Click here to visit Stanley's Avon Store.

 Click here to visit Stanley's Avon Store

Click here to visit Stanley's Avon Store

Avon Calling

I am an Avon Lady or more politically correct, an Avon Representative. I have been selling Avon products for over 25 years. 

You probably noticed the banner ads for my online Avon Store that I have been posting here for the past few days. I decided to open the store to help Femulate readers obtain what they need online, have it shipped directly to their home and avoid dealing with civilian merchants, who may or may not be sympathetic. Shopping in my store, you have a trans-sister as a merchant, who will answer all your questions with a sympathetic and knowledgeable ear.

If you are not familiar with Avon products, we sell everything that a lady needs including cosmetics, nail polish, fragrances, skin and hair care products, jewelry, clothing, footwear, shapewear and more.

In addition to being an Avon Lady, I am an Avon customer and have been using Avon products for over 30 years. My makeup regimen is almost exclusively composed of Avon products, as are all the skin care products I use. As they say, the “proof is in the pudding” and after using Avon products for over half my adult life, I think I look presentable for a 70-year-old femulator. 

So, here is the link to my Avon Store. I hope you will visit, look around and maybe find something you can use. 

Wearing New York & Company

Harland Williams (right) femulating in “Mr. Headmistress,” a 1998 episode of television’s The Wonderful World of Disney.

Click here to visit Stanley's Avon store.

Click here to visit Stanley's Avon store.

 Click here to visit Stanley's Avon store.

Click here to visit Stanley's Avon store.

 Click here to visit Stanley's Avon store.

Get Off My Back

I have hair everywhere! Hair removal is my biggest hurdle when I prepare to femulate. For my legs, arms and chest, I use Nair. It works fast and usually one application does the trick.

Your mileage may vary, but Nair does not irritate my skin or cause a rash as long as I steer clear of the genital area when I do my legs and my armpits when I do my arms.

My chest is another story. Surprisingly, my breasts are OK with Nair, but occasionally my upper chest turns red after using Nair. For that reason, I keep a bottle of witch hazel handy. If my chest begins to flare up, I use a washcloth to apply witch hazel to the troubled area and that usually cools things down.

Normally, I don’t wear clothing that exposes my back, so I don’t bother removing the hair there. It is impossible to reach all my back hair with a razor or with Nair. I could get it waxed, but that is a little expensive for this frugal gal. So, to avoid back hair removal, I avoid clothing that reveals my back.

However, the dress I planned to wear to the Avon Christmas party (see previous post) exposed the upper half of my back and chest, so I had to deal with my hairy problem.

The first time I was faced with this problem, I thought, why not try Nair. If it works on my legs, arms and chest, it should work on my back, too.

To test my idea, one morning I dabbed a little bit of Nair on a corner of my natural mohair sweater, waited the requisite four minutes, then took a shower. After exiting the shower, I saw something I had not seen in nearly 40 years: a spot of bare skin on my back! And it was not turning red.

Evidently, Nair would do the trick for my back hair, but how could I apply it to the far-reaches of my back. I doubted that I could do a thorough job applying it manually and I could not find a volunteer to apply the Nair for me, so I put on my thinking wig cap to find a solution.

A day or two later, I thought that a small paintbrush might do the trick. Nair had the same consistency as paint and a paintbrush’s handle would give me a little extra reach to get to those out of the way places on my back. Then, I thought a paint pad (also known as a “poly foam brush”) would work, too.

I headed to the hardware department of my favorite boutique (Walmart) to look for a paint pad. Walmart had a good selection. For my application, I chose a 2-inch wide pad with a wooden handle that cost under $1.

I was ready and when the big day finally arrived, I poured some Nair into a small disposable Styrofoam bowl. In order to get a feeling for how the foam pad would work, I did my legs first. I immediately discovered that the Nair went on faster and with better coverage with the paint pad than when I applied it by hand. In fact, it went on so fast that I did my arms and chest before tackling my back.

Since I would be working in the blind, I decided to attack my back from different directions to try and achieve full coverage. So I applied it over my left and right shoulders and around my left and right sides.

