Hazel Honeysuckle X-Ray Specs!

This cheeky art book features Star Trek-inspired cosplay, showcasing Hazel’s talent for blending nerdiness with naughtiness.

For our classic novelty ad re-imagining, we collaborated with our friend Hazel Honeysuckle, a versatile artist and self-proclaimed super nerd. Hazel, a regular performer in the popular Las Vegas show Absinthe, also co-created Boldly Stripped with photographer Dangrrr. This cheeky art book features Star Trek-inspired cosplay, showcasing Hazel’s talent for blending nerdiness with naughtiness. The 1960s Trek photos felt like the right approach for this x-ray specs issue. We caught up with Hazel to discuss her latest projects, and her enduring passion for a certain iconic space exploration franchise.

How does a serious nerd like yourself first get interested in the art of burlesque?

When I was living in NYC, I came across the NY Burlesque Festival and Jo Weldon’s NY School of Burlesque. I think burlesque is a wonderful space for nerds; a crazy mixture of old-school glamour, bizarre fun, many forms of activism, and an underlying theme of rebellion. There is a place in the burlesque world for anyone who wants to put themselves out there, which I find very empowering.

What sucked you into Star Trek? Did you look up to Deanna Troi? Did you develop a mad crush on Q?

I started watching Star Trek: The Next Generation when I was in college, and I fell in love with not just the characters, but the way they worked together and interacted constantly with species so different from themselves. Of course I loved Q, and Odo, and Trip Tucker, haha! Though my biggest crush was always Jean-Luc Picard.

Who’s the best starship captain for your money and why?

Captain Picard, of course! Other than being dreamy, Picard was always the ultimate grown-up. No matter how intense the problem is, he will always use reason and patience to get to the truth of a situation.

Do your personal nerd tastes extend to other universes? Are you a comics fan?

Oh, sure! Infinite diversity in infinite combinations, right? I’ve always been fascinated with stories that use fantastical worlds and situations to explore issues and moralities of the real world. I’m a casual Star Wars fan. I’ve never really read the big superhero comics, but some series I love include Fables, Saga, and Watchmen. I’m also into TTRPGs. I’ve played a lot Dungeons & Dragons and Call of Cthulhu, and I’m addicted to Baldur’s Gate!

Where can our readers earn more about the world of Hazel Honeysuckle?

You can find me at HazelHoneysuckle.com, on Instagram (@hazelhoneysuckle), at GalaxyCon events around the country, and five nights a week in the show Absinthe at Caesars Palace on the Las Vegas Strip. If you’re a Star Trek fan, a cosplay fan, or just curious, check out BoldlyStripped.com, where you can get a copy of my Trek-inspired cosplay photography book! It features over 500 photographs of myself as aliens from the Trek universe, with full body paint, prosthetics, and costuming. It is a labor of love that I spent over two years to produce!