Continuing to Look Back

I thought I’d continue the 90’s theme from the last post. This is the unmistakable Isabella Sinclaire. I’m not exactly sure on the date or source of this image, but I’d guess it’s from the late 90’s. Her Ivy Manor series with Jewell Marceau from the early 2000’s was a treasured VHS possession of mine.

I was lucky enough to do a few sessions with Isabella when she was based in LA. Her reputation as a kink and femdom icon was well deserved. I thought she’d retired from sessions, but based on her website its seems she’s still taking sessions in Boston and NYC. She’s someone well worth reaching out to if you’re in that area.

That Holiday Again

Valentine’s Day has rolled around again. I can’t say I’m a fan. For single people it means being reminded that your single. For couples it’s pressure to deliver something special or overspend on a commercial romantic gestures. I know some people manage to make it work, but that seems the exception rather than the rule.

As a perennially single person, I didn’t celebrate it. However, if I was going to, a leather clad domme coming out of a big heart shaped box would have been a pretty neat way to do so. In this particular case it’s Adrienne Kay, a self described Erotic Dominatrix & (Kinky) Companion. I’m sure she’d be a fabulous person to celebrate the 14th with.

Adrienne is based out of Vancouver. You can find her professional site here and her Bluesky here.

Second Skin

Fans of fetish, in particular its history and meaning, might want to check out a new book called ‘Second Skin’ by Anastasiia Fedorova. I discovered it via this LA Times review. It also got positive coverage in places like Cosmo and Dazed. I’ve not yet got hold of a copy yet myself, but it seems interesting and worth checking out.

“Second Skin” is more sociological than sexy; more anthropological than animalistic. Its raison d’etre is not simply to convey the history, the mechanics, the meaning or even the sexual pleasures of fetishism.
(from the LA Times article)

Discussing such a book does give me the perfect excuse to feature some lovely fetish imagery. This is Dusseldorf based pro-domme Miss Kiara. This touches on at least 3 primary fetishistic themes – leather, smoking and that black/white smart dress style. Although I’m sure those are not the only fetishes Miss Kiara might be appealing to.

Accessorizing

What caught my eye in this image wasn’t the latex, bondage and milking device, yummy though all those things are. It wasn’t even Lady Delphine’s shiny and beautiful bottom or cascading red hair. What caught me eye was the crutches and eye chart on the wall. I can’t imagine they’d ever be useful for a scene, but they do add the appropriate ambience. It’s always nice to see the extra little touches that people bring to a playspace.

This was sourced via Lady Delphine’s Bluesky feed. She’s a Toronto based pro-domme. If you’re interested in experiencing her healing hands yourself, then her professional site is here.

Pillar Bondage

This beautifully composed image comes courtesy of Contessa Klaudia Keys. It’s not the most complicated bondage, but it’s visually very satisfying. There’s something quite objectifying about being bound to a building pillar like this. iIt makes him part of the room.

Contessa Klaudia Keys is a Montreal based pro-domme. You can find her professional site here and her Bluesky feed here.

Alternative Playspace

The image below isn’t a trendy new loft in Soho but the new gorgeous new playspace of Mistress Adreena Angela. It’s cool, sleek and unlike any professional playspace I’ve seen before. There is a sturdy eyelet set into the beam, but other than that there’s nothing to raise the eyebrows of an unsuspected guest. Or at least not until you look at this second shot, which does have a kinky accessory in play.

I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy playing in alternative spaces to dungeons. Anyone can get their kinky freak on in a dark dungeon space surrounded by BDSM equipment. It feels more taboo and illicit to do it in a space that lacks that vibe. I suspect playing here would create a similar frisson.

I was lucky enough to play with Mistress Adreena a few years back. I’ll definitely be aiming to do so again in this new space next time I’m in London.

Mistress Adreena is a London based pro-domme and you can find her professional site here. These images were sourced via a Twitter post.

Happy 2026

Crazy to think we’ve reached 2026. That seems like the kind of date I’d see in a Sci-Fi novel not on a calendar. Shame it has turned out to be the dystopian kind of Sci-Fi.

Anyway, let’s not end this crazy year on a down note. Hope everyone has a great 2026, with as much kink as you body and spirit can safely handle. However you plan to celebrate the new year – whether it’s out to a party or, like this lady, spending a night in with a glass of wine and a good book – I wish you well. May the new year bring good things.

I found this on tumblr. Google once again failed me on reverse image searching, but I’m pretty sure that’s Mistress Charlotte Douleur. She’s a London based pro-domme.

