Why does trying to “sell” your beauty for more money today look like a feast during a plague?
We are sitting in a trendy cafe on Podil, a generator hums in the background, and at the next table a drama is unfolding, worthy of a TV series, if the script for it were not written in the realities of war.
A well-groomed woman loudly explains her philosophy of life to her friend.
— Before the war I was gorgeous, during the war I became ordinary, and now I decided: enough! I will be gorgeous again. But you have no idea how expensive this transition is, — she takes a sip of her latte. — The cost of a well-groomed woman is extremely high these days.
And then I was struck by deja vu. It seems that I have heard this monologue not for the first time. This is a story about a parallel reality, where the main problem is not arrivals, but the lack of a “worthy investor” for a beautiful body.
Business plan “I am a goddess”
Being a woman is really expensive. But there is a category of ladies who approach their appearance like a startup.
Then one of the women uttered a phrase that made my skin crawl:
— I was depressed for four years, did nothing. And now I decided to return to the big “sport”. Beautician, sports, teeth, a completely new wardrobe… That's 20 thousand dollars at the start! And monthly support. And then Vasyl, who can't even pay for coffee, drives up to me. Why did he give up on me? He doesn't have the money to maintain a car like mine.
Do you hear that grinding? It's the sound of a living person turning himself into a commodity. Into an elite car that needs expensive maintenance. And, of course, Vasyl is superfluous here. Because Vasyl may be giving half his salary to charities, or his business is barely breathing due to blackouts, or he simply believes that buying love at the price of a Porsche is somehow out of time.
Bridal market or vanity fair?
The “luxury segment” has its own laws. Here, men are divided not into “reliable” but “solvent.”
“I call such ladies accessories,” a man I know once aptly remarked. “And the man decides for himself: can he afford this luxury, or does he care about the brand?”
The war exposed nerves and tore off masks. When you hear from a woman: “Men want a princess at the price of Mivina, well, let them wait,” it becomes somehow awkward. It's as if we're back to square one, only outside the window is not peaceful Kyiv, but checkpoints and anxiety.
“Some men want a woman with the looks of a model, the character of a nanny, and the demands of a homeless person,” the “investors” in beauty are outraged.
And the men, the same Vasyas who suddenly dared to approach the queen, simply don't understand: why does ordinary human attention now have a price tag?
Manicure at the price of a bulletproof vest
When a woman says: “My manicure and pedicure alone cost more than $100, that's status,” I want to ask: status for whom?
While some women are waiting for their men from the front, not even having time to dye their roots, others are conducting an audit of their appearance. “I've already invested $20,000: a beautician – a fiver, clothes – a tenr… And this is not the end of the investment.”
This sounds like a report on the purchase of drones, only instead of “birds” – fillers and branded handbags. But who is it all for?
If it's for yourself, great. Have fun, spend, live. But no. All this tuning is done with an eye on the “buyer”. On that same mythical oligarch who will appreciate the “efforts invested” and immediately start “maintaining the car.”
Depression in diamonds
Behind this glossy facade lies deep loneliness and the same depression that they try to cure with shopping.
“I don't call it a commodity,” women who are looking for a level say about themselves. But can you find a sincere relationship if you go into it with a calculator?
One of the heroines of these social conversations confessed: “For a man to find out about my two diplomas, he must first catch sight of my appearance. Interest goes from the external to the internal.”
Maybe. But in a country at war, “external” depreciates very quickly. When missiles are flying, it doesn't matter how much your beautician cost. What matters is whether there is someone to hug you in the hallway.
We all want to be beautiful, well-groomed, and some “chic.” But when beauty turns into a business project, and the search for a partner turns into a tender with requirements, remember: that Vasyl, whom you despise so much for not having a Porsche, may tomorrow turn out to be the one who will pull you out from under the rubble. Or the one who will simply cover your shoulders with a peacoat when it gets cold.
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💅 Beauty is an investment 🤮 This is cynical consumerism 🤔 Money is not the main thing
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Bearded Pike 🤮 This is cynical consumerism 02/12/2026 16:43 While working as a lawyer, I was involved in the divorce of a married couple – very rich people, the husband was sitting on some state “gas pipe”, and she was the wife of a rich man (obviously, one whose investment had paid off). But when she was 45, and the husband a little older, the marriage fell apart. He left her a three-story house with everything in it, and a luxury car, and went to his young mistress, who, apparently, also “made a profitable investment”. She started something about “giving you the best years of her life”. But he quickly outlined these boundaries: “While you were spending my money (in fact, both of them were spending state money), everything suited you – you were selling yourself as a commodity. And now I don't want your commodity – you are ready to sell it to someone else.” By the way, first she had to sell her luxury car because she had nothing to pay for its maintenance. And the following year, the house – because of the insanely high costs of its maintenance, including heating the area of over 1000 sq. meters. 👍 1 + Reply