Crazy Beauty Confessions: When Out of Deodorant

A few weeks ago I got an invite from the POKE agency to be a part of a think tank for a new product launch that Getty Images has in the works. I was thrilled to know it was a stock photo website because as a writer/blogger--locating/using stock images is a huge part of my craft.  This "immersion day" was a 9-5 conference and I have to admit, I was a bit nervous--oh, not about voicing my opinions but I wasn't sure if the free food offered was going to be any good. Child, you know how Mexicans think!

Since this past Sunday was very productive for me; time flew by. I worked on a few blogs, a new TwiTip article, my book, and a dating tip video and looked up and realized it was already 4 a.m. and I had to be up in a few hours--ready for my "immersion day" at Getty. I finally went to bed as my alarm went off and it was a race to be out of the door fully dressed, coiffed and smelling good. Well, two out of three ain't bad, right? As I rushed out, I realized I didn't schmear on any deodorant. "No big deal," I thought, I always carry one in my bag and I'll just go to the bathroom at the Getty offices and "do my business."

I got lost on my way to Getty and when I finally arrived--wearing a long sleeve shirt, a blazer, covered in a coat and scarf, I was sweating more than Tiger Woods at a Las Vegas convention. As I reached the lobby--which I took several wrong turns to get there...as I first ended up in the mail room standing next to some delivery guy who was listening to very loud Salsa music on his iPod. I was there for 20 minutes before I realized I was in the wrong part of Getty--I guess my Mexican DNA automatically takes me to mail rooms, kitchens, places with Windex and Pine Sol. In the lobby I found a small group of people who immediately greeted me, knew my name and asked about my website. I was scared. Not because of the info they had on me, but because they all had smiles. They weren't real New Yorkers as this was New York City, on a Monday morning, and all four of them were wearing grins from ear to ear. I wanted to excuse myself to go rub on my deodorant but I couldn't escape--we all started to exchange cards, social media stories, and speculation as to how "we" had been chosen to be the few, the proud--the Getty's think tank.

I looked at the time and had about two minutes before "immersion day" started so I rushed off to the bathroom. I opened and searched my bag--NOTHING! Then I remembered, I took it out to make room for my Wonder Woman notebook--don't judge. With the conference now starting in one minute, I had to improvise. As I looked through my bag, I saw pennies, my Zeno zit zapper, my combat lip balm, a Tide Stain stick, and 3 boxes of Altoids--but nothing remotely deoderant-like. Then it was the moment of truth, it was either my celebrity hairstylist and close friend Davide Torchio hairspray or the generic Duane Reade hand sanitizer--the hairspray won the battle. I popped off the top and sprayed my Mexican armpits with the same stuff Brook Shields, Alicia Silverstone and Kristen Bell spray all over their lovely locks. Let me tell you--there ain't nothing like a stinky Mexican except a stinky Mexican at "immersion day" at the Getty offices.

Still not sure how the molecular structure of deodorant and hairspray work, I tried to sit away from everyone, but as I was making my way to the back of the conference room, the group presenter motioned that there was an empty seat--right in the front. Lucky me. I prayed that no one sat next to me, no one cool anyways, but lady luck wasn't handing out free passes that day, as a hot designer with the most mesmerizing eyes tapped my shoulder and asked, "Anyone in that seat next to you?"  The seminar was great, Getty's stock photography website is super and as far as my oder, thanks to Davide Torchio and his Italian chemists--the only thing immersed that day was the photography.

I was reading the brilliant Jen's blog post this morning and I had to make my crazy beauty confession. And you--what's yours? Leave a comment.