Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! If you celebrated Thanksgiving yesterday, I hope it was warm and peaceful with people you care about. Here’s your tip (no pun intended… you’ll see)

If you’re wearing a bullet bra, pad the points of the cups.

This is how you get that iconic look. And without something to fill out the tips, they just look kind of sad and squishy. Look at the difference:

Unpadded points
No padding

Padded points
With cookiesBras modeled by Phyllis, our patient mannequin.

I believe wadded-up tissues are a time-honored tradition, but that’s not exactly the best way to get the right look. You can buy little pads or, for a perfect fit, make your own. Christina Manuge has a good tutorial on her Patreon.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 28 November 2025 at 11:15 am  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! I just taught my costume care class and it made me thing of this tip:

If you spill something oily on your costume, treat it with something powdery.

If I were home, I’d use cornstarch, but backstage talcum powder or even facial powder (as long as it’s untinted) works. You want to soak up as much of the oil as possible, as quickly as possible. Remove the oily clump of powder and repeat. As soon as you can, wash out the stain.

I’ve got some tips for that, but I’ll share them some other time.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 21 November 2025 at 5:11 pm  Leave a Comment  
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A Mystery

Dear Constant Reader,

I wasn’t expecting a package. I certainly wasn’t expecting this one.
Spooky Mail
Turning the box over added a little information, but not much. And the return address was an Etsy seller.
Blind date

Intrigued, I opened it. There was a small case inside, crammed with stuff. A pair of cozy-looking socks, a couple of Biscoff cookies, a packet of tea and one of cocoa, a hightlighter, a hair clip, a spiderweb-shaped coaster — things for a cozy reading time. And this book.
Wrapped book

I almost regretted unwrapping it — look at those careful folds! If you can’t tell from the photo, those are stickers and little post-its and book marks and the like.

Now, the big question. Who sent it? Of course I texted my mom first, but I knew it wasn’t her, as she had just sent me a gift of seasonal tea towels. Indeed, she confirmed she had not sent it “but I wish I had”. My sister was next, and she confirmed it was not her and wished me happy hunting. Family out of the way, I started making a suspect list, but only had time to contact A. (“no, but I wish I had”) before we had to leave for our Halloween show in Salem.

All night it was in the back of my mind wondering who sent the gift. To be honest, I was enjoying the mystery of it, and it didn’t really matter who sent it, I was feeling loved.

The next day, all was revealed when Dr. B. confessed. She was on my suspect list, and it should have been obvious to me. This is not the first time one of us has sent the other a mystery gift.

I’m very much looking forward to a lazy day in the future with a cup of cocoa, warm socks, and my blind date horror novel.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 17 November 2025 at 5:15 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! Here’s your tip!

When traveling internationally, you might need a plug adapter for your electronics.

Depending on what you’re bringing (like hair styling tools), you might also need a voltage adapter. You can probably buy adapters when you get where you’re going, but they’re likely cheaper to get them before you go. And definitely check about the voltage — you don’t want to fry your favorite curling iron before a show.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 14 November 2025 at 4:29 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! I hope you all had a happy Halloween! Here’s your tip!

Try to have a consistent sleep schedule.

I know that’s so hard when you’ve got gigs that go late, especially if you also have a day job. Throw in the time change and it’s an extra challenge. But if you want to look your best and perform your best, you need enough sleep.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 7 November 2025 at 4:29 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Happy Halloween!

Dear Constant Reader,

Have a bewitching Halloween! IMG_2816Photo: Vintage Girl Studios

May it be spooky, scary, safe, and fun!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 31 October 2025 at 12:12 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! Tomorrow we’ll be at Deacon Giles Speakeasy Lab for our annual Halloween show! I think there are still tickets available for the late (9PM) performance. Here’s your tip!

If you’ve been wearing the same makeup style for a while, revisit it.

Faces change over time and what worked for you once, may not be the best look anymore. You want cosmetics to compliment your face and that may require an adjustment to application or color.

This is not one of those “people over X age should never…” things. Fie on them! By all means, keep wearing a cat-eye, but you may find a different shape enhances your eye now. Rock your red lip, but maybe a new shade makes it pop better.

Stay looking fabulous whatever your age!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 17 October 2025 at 3:04 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Recommendation: Silk Electric

Dear Constant Reader,

If you want to add some flowing fabric to your acts, you need to check out Silk Electric.

I first met Dulce when we performed at Burlesque Bingo in Longbeach, CA in 2019. Since then she’s been producing gorgeous dyed silk items for flow arts, bellydance, and burlesque. If you want veils, silk fans, flags, streamers, or similar, this is the place. She does periodic Silk Drops with her new items, so set your reminders because they go fast.

Scratch bought me a weighted veil from her at BHoF a few years ago and I absolutely love it. A weighted veil, you may ask… It’s a big hunk of silk fabric with a weight in one corner, making it possible to do some moves that regular, floaty silk can’t. I was introduced to them by Gaea Lady in New Orleans in 2018 and I was hooked.

You can see it in use here in this snippet of my act “Satanic Panic”:

(Filmed by Ava Fox at last year’s Halloween show at Deacon Giles)

I recently bought a set of fishbone fans and getting them was a saga, but I’ll just say Dulce went above and beyond with the customer service. While I’ll never give up my feather fans, I’m having a lot of fun with this style. If you want to see those fans in action (or are wondering what the heck a fishbone fan is) come to The Spookeasy Lab on October 18th.

If you’re tempted by the silk, but don’t know what to do with it, Dulce’s got you — she has a series of video tutorials. As a instructor myself, I’m impressed with her clear and friendly teaching style. And if you want something special, she does do custom work.

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 15 October 2025 at 4:21 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

Happy Friday! We’re just over a week away from The Spookeasy Lab, our Halloween show at Deacon Giles’ Speakeasy Lab (see what we did there…) I’ll be doing a brand new act, along with a duet with Betty that hasn’t been seen in a very long time. I hope to see you there! And now for your tip:

When negotiating a gig make sure that you and the person booking you are on the same page.

You want to make sure that expectations are going to be met on both sides. You should all be in agreement as to how many performers, at what time, how many acts, how much money, &c. Also, making sure they understand what burlesque is and what level of stripping is okay for the venue.

As I’ve recommended before, get it in writing. This doesn’t have to be a formal contract; it could be an email or text that explains what you both have agreed to. If you had a phone call or in-person conversations, this is where you lay out your understanding of the scope of the gig, and the other person can approve or make changes. Miscommunications are hammered out in advance and if there is some discrepency later, you have a record to fall back on.

Your goal is to have everyone happy — you, the booker, and the audience!

M2These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 10 October 2025 at 1:04 pm  Leave a Comment  
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Friday Tip

Dear Constant Reader,

It’s Friday!

Todays tip is for women of a certain age and those who expect to be one:

Get your annual mammogram done.

I know it’s inconvenient and uncomfortable, but it’s really important, especially if you have breast cancer in your family (as I do). Even if you don’t, you can’t be too careful. One of my dear friends was diagnosed with breast cancer from her first-ever mammogram. She was very fortunate (and she’s doing great!).

I want all of you, Dear Readers, to stay healthy and twirling your tassels for as long as possible!

M2

P.S. Guess what I’m doing this afternoon.

These writings and other creative projects are supported by my 18 Patrons. Thank you so much! To become a Patron, go to my Patreon page. Or you can just tip me if you liked this.

Published in: on 3 October 2025 at 3:08 pm  Leave a Comment  
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