Krista Lauren

The air is crisp and it’s perfect sweater weather. I skip joyfully to my closet to select a top. My eyes graze past the dresses hung neatly on the left over to the warmer options. I pretend that I’m going to make a decision, even though my mind is already made up. I touch the new ballerina pink sweater I had purchased a few weeks prior and wonder whether that will be cozy enough for a night of movies and snuggling. I reach to the back of the closet where I had shoved my soft gray v-neck sweater. It pairs well with leggings and kicks, or jeans and ankle boots for an edgier look.

I smile as I slip into my trusty favorite. It’s only a matter of time until my date will pull up to my house in his truck. I hurry to the bathroom to put on my makeup. Taylor Swift is already blasting, and I feel fierce in my oversized sweater and Calvin’s. I am still not fully ready to go out, but right now I’m all about my girly music, makeup, and pretending to be a runway model. Nobody is there to watch, so I can kill it on the bathroom dance floor just like the rest of the Bad Blood squad on my iPhone screen. The best thing about getting ready is that you can be whoever you want to be, even if you have terrible dance moves like myself.

I try to do a sultry cat-eye like Taylor’s, but quickly realize I need to leave my runway fantasy a daydream. It looks a lot more like I had been in the boxing ring with Muhammad Ali and got two mismatched black eyes than the fun look I had been going for.

Makeup remover.

Much better. I hurry to reapply a light layer of foundation, skip the eyeliner all together and opt for a swipe of mascara on my upper and lower lashes. I recognize my inability to paint my face and decide against the brightly colored lipstick in my makeup bag. Tonight I’ll do a natural look which — for a new date — includes foundation, concealer, bronzer, blush, mascara, and a light pink shade of lipstick and liner to match… And to think guys sometimes think I’m not wearing makeup when I go with this look. Sigh, it takes a good 20 minutes to put all of this together! I’d at least like to be awarded a compliment for using my paint and brushes from Sephora so effectively.

The finishing touches are made — black jeans and a bracelet with my birthstone  surrounded by diamonds — and a new bright smile is added as the doorbell rings.

My heart skips a beat as I open the door, and I forget everything about the past hour of getting ready. The night is just beginning, and I get to spend the rest of it with my new favorite person.