My Outfit - Flashy Red

Dress - Calvin Klein - Similar @ Amazon @ Nordstrom
Leggings - WHBM - @ WHBM, similar @ Amazon
Shoes - Unisa - Simialr @ Amazon, @ DSW
Sweater - WHBM - Similar @ WHBM, @ Amazon

I really like this dress!  The red color is so deep and rich, it just looks yummy!  Color is not my forte, I mean I wear it fine, however I am color blind.  I think I may have mentioned that once or twice here, but it is worth another mention, at least when I am discussing color, right?  Well I think it is.  Now then, with that being said, I do love the color of this red dress.  It is a super deep red.  A red that has a bit more blue in it that leads it more towards an almost purple hue.  But, hey what do I know about colors!  I'm dying inside with laughter at how my wife may respond to that color description above.  Hmmm....

Anywho, I do really like the dress.  It has a super nice fit around my waist and a nice flare out at my knees.  As well, it has super cute details around the waist and the hem.  Though you really can't see any of that detail in this super shitty photo I have of the entire outfit.  The dress got super washed out. 

I'm pretty bummed about that.  The dress is seriously cute.  And the photo does not show it at all.  Curious why?  Maybe, maybe not, but I'm going to tell you anywho....  Typically people look best in photos when one uses a flash.  This erases little wrinkles and fault lines and caverns!  Hahahahaha, yeah not so much, but it does help give a filtered bit of an appearance.  So I generally use a flash for my photos.  This will work okay if I am in shadows when I take my photos.  On the day I took these photos, for the beginning of my shoot, we had mega clouds covering the sun.  It had in fact just stopped raining.  Then I started taking my photos and within a few minutes the sun comes glaring out.  Yup, right when I was taking the full body shots.  Lovely huh?  Uhh... no!  Not when your wanting to get decent looking photos of your fabulous red dress.  It actually really bummed me out when I went in, took off my makeup, changed into my super comfy clothes, and checked my photos.  Hmmm........

Okay.  Well anyway.  There you go.  You get my lovely little story of the pictures of the fabulous red dress.  Some photos look okay, but some make the dress look like a sick, pale shade of pink!  Ugh!!!

I think I'll probably get over it sometime soon. 

Probably. 

Love you!

Love yourselves!

Most likely I'll get over it when I wear the dress again and get good photos of it!

Most likely.

Flashy Lashes!

One may have thought that on a morning like this I would wake with a smile on my face and a spring in my step.  Today was after all going to be the day that I got my lash extensions done.  However, I did not wake all happy and exited.  I woke nervous and scared.   In fact I woke with my neck bugging me.  I used to think that meant that I slept on it wrong.  These days I understand myself a bit better, and I knew that I was concerned about my upcoming appointment.

A dear friend offered to do my lashes for me.  She is super into makeup and beauty products and such and she has taught herself to do lash extensions.  I am trying to be a bit more outgoing and adventurous in regards to doing things, so while in the past I would have declined, this time I accepted.  We setup the date and time, and that came around this morning.

I was surprised at how nervous I was about doing it though.  I wasn't concerned about the person who offered to do them.  I had confidence in her.  I wasn't nervous about hanging out with her either, she's a total doll and fun to be around.  I was nervous about two things really 1 - could I actually sit and allow someone to do this to me?  And 2 - how would it look.

The first thing was pretty minor.  But I do remember my first time or two of having someone else putting mascara on me as going fairly poorly.  In general I also really suck at using mascara.  I can generally use it but I frequently lament to my wife that I smacked myself again with the mascara stick!  Having done so many hours of facial electrolysis at this point made sitting for this lash work easy peasy!

The second issue is kind of a big deal.  I mean it is a big deal to lots of people, but to trans people it is a really big issue.  Most of us are quite insecure about our looks, as many people are, but when trans people's looks are not on, it can affect how people gender us.  And that really sucks.  What often sucks more is that it can affect how well people will perceive us as being able to do the gender we are wanting to.  I know trans men who worry their look is not male enough, and many trans women that worry their look is not female enough, and non-binary humans who worry that their look is not "in-between" enough.  It really sucks when someone judges you to fail at being your gender because you somehow don't match up to their expectations.

