Laser Hair Removal :: The First Zap

The clock struck 7:20pm as I finished sewing the sequence tail onto the newly official FasionMista (announcement to come) while thunder and lightening kept the time during the developing downpour. My laser appointment was at 7:45pm and Gerdy wasn't about to go outside to pee, and I wouldn't have either, but I put on my coat, kissed my man goodbye, and hit the elevator.

I ran to the subway in my pink private-eye trench coat, flouncy cowgirl skirt, obnoxious golf umbrella, and a bag full of books to keep me occupied during my impending torture at the laser center. A German tourist sought shelter in the subway entrance and thought his young good looks would make that ok, but I trounced him and hurried down the stairs to catch the train.

A few stops later, I jumped out of the train, made it to the pavement and dashed to the appointment on Central Park South, running past a group of tourists with bodega plastic bags on their heads, a carraige horse parked next to a steaming sewer plate, and Gene Hackman who was looking for a limo before making it to the my appointment.

The place was quiet. It was just me and the esthetician. I signed a bunch of papers, learned not to wax, pluck, put scented lotion on, give sun exposure to the freshly lasered area, etc. An alian buzzing came from near the machine I came to know as The Laser, which was just the static from the jazz radio station that wouldn't work when it rained outside.

I lay on the bed, armed with Fast Food Nation (with Narnia as a backup), as the esthetician smeared super cold jel they use for sonograms over where she was about to apply the laser, the size of which, was about one square inch encased in an oval plastic head with a trigger on it. I tried not to tense, but I braced and curled my toes in preparation. She counted down...1...2...beep! A little hard lick came out of the beep and left a warm sensation. It was like pushing the top of a mechanical lead pencil to make the lead come out into your skin, like when you did magic tricks to make the lead look like it was disappearing into your skin during math class instead of taking notes. She did it again...1...2...beep! Where was the pain? It was just this odd sensation of a little frog grabbing a hair follicle instead of a fly. Waxing is way worse!

On and on this went. The few times I winced was when it hit a particularly stubby little family of hair on the same place of each thigh (oddly). The laser looks for pigment, and with my light skin and dark hair, I guess it had a field day of direct hits. It took about an hour to cover my upper legs and bikini, and when we were through, I was covered in remnants of the gross jelly, which was the worst part! The laser, comprised of light and heat, leaves behind heat under your skin, so you need to apply the lotion to cool and hydrate the area. I'm following directions and putting special hydrating lotion on 4 times a day for 3 days (well, I forgot to bring it to work, so I'll apply as soon as I get home). So far, so good!

Honestly, if this doesn't become the next norm, next to getting braces! The cumulative hours and money spent shaving, plucking, squeezing, creaming, all in secret privacy during selected beauty hours. What a waste! Everyone should get laser hair removal. If this all works, I just might be making more investments...anything that is plucked or creamed gets the Laser's Kiss! My next appointment is in September...

Click here for a Mayo Clinic article on laser hair removal

Laser Progress Reports

Laser Hair Reomval :: Appointment #6
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #5.5 for Bikini
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #5
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #4
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #3.5
Laser Hair Removal :: The Second Zap
Laser Hair Removal :: The First Followup
Laser Hair Removal :: The First Zap
Laser Hair Removal :: War of My Legs Part 1


Disclaimer: FashionMista, nor its author, are qualified to give medical advice and cannot be held responsible for anything that may occur. Should you have a medical concern, please consult your physician.

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War of My Legs :: Laser Hair Removal Part 1

I had it. The consultation for laser hair removal from a nice young woman in a new upper east side office of the American Laser Centers. Here's the dish:

Overview

You buy a package of 6 weeks of treatments - that's one treatment every 8-10 weeks. You come in, and they use a laser, which consists of light and heat, to 'destroy' the hair follicles. Destroy is the word of choice here used by the woman I spoke with. You let it grow as you would when preparing for the bikini. Over time, as more hair follicles are destroyed, the hair grows back thinner and thinner until it's gone. This office of the American Laser Centers offers 2 years of free lasering after the 6th session, because in theory, that should be all it takes.