Introductions

Playing with Domina Sophie Agenoux required me to do something I rarely do these days: Introduce myself.

When I visit a city I typically play with people I already know. For example, Tess and Troy in NYC and Domina Yuki in SF. Setting up a session there just requires an email exchange to figure out dates and times. For someone new there’s the dance of references, describing interests, figuring out the appropriate dynamic, getting location information, setting limits, etc.

I have to say that Domina Sophie’s process was one of the best I’ve been through. Not only was it well organized and efficient, her session form (sent after the initial reference process) was detailed and asked all the right questions. That was a relief because it sometimes can be a painful interaction. And I don’t mean that in the fun, ouchy way.

One type of problem that comes up is very open ended information gathering. You’re just expected to send an email giving all your session information. I can do this now because I’ve done it many times before. I know what is needed and the right level of detail. But as a newbie that kind of introduction terrified me. You don’t want to be the guy with the equivalent of ‘Hey, what’s up? You avail?’ But you also don’t want to be lumped into the group sending 15 pages of session fanfic written with one hand.

The other problem I’ve seen is when there are specific questions but they’re very opened ended with potentially complex answers. For example – ‘Describe your ideal session’. Or – ‘What does BDSM mean to you?’ I’m sure some people can dash off a sentence or for these kind of questions but, for an over-analyzer like myself, I can get stuck on them for hours.  I’ve got 15 years and 300+ posts here on what BDSM means to me. That could be tricky to summarize.

I think one of the really smart things Domina Sophie did was to provide example answers alongside her session questions. For example, a question like ‘How do you want to be treated in a session?’ seems initially tricky to answer. But once you’re given some examples – servant, slave, toy, object, slut, patient – then it suddenly becomes a lot clearer exactly what kind of information is being elicited.

I think a good process not only help the submissive but it’s going to create more business for the domme. I remember how nervous I was when I reached out to a domme for the first time (Lady Lydia back in 2010). A big part of why I picked her out from a lot of Seattle dommes was how straightforward her booking process was. There were tick boxes to pick activities, a low/medium/high option for experience with each and a few simple questions that were easy to answer. If it’d been more complex I might never have taken that initial scary jump. What a tragedy that would have been. I might never have got to experience amazing dommes like Lydia or Domina Sophie.

This post is another perfect excuse to share one of the images from Domina Sophie’s Bluesky feed. You can find her professional site here.

Sessions with Domina Sophie Agenoux

I’ve returned to the cold of Seattle after two weeks of California sun. While I’m already missing the warmth, I do have some happy kinky memories to look back on. The original impetus for my trip was a friend’s birthday, but I extended it to open up some session opportunities. Specifically, the chance to session with LA based Mistress Sophie Agenoux. That proved to be a very wise decision.

We actually ended up with three separate sessions spaced over the week. As I’ve written before, I find that a great way to play, particularly with someone new. It builds anticipation between sessions and provides an opportunity to tweak play based on what happened previously. I never want to top from the bottom during play, so I appreciate having a chance to reflect between sessions and spot things I’d like to lean into more heavily next time.

In this case that meant a lot of CBT, tease and denial, nipple torture and watersports. We were too busy playing to snap pictures, so you’ll have to trust me that Mistress Sophie was exceptional across them all. I got the adrenaline shakes each time, which is always a good sign. That’s where it looks like I’m cold, but I’m just shivering to washes of adrenaline through my body.

Watersports were a particular focus. While I’m not up for FTT, I do enjoy the objectification elements of toilet play and Mistress Sophie has a great selection of chairs and gags for this. I got to try a plug gag for the first time, which has a very hot dehumanizing feel to it.

Often this activity can be a bit of a throw away to mark the end of a session. Get tortured, get peed on and now get out. I appreciated how Mistress Sophie invested the time and focus to make it a really significant part of the session. It felt like a full paragraph in our session story rather than simply the exclamation point at the end.

This shot is of Domina Sophie is from her Bluesky feed. If you’re looking for a session in the LA area in 2026 then I’d definitely suggest reaching out to her. She’s an amazing domme and has a lovely private playspace. You can find her professional site here.

Cupcake

Whilst I love food and I love kink, I don’t typically love combining them. I just don’t have the food related kinks like sploshing and feeding. However, I do love this video from Contessa Klaudia Keys. There’s beautiful bondage, sadism, sensuality and a cupcake. So much good stuff packed into just a few minutes.

Contessa Klaudia Keys is a Montreal based pro-domme and Fetish artist. You can find more of her work on her site.