NAILS:

Some advice on varnishing (much of it given to me by a kindly ex-wife!): It's amazing how big a difference a small thing like nicely varnished nails can make to your overall appearance. Unless you are after the extreme Morticia Addams look, nothing beats taking care of and varnishing your own nails: they can't fall off halfway through an evening.Stop chewing them right now! One can get away with quite a long nail unvarnished and even a little length beyond the finger creates an elegant look once painted. If you can, shape the ends into a more feminine curve with a file. Filing is essential anyway: we all know what can happen to those brand new sheer hold-ups as you put them on if you don't file! (See Stockings & Tights tip) And why does that always seem to happen when you don't have a spare pair handy? Fingernails always tend to have ridges; buy a surface smoother (pretty well any chemists) and the end result will be that much better.

SUKI'S NAILS:

A base-coat is a must. Strong varnish colours such as scarlet can 'leech' into the nail surface if you don't use one, and once it has happened it just doesn't come out until it grows out. It won't make them look red - worse, they just look yellowy and nicotine-stained! Yuk! You can use a clear topcoat first instead of a dedicated base-coat.
Shake the varnish bottle thoroughly - like for a whole minute or two. If varnish hasn't been used for a while the pigment settles to the bottom of the bottle and a 10-second shake won't get it moving. The next bit takes practice: professionals will tell you that you should aim to coat each nail with just three strokes, one down the middle and then one per side, overlapping the middle stroke, pressing the brush head down enough to spread the bristles. (I still can't manage that!) That means getting the right amount on the brush for each different nail size. There should be enough so that the brush doesn't 'run dry' during those three strokes, but not enough to put a 'glob' on the nail. Too much will almost never dry properly, no matter how long you wait. I find wiping one side of the brush on the bottleneck and then using the other to do the strokes gives me enough. But of course you need a lot less on the brush for the little finger than for index or thumb.
Varnish is like gloss paint: you don't need to try for too perfect a finish since brushmarks in the paint tend to disappear as it dries. But like gloss painting 'not too much - not too little' is the rule for that perfect ultra-smooth finish. I find I get the best result by starting the central first stroke about a third of the way up the nail, well clear of the cuticle. That usually puts enough varnish on to go back straight away and re-do that stroke with no danger of getting varnish on the skin behind the cuticle (not a good look!).
Don't try to paint right to the edge of the nail. Leave a little strip a millimetre or so wide between the edge and the skin. Apart from starting with properly cared-for well manicured nails, almost nothing improves the end result as much as that one single tip! Besides giving a much cleaner edge to the varnish, it creates the illusion of longer, more elegant nails. It doesn't apply to the base or topcoat layers - you can get away with sloshing them on fairly quickly.
Allow a few minutes before a second coat and use less on the brush than the first, but still enough to do the nail in a single go without running dry. And be even less ambitious about painting to the edge of the nail. The second coat gives depth of colour and at the edges that won't be noticeable. Wait a few minutes more and then give them a clear topcoat for that really deep shine. The topcoat also makes them harder and much more resistant to marking or denting once they are fully dry.
After about 10 minutes you can speed up the drying process by A) running cold water over them till you get frostbite. Just shake the water off or pat with a tissue; don't get over-enthustiastic with a towel. Or B) using a hairdryer on its cold setting. There are proprietary 'quick-dry' sprays, but I have to say that even with freshly-bought varnish, unless it is advertised as 'quick-drying', I haven't found any method that dries nails rock-hard in under 3-6 hours. They'll be fine after about a hour though - so long as you are careful. That means planning ahead when to do them. Hooking up a bra-strap, fiddling with suspender-straps, even putting on a wig while your nails are still soft can ruin all your hard work in a moment. Ideally do them last of all, but allow that 30-40 minutes before you need to do anything else.
Lots of women keep their varnish in the fridge. It seems to last better, but the 'shake thoroughly' rule applies even more so. The varnish goes on better when warm. Of course false nails take a fraction of the time, but it's a wonderfully feminine feeling to know that those 'dripping crimson' nails are actually your own!
Suki

STOCKINGS & TIGHTS:
   A valuable one provided by one of the Ladies at Doreens who are - as our many shop visitors know well - a veritable goldmine of general clothing, make-up and beauty tips. Ever laddered a brand new pair of stockings when getting ready to go out and trip the light fantastic? Give them a rinse in cold water the day before and you will find that problem doesn't occur nearly so often.
Shirley

SILICONE BREASTFORM ADHESIVE:
   The adhesive system works very well, but people have had a few problems mastering it. First, we DON'T recommend using it on any form larger than a 6 at the very most. The weight of the larger forms is too likely to tear the outer skin if they are only supported by adhesive. If what you are wearing doesn't really demand going bra-less or you can get away with a strapless bra I'd say go for that. If you tend to have problems of 'riding up', those are usually caused by the wrong size of bra! One you can do up comfortably on the second (middle) set of hooks is what you should be looking for. Riding up can also be taken care of with Double-Sided Tape, which is undoubtedly a much less messy alternative to the adhesive.
   OK, there are times when you want that 'intimate feel' where the forms really do feel like a part of your own natural shape. Make sure your skin is dry, clean and ideally, if you can, without hair. I foolishly left the form in its box when applying the adhesive. That's a pain - you need to hold the adhesive can 8--9 inches away to get a fine even 'mist' of glue on the back of the form - so I then had to get the adhesive off the plastic box liners as well later, before I could safely put the forms back them! And the boxes are where your forms should ALWAYS live when not in use.
   (Advice refined by tips from Charley Farley. Thanks.) So, lay the form 'face down' on a towel or cloth that you don't care about.Don't be overly generous with the adhesive when spraying it on - and don't spray it on your skin. only on the form. Charley suggests a light spray all round the edge, then one quick squirt in the middle. Don't try to coat the whole surface. Charley then uses the edge of a piece of card, such as you often find inside tights packets, to spread the glue evenly over the back of the form. The glue is like impact adhesive and should be left for several minutes to become tacky, not wet, when you apply them. As its name suggests, Hollister Medical Adhesive has been extensively tested on skin for allergic reaction, but no one can guarantee that you won't have one, though the most you are likely to experience is some redness in that area which should disappear quickly.
   Removing: You CAN safely spray the remover onto your skin to ease removal of the form and ensure you don't tug the surface skin and damage it as you peel it off. To clean the forms you will need a smooth cotton rag (old unloved knickers are good for this) - NOT a duster; that will just leave fluff all over the back of your forms. The remover evaporates quickly, which is why cotton is better than something like kitchen towel (don't use anything fluffy like a duster!); some of the remover will stay in the cloth, helping to keep the area you work on from drying out again. Spray onto a small area of the glue and gently work it with the remover-dampened cloth. The glue doesn't instantly disappear. It softens first, but will eventually clean off completely. Someone has told me that Baby Oil helped as a finishing cleanser; I'm only nervous about recommending that because many skin lotions are mineral oil-based and that may degrade the polyurethane outer skin. But he seemed very happy with his result. Charley's advice is that it is not neccessary to clean off the glue after every single wearing.
   The hardest - and most delicate - part to clean completely is the small flap where the front and back outer skins meet at the edge. It tends to fold over or under when you are sticking the forms on, so if you want to be really thorough you will need to tease it open again, but don't try to until you are sure the remover has had a chance to soften the glue properly in that area. Because that is a heat-sealed join, it is the part of the form you have to be most gentle with to ensure you don't damage the seal. Remember, a damaged outer skin on a silicone form is virtually impossible to repair effectively!
Suki