If your date/friend/dinner companion has spinach stuck in their teeth do you subtly draw their attention to it, tell them straight out or just ignore it?
Pointing out a potentially embarrassing aspect of someone’s appearance isn’t always the easiest thing to do, especially if you don’t know them very well. While my girlfriend doesn’t have a problem bursting into hysterics when she spots the remnants of a rocket and parmesan salad splattered down my top, I was in a slightly different position recently.
A woman had stepped off the bus and her skirt was tucked into her tights. Exposing your underpants to the passing traffic on Sydney’s George St isn’t high on most people’s priority list, but was it my responsibility to bring it to her attention? Compared to telling someone they have a little lipstick on their teeth, this was a whole different dilemma.
After watching her take a few more steps in front of me, I decided that it was my duty to the sisterhood to let her know. If it was me, I would rather the short burst of embarrassment than a long walk of shame.
She was utterly mortified, then extremely grateful that she had been spared further public exposure. The few seconds of awkwardness I felt while breaking the news to her was swiftly replaced with a sense of relief. I’d done a good thing and created some beauty karma in the process.
If it was you, would you want to know? And would you tell?
