Crush on Eyeliner

Now for something completely controversial…

In my humble opinion, we really need to live in a society where men wear eyeliner.

Now I know a lot of traditional women will initially balk at this. Real men don’t wear eyeliner, eh? Well, before I launch into a refutation of that, ladies: Ponder the visage of Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow in “Pirates of the Caribbean” and tell me you don’t feel a twinge.

Fact is, eyeliner makes the eyes appear larger and draws attention to their beauty. It makes the whites look whiter and the pupils into deep black pools. Beautiful eyes on men are as effective as they are on women…perhaps more so, since women tend to check out faces more than men do.

Ancient Egyptians, regardless of gender, lined their eyes with kohl, and today it is an accepted practice in certain Arabic cultures. I say the stigma against eyeliner for men in our culture stems from that idea that real men don’t make any effort to look attractive. Gay men, who don’t mind people surmising that they work on their appearance, have less of a problem with this. C’mon now, guys—what man minds looking sexy? I have a lot of admiration for Ewan McGregor, who has no problem wearing eyeliner; he is just that secure in his manhood. And he knows the impact a little eye-blackening can have on women. This is a sexy look, and part of its appeal is that it is done for the sole purpose of appearing sexy. If a guy wears eyeliner, you know it is for one reason only: he wants you to want him. Tell me that’s not a turn on.

Now keep in mind there are certain exclusions to this principle. Guys who wear eyeliner to hide the fact that their eyes are black from drug use don’t really cut it. Sorry, Iggy, to me “heroin chic” is an oxymoron. And those black smudges football players wear to cut down on glare don’t work either, especially when there are advertisements printed on them. Right out.

But in most cases the under-eye shadows are really effective. Consider the case of the transformation of Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader. Along the way he develops sinister dark circles under his eyes, and it is this haunted, malevolent look that a most women find much more of a turn-on than the uncorrupted Anakin of “Attack of the Clones,” with his inexplicable love patter about how he hates sand.

Take Prince, or Davie Bowie, or Duran Duran…ah, the 80s were rife with rockers who knew the value of eyeliner. How about that quintessential heartthrob, Rudolph Valentino? Yul Brynner in “The King and I” or as the Pharoah in “The Ten Commandments”?

Really, there are few men who couldn’t be improved with a little eyeliner. You know how men see a hot woman and try to picture her naked? I see an attractive guy and imagine him with kohl around his eyes. Hey, we all have our quirks.

Now that I’ve admitted to this little fetish, I hope a few people will post that they share my opinion. I don’t suppose anyone else has tried photoshopping eyeliner onto photos of their celebrity crushes, have they? Oh…okay…me neither. :-)

Kiss and Slap: Concerning ABC’s “Lost”

As I said, I write erotic romance stories, so needless to say, copulation happens. Nevertheless, I must confess that to me the most effective turn-ons are the kissing scenes. In March I won eCataRomance’s “Smooch of the Month” Award for a kiss from Soulful Sex Volume II which apparently did the trick for a lot of people, so I’m not alone.

Nor, do I imagine, was I alone in my sentiments last night during the special clip-show recap of ABC’s hit show, “Lost.” I tuned in basically to see The Kiss again, and from all the computer wallpapers I’ve seen dedicated to that theme, I bet a lot of people were likewise motivated.

The Kiss occurred between Sawyer (the sardonically witty former con man whose past justifies his misdeeds) and Kate (the sweet-faced former bank robber/murderer whose past justifies her misdeeds). What a perfect set-up for sexual tension: Sawyer is a nice guy who poses as a bad boy and has pursued Kate for weeks. Kate gives every outward indication of being good, and the last thing she wants is an association with someone aligned with the values of her shameful past. So she won’t give Sawyer the time of day, until the castaways desperately need something from him and the price for it is Kate’s kiss.

