Welcome to Gaia! ::

There was something to be said for a bright red lip when you walked into a boardroom meeting. So much so that some of them just forget what they were going to say. After that reaction, Lena had decided it was worth it to splurge a bit on some more interesting touches for her daily look. Somehow, she had managed to end up with several shades of blush, a new eye shadow pallet, four different colors of eye liner, and three colors of nail polish.

Just a few things after all. Nothing too obscene.

It was pretty easy shopping until she landed in the lipstick selection and was met with the hardest choice of the day: Berry Red or Ruby Woo?

She’d gone back and forth five or six times before giving up, turning around and deciding to ask the next person she saw for help. That happened to be a man in the hair dye selection looking at some red color.

“Excuse me.” Lena offered, shifting her head slightly. “So sorry to bother you but wanted to ask for a second option if you don’t mind.” She held up the two colors, realizing they both clearly were after red today. Must have been the ‘it’ color’

"Oh please." Lena offered the man a smile, extending box lipsticks towards him in a comfortable manner, clearly not at all taken aback by his over-friendliness actions. It had been almost surprising that he had so naturally jumped at the chance with a blooming smile to assist her in picking out the perfect shade.

"I'll admit that Berry was my first thought as well. Something about that rich red just made it scream both strong and fierce! But a classic MAC red can be so tempting as well. I was nearly about to just say screw it and try one on one side of my face and another on the other."

Lena found herself giving way to an easy laugh. "Not what I would without buying them of course. Still, a second pair of eyes never hurt anything. Not to mention that is a fabious idea about the gloss. I wasn't even thinking about after hours but I like your line of thought!"

"Seriously?" Lena blinked, glancing from the gloss case back to him before she found herself touching her own lips in thought. A fade on the lip? How did she not know about this!!! Ombre was her thing!

For half a second she wasn't sure what she was hearing but with a quick blink, Lena looked back at the man and smiled brightly. A black wig on his skin tone? Well that had to be a look!

She pushed it aside though, reached out and grabbed the eyeliner from his hand with a yank. If that wasn't proof that personal space wasn't a concern, she wasn't sure what would be. "Please, don't waste your time with this trash. It will run within two hours of putting it on, faster if it is humid out!" Setting the liner down, she reached in and picked two of the four she had grabbed. The white liner and the blue flashed in her hand. "If you want something to last all day, and not break the bank, you need to go with this. Have you not tried it?"

It wasn't until he motioned towards his eyes that Lena leaned forward and took a good, long look at them. "Oh wow! Those are real? You have stunning eyes! Of course, you would embrace them. If you didn't, I hope someone would scold you for that. Though I think I should just for hearing you call yourself a lab rabbit!"

Mocking a warning look, Lena motioned for him to follow her back down the aisle towards the eye makeup. "I'm Lena by the way. It's a pleasure Tom." Her words had genuine happiness to them as they walked.

"Don't be so jealous about my ability to pull off white. If you saw me in yellow tones you would think I had been rolling around in butter or tumeric. I can do a rich red but those lighter shades are a bit....iffy."

Coming to the liners, she leaned down, running a finger across each color before pulling red, purple, green, blue and white. "Now, have you tried layering the white with another color?" Without asking, she dropped them all in his basket and smiled.

Oh he could pull the colors off beautifully! "Promise, no trash panda for doing so. Just please, stay away from solid black unless you are going for Rocky Horror. Your skin tone screams for color."

"I promise, you will not look like a Christmas tree unless you overdo it and go all out. If you pair this with green eye shadow then yes, you may go too far but with your hair and a soft lip, those beautiful gems of eyes you have will sing to the heavens!"

Picking up the palette, she glanced at the colors, both intrigued and amused. It wasn't something she would have thought about for herself but he was right. With an all-white outfit, she could make herself a show piece. Add the glitter and it was time for a night out.

Not that she had much of a night out planned but for work. Oh well.

"Wait." She backed up and looked at him once more, scanning his build with the pose he offered. "Why do I think you have a real corset and not one of those random things you get on Amazon for twenty dollars. Make that ten corsets." She grinned. "And if you do, you have to share where you found them." Lena stepped back and flopped one hand over her chest that wasn't holding the basket. "Those cheap things do nothing for the girls."

"Lead the way." Lena laughed, faking a bow to him and motioning towards the cashiers. "And you do have to forgive me for not knowing such a place exists. Up until about an hour ago, I was chained to a laptop making a deadline for work. This..." She grinned, picking up her basket "Was my reward for a meeting that went well."

"And I'll say this..." With one hand she gestured to his form, not concerned at all about the increase in height. So many tall men and women seemed to do it to come off as less terrifying to others. "Is a bonus I'm finding I like very much."

With a wink of her own playful nature, Lena moved to join him. "Besides, I'm the one who approached you. If anyone is kidnapping anyone, it would be me."

It was like he said a magic word as Lena pulled the items from her basket. The woman was talking to her, polite convo though her eyes were shifting between them both as she scanned the makeup. In a slow, easy move, Lena leaned against the counter and cocked a brow.

"Now Tom," She half scolded but it was quickly growing into a magical grin. "When you say retro heels...are we talking early and mid-1900s or people calling things from the 1990s retro. There is a big difference and depending on which it is, I may need to check my bank account."

The playfulness was growing as she grabbed her own bag and lightly jogged in her own heels to reach him.

Then move out the door past him.

"Come on slow poke! How can I kidnap someone dragging their feet!"

"So what you are saying is this Sub Culture place is a dream come true for anyone interested in things both 'in fashion' as the world dictates, and things we just love. And the reason I've never heard about it until tall, white-haired and handsome here clued me in is...."

"Oh nevermind. Better late than never!" Lena laughed, slowing down just enough so they could walk together instead of a speed race where she didn't know which direction the finish line was in.

"So how did you find such a place anyway? Google?"