Sweating out the dog days

It could start cooling down any time now, and I would be happy for it. I don't know about you all, but it's really cramping my pinup style. I don't even bother wearing rollers any more, because my hair frizzes out the second I step outside. And I can't wear corsets in the heat, so I'm not cutting the figure I want. I can't wear powder, because it clogs my pores when combined with massive perspiration. I adore winter coats, which are useless right now.

What's truly dangerous is how the sun threatens my complexion. One man the other day yelled at me from across the train platform, "You're pasty white! You look sick! Go get some sun, you don't look healthy!" I replied, "I am healthy! I don't have melanoma!" To which he said, "Healthy my ass! You look sick!" All this while the guy is smoking a cigarette, digging through trash and grasping a bag of potato chips. But, in an effort to be a lady, I decided not to further exacerbate the situation. Although, it should also be noted that the heat makes me quite cranky. I consider it a small miracle that anyone bothers to try speaking with me when it's over 85 degrees.

I do what I can to make up for the pinup elements that suffer in heat. I've been experimenting with new ways to put up my hair, I work the pencil skirts and I still sport the red lipstick, unless it's likely to melt down my chin. Heels are always in season, and this is perhaps my saving grace.

I wonder if you all are a little tired in the heat as well. I received only one beauty tip in response to my previous post, a gift from the lovely Rapunzel for which I am very grateful. I will leave you now with her insider tip, and the hope that the heat is breaking, wherever you are.

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Darn! I knew there was something else I wanted to do in NYC this past weekend! *pout* The Burlesque will have to wait for another time..sigh..

As far as beauty tips, the one day I got to be a pin-up gal I had lots of help from this fabulous lady and her staff:

http://www.myspace.com/do_gal

She made me look gorgeous with liberal use of hairspray, bobby pins, and one perfectly-placed hair net. All day I found myself taking a peek in the mirror, and at my daughters, inquring why we couldn't look like that *every day*? I continue to ask myself that question..sigh...

I look forward to tips & tricks from you & your wise readers.

Soliciting

Last night I went to probably the best burlesque show in New York City, This is Burlesque. I'd seen the performers many times before, not to mention most of the routines they did, but I still had a wonderful time.

The reason I bring up having gone at all is because when I went to the bathroom before the show, I got a slight peek into the dressing room. I saw Angie Pontani chatting with someone while getting ready, Murray Hill joking around pre-polyester, and Melody Sweets popped out of a door too. I didn't bother them, as I don't think they were really wanting to be seen at that point, but what I really wanted to ask them (with the exception of Murray Hill--sorry, buddy) was for beauty tips. Even the house kitten, Little Miss Licks, had enviably perfect hair, and she wasn't performing. I have no idea how burlesque stars manage to get their victory rolls to stay put while twirling or tapping around on a stage, how their curls are so perfect and non-frizzy, or how they manage to do some of the fantastic up-dos they create. I know some of it is done with wigs, but I know some of it is also natural. I suppose that I am now admitting a weakness, which is that I cannot always do my hair as perfectly as I'd like. However, as I was wishing I could have the chance to ask the Pontani Sisters and the rest of the cast for their secrets, I realized I could also just ask you--my readers.

I would like to know your beauty secrets, from hair styling to makeup to skin care and pretty much anything else that helps you turn heads. Send me your tips and tricks, and I'll consolidate them to be shared with everyone else reading Pinup Tales. Don't let me down...it's all for the good cause of helping all women embrace their inner pinup!

Check out my guest post

This is just a quick note to let you all know that I have written a guest post on my man's blog. It's the inside scoop.

On Judgment

As I consider this to be primarily a place for discussions around vintage pin-up fashion, I don't often sit down at my computer compared to write a heart-to-heart about my relationship. Obviously pin-ups are a favorite topic for me, but, as the walrus said, the time has come to talk of other things.

My man and I are in a dominant/submissive relationship, whereby he is the top and I am the bottom. It's something that has taken us years to work out in all of its particulars, and every day we continue to work on it and make new discoveries together. We can only do this with a great degree of honesty, openness and communication, and at this point we've been at it for over four years so I have to believe we're doing something right. I enjoy taking direction. Not only do I find it freeing, but it also helps me to grow as a person and explore my world and my identity. There are many different types of food that I would not have tried were it not for my man's instructions, and countless erotic scenes and experiences have been enjoyed because of his orchestrations. I do my very best to take an attitude of, "I'll try anything once," and he does his very best to keep talking to me and staying aware of my limits and desires. I enjoy things like spanking, whipping, being tied up and more that others might find appalling. All in all, I happen think that what we have is a beautiful thing.

We do have some friends, however, who are at best a little distracted by some of what they see. One mutual friend once asked my man (in my absence) why it is that he makes me wear corsets. On other occasions, my man has made a decision for me and someone else might say, "Let her make up her own mind." In both of these examples, the outside party is jumping to conclusions in a major way, although in some way they're doing it out of love for both of us. What confounds me is when other people fail to consider that perhaps I wear a corset every day because I want to. It's true I didn't wear them before I met my man, but that doesn't mean I never thought about it. In many ways, he just gave me permission to indulge a curiosity and then I decided how far I would take it. I like it when he makes decisions for me, or when he orders for me at a restaurant, or when I become interested in something because of his suggestion.

One of the interesting things is that none of the people who make these criticisms have the balls to speak with me about it. They assume I am being oppressed or made a puppet, when in fact there is nothing of the kind going on. I've changed since I met my man, but in my opinion, everyone changes when they enter into a serious relationship. When we moved in together, we each had to make compromises of our previous living habits so that we could inhabit the same space. I care about things I didn't used to, and many of his interests have shifted as well. In the end, we're both different people in some ways, but in many others we're each exactly who we've wanted to be for a long time.

The moral of the story here is to think first before judging other relationships. What works for your friend may not be the same thing that works for you. What makes you cringe might make your friend cream. Unless you're looking at a truly abusive situation--and believe me, you'll know it when you see it--stand back and love the fact that two people who want the same thing have actually found one another. It really is a miracle.