Hmmmph!  So yeah, I was quite worried about what the outcome of the installation of my very first set of lash extensions would prove to be.  In the end?  As with most things, my worry was for nothing, I LOVE my new lashes!  I think they are a great way to help feminize my features and they will be there regardless of makeup.  In the photo, all I have on is my sparkly pink lipstick.  And that rocks!

Alrighty.  I hope you all are well.  Thanks for visiting.

Love you!

Love yourselves!

Love long luscious lashes!

Ooooohhhh----- I just realized, you can get a good before-after shot with the photos I posted with my last post.  Fun!

My Awesome Electrologist

The photo on the left is from one year ago.  The photo on the right is from today.  This is to show what 7 months of facial electrolysis has done for me.  I don't have makeup on in either photo, well except for my obvious pink lipstick on the right. 

Why am I appearing so bare??  This is an advertisement for Dana Elise Solutions in Beverly Hills.  Well, it is for sure going to come off like a commercial, however, it isn't really a commercial because I'm not getting any sort of compensation for this endorsement.  Which for an honest assessment that is probably a good thing huh?  Probably.  At least there is a hope of honesty. Hmm.....

Anywho..... point at hand - Dana's electrolysis services are amaze balls.  I somewhat reluctantly agreed to go for facial electrolysis back in July.  Which makes it about seven months now since I have been going in.

The nitty gritty:

- I have worked with Dana, Karen, and Gladys.  All three of them do great work.  Though my personal fave is when I get to work with Dana and Karen together.

- The rates are very in line with everyone else.

- Expect for the hairs to be flying when working with them.  They are super concerned with speed, accuracy, and being thorough.  I happily shake off the stray hairs every time I get up. 

- The basic policy about what hair they can remove is pretty simple - if they can see it and get to it, they can zap it.  So they will do hairlines, faces, arms, legs, backs, chests, genitals, inside noses, ears, you name it, they've probably zapped it!

- They have a nurse on-site who can administer lidocaine injections - a mandatory thing in my never to be humble opinion.

- The office is super clean, with a highly sanitary work environment.

- Parking is super easy even with it being in Beverly Hills - it is right across a small street.  You park, go down an elevator, hop across the street, go up 1 flight of stairs and boom you're there.  I frequently pass nobody, and at most it may be four or five people.

- Scheduling is a challenge, because they are SO good at what they do.  Currently I am scheduled until June!  So, they are worth the effort and wait!!  Obviously, because they are so busy right?  Well duh!  Anybody who is going to fit you in tomorrow when you call today is probably not someone you want to go to.

- They will do marathon appointments, with two electrologists.  Which is great for out of town folk.  My longest appointments have been 6 hours with two people, which equals 12 hours of work!!

- With the photo on the right, from today, I just had my last treatment last weekend.  The swelling took about 4 days to go down.  This was the 4th time my face was fully cleared.  In about two weeks or so, I will have some of the hairs return for another round of zapping.

Okay.  So, I think that is the basic lowdown.  Other than that, the ladies working there are super friendly.  They make a tough day a very enjoyable one.  I am super appreciative of the hard work that they do and the high quality of work I have had.  How many issues have I had with scabs and scarring, ummmm, NONE!!!!  None at all, not one issue.  And they are using some super zapping equipment as well.  I have no idea what it is, but apparently their machines are the bomb!

What else can I say????  How about some personal tips???

- Don't expect to go in, have your hair zapped off, and then to go out on the ton later that night, or even the next few days.  I have been going now for eight months, the last time was a full face zapping, my swelling lasted for about 4 days.

- Find a licensed electrologist.  Do not skimp on quality.  Especially if they are working on your face.  You want the best!  Some states do not require electrologists to be licensed, anyone can do it.  Ummm.... yikes!  That is scary.

- Be willing to pay for and wait for experience.  You want someone who knows what they are doing.

- Treat your electrologist well!  I know it hurts, but they are doing you a favor!  It is hard work that they are doing, and you being an emotional basket case makes the experience worse for everyone involved.

- Be prepared for the long haul.  This is not a quick road to travel.  Electrolysis is the only proven method of permanently removing unwanted hair.  But it will take you about one to two years to get it all done.