So, need requires she set aside her honor and kiss this wretch. Oh darn. Of course, out here in TV Land, “Lost” fans are on the edges of their seats to see if the moment of physical intimacy will reveal Kate’s true feelings for Sawyer. After all, they have the connection of a ignominious past--the sort of shared experience no one else on the island can quite understand. (Well, actually the cast is rife with ignominious pasts, but they don’t know that.) But which will prove stronger, lust or pride?

C’mon, everybody, join with me: Lust, lust, lust, lust!

So: Kate leans in, Sawyer’s face is expectant in a way that seems very ingenuous. Their lips touch…and it’s a chaste, gentle kiss. She pulls back, just a little bit…

And we have arrived at the Super-Erotic Moment.

Everything turns upon what happens next. The stakes are at their highest. A pause…

And Kate leans back in. Hallelujah!

The next kiss is deeper, and you can tell instantly her heart is in it. So can Sawyer: the sudden appearance of his tongue proves that. The tension accelerates. A third kiss, and the dam has broken: at this point they look like long-term lovers starved for each other’s flesh.

Is this a great kiss or what? Of course it is, because if it weren’t, Kate would have pulled away. The proof is in the storyline: she shunned this guy for weeks, but one touch of his lips and all her resolve is vaporized. Boy, that’s good.

But wait, there’s more delight to come. What will be Sawyer’s reaction to his triumph? Will he grin and gloat, revealing the thrill was derived from victory? Or will we see a much more appealing aspect of his character unveiled?

Happily, the answer is B. Kate draws back, they open their eyes, and Sawyer looks like a man in love, a man swept off his feet, dazed and entranced. Jackpot!

The perfect Super-Erotic Kissing Scene. Thank you, “Lost” scriptwriters!

But wait, there’s still more! Kate immediately claims her part of the deal: “Okay, give me the inhalers,” she says to Sawyer.

“I don’t have them,” he replies, with open faced honesty.

And she slaps him! Hard! So in a moment, these brilliant scriptwriters have reset the program, Kate and Sawyer are back at odds, and we can have all manner of additional tension between them in the future.

Sometimes I think the only thing better than a kiss, is a kiss followed by a slap. In fiction, anyway.

Erotic Notes

My first blog entry, let’s try to start out with a bang.

I’m an author, and Erotica with Soul is what I write. (For more about that, see my website at www.dianalaurence.com.) But this blog will be about living the life of Erotica with Soul; that is, finding the power and energy of sex all over the place, and tapping into it for a fuller, better balanced, more creative life.

I’ll be posting about the most surprising places that I discover erotica with soul. So why not begin with something really big? How about Star Wars, that’s big enough I guess, especially with this new movie looming on a horizon far, far away.

Now I’m not going to talk about the somewhat disquieting but intriguing relationship of the twins, Luke and Leia, in the first trilogy of films. I think that’s been explored ad nauseum by fan fic writers.

Nope, this erotica column is about John Williams. Yes, the septuagenarian composer of all six Star Wars films. I admit it, I’m wildly in love with this man. I irrationally feel that in the experience of listening to his music, I have been exposed to his very soul and found it one of the most spectacularly diverse, moving, and gorgeous aspects of all creation. I really like his stuff, okay? And my psyche refuses to distinguish between the glory of his compositions and the man himself.

This morning before work I listened to samples from the soon to be released score of “Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.” Forgive me for the analogy, but it was the equivalent of the “make me late to breakfast” experience. I lost all track of time, everything else dwindled in importance. If that’s not the erotic force at work, I don’t know what is.

I’ll never forget the first time I listened to “Across the Stars,” the love theme for Anakin and Padme employed in Episode II. To me the importance of those characters was dwarfed by the music written for them. It’s mesmerizing, it’s heart-rending...it’s so overwhelming that you surrender to it, and so divinely lovely that the surrender is bliss. Don’t tell me that’s not sexual.

My apologies to the dignified Maestro Williams, who I know had no intention of seducing me or anyone else when he composed this piece. But erotic energy is no respecter of age (thank God) or intention, and there it is.