All posts tagged: Blush

That Time I Was Totally Naked On Stage

I don’t recall the first time I undressed on a stage. Probably college. Taking clothes off in the presence of others is not unusual for an actor; you do an onstage costume change with dim lighting between scenes or a love scene in which you unbutton your shirt until you’re left in your bra or, lordy knows, your character is arbitrarily described in some super sexy way and the costume designer has given you a skirt so short you can’t sit down without flashing the front row. Even if you don’t strip on stage, you certainly do behind the scenes. Every actor has done the lightening fast scene change that requires one stagehand to rip off your clothes, one to Velcro on your new outfit and one to swap your wigs — all while you’re holding your arms straight out, breathing deeply and switching dialects for your next character. There’s no time to worry about anything other than whether or not your underwear is clean. (Remind me to tell you about the time I unexpectedly …

The White Zins of My Past

By Tamara Reynolds

There are two types of pink wine: rosé and white zinfandel. Even the casual drinker knows they are only related by color and barely even at that. I wasn’t one of those kids who went to keg parties in the desert in high school — I was too busy in choir and theatre rehearsals or running track meets or working at the IHOP to have time for it. And, honestly, I thought I was better than those kids. (I was an early adopter of snobbery.) Aside from an unfortunate incident that involved a couple of older private school boys, a missed Roger Waters concert and a bottle of Almaden Mountain Chablis, I didn’t really drink at all until I went away to North Texas State University for college. It was my first time away from home and I was living in the “artists’ dorm,” so naturally two days in I ended up at a Sigma Tau Gamma party and the next thing I knew I was a “little sister” of the fraternity. Again, I thought …

An Open Letter To Dark-Skinned Black Women Who Don’t Blush

By Penny Wrenn

Blushing is overrated. When I think of women who get red in the face (the cheeks and sometimes the forehead, too), I think of, well, white women. Not blushing is probably nothing that you ever felt insecure about. You probably never envied your towheaded colleague, who’s all Renee Zellweger (back when she looked like herself) and Nicole Kidman (back when she looked like herself) and Naomi Watts wrapped into one, as she was giving a PowerPoint presentation at work but forgot one of her lines or was stumped by a tough question from your boss and the embarrassment made her face turn into a stoplight. White women can have their blushing and all the conscious emotional advertising that comes along with it. (“Look at me, I’m nervous! Look at me, I’m flustered!”) Before I continue down this road of appreciation for non-blushers, let me say: God bless the blushers. Seriously. If they get red in the face at the right time, the whole world is awwww-ing at their feet. “Look at you! You’re blushing. How …

8 Items We’re Pink-ing for Spring

By TueNight Crew

Now that it’s officially spring, we are so ready to bust out a bare leg and embrace the SUN. It’s about this time we start thinking pink — a color that’s never a wrong choice when things heat up. So we asked our contributors, beauty and fashion experts for a few blush-hued items they are coveting this spring. 1. Flower Transforming Touch Powder To Creme Blush in Tickled Pink This Flower Beauty blush is the only blush I’ve used since testing it a year ago. It’s amazing, and all I want is for Drew Barrymore to make it in a smaller size so I don’t have to pack this gigunda blush when I travel (but I always do). I have at least three backups in case it gets discontinued. $12.33, Walmart — Amber Katz, Beauty Blogger and Founder of Rouge18.com 2. Kate Spade Passport Holder I haven’t traveled internationally in at least five years, but I’ve had to whip out my passport a lot in that time whenever I complete tax forms or an I-9 for a new assignment. Thanks to …

Why I’ve Aged Out of Embarrassment

By Amy Barr

Lately, I’ve grown increasingly pissy about this aging thing. Frankly, I can’t find much to like about getting older. My back aches, my hips are tight, I sleep too little and eat too much. My skin is dry, my hair is gray and I can’t see a thing without a pair of reading glasses, which I can never find. But there’s one aspect of aging that I’ve happily embraced: Almost nothing embarrasses me anymore. For most of my life, I’ve been hyper-conscious of drawing unwanted attention to myself by performing poorly. I cringed over every perceived shortcoming, constantly comparing myself to others. Somebody was always better at something. Well, that will always be true, but the difference now is I care a lot less. At this point, my heroes aren’t necessarily the best or brightest. My role model is Popeye who proudly proclaimed, “I yam what I yam, and that’s all what I yam.” This doesn’t mean I no longer give a hoot about trying to be a better me; I’ve simply become more accepting …

Interview: Artist Raven Schlossberg on Women’s Bodies, Kicking Ass (NSFW)

By Adrianna Dufay

Detail from “10 inch (The Sweet Spot)” (All artwork courtesy of the artist) Raven Schlossberg’s world is a psychedelic, technicolor utopia of sexual symbols — think The Garden of Eden on acid — with woman as subject and object both. The collage artist, born in Paradise, California in 1973, has been exhibiting her paintings for over 20 years, with solo exhibitions in New York, Dallas, Berlin, Frankfurt, Bonn, Konstanz, Basel and Paris. I first saw her work in an exclusive gallery in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, children in tow, and found myself knocked out by their loopy genius. My daughters, as well, were mesmerized. Raven was kind enough to talk to us about her work: what inspires her, what it means to her, and in keeping with this week’s theme, whether her own work makes her blush. Your images of naked (or semi-naked) women in your artwork are consistent — what do they represent to you? First of all, I absolutely love the female form. I love its beauty, mystery and power. In my work, I celebrate the …

Rachel’s Note: What Embarrasses This Erotica Writer?

By Rachel Kramer Bussel

Our guest editor this week is erotica author and editor Rachel Kramer Bussel You might think someone who writes about sex for a living wouldn’t be prone to blushing, but I most certainly am. When I’m faced with situations where I don’t know how to respond, my extremely pale cheeks turn traitor. I feel heat sweep across my face before anyone else can confirm it. The source could be a compliment, a flirtation or a faux pas, but most often, I blush in a professional context, when I’ve taken my sexy words off the page and read them to a live audience, unfiltered. Merriam-Webster’s first definition for blush reads, “the red color that spreads over your face when you are ashamed, embarrassed, confused, etc.” But I think there’s more to it than that. I wouldn’t say I’m any of those qualities when I blush; rather, it’s my body speaking up for me in a way my mind can’t. Most of the time, I’m not blushing because I’m embarrassed; I’m embarrassed that I’m blushing. In my …

Sarah’s Spring Beauty Clean Up

By Sarah James

(Photo: Courtesy Sarah James) It never fails— spring rolls around, and I’m instantly sucked into mega beauty refresh mode faster than you can say “matte coral lipstick.” There’s nothing more happy-making than clearing the fuzzy wool remnants from my closet and giving most of the deep plums and berries in my beauty cabinet a rest. And up until a few years ago, my seasonal refreshes were strictly related to things like color and texture, but now I go a little deeper. You see, I’ve taken huge strides to rid my bathroom cabinet of anything that is unsafe for my skin, which is, ahem, a huge undertaking. Let’s just say that I’ve become very up close and personal with A Consumer’s Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients and the EWG’s Skin Deep website. I never thought I’d know so much about Methylisothiazolinone and Polyethylene Glycol in my life, and sadly, the United States isn’t so keen on ingredient regulation, considering it hasn’t passed a federal law to regulate the ingredients in personal care products since 1938. (Yeah, when women’s daily ensembles …