Beauty Blog

Those of you who have read my blog in the past may remember that I used to write Glossybox and Beauty reviews.

Well I stopped ordering Glossyboxes in order to save money for new costumes (priorities!) but I recently decided to treat myself to a new, three-month subscription and my October box arrived this morning!

 I've missed these beautiful little presents!

This months box also contributed towards Cancer Research

List of products - the theme was 'home pampering: escape from Winter weather'

Anatomicals: Don't Just Clean it, Woman, Scrub it - Body Scrub

A cute package and a lovely, pink grapefruit scent. I used this in my morning shower and although it lathered up nicely I had to use quite a lot and the grains are very fine: I prefer quite a coarse grain in my body scrubs. The product is described as having 'a bravura sense of charm and wit' - well I can't say as I thought quite that much of it, but it was a nice, gentle product that I will use through the winter to keep my skin polished.

Yves Rocher France: Instant Anti-Wrinkle Moisturiser - Hydra Vegetal

A nice sized product that fits perfectly into my travel toiletries bag. The texture felt more like a good quality serum as I applied it and definitely left my skin feeling moisturised and smooth.I couldn't say whether it instantly smoothed wrinkles though, as I don't have any! It's not as rich as the moisturisers I usually use, but it is a nice, light product and I will use it while travelling as it felt quite refreshing.

Skinetica: Anti Blemish

I have dry/combination skin and do get small blemishes and spots every now and then, so I was happy to receive this product. I expected it to smell like tea-tree however it was a very light, slightly medicinal but inoffensive scent. I used a cotton-tip to apply to a small skin blemish and it stung slightly (which I always presume to mean it's working!) It also made my skin feel quite tight but it says 'results in 2-3 days' so we'll see.

Green People: Organic Self-Tan

Now I rarely, if ever, use fake tan - my one or two forays into this area of a beauty regime have had interesting consequences and I prefer to embrace my pale and interesting look. However, for the purposes of research I did use a tiny amount on the back of my hand (so I may end up with a biscuit-coloured left hand tonight!) The scent initially reminded me of play-doh however it's now developed into a sort of peach/tea aroma, which is unusual but not unpleasant. It had a nice texture and the little I used went an alarmingly long way! The packaging says the colour will develop over several hours, so again, we'll see how it goes!

 

Sally Hansen: Complete Salon Manicure - 340 Black Platinum

I love having painted nails: I love the look of my hands with a slick of colour on my talons, however I *hate* the process of painting them! I have to say, I was quite disappointed with this product. It is described as being '5 steps of a manicure in one bottle: base coat, strengthener, growth treatment, colour and top coat.' Well I suppose it may be, but I don't think they intended it to take five coats to build up a solid colour!

 

 

Four coats and some patches are still uneven!

The colour went on smoothly, though, and I liked the shaped brush which allowed me to apply the varnish quickly and accurately. It also dried quite quickly, which is handy when I had to put so much on!

If you enjoyed reading this blog, why not have a look at my previous Glossybox posts?

xx

Interview - Glorian Gray

A connoisseur of good old-fashioned British humour, Glorian brings the laughter and spectacle of the old Music Hall back to the stage. Always the quirky comic; her acts are filled with iconic song, gender-bending sauce, novelty and physical farce.  Inspired by such legends as Morecambe and Wise, Buster Keaton, Marie Lloyd and Benny Hill, Glorian is on a mission to see a return of the burlesque and variety heydays.

Glorian is on a mission to see the return of the burlesque and variety heydays

What was your first experience of Burlesque or Cabaret, and what convinced you to start yourself?

I was at a point in my life where I was very unhappy with the way things were going. I was very much needing to get some magic back in my life, so when I saw an ad for "ladies of all shapes and sizes wanted for burlesque troupe", I thought I would give it a go. As it was I chickened out of being in this troupe, but a few months later I watched 'Faking It' when burlesque was the theme, and realised I still fancied it. I then saw an ad for burlesque classes and decided that this time I would go for it!

Glorian brings the laughter, song and spectacle of the old music hall back to the stage

How did you choose your stage name?

Glorian Gray is not my first stage name. I've had a couple of incarnations but I chose Glorian Gray because of the link with Oscar Wilde, who I love, and also because I am an avid writer so it felt really 'me'

"I chose Glorian Gray because of the link with Oscar Wilde, who I love..."

Your style of burlesque is pretty unique. How did it come about?

I've always done things a little bit different in some ways - firstly because I didn't really want to show pasties. There was no real reason for this, the ideas I had just didn't lead to it. My nana was a piano singer in the old WWII pubs and my great-granddad was a song and dance man so I was brought up with the old songs and good old British comedy. The more I read about proper old Music Hall, the more I loved it, and eventually decided I needed to start putting it in my acts. This meant daring to sing, in front of people and everything, which I haven't done since I was a wee bairn! Scary!

"I've always done things a little bit different"

Who are your biggest influences/inspirations?