The Pain

If you can handle a bikini wax, you can handle this, I'm told. She agreed with my waxer that it feels like little rubber bands hitting you. I requested a TV to watch for the hour the first session will take, and I just might get one! But is the pain worth the no-more-ingrowns? Yes. Ingrowns are a war unto themselves.

The Financing

This office is a new one, so the package offered was $1000/area. Normally a bikini is $1500, but I wanted bikini and upper thigh, so she's charging $2000 (yikes) and throwing in a little love trail treatment. And by 'upper thigh,' I'm getting the entire thigh to below the knee. But don't think I can dole out the cash. I checked with The Budget in my handy dandy excel spreadsheet that contains all of my bills, and I can absorb the monthly payment of $178 (that includes tax) for 12 months. I just can't maybe buy as many skirts from Urban Outfitters or something. They offer 0% interest on the first 12 months. Sounds reasonable, and if I make good with the payments, I'll be adding to my credit history, which is always nice.

Note from the future: It's been over a year, and I'm happy, but I missed 2 minimum payments. This qualifies me for paying the "deferred" interest payment. I also finally saw the note on the bill that tells me I have to pay in full before the year is out, or I will owe the deferred interest amount. Click here for more on the deferred payment.

Now What?

So I told the woman that I had a bikini appointment for today. She shook her head. Despair came over my face, as I'm going out of town this weekend to a lake which hopefully involves sun and bathing suits, and can't not have everything taken care of! She said I could make an appointment for tomorrow and be ready for the weekend. Fellow Weekenders, I can only hope this is true and that I don't have to hang out in a skirt! So this all means that...gulp...I'm taking the plunge! Let the battle begin between laser and follicle!

Fingers Crossed

Fingers crossed that this is a good experience and that I don't end up in the less than 1% group that gets burned and then sues somebody and is scarred for life. I've seen the smooth results on a fellow Mista, who is my laser inspiration, as we lay out together in Central Park, and she glows from ear to ear with her results that did take a year to acheive. My co-worker wants me to take pictures. Heck, bring in the web cam! My mom would flip out, so no web cam, but I'll consider a picture only if it helps all those silently suffering women out there who wear skirts when they're in bikinis, and capris when they should be wearing minis.

Laser Progress Reports

Laser Hair Reomval :: Appointment #6
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #5.5 for Bikini
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #5
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #4
Laser Hair Removal :: Appointment #3.5
Laser Hair Removal :: The Second Zap
Laser Hair Removal :: The First Followup
Laser Hair Removal :: The First Zap
Laser Hair Removal :: War of My Legs Part 1



Disclaimer: FashionMista, nor its author, are qualified to give medical advice and cannot be held responsible for anything that may occur. Should you have a medical concern, please consult your physician.

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Frizzy? Aveda's Smoothing Fluid is Your New Best Friend

I just got a nice layered hair cut and highlights from Scott J, an Aveda Salon Spa (who offers affordable prices for New York) and came home with the best blow out I'd ever had. I have straight hair, but this was really straight...professionally straight. How did it get so straight? Aveda's Smoothing Fluid. My stylist applied it to my hair when wet, then dried my hair, then applied again. Not only was it straighter, but it was thinner.

I've used other smoothing balms, particularly Mop's Glisten. And I tried to not buy Aveda's Smoothing Fluid. But when I tried my stylists technique using Glisten, the same effect did not happen. More like weighted-down-hair-waiting-for-something to-happen. You can buy Aveda's Smoothing Fluid online at Amazon.

Even when it's raining and painfully humid in the apartment, if I use the smoothing fluid, stand outside of the bathroom (where it's cooler) I can have straight hair. I would say that everyone should apply this Aveda product to their hair when wet, even if you're not going to blow dry. I do.

Buy the Aveda Smoothing Fluid from Amazon

Use Aveda Smoothing Fluid to make smooth, wavy curls.




