The first time I met Elvira (yes, the “Mistress of the Dark”) a.k.a. Cassandra Peterson, I felt like most people when approaching the stunning horror hostess, intimidated and tentative.
I was curating quotes for my book Coffee Crazy and to my great surprise Elvira was a much kinder and congenial punk vampire than I could have ever imagined. Her quote for the book was brilliant: “I like my coffee the way I like my men, ground up and in the freezer.”
So a few months ago, when she told me she was debuting, Elvira’s Coffin Table Book, a 240-page photographic retrospective, I knew I had to get to her book signing and ask the one singular question that has been on my mind since I first witnessed her on her nationally syndicated horror show 35 years ago in the fall of 1981.
“How do you keep your protuberant bosom such a pristine, precise, picture perfect portrait of cleavage?” Elvira replied by introducing a new term: Bosom dusting. She also gave me a how-to.
“When a pushup bra just isn’t enough, it’s time to activate bosom dusting! This can be anything from a little shimmer to creating a full-scale Monet painting. It’s all about creating the illusion of fuller cleavage by contouring.
If you already have ample assets like myself, a little shading goes a long way to make them pop. I just put some blush between the twins and go. If you’re far from full, you can still look full from afar by contouring your cleavage using a lighter colored powder on the peaks, and a darker blush in the valley. This gives your girls more depth.
You’ll want to stay within the realm of you own natural skin tone when selecting your colors. Use a powder one or two shades lighter than your own skin tone for highlights, and slightly darker tone for shading in the middle. I use a brownish mauve color – same color I use to create cheekbones. Avoid using tones that are too red for shading or you’ll look sunburned. Blending is key here. If you’ve gone too dark, blend it out with the lighter powder.
And here is the tip that eludes most bosom dusting amateurs: have your bra on before you start as using this technique will effect the shape of your cleavage up top. And of course, don’t forget to pick up a copy of my new Coffin Table Book, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark at Elvira.com and check out my tips close up.