I am really inspired by the humour of Carry On films, Benny Hill, Morecambe and Wise, Norman Wisdom and the old music hall stars like Marie Lloyd and Ella Shields.  I really love old rudey seaside style humour, like the postcards of Donald McGill. Oooh, Matron!

 

"Oooh, Matron!" Carry On Films ** Benny Hill

 

Morecambe and Wise ** Norman Wisdom

 

Marie Lloyd ** Ella Shields 

Donald McGill Postcards

Tell me something no one would suspect about you...

Errrm... I used to be a cyber goth with a 3/4 undercut and UV stacked boots?!

"Do your best to develop the best act you can"

Finally: any words of advice for newcomers to the scene?

Do your best to develop the best act you can: both for the audience and for the love of it. Don't get embroiled in, or scared off by politics; or get disheartened when things aren't going well. RESEARCH! Not just current acts but find out about the history of the art form you are practising; it will enhance what you do.  And be honest/realistic about your experience and ability: even if you are a PR genius - there is no shame in being inexperienced or mediocre or in making mistakes, almost everybody is at some point - just work at getting better!

"Don't get disheartened when things aren't going well."

More Glorian

Glorian's Website

Follow Glorian on Twitter

Like Glorian on Facebook

All that Glitters

After a busy week last week, I had a relatively quiet weekend this time! It was lovely though - I spent a few days choreographing a new act and re-working an old one, which is quite exciting!

 

Sneak-peek of the new costume and jewellery for my new act 'Midnight'

On Friday I was back at the beautiful Rouge bar, performing alongside the equally beautiful Ruby Deshabille.

Mirror Picture! With Ruby Deshabille

I took two of my Art-Nouveau acts: Cottingley Fairy and Peacock, to contrast with Ruby's classic showgirl routines. I really enjoy performing at Rouge as it is such a lovely venue and the audience was fabulous!

On Saturday I was booked for a private birthday party with a Moulin Rouge theme! They really went all out to make the place look gorgeous and all of the guests were dressed to the nines too!

 

Photos from the event

I took three of my big, showgirl acts and debuted my new routine too! It went slightly wrong but not too bad for a first try. The gorgeous blue costume was made for me by Louise at Oh My Honey, and it is stunning: I feel like a million dollars in it! The amazing matching organza boa is by Bruise Violet at Sucker For A Heartbeat; I've never had an organza boa before but I think I'm converted from feathers! I also invested in a new gown for my 'Sugar' act, which is super-sparkly and over-the-top fabulous!

Showgirl costumes, ready to go!

Showgirl, ready to go!

Private parties can sometimes be a little bit hit-or-miss but the party-goers were wonderful and welcoming, and I got so many lovely compliments after the show I came home tired but very happy indeed!

Mouse waiting for me at home - Cat in a box...

Bang Tidy

This weekend saw me heading up to Leeds for the wonderfully named show "Bang Tidy Burlesque" run by the indomitable Heidi Bang Tidy.

Backstage with Lilly Laudanum and Anna Fur Laxis

I was performing my act 'Snowstorm' for the final time before retiring this act - I have had it for so many years and I never felt it was working quite the way I wanted it too, so time to hang it up and concentrate on new ventures. However the show was fabulous and it was lovely to see so many old friends. I even got a few pictures back from the night already!

 

 

Pictures from 'Corbeau' and 'Snowstorm' by Laurie Cooper-Murray

Quote of the night came from Anna Fur Laxis: "Shall I show you how to kerb a mother-f**ker?"

I took a trip to Brighton this week to visit Louise O'Mahony who makes my costumes - we're working on a few new ones so it was time to get measured while wearing my tightlacing corset to make sure the dresses fit! Louise is fabulous and also runs my favourite vintage dress company 'Oh My Honey' 

 

A windy day on Brighton Pier

 

Sneak peek of my new costume bits...

I also managed to have a day off this week, and took advantage of it to go to the National Portrait Gallery with the beautiful Dolly Rose to visit the Marilyn Monroe exhibition.

 

Now those of you who watch the television abomination that is The X Factor will be aware of the head judge, Gary Barlow, using the words "Too Cabaret" to critique a singer that he believes is sub-par. The cabaret community didn't take too well to this insult, and so, organised by Frisky and Mannish, came together for a Cabariot Protest Video...

9:30 *A.M.*?? With Benjamin Louche, Joe Black, Vicky Butterfly, Coco DuBois, Victor Victoria, and Mat Ricardo

It was a long, tiring but utterly fabulous day with the cream of London Cabaret performers, all coming together in a cacophony of gospel vocals. We had brainwashing, sequins, passionate solos, convenient lighting changes, pizza, knives, witty one-liners, makeovers, endless tea, and lots and lots of giggling. 

 

Cabarati Assemble! ** Coco and Caroline take advantage of Joe's doughnuts...

 

Joe Black ** Vicky Butterfly

 

Laurie Hagen and Sally ** Mat Ricardo

I can't wait to see the final result... I shall post it here when it's ready! In the meantime, Mat has also written a blog about the Caberiot, with much better photos than mine! You can have a read of that here...

xx