Date Prep

Because Barbara asked: what do butches do differently to prepare for a date?

I can't really answer that. I did talk a bit about what I do, though.

My original answer (over twitter) was “I shower, shave, lotion, hair, try on 4 outfits, choose first one (usually), makeup, scent. start to finish… 40 min – 2 hrs”

I obviously didn’t say everything in that tweet.

Things I missed:

I share my apartment, so I generally don’t have a date over.

I think of eyebrows and nails as general maintenance. I keep my brows neat and my nails short and smooth. In the summer I polish my toes. I don’t polish my fingers (a habit I picked up working in kitchens).

My process is probably closer to this:

1. Trim and file nails. Burrs are a sure way to ruin an evening.
2. Neaten brows, before I shower so I can make sure all the stray hairs are off of my face.
3. Shower (or bath if there’s time): scrub body and face, shave (carefully), wash hair, condition.
4. Moisturize from head to toes. Face gets it’s own lotion, everything else is body butter.
5. Towel dry and brush out hair. Let it air dry for about a half hour to an hour while I drink lots of coffee and consider what I’m going to wear without touching ANYTHING.
6. Brush teeth.
7. Put product in hair. If I’m in a rush or I’m straitening it I’ll blow dry it, otherwise let it dry and curl. I get better curls without letting heat anywhere near it. (If I am straightening my hair: more product, blow dry, iron, spray, and pray that my hair doesn't get wet.)
8. Choose an outfit. Freak out. Choose another. Repeat. Repeat again. Put first outfit back on. Realize I’m overheating and take as much off as I need to.
9. Makeup: foundation, concealer, powder, blush, eyeliner, brow pencil, brow gel, eye shadow, curl lashes, mascara, lip color (type depends on what I expect to be doing and how well I want it to wear). Decide if I need to pack anything in my purse. Realize I’ll forget to reapply. Pack it anyway.
10. Drink more coffee. Freak out. Hydrate.
11. Brush teeth again, fix lips.
12. Get dressed again.
13. Put on shoes. Realize the weather has changed so the heels will be dangerous. Wear them anyway because they make the outfit.
14. Pack the smallest purse that will accommodate what I need.
15. One more look in the mirror to fix makeup. Apply scent (lightly).
16. Grab two bottles of water for the drives.
17. Drive out to wherever I’m going. Usually that means 45 minutes to 1 hour drive. If I’m going out to Boston, it’s a bit more of a trek.

Thinking about it, I think it may take about 3 hours to get ready for a first date or whenever I want to look really special. The bare minimum (assuming I don’t need a shower because I took one earlier in the day and I’m rushing) would be 40 minutes.