Six Steps to Channeling Your Inner Pole-Dancing, Stiletto-Wearing Persona

It’s a truth universally acknowledged that some of us are more outgoing than others…and some are simply more comfortable in their own skin. And so it is somewhat remarkable that Purple Lab Creatrix Karen Robinovitz targeted us all at an event earlier this month celebrating the launch of her flagship product, Huge Lips Skinny Hips.

Karen has created a lip gloss with an appetite suppressant in six shades – from Kitty Poledancer to Love Your Thighs – that were inspired by her own experiences. She, in turn, wanted to share a few of these moments with us as she introduced her product.

First stop? Pole dancing at S Factor. Even though I said beforehand that I’m not really a pole-dancing kind of girl, I found it somewhat heartening that 1) Karen told us only to do what we felt comfortable doing; and 2) it was very, very dark. Karen also told us that she’d always had issues with her thighs (another reason there’s a shade specifically called Love Your Thighs) and that her first pole-dancing class helped her overcome them…to the point that she signed up for private lessons because she really wanted to learn how to climb the pole and couldn’t wait for the more advanced group classes. She then demonstrated her expertise with her own pole-scaling, lap-dancing routine at the end of our class.

At that, we were each given a tube of Kitty Poledancer, which we applied (Was it just me, or was it a little tingly?) and then smooched a “kiss board” for a chance to win 8 weeks of lessons at S Factor.

From there, we changed back into our street clothes, collected our goodie bags and boarded a bus to Christian Louboutin, where we sipped champers, looked longingly at shoes and Karen explained that Louboutin was the inspiration behind her Red Sole shade. We applied it, kissed another board and one lucky participant walked away (ooh — no pun intended) with $700 for her own pair.

As (playful?) jealousy flared, we were off to MEET in SoHo, where we got a lychee martini demonstration from a charming English bartender as well as Karen’s Worship Kate style bible, which she said was inspired by her obsession with Kate Moss. She also shared advice on how to avoid panty lines as we munched mini cupcakes from Magnolia. (These anecdotes are behind her Lychee Martini, Worship Kate, and No Panty Lines shades, respectively.)

Finally, burlesque dynamo Veronica Varlow performed and shared her story of how she finally came to pursue her passion as well as tips on entering a room (linger in the doorway for 10 seconds) and how to remove stockings the burlesque way.

At that, the Karen Robinovitz/Purple Lab experience was over. And while not commercially available quite yet, rumor has it Huge Lips Skinny Hips will hit shelves in April…at which point you, too, can harness your inner pole-dancing, stiletto-wearing, Kate-Moss-worshipping persona.

Disclosure: All products were provided for review. No monetary compensation was received for this review. All opinions belong to the author.