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Friday Afternoon Surfing

If it's raining, and you can't go outside to get a cookie, you could check out these things:

the Shake Shack's web cam - oh look, there's already a line. It's sort of fun to watch who brought their umbrellas and who didn't, and what they do when it rains harder. I wonder what happens if it pours...that would look funny. It's a good thing, b/c I'm going to the Burger Joint tonight, so no afternoon burger for this Mista.
http://shakeshacknyc.com/camera.html

• brilliant/crazy knitting people interviewed on adornmag.com, the cool new 'crafty girl's guide to embellishing life' magazine:
  
  
  
• a gift for my bike obsessed brother from the cool shop for independant art and design, Elsewares:
  
  

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Fun with Puffy Paint

I went to Lee's Art Shop for some spray mount, and came out with $75 dollars with of white glitter, iridescent glitter, pink glitter, jewelry making tools in a variety pack in case I'm overcome with the desire to make jewelry NOW, and puffy paint in contemporary markers (verses the accordion puffy paint that came in primary colors)! I was out of control, thinking I had not a financial care in the world, and took everything to the counter and checked out (you could probably get this all for cheaper online, but I was inspired.). Pebeo pearl touch puffy paints can go on walls, fabrics, lamp shades, vases, you name it!

Summer is a time for projects. I usually paint a room or keep a garden, and this year will be no different (although I'm a little tired of painting rooms). So, the first project will be attacking everything with the Pabeo pearl touch paint. I got more than a few colors, including a dusty pink, mint, olive green, and parma (no idea what that means, but it's a dusty purple). I grabbed a clear glass vase from the thoughtful flower arrangements David sometimes sends (birthday, going out of town, didn't do the dishes, etc.) that are accumulating under the kitchen sink with nothing to do.

The vase made a great palette! Aside from a few puff kaputs and overzealous squeezing, the paint went on like a globbing dream. And it smells like the arts and crafts room at summer camp. Took me ten minutes and is a great way to unwind in a quiet place while boyfriends watch loud samurai movies. No cleanup required, unless you smear your fingers in your painting, like I did.

And now let's all look at Dinah, because we haven't seen her in a while...


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Afternoon at the Renegade Craft Fair

The hottest day in Brooklyn so far this year found David and me under hot sun at the Renegade Craft Fair in McCarren Park in Williamsburg. The heat totally wiped me out, and I was basically a melting craft shopper, wandering from booth to booth, noting all neat displays, but I did manage to remember to snap some pictures along the way!

The grand entrance. Just walking the few blocks from the L train to McCarren Park began my fixation on finding cookie dough Ben & Jerry’s from a deli.


Half-way around the park, we stopped at Traveling Rhinos for some tissue and goodies! They were under a pollen tree, so my sneezing started. They had gobs of hand-spun yarn, jewelry and buttons. I bought a little cream filled chocolate cupcake button (but without the cream or the chocolate) to pay homage to my sugar craving. Leaving their table was hard because I kept finding neat little things!


While there, David took a phone break to update his family on his...smashed car. :( Many frownie faces for him. He got 't-boned' while going through a light by some wedding photographers who were late to a wedding. He was fine, miraculously, and the Touareg absorbed the shock well. The driver side door is totaled, but can close and lock. The other car, a BMW, had to be towed away. Ha.


These girls of Shevon Gant Ceramics had to pack up early, but the glass blown beads they make caught my eye, being a lover of anything glass blown. I picked up a juicy looking strawberry with a green leafy top that deliciously resembles generous strokes of acrylic paint. It reminds me of my grandmother who is suffering from Alzheimer’s, so I bought it.


While no Ben & Jerry's could be found, we did take a break in Vera Cruz, a cute Mexican restaurant with a delightful back patio. After a strawberry daqeury, I started coming back from the heat shock.


My goodies!! Someone will be getting some unique hand-spun yarn from Miss Hawklet for their birthday. David's sister's little ones will be getting a Sheriff Peanut t-shirt and one-z. I got the strawberry on top of the yarn, the cupcake button, and collected cards from other designers of stuff I wanted to order online. Designers include saltlick for good colored t-shirts, bright lights little city for neat nightlights, and Steel Toe Studios for chunky belts.


