12 "Not so Obvious" Items to bring to a Figure Competition!

1. Your own mirror. Trust me on this, backstage at a figure show, especially a large one, you'll find girls clawing each other's eyes out for a seat at a mirror. Avoid the drama. Bring your own! My advice- LABEL it too! Full name!
2. Latex Gloves (powder free). You'll use these for tanning touchups, helping others to oil, and oiling yourself.
3. Towel. Bring an old hand towel to dab off excess oil, spills, tanning streaks, etc. Use this to dry off your heels before you put your shoes on as well- slip and slide in those 5" heels on stage is NOT a good thing!
4. Your own suit glue. Competition suits barely cover anything backdoor anymore, and unless you want your suit to creep into a Brazilian thong, I suggest bringing suit glue and making sure you glue that bad boy into place. Bikini bite is the most commonly used, and biting your own suit is fairly easy to do yourself.
5. Tanning Product. You never know when you'll need a touch-up, whether you have streaks, splatters on the inside of your thighs from peeing (yes this DOES happen) or other tanning mishaps, be sure to have a bottle of the color YOU used backstage just in case!
6. FOOD. Make sure you bring more then enough in case the show is running behind schedule, which is often the case. Many competitors even bring a mini cooler with them!
7. Hairspray and hair products. You WILL need to touch up your do so be sure you bring product backstage with you.
8. Kleenex and/or paper towels. These are self explanatory. You never know when they'll come in handy!
9. Sewing kit/Scissors/Safety pins/Craft Glue. The last thing you want is to put your suit on and have a strap pop, or rip or break, or a stone pop off and suddenly you're screwed, 10 minutes before you walk on stage. TRUST ME- this has happened to me, bring these instruments with you- prep for the unexpected!
10. Chapstick/Vaseline/Dental Floss. I am aware that most competitors dehydrate themselves for competitions - you will also not want to forget to bring Chapstick, Vaseline, and Dental Floss. Your lips are probably going to be chapped; it will be a good idea to have chapstick to wear under your lipstick.Also, you will need Vaseline so your lips are not stuck to your teeth when you smile. Another thing you will need is dental floss; however, if you are dehydrated you will need it more than anyone else, since you are eating such DRY carbs to fill out, it will most likely become stuck between your teeth, and you will want to floss to ensure that nothing is between your pearly whites for the judges or photographers to see!
11. Bungee cord or Flex band. Hey- a girl's gotta pump up!!
12. Confidence. This is YOUR moment. YOUR time. YOU earned it! Walk that stage with a smile, a swagger, and most of all- CONFIDENCE!!