).
    And please, for
Paolo, if you have hair growing from your upper lip or chin, pluck or bleach it
(follow the instructions carefully on facial bleach packages). Never shave your
face. No principessa should have razor burn over the lip!
    7. Even nervous nail biters like the
Principessa Amelia can have pretty nails! Keep them neatly trimmed and polished
with clear gloss (dark polish makes nails look shorter). Pushing back the
cuticles also can make bitten nails look longer.
PRINCESS HAIR

    Everyone is coming to Paolo, crying like a baby: “Oh, my hair is
curly! Make it straight! Principessas have the straight hair!”
    Well, I, Paolo, would like to say something:
    Principessas
can have curly hair. Principessas can have straight hair. Principessas can have
dark hair. Principessas can have blond hair. Principessas may have cornrows,
extensions, crew cuts, and dreads. The key to having the hair of a true
principessa is:
    A principessa’s hair must be
clean
    A principessa’s hair must not be in her
eyes
    A principessa’s hair must not take more than
fifteen minutes to style
    Why this last rule?
Because unless you have me, Paolo, to style your hair for you every morning,
principessas have better things to do than mess around with their hair. If your
hair is straight and you spend half an hour every morning curling it, then you
waste your time! Straight hair can be very pretty. Same with curly hair. If you
spend hours with a blow dryer trying to brush your hair straight, you waste
more time!
    Is it possible to be a principessa with green hair?
Yes, so long as it is clean green hair, it is not hanging in the principessa’s
eyes, and it doesn’t take longer than fifteen minutes for the principessa to
style it.
    Whatever look you come up with, make sure it is neat,
bella, and low maintenance. The last thing a principessa
should ever be thinking about is her hair! Leave the worrying to me, Paolo!
Because I, Paolo, am an artist. And my canvas is hair.

PRINCESS EYEBROWS

    The eyes, they are the
windows to the soul. If that is true, then the eyebrow is the curtain to the
window of the soul. And who wants ugly curtains that look like you bought them
at J.C. of Penney? Do you? No! That is why eyebrow maintenance is molto
importante ! We at Chez Paolo recommend plucking. Here is a quick guide
to proper eyebrow-plucking technique:
    Purchase a pair of
tweezers, available in any drugstore, no?
    Stand a little back from
mirror, so you can see your whole face in a well-lighted room.
    This is one case where less is NOT more. Do not over-pluck! Remove only
those hairs that extend past the inner corner of your eye, or which lie below
the natural curve of the brow!
    Tweeze unwanted hairs by pulling
toward the ears (direction eyebrow hairs grow), so hair comes out more easily.
What? You are crying? GOOD! The pain means it is working!
    Brush
brows upward and outward in the direction hairs grow. Fill in mistakes (and you
will all make mistakes, as you are not Paolo) with eyebrow pencil in color that
matches your hair.
    Voilà! The perfect brow,
courtesy of me,