Articles Vol2 Iss7

EDITORIAL

Hi Girls

I was at the Clothesline in September when Kathy said to me, "I suppose you wouldn't like to be the Editor of the Cameo Magazine" and I said "No Thank you ". Well here I am your new Editor, Sophie, I hope that you will bare with me as I learn all the tricks of the trade.

Thanks all of you who attended the Halloween Party, it was a great success, Sadie was the winner of the competition, with Sue and Jennifer as runners up. I took some photographs of the event some of them are printed in this issue.

Great news about the new venue (see Pat's article on page 5).

Now what I really, really want is lots and lots of letters and e-mails from you all so PLEASE write to me, I want a bulging post bag, all correspondence will be published (unless you don't want it to be), Write to me as "The Editor etc." my address is below, or you can e-mail directly at: sophie_sparkle@hotmail.com* I hope you enjoy the magazine, I will try to do my best for the group.

All my Love

Sophie.

*No longer valid e-mail

BIRTHDAY GIRL STEPHANIE

Gosh, birthday girl at last, what an honour this is. TVs in the 21st century are the luckiest girls of all time. There. is so much on offer these days. shops and services that were not even dreamt of as far back as, say, ten years ago. I only wish I was twenty-one again, don't we all, girls!

I started getting interested in pretty things duhring my school days. Whilst putting on school plays I always wanted to be hanging around the dresses. My school-chum, whose mum I fancied rotten, used to invite me round to his house.

She had this habit of leaving a black and red negligee on the back of one of her chairs, so every time I went round I hoped it would be lying about so that maybe I could just feel the soft material. Later I went to college staying in digs in the second year with a lady whose daughter was into ballroom dancing. Of course me being a naughty boy I would wander into her daughter's room when the house was empty and gently fondle her dresses and pretty satin high heel shoes - at this time I was discovering more about myself. At 18 I went into HM Forces for twelve years so cross dressing went on the back burner until the last two years when I befriended a nice lady who understood my plight. She did some shopping for me and allowed me to dress in private. My service life came to the end and I knew that certain restrictions would also end and heaven's door would soon be opened to me. I became a civvy enjoying amateur dramatics and secretly trying on all sorts of costumes at the local theatre club. I was engaged to a WRAF at the time, who knew nothing of my girlie side. She could have shot me as she was a marks woman at the time! I soon discovered cross dressing London, learning where not to get ripped off. The fun times were starting to happen. A few jobs and a few years later. I found myself back in sunny Bournemouth. I had my complete collection of clothes stolen from the boot of my car where I had to store them. I then started to rebuild my collection. of femme items.

As we approach this party season, we macho blokes rush out to buy our loved ones that new dress or slinky slip. NOT RUDDY LIKELY I hear you cry, we know where that satin teddy is going to end up don't we girls? Shame, it would have looked nice on the bedroom floor. I think I'm well-known for my love of the 'Essex' white stiletto and dressing as tarty as they come. One has to make up for lost time after spending so much time in uniform - the wrong uniform, it should have been a silky nursie special!

Lastly a word about a super RG without whom I would be lost. She has done wonders for me. my heartfelt thanks must go to her for putting up with my girlie tantrums and hogging all the mirrors, he he! My love to all you girls everywhere.

SNIPPETS

Bangkok Judges at a Thai beauty pageant demanded that the runner up hand back her £100 prize after discovering that "she" was in fact a man. The alert was sounded after fellow contestants spotted their 22-year-old colleague's masculine attributes in the changing rooms and later complained to police of unfair competition.

A cab driver picks up a nun. She gets into the back of the cab and the cabby can't stop staring at her. She asks him why he is scrutinising her and he replies: "Well, I have a favour to ask of you but I don't want to offend you. " She answers kindly: "Oh, don't worry there's nothing you could say or ask that I would find offensive. Ask away" "Well, I've always had a fantasy to have a nun kiss me," says the cabby. The nun reflects and then says: "Well, let's see what we can do about that. But the first condition is, you have to be single. "Secondly you must be Catholic." The cab driver beams and says: "Yes, I'm single and Catholic, too." The nun says: "Then pull into the next alley" He does so and the nun fulfils his fantasy However, when they get back on the road, the cab driver suddenly breaks down in tears. "My dear child, why are you crying?" the nuns asks solicitously "Forgive me sister, but I have sinned. I told a lie. I'm married and I'm Jewish. " The nun says, consolingly: "That's OK. I am on my way to a Halloween party and my name is Roger." This is what I call an inclusive joke. It has something for everyone.

Beauty Tips ~ eyebrows

Brow Colour
Did you know that brows should be a little lighter than your hair colour? Yes, it's true...about two shades. However, if you are blond or grey, the opposite is true.

Eyebrow Shape
Did you know that your eyebrow is supposed to start directly above the inner corner of your eye? The highest point should be just a little beyond the outer corner of the iris and should taper off to the end! OK, so now you know...

Keep them in place...
If you are having trouble taming your brows, here is a little trick: Take a toothbrush and spray with a little hair spray and then brush on brows. The stickiness of the hair spray will help keep them in place.

A nice contour
This is an alternative to tweezing. Brush them up so that the really long hairs will be very visible. Instead of tweezing and creating a hole, snip it with a pair of tiny scissors. Works wonderfully.

A Poem
A MESSAGE OF HOPE FROM TRANSGENDERED PEOPLE TO THE WORLD
by Lori Buckwalter

We are they who could be you,
and you are who we used to be.
It's not so much what you should do,
but what we hope you'll come to see:
despite the changes of our skin,
beneath the clothing we now wear,
beat hearts that once were trapped within,
but we could always feel somewhere.
We could not let you see them then,
fear held us in its icy hands,
we trembled, ever and again,
to hear society's commands.