After four minutes were up, I entered the shower and used a washcloth to remove the Naired hair (the force of the shower is not adequate enough to remove the hair). To remove the Naired back hair, I wrapped the washcloth around the head of a long-handled shower brush (I learned the hard way not to use a shower brush solo to remove Naired hair. The bristles of the brush can irritate the skin that has been sensitized by the Nair).

I exited the shower and looked in the mirror to discover that I had missed a spot on my lower back. That was no surprise as that was the hardest spot to reach. So, I applied some more Nair to that area and completed the job.

In conclusion, I discovered that the paint pad not only allowed me to remove the hair on my back, but it was also a more efficient way of applying Nair in general. Using the paint pad was a lot faster and neater than doing it manually and I also used a lot less Nair. Typically, I use one and one-half bottles of Nair to do my legs and arms (I don't always do my chest). Using the paint pad, I did my legs, arms, chest, and back and only used slightly more than one bottle of Nair. As a result, a paint pad is now a permanent part of my beauty tool collection.

Wearing Venus

A blushing bride femulation by Arthur Grayson in 1909

12 December 2006

Last night, I attended the Avon representatives Christmas party en femme. There were approximately 75 in attendance and as I expected, I was the only male Avon representative at the party.

I also guessed correctly that I would be one of the best dressed at the party, but what I did not expect was that it was no contest! I was WAY overdressed for the party. Most of the other reps wore slacks or jeans with tops and a minority wore skirts with tops. I was the only rep wearing a dress.

As I arrived at the hotel, I saw how the other reps on their way to the party were dressed and I had a lot of trepidation attending the party myself the way I was dressed. I actually considered hightailing it out of there. But, as I contemplated my next move in the lobby of the hotel, my district manager greeted me and urged me to go into the party despite expressing my uneasiness about being overdressed.

I signed in at the registration table, received a gift, a raffle ticket, and a name badge. I did not know what name (my real name or my femme name) to put on the badge, so I did not bother wearing it.

After registering, I looked for an empty chair and a friendly face. Everyone looked at me as I walked into the area where everyone was seated. From some of their facial expressions, I felt that they thought I was overdressed, too.

When I found an empty chair, I asked if it was taken and it was not, so I sat down. There were five reps at my table: one older, three about my age, and one younger. They were all very pleasant and included me in their conversation.

Everyone I encountered throughout the evening was very friendly, as if I had known them for years. When I rose to get a drink or go to the powder room, I noticed people checking me out. And when I was in line for the buffet, I could not help noticing all the other folks in line checking me out closely. But I never heard a discouraging word and saw a lot of smiles directed at me.

At the end of the evening, I said goodbye to my district manager and she gave me a big hug. As we separated, I said that we had never met in person and I wanted to introduce myself. I said, “I am (my real name).”

She said, “I know.”

I guess she put two and two together sometime during the evening. She knew I was coming, but had never met me. And she seemed to have known most of the other reps in attendance, so by process of elimination, the tall stranger must be me.

Needless to say, I am curious how well I passed last night, but I guess I will never know. No one let on that they knew I was male. They interacted with me as if I was another female. No one in line with me waiting to use the ladies’ room wondered why I didn’t use the men’s room (where there was no line). So, I guess I did pass!

Wearing Rachel Zoe

Peter Capaldi femulating in the British television movie Prime Suspect 3.

Avon Calling

I’ve mentioned this before, but for newer readers (and older readers who may have forgotten), I am an Avon Lady.

In between jobs in 1996-1997, I became an Avon Lady to fulfill my role as breadwinner. While unemployed for almost a year, I was able to build the business and had about 30 regular customers. But when I went back to work full-time, it was difficult to maintain the business and eventually I ended up selling only to a few friends and relatives.

Since retirement, I thought about getting active again, but I have no desire or the disposition to cold sell door-to-door and I am not sure how to sell Avon otherwise. Selling online is an option and maybe I can build a business if some of the girls reading my blog became customers. Well, it’s food for thought...

Anyway, two things caused me to think about selling Avon: a news story about a transwoman in the UK who sells Avon and a short film I came across on YouTube while looking for something else.

Here is the story about the trans Avon rep:

"Avon's first transgender rep says she found confidence and stability

"Daniella Schofield, 35, from Blackpool, became an Avon representative in February to help support her schizophrenic mother. She is earning £1,300-a-month and said the job changed her life."

