By Nancy
The preparation starts hours before the actual appointment. Sometimes a full day before. That's what Isabelle explained to me as she walked me through her pre-client routine. It's not just about looking good, though that's certainly part of it. It's about transforming herself into the fantasy the NYC oriental escort client is paying for, and that transformation requires time, money, and emotional energy that most people never see.
Isabelle begins with her body. She goes to the gym four times a week to maintain the figure clients expect. The day of an appointment, she's careful about what she eats, avoiding anything that might cause bloating or discomfort. She gets waxed every two weeks at a salon in the East Village that costs sixty dollars per session. Her manicures and pedicures are weekly maintenance. The night before an appointment, she does an elaborate skincare routine with products that cost more than most people spend on groceries. "My body is literally my business," she said when we talked over tea in her apartment. "I have to maintain it like someone else would maintain expensive equipment."
Then there's the hair and makeup, which takes Isabelle at least ninety minutes. She's learned to do professional-quality work herself because paying someone else for every appointment would be financially impossible. She owns more makeup than any department store counter, different looks for different types of clients. Conservative makeup for the businessman who wants sophistication. Dramatic looks for the younger clients who want Instagram glamour. Her hair has to look effortlessly perfect, which ironically requires enormous effort. She's mastered the art of appearing naturally beautiful while wearing more makeup than most brides.
Choosing the outfit is its own complicated calculation. Isabelle has to consider what the client requested, if anything. Where they're going—hotel room versus dinner date versus his apartment. What fantasy he's paying for. She has a color-coded closet system: red section for overtly sexy, black for elegant sophistication, pastels for the girlfriend experience. Each outfit has matching lingerie, because clients notice details even if they don't explicitly comment. Her shoe collection alone represents thousands of dollars in heels she can barely walk in but wears anyway because they're part of the package.
But the physical preparation is actually the easier part. The mental and emotional preparation is what really drains Isabelle. Before every appointment, she reviews everything she knows about the client. His preferences, his history if he's a regular, any notes she's made from previous encounters. She prepares conversation topics based on his interests. If he mentioned he likes a particular author last time, she reads articles about that author. If he's into wine, she studies up on recent vintages. "I'm like an actress preparing for a role," she explained. "Except my role is being the perfect companion for this specific man, and I only get one take."
Then there's the psychological shift, the moment where Isabelle becomes her Oriental escort persona. She calls it "putting on the mask," and it requires conscious effort. She has to push down whatever she's actually feeling—stress about rent, sadness about a fight with her mother, anxiety about a medical test—and become the carefree, engaged, sexually available woman the client is paying to spend time with. "Sometimes I'm crying twenty minutes before an appointment," she admitted. "Then I walk into that hotel room smiling like I don't have a care in the world. The client has no idea what it took to get me there."
The practical logistics are another layer entirely. Isabelle has to plan her travel time, accounting for subway delays or traffic. She brings a bag with essentials: extra makeup for touch-ups, breath mints, condoms, lubricant, her phone charger, the panic button from her security service. She texts her safety contacts with all the details. She makes sure her phone is fully charged. She reviews the exit routes from the location. She goes through a mental checklist of her boundaries and what she'll do if they're challenged.
What struck me most as Isabelle described all this was how much invisible labor goes into every single appointment. The client sees the finished product: a beautiful woman who appears at his door perfectly groomed and seemingly delighted to be there. He has no idea about the hours of preparation, the financial investment, the emotional labor of transformation. "They think we just show up," Isabelle said, a trace of bitterness in her voice. "They have no concept of what it takes to be the fantasy they're purchasing. And honestly, that's probably for the best. If they knew how much work it was, how much I'm performing every second, it would ruin the illusion. So I prepare for hours and make it look effortless. That's the real skill in this job."
