I've recently had a flurry of e-mails asking advise about burlesque
names and help on choosing one.

Your stage name has to do quite a lot for a name. You have to like it,
it should be memorable and above all it should be unique (please google
every combination in a variety of spellings - as you can be assured that
fans won't always remember how to spell your name and you'd be amazed at
what could come up). 

Some ground rules:

1) There are a lot of performers out there and it is very easy for the
public to get confused among all the newbies calling themselves ' Kitty,
Dolly and Rose" same goes for wannabe Scarletts, Cherry, Rubys and most
variations on the colour Red. Sure you can use them, but you'll have to
work four times as hard to stand out with your acts. 

2) An homage? More like straightforward rip off - and not a bright move.
Calling yourself after a famous performer from the past is a bad idea.
You're not going to compare favourably - no matter how good you are.
They may well still be alive (and you do not want to piss those ladies
off). And anyone typing the name into search engines is going to be
easily confused by the variation in results.
Same goes for anyone even thinking of 'borrowing a name'. One of the easiest 
ways to piss off a promoter, and audience and the rest of the scene. 
Always google & facebook to double check it really isn't already being used.

So much comes into finding the right name, the personality you
want to project, the type of performances you want to do, they way you
look and act. E-mailing me and asking if it's a good name isn't really
the way to go about finding your perfect one. I can tell you which one I
prefer but without meeting you I can't tell you if it suits you or your
style. 

One piece of advice I can give, is play with word association. Think of
the character your creating and then brainstorm words & descriptions.
Take a break and when you return see which ones jump out at you. Grab a
thesaurus and comb through if you need help. Then add in your favourite
names and see which ones work together. A glass of wine and a friend
with a sense of humour will help, 

It is hard to find 'your name'. Some people  find their name -
and know that's the one. Others try out names and then grow into them
and others find they've been given the perfect name.
Plenty of performers have started out with one name and ended with another
 so don't feel that you have to live with the one you chose.

Oh and my last piece of advice - the one I wish I'd known? Ask a drunk guy to pronounce it.
If it passes then you should be safe from most compares renaming you.

For more tips on finding your name visit http://resources.ministryofburlesque.com/questions/27/How+Do+I+Choose+A+Burlesque+Name%3F

I love love love having my nails done. It's one of those areas
where if I had the resources I'd have them done every other day. There
is always that inevitable disappointment however when I chip, scratch or
break a nail, and with my millinery work it happens on a depressingly
regular basis. So I decided to try 'Geleration'. Each layer is covered
with a special gel that is then hardened under a special lamp before the
next layer is applied. The result should last 'up to three weeks.' And
then needs to be removed at the salon. 

I figured I may as well try a pedicure and manicure (hell, why
not?) so went in to K:SPA ( http://www.mykspa.co.uk/) to try it with
 an open mind. It's currently only available in Jessica's most popular 
colours and I did see a gorgeous bright red that I loved but bearing in 
mind the first rule of experimentation (no 1: Thou shalt test, knowing you
 can disguise the results if it all goes pasties up) I went with a very 
natural nude shade that looked beautiful when on. The beautician was 
wonderful and did a fantastic job. The gel gives a wonderfully deep 
gloss that doesn't diminish over the week and a half I had them. (Also
 happened  to be the week of my wedding so trust me, it was fully tested 
with the amount of jobs I had on my list)

After 10 days the gels was beginning to curl up away from the
base of the nail where the new nail was pushing up and 12 days in I had
to make an appointment to have the gels removed as they were starting to
catch in hair & stockings etc. I was disappointed that they didn't last
for the full three weeks, but the only fault lay in my nails having a
growth spurt.  After the gel was removed my nails didn't feel as healthy
as normal but they didn't break of split when I had a manicure later
that week.

It is only a choice between a full nail colour or a french
manicure - none of my half moon manicures (but very few local places
will do that anyway), and as mentioned before the colour choice is very
limited. It's not something I think I But next time I know I've a number
of gigs on one weekend I'll be back as they do look fabulous and stay
looking fabulous for a week. Now if only they did half moons.......

http://www.jessicacosmetics.com/miva/merchant.mvc?Screen=GELERATION

T LeClerc 

Have you ever had a second date where you're not too sure about the guy,
but hey, you had nothing better planned and the first date wasn't that
bad? Then you find yourself having an amazing night and one of the best
dates of your life. Or you find you yourself staring at him across the
table, wondering how come you remembered him being cuter, taller,
smarter and funny. 

My previous pot of powder weighed in at 100g and I assumed that the new
pot would be a similar size. Of course assumptions lead  to
disappointment when the 35g arrived. Completely my fault as it states
the size on the website, but it did mean readjusting my expectations.
The previous powder had been used all over the body, giving a beautiful
feel & shimmer, but this pot seems destined for the face & cleavage at
the most. No powder puff which was disappointing but for the face I do
prefer to use a brush, and no shimmer which made it much more suitable
for trying during the daytime.

Made with cornstarch (the same ingredient that make's Benefit's Dr
Feelgood so good to combat shiny skin), the powder really does help give
a silky smooth finish. My skin felt gorgeous after a light dusting and
it lasted a decent amount of time (a relief as it's not the type of
packaging you can just pop in to your portable make up bag).

The shade of powder  I tried (Parme) is meant to give a white glow to
the skin and while it works as an anti-bronzer I wasn't convinced that
it made that much of a difference normally. But it does solve the
problem for those very fair skinned who find the lightest shades
normally too orange. 

Overall I liked it once I'd gotten past my initial disappointment. It
won't oust my favourite everyday powder but it runs a close second and
I'm looking forward to trying the other shades over time. But For now
I've mixed it with glitter and marked it for my Christmas act to give a
sparkled snow white effect.

hello lovelies!

Well I'm back after my time away getting married, and just thought I'd you all know that this weekend will be spent catching everyone up on everything. As always, any special questions etc will be answered - just drop me an e-mail.

Eris xxx