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Conversation with Pretty on the Inside

Aspen Suicide takes no prisoners in intimate apparel, or any facet of making her lingerie. Bucking her way out of working for other people, Aspen found an untapped market in designing lingerie and started her intimate apparel company, Pretty on the Inside. Dumping a pink suitcase full of undies on the desk of the wildly popular website, SuicideGirls.com, led to a partnership with SuicideGirls who now sells Aspen's products on the site, including boy cut undies, thongs, garter undies and pajamas (for a sexy night in for pizza and a movie). “The first time I saw the website I envisioned it having a line of sexy and playful intimates because that embodies the very essence of SuicideGirls,” said Aspen Suicide. “I think independent girls everywhere can identify with SuicideGirls more than the mainstream models in fashion magazines and now they have the opportunity to represent that with the line.” Aspen Suicide is a pseudonym for this brazen designer who is a popular figure on the website SuicideGirls.com, a site that mixes the smarts, enthusiasm and DIY attitude of the best music and alternative culture sites with an unapologetic, grassroots approach to sexuality.








Where does the name Pretty on the Inside come from?
I’ve had the name since I was 15. My company was called Smack Clothing from an inside joke until I found out it was slang for heroin. I’ve always liked “pretty on the inside” as a phrase of endearment. So it’s a double meaning of it showing that you’re a good person, and obviously that underbits are worn underneath and it’s you’re little secret.

Where you trained in fashion design?
Yes I have a degree in Fashion Design.

What was your first job in fashion?
Yes. I had my own apparel company when I was 15. My first job being employed by someone else was selling swimwear in a Beachwear store by the ocean.





As a designer, where do you get your inspiration?
The usual….shopping trendy stores, magazines, tv, my friends etc…I often shop different markets as my competition is also shopping Intimate and Swim stores…so I draw inspiration also from Menswear, Interiors and Childrenswear which has really taken off recently. I attend the shows in Europe and trend shop there as well.

How did you approach Suicide Girls to design their underwear line?
Hmmm…I dumped a pink suitcase of panties in front of Missy and told her what I thought I could do for her brand because I believe in it. I have expertise in branding and licensing and knew right when I saw it that there should be an Intimate Line.

What are some other design jobs you take on?
Currently I design merchandise for a few artists and a video game company. I design Intimate Apparel and Sleepwear for department and specialty stores. Junior stores are my forte. Often I do graphics for streetwear.

What’s a typical work day like?
It differes greatly. Sometimes I am shopping the market and in the factory, others I’m in front of a computer for 17 hours doing graphics and emails.




What would make you manufacture something in the U.S., versus in China?
Lingerie needs to be made in certain facilities that have the proper machinery. I make it where I’m going to get the best quality for whatever it is that I’m producing. For example if a manufacturer has lots of experience in bras and has underwire casing machines, I’d prefer to make bras there as opposed to a t-shirt factory where I might make jersey yoga pants. I will mainly only make things in the US based on quantity. I also do not use sweatshops so that’s also a factor. There are a shit ton of sweatshops in Los Angeles you know, but that’s a whole other can of worms.

What are some major issues a designer should first be aware of regarding manufacturing in China?
Defending yourself to people who are not up to speed on the current labor conditions around the world. How to deal with customs, freight, quotas and duty rates. Communicating properly with overseas vendors.




Eleanor Roosevelt said “Do one thing every day that scares you.” What’s been a pretty scary thing that you’ve done that’s lead to a great result?
I make lots of decisions each day that scare me. You get out of things what you put into them. If you risk nothing, that’s exactly what you’ll get.

What’s your advice for emerging designers?
I have a lot of peers that ask me for “advice” everyday and I’m not sure why. I’m too young to give advice, and I always say ask me in 10 years when I’m on Oprah and have millions of dollars. But mostly, I’d say know what you want. You can’t get there if you don’t know where you are going. Pay attention at all of the jobs you have and learn from other’s mistakes. If you want to own your own business, work for a few years first and see how it’s done. You’ll understand why after you make a bunch of mistakes on someone else’s time and money. Also know that owning your own business has little to do with Design, and if you want to be a Designer, get a job doing just that. If you do want to have your own business, don’t wait for the perfect time because it won’t ever come. If you’ve really got it in you you’ll close your eyes and dive in head first.