Read all about it in Daily Mail: https://apple.news/AUJe172RORmSfnQ2Geqa1Ww 

By the way, I disagree with the “Avon’s first transgender rep” claim. I’ve been an Avon Lady for 23 years and I would not be surprised if there were transwomen who have been at it even longer than I.

And here is the short 11-minute film titled Beauty Mark. It is a wonderful story and brought tears to my eyes.

Enjoy!

Wearing Metrostyle

Young femulator, circa 1910

Noted on Tuesday

Here are some follow-up notes regarding my day out at the mall on Tuesday.

Fashion Success Dept.

I was very pleased with my makeup Tuesday. I am finally getting the hang of liquid eyeliner using Avon's True Color SuperExtend liquid pen.

Fashion Failure Dept.

Awhile ago, I stocked up on Kiss stick-on nails that were leftover stock from an affiliated store on Amazon.

I had no problem with the nails until Tuesday morning when a couple of nails popped off shortly after I put them on. I opened a second box of nails to replace the popped nails and the replacements popped off, too. I think the glue on the nails dries out after awhile and lose their holding power. The third box of nails I tried were fine and held on all day long.

After I did my hair Tuesday, I noticed that my eyebrows looked gray, so I had to redo my eyebrows with a darker shade. For years, I used a blond shade of eyebrow pencil. That worked fine when I had blond hair, but now that I am a redhead, the blond eyebrow pencil does not cut it.

These Boots Are Made For Walking Dept.

When I checked my iPhone's Health app, I was surprised that I walked 1.9 miles on Tuesday. Most of that 1.9 miles was at the mall because I did not do much walking otherwise on Tuesday.

My new Christian Siriano Payless "Veronica" kitten-heel boots were very comfortable and served me well walking around the mall, as well as driving to and from the mall. They are one of the most comfortable footwear I own and I highly recommend them, but sadly they are no longer available. (I searched the Internet for other sources and all I could find were black pairs in size 8M on Amazon.)

Wearing Jonathan Simkhai dress and Tibi booties (Source: Intermix)

Nina Chareese, professional femulator

Life, Look & the Saturday Evening Post

Since semi-retiring, my daily routine has no routine. This blog has suffered as a result.

When I was working, the first thing I did before starting work was to write the next post for the blog. Now that I am not working, my daily schedule is so fluid that regularly writing a new blog post each day is not happening. Hopefully, I will get better as I get used to my new life.

And so it goes.

👠 👠 👠

My daughter and I were discussing feet yesterday after she noticed that I wasn’t wearing socks in boy mode, which has been my warm-weather routine for a few years now. 

One thing led to another and I mentioned how my footwear did not fit right lately. All my shoes seemed loose — so loose that my feet were slipping around inside my shoes when I walked causing me to walk more weirdly than usual. The only shoes that fit well were a pair I recently bought at Payless, which was a half-size smaller than my “normal” size.

My daughter suggested that since I lost weight (10 pounds), my feet lost some weight, too.

Of course — why didn’t I think of that! Which also explains why my girl shoes have felt more comfortable lately.

👠 👠 👠

My favorite nude bag had seen better days. I bought it from Avon about five years ago and it became my go-to bag whenever I wore nude heels.

The inside of the bag was as good as new, but the outside of the bag was worn out. Cleaning it helped a little, but it had some blue worn spots that cleaning only made worse. It was time to shop for a new nude bag.

I visited all the online suspects and found just what I was looking for at Payless: their “Lianna Tote” designed by Christian Siriano. It is a classy looking bag with lots of room inside to hold all the contents girls like us need when we go out. 

Its list price was $49.99, but it was on sale for $34.99 and to sweeten the deal, I had a coupon, which knocked the price down to $27.91. So, Stana’s got a brand new bag!

Wearing Veronica Beard dress, Alexandre Birman sandals, Odette bracelet (Source: Intermix)

Chelsea Manning

All or Nothing

I was very concerned about my weight during the long holiday weekend. After some ups and downs, I am happy to report that my weight before and after the weekend is the same.

Tomorrow is another day out for this woman. I am scheduled to do outreach at a human sexuality class after noon and will probably do a little shopping before the class and grab a bite to eat after the class.

The local Avon reps were talking about getting together for a Christmas party, but the plans have not jelled yet, so I don't know if I will be joining the other girls for our annual Avon rep get-together.