But hope has opened up the doors
to futures we despaired to view,
horizons, hid from us before,
are clear as when the world was new.
And so, we offer you this prize,
hard won by souls who dared to care;
that if you look into our eyes,
you might just see yourself in there.

A POEM by Ann-Marie.

I know that I'm to blame
For how my family hide in shame,
They only acted as I knew they would
I wish I could be what they think I should.

Some say that it's just a game
Even though I'm not the same,
Nothing I do seems to be right
I cry myself to sleep at night.

How do I make myself a life
Their remarks cut like a knife,
I must try to find a way
Regardless of what people say.

Desperately Seeking Christine- Part one

If only a year ago I'd been told that one day very soon I would he wearing a pretty dress, wig, high heels and full make-up in public, I would have treated the prognostication with the derision it deserved. There was no conceivable situation that could dress me in the paraphernalia of a pseudo woman. What would society think I was, a pervert... or worse?.

No, I was a normal, hot blooded male who enjoyed looking at women, not looking like one!

I most certainly had no desire to exhibit myself in their similitude. But as with so many seemingly cast iron facts of life, times unaccountably and irrevocably change. Ironically the pendulum has, for me, swung completely in the opposite direction so that I now spend as much of my life 'dressed' as practical and loving every minute of it. And also just like a woman, love to be admired, complimented and flattered on my looks, clothes and finery .

Just how and why this radical change came about is an interesting conundrum worthy of revelation.

Somehow, I know not precisely by what means, somewhere deeply hidden away within my subconscious, I recognised that an essential element of my life was missing. There was a yearning nagging demand for fulfilment, for consummation... but by what?. Massage parlours, escort girls, fem-dom and even bondage had failed miserably to fill that elusive corner, nothing quite seemed to provide the answer to ray increasingly urgent search. The only clue when at last it hesitatingly emerged, although at the time I did not recognise it as such, was my propensity to see girls wearing sexy underwear, miniskirts and see through blouses. But then again, what well adjusted male does not?. In retrospect, the turning point to my eventual awareness of latent transvestism came when one day, on the spur of the moment, I persuaded a transient girl friend to let me try on her underwear. To my utter surprise, and without even the blink of a censorious eyelid, I was invited to take my pick from an extremely well equipped wardrobe that contained all a potential TV could wish. Suddenly, I was in heaven; like a kid in a candy store surrounded by scores. of chocolate and sweets not knowing which to try first. That day proved the start of a marvellous, wonderful friendship with girl who not only thoroughly understood my growing predilection to crossdress but actively encouraged with unstinting help and advice. Before very long I had made the irrevocable decision that sooner or later we all face, and graduated from wearing just underwear to the full femme outfit. From there. it was but a short step to use makeup and the transformation from perplexed male to full blown TV was complete.

To my astonishment, I now found that for the first time in my life I actually enjoyed looking around the specialised lingerie shops and department stores. All the gorgeous silks, satins, lace and lycra allied with breathtaking colours and hues created especially for today's woman appealed to my new found libido. In direct contrast, the display of male fashion was dull and completely uninteresting. That a change of outlook my new found self had effected.

As time passed I came to realise, and finally fully accept, that my personal search to fill the void that had for so long endured within me was over. The quest to achieve full expression of my inner self had ended. I was a transvestite pure and simple, and loving every minute I could spend swathed from tip to toe in the wondrous dress of a pretty girl. No longer was it only the underwear that thrilled, but the whole consummate experience of a fully female wardrobe, end it was all due to my first nervous petition to a very special girl. So I hereby dedicate this story to her with all my thanks for putting me on the path to a happiness that I had never before known.

Christine (Part two next issue)

More Beauty Tips "Winterise Your Skin"

Snow and ice may not have reached your area just yet, but it's impossible to deny that winter is here and it's time to get out those winter coats, stock up on the hot chocolate and make some key changes in your skin care routine.

During the winter months, cold air and heating systems take their toll on skin, leaving your face feeling dry and itchy. If you don't use a moisturiser during the summer, you may need to start using a lightweight formula now to prevent drying and flaking; if you do use a moisturiser during the rest of the year, you may need to a heavier formula than usual. If patches of your face are dry and others are oily, apply moisturiser only to the dry places. If your face is oily but still feels dry, you may want to use a water-based, oil-free formula.

Just because the weather is cold doesn't mean it's time to put away that sunscreen! The sun can shine just as brightly during the winter as it does during the summer, and the sun's rays can be even more harmful when they're reflected off of the snow. Whether your skin is dry or oily, you'll want to use a moisturiser that contains sunscreen of at least SPF 8-15. Be sure that the sunscreen, whether it's within a moisturiser or is a separate product, contains one of the three ingredients proven to block both UVA and UVB rays: titanium dioxide, zinc oxide or avobenzone.

Like your face, the rest of your body can also become extra dry during the winter. You can combat dryness by taking shorter showers with lukewarm, not hot, water---long, steamy showers can make your skin even drier. It's also smart to switch from using soaps, which tend to dry out the skin, to a more moisturising product such as a body wash or shower gel. You may want to add a light exfoliating product to your routine to slough off the dry, dead skin cells----your skin will look less dull and it will more readily absorb lotions and other moisturisers. Adding a humidifier to your home and limiting use of electric blankets can also keep dry skin at bay.

Nails and lips often dry out in the same way that your skin does. Using a cuticle oil and a good hand lotion will keep cuticles in great shape. Chapped lips are a big problem for many people year after year---avoid them this winter by exfoliating (rub gently with a soft toothbrush or washcloth) and applying an emollient lip balm. Choose a product that contains lanolin or oils and not a waxy lip balm like Chap stick. And stay away from lip balms that contain menthol, phenol or camphor: they're all drying ingredients that actually can perpetuate the chapping.