So, Carmen Electra is pretty hot. I mean, I guess that’s kind of obvious in a certain way, since she was on Baywatch and in Playboy, and her movie roles tend to focus on her physical assets. But she’s more than just a collection of well-proportioned parts. I remember when she had her MTV show (Carmen and Dave: Til Death Do Us Part) that what I liked most was just getting to know about her: what kind of clothes she liked, how she decorated her house…that kind of stuff. She’s interesting, and funny, and charming, and I totally get why she became famous, when other equally pretty girls end up as waitresses or porn stars. She has that total package thing going.

Anyway, earlier this month I read her book How to Be Sexy. On one hand, it was not that inventive: be yourself, have confidence, wear clothes that make you feel good, etc. But, on the other hand, it’s encouraging to know that someone who is considered universally sexy is also pretty normal. She shares her favorite makeup tips (stick with the colors that work for you, but don’t be afraid to try “personas”) and hair suggestions (short hair doesn’t work for Carmen), as well as other tidbits: she’s afraid of eyelash curlers, she’s spent years learning to know what kinds of clothes look best on her body, she advocates good posture and hot lingerie. In other words, sexy is attainable for anyone, and you can be your own form of sexy, even if you don’t look like Carmen.

I also just watched disc 1 of her 5-disc cardio striptease series. I think that so many people get caught up in Carmen the Playmate that they forget she’s also a classically trained dancer. She’s in amazing shape, and is super flexible. I liked the DVD because she does a 15 minute warm-up that shows all the basic “stripper” moves in slow motion, and then she demonstrates two different routines. She breaks everything down into learnable blocks, and she teaches it both in 8-count segments and then along with the music. It’s fun, silly, sexy, and apparently a really good workout. There are also little tips that flash along the bottom of the screen that point out which moves work which muscle, i.e. pelvic thrusts engage the hard-to-reach lower abdominals. All in all, it was a fun little workout, and I’m looking forward to watching the rest of the series.