If you’re a Disney super-fan, or have worked at the Disneyland Resort, then you’re familiar with ‘The Disney Look.’ The Disney Look is a set of guidelines that all cast members must abide by in order to look sharp and not stand out from the pack. I adhered to these guidelines religiously when I first started working for Disney, before learning which rules I could bend a little. While working at Disney, I always assumed that as soon as I quit, I would wear black nail polish daily and get a face tattoo and dye my hair purple. I’m surprised at the types of things I decided to change in my appearance after spending a few years at Disney.

Talk to the hand

At Disney, we were only allowed to wear neutral colored nail polish. So, basically, neon blue with hello kitty bling is out of the question. At work, I typically wore a baby pink polish and I kept my nails short and trim. Upon quitting Disney, I think I stepped into a salon once to get me some fake claws and crazy colors and I was immediately over it. If you look at my hands on any given day, I don’t wear any nail polish. If I’m feeling crazy, I’ll paint them dark purple then remove it a couple days later.

I Don’t give a Hair what you think

My typical hair color at Disney switched between blonde and brunette. I had a great colorist who could make me look like a natural blonde or brunette, so I always fit the Disney guideline of “natural colors only please and thank you.” I fooled a lot of my friends when I worked there and they could never guess what my natural color actually was (and to be honest, I still don’t know what my natural color is). Upon quitting Disney, I cut my hair short. Once I moved to New York, my pixie cut got shorter and shorter. I now cut my hair myself, because I get bored with it and need the freedom to change it often. I’ve been shaving the back of my head and leaving the top of my hair long (a style that would get me fired ASAP at Disney). While at Disney, I always kept my locks long and I hated it. It was such a drag to be a girl with a long mane in the middle of summer peak. My ability to change my hair frequently is one of the highlights of my week. Speaking of highlights, I dump about a box of bleach on my head every other week. The other day I added some lavender, because, why not? Sure, I look like a ‘My little pony,’ but isn’t life a tad more fun that way?

Face it, you’re perfect!

I am extremely grateful that Disney was strict when it came to makeup, because to be quite honest, I never really got into the whole makeup thing. Sure, I like wearing it and I definitely look like less of a corpse when I throw some eye cream on, but being forced to wear natural looking makeup in my early 20’s taught me a quick lesson in natural beauty. I realized at a young age that I don’t need to cake on eye shadow to get people to listen to me or laugh with me or like me. I was fine getting by on mascara and some SPF foundation. Nowadays, I keep my makeup to a minimum. The great thing about living in New York, is there is ton of moisture in the air. My skin is the healthiest it’s ever been. I wear a small amount of makeup once in awhile if I’m going out, but otherwise, I keep it light with sunscreen and chapstick and that’s about it.

The only Pierce I like is Pierce Brosnan

At Disney, you could have one ear piercing and you could only wear stud earrings. If you had more than one piercing, you had to cover it up with a small bandaid. The whole time I was at Disney, I kept thinking, “I bet I’m the type of girl who would be happier with a nose ring and 3 different ear piercings, but no…I have to be deprived.” I always thought that I wanted what I couldn’t have. Here’s the truth of my post-Disney earring situation: I wear earrings so infrequently that if my boyfriend was asked the question on a game show, he wouldn’t be able to tell you if my ears are pierced or not. It’s not that I have anything against wearing earrings. I just don’t like to be tasked with something else that I have to do when I get ready in the morning.

So there you have it. As it turns out, the Disney Look fits my personality type in my everyday life. Except for my hair. My freedom to mess with my hair is a freedom I don’t know if I could ever give back.

Erika Jenko