Buy Aspen's undies at SuicideGirls.com

Visit Pretty on the Inside

More Conversations with emerging designers

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Lindsay Lohan Sighting

It was around 6:30pm on Tuesay and I was waiting to jwalk across the street outside of Whole Foods at Union Square when I heard music coming from a black SUV waiting at the light and a girl saying "...the window...," which was when I saw who I thought was Lindsay Lohan's profile and arm holding a cigarette behind long brown/red hair in the back left seat of a black-tinted-windowed-SUV. The back right window inched up but remained open. A huge, very fit black man dressed in a tight, crisp white button down and a khaki hat drove the vehicle, and young white man with brown hair wearing another summery/bowler type khaki hat sat in the front seat looking eagerly out of his open window, like a puppy dog might. Music came from the car, and by the time I walked around it, it started to go through the light, and the skinny arm from the back left seat flicked the cigarette out the half-rolled up window.

It seemed like a good car party on a warm summer night.

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Tragedy in the Bikini Zone!

My most trusted bikini waxer is leaving the haven of my upper west side Scott J Salon location and going to the east side location! Will I ever catch the 86 crosstown bus to visit her?

This means one thing, ladies. Laser surgery. I have been thinking about this major next step in body hair therapy, and had unbeknown to my bikini waxer, signed up for a consultation with the American Laser Center. I 'won' $300 off a procedure just by entering their weird online contest, and now will meet with someone to discuss goals.

Ladies, I'm going to be your eyes and ears into laser surgery. We have one Mista who has done it, and is now addicted. Her pits were the latest to undergo the laser. My bikini waxer says it feels like lots of little rubber bands are being flicked on you. I just WISH they provided a TV with a bunch of sitcoms running as a distraction. I need to watch The Office, so they could put that on. Or I could somehow download something onto David's video iPod and plug in.

However, I can't not see my bikini waxer ever again. Once you find a waxer you trust, you form a bond (no pun intended). Therefore, I will of course take the 86 crosstown bus, and this time, it will be to visit her in the even more plush Scott J location for her wonderful facials. But until I actually start the laser, I'll still be waxing.

Click here to learn what makes a good bikini wax (step one: find the right waxer)

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Desktop Art :: Geraniums in Kitchen WIndow

To welcome June (although it was raining when I did this), I designed a new free desktop art inspired by the now out of control geraniums and their little daisy friends in my kitchen window. I don't know about you, but files seem to be lingering on my desktop these days, a practice I normally do no fall into. I prefer saving files where they belong instead of quickly tossing them onto the desktop. But :sigh:, I've been lazy, and so played to my need of organizing things by creating the option for you to have boxes on the desktop that allow you to drag types of files into them. You'll see. Just download it and enjoy!


click here to view!

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Talk to the LLC

You heard me! Thanks to the great work of Quinn M Heraty Esq at Heraty Law, katie james is now an official LLC in New York! This means lots of things: if someone sues me, they can't sue me personally, they sue the LLC (but that won't happen); merchant account (bye bye paypal, hello quickbooks); reservation of 'katie james' as an llc so that no one else can take it...in new york; EIN number for avoiding taxes on supplies, etc. Any lawyers in the group feel free to correct me if I'm wrong!

In other news, I'm behind on my fun fashion blogging. I have a great book review coming up, and lots of cute boutiques I've been stumbling upon. I want to design a new desktop art that makes organizing stray files on your desktop interesting. But for now, there is literally something growing in the bottom of my kitchen trash can and David came home with 12 tics after he scouted a location on top of a landfill for an Andrew/Elisabeth Shue soccer movie (David: 12 tics, Andrew: 9 tics), so stay tuned...

Favorite sites of late:
The Switchboards (super resource for small design businesses)
Junk in Our Trunk (um, they just started carrying katie james, and they have cute knit stuff)
Pretty Please Originals (really cute nap-time blanket for kids)
Beaded Things, specificallly their personalized beaded baby spoons
RunningSkirts.com featured on today's Scoop du Jour...I spent some birthday money on a pink/chocolate one...brilliant idea!

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