Red Lipstick

Saturday night, we went to see the Bloomington Burlesque Brigade perform at Jake's.  It was fabulous, as usual, and lived up to all my expectations.  The women are beautiful and talented, and the addition of the jazzy Burly-Q band has been wonderful.

I love going to see the B3's shows, and haven't missed many.

The human body is beautiful in all its forms.  Sure, burlesque is sexy, but I go because it's beautiful.

But speaking of sexy, the sexiest thing about burlesque is the confidence these women have.  They love their bodies and are absolutely having fun.  It doesn't matter whether or not they fit traditional standards of beauty, that they enjoy what they do makes them gorgeous.

I envy that confidence.  I wish I could go up there and perform, but I know I don't have the self confidence, not only in my body, but in my ability to perform as well as they do.

By extension though, they make me feel pretty.  I'm normally a slacks and minimal make-up type of girl.  I used to not wear make-up at all, but I feel more professional when I wear it.  My shoes are normally flats, boots, or recently, I've befriended a pair of hot pink Chuck Taylors.

Sometimes I like to be a bit more girly though, and going to a burlesque show usually persuades me to primp a bit.  I might wear heels, or a skirt.  I'll probably wear a top that emphasizes the "ladies."  (Though they do that themselves normally anyway.)  There might be a bit more eyeliner around my eyes, or a less subtle eyeshadow, or thicker or darker mascara.

Violet Phoenix is great at working the crowd before shows.  She talks to every table.  Every time, she tells me that I look beautiful, or pretty, or fantastic, or whatever.  I'm sure she says that to every lady there, but it's a surefire hit.  I don't think it's a gimmick either, I think she makes sure to find something beautiful about every woman there, because she always sounds so genuine.

It was the same thing at the last show, she worked the crowd before the show, and came around again during intermission.  Again, she said, "You really do look fabulous tonight.  It's your makeup or something."

For probably the second time ever, I was wearing red lipstick.  I never thought I could pull off red lips.  I tried once, for a promotional picture, and it looked terrible.  It was the wrong shade.  My husband saw it and told me not to put the picture up, which I was thankful for.  I like it when he saves me from embarrassing myself.

But my husband doesn't like it when I wear make-up.  For the most part, that's good.  I don't have to wear skirts or heels or be girly; he likes that I don't primp.  Sometimes I want to feel (traditionally) sexy though.  Sometimes I want to line my eyes and wear fuck-me heels and have red lips.

Brian hated the red lipstick I wore on Saturday.  I don't think it was a case of wearing the wrong color.  I should've taken a picture, because I think it looked good.  He just doesn't like the look of makeup, and although he can deal with the natural look I normally use, the red lipstick was just too much for him.

By time we got there, I was feeling a bit insecure.  So when Violet Phoenix came up to me and told me I looked beautiful, that was the hit of confidence that I needed.  By the time the show was over, as usual, the gorgeous, talented women on stage made me feel pretty.

Thank you Bloomington Burlesque Brigade for yet another wonderful show.