Visions of going to work as a woman are still dancing in my head. My mind is made up that if I do it, it will be daily and not an occasional when-I'm-in-the-mood thing. I think consistency is critical in order to impress upon the civilians that I am trans. And it will also help me get used to the routine of presenting a woman every day.

And so it goes.

Wearing Alice + Olivia.

Casa Valentina on the Miami stage, 2015.

Funk

I have been in a funk lately, but I think I am finally getting over it.

∞ ∞ ∞

Monday I received an e-mail from Avon wishing me "Happy Avon-iversary!" I have been an Avon lady for 19 years!

∞ ∞ ∞

I just added Better Than Chocolate to my Netflix queue. It is a film I have intended to see for a long time, but just now discovered it was available on Netflix.

If you haven't seen the film, I recommend that you view this sample, which is probably the highlight of the film transgender-wise.

∞ ∞ ∞

Writing about Drag magazine yesterday, I recalled that it was very expensive when I bought it back in the early 1970s. The $2 cover price seems to indicate otherwise, but when you take inflation into account, that $2 1970 price tag would inflate to $12.50 today!

To put things in perspective, in 1970 those $99 high heel pumps from Nine West cost $16, that $60 frock from Dress Barn cost $10 and a $1.75 cup of joe from Starbucks cost 28¢.

So how come the past tense of cost isn't "costed"?

Wearing Ida Noe.

Femulating on British television's 'Allo 'Allo! circa 1987.

Short and Sweet

Tuesday evening was the local Avon representative Christmas party. I took Tuesday afternoon off to do some things around the house and then get ready for the party.

My getting ready routine was different on Tuesday due to the dress I was planning to wear. It had a very narrow collar and I found out the hard way when I tried the dress on that it was impossible to get my head through the collar without smudging my makeup and soiling the dress.

So I dressed first and then did my makeup. To prevent my makeup from getting on my dress, I wore a big old T-shirt over the dress and I tucked tissues in around the collar of the dress. It worked perfectly; I got my makeup to go where I wanted it to go and not where I did not want it to go.

I was ready early. The party was at 6:30 PM and it was only 4:30, so I decided to go to Serphora at the Brass Mill Center mall in Waterbury to buy a gift card for my daughter.

Brass Mill Center was a new venue for this girl. I was born and raised in Waterbury and have family, friends and acquaintances there, so I usually avoid going en femme in my old hometown.

I am sure no one would recognize me as a woman, but they might recognize my car and its distinctive license plates. But since it would be dark by the time I arrived at the mall, I figured it would be safe, so I drove to Waterbury.

The parking lot was packed ― no surprise considering the time of year, but I scored a spot near a mall entrance, entered the mall and walked to the Sephora section of JCPenney.

It was all for naught. The gift cards that they sold could only be used in a Sephora store that was imbedded in a JCPenney store. Since my daughter shops in a variety of Sephora outlets, as well as online, that would not do. So I returned to my car and drove to the site of the party.

By the way, while I was walking through the mall, guys were checking me out, which was quite flattering for this very mature woman as well as a big ego boost, so my mall visit was not a complete loss!

I arrived at the party at 6:30 on the dot. I checked in and found a seat with a group of women, who I did not know, but welcomed me to join them.

As in the past, I was probably the nicest dressed woman in the room of approximately 50 women. Most were dressed in neat slacks and tops, while some were dressed not so neatly and in my opinion, did a poor job of representing the company they represent. 

The woman who invited me to sit at her table lived in my town and was very friendly. We chit-chatted about where we live, about the business of selling Avon and about the cold temperature of the hall (and wasn't I freezing in my sleeveless dress?).

The party started with our district manager making a presentation recognizing the sales leaders. In the middle of her presentation, my cell phone rang ― a call from home about a health emergency that necessitated me leaving the party and going home to attend to the emergency.

I was upset that I had to leave the party just as it started, but I was even more upset about my family health emergency. My family has had one health issue after another for over a year and we are all getting very tired of it.

It was a short night out en femme, but a short night out en femme is better than no night out en femme!

 

 

 

Wearing New York & Company.

 

 

 

By popular demand, another photo of actor Ben Porter in the 2004 film School of Seduction.