Enhance the romance

In black pants and a black T-shirt BeDazzled with the name of her business, Kandi Burkhardt sells products that would make some women blush.

With an assortment of colorful lingerie, from the sweet to the naughty and lacy to polka-dotted; scented candles that double as body lotion or massage oil when lit; and body lotion and oils that not only smell good, but taste good, too, Burkhardt carries everything a woman needs to have a sexy night in with a loved one, or alone.

At a party in Huntington Beach on Saturday, the mostly middle-aged women laughed and giggled and sipped glasses of wine, as Burkhardt explained the different products and had the women test, smell and feel everything from pheromone perfume to massage oils.

Burkhardt is a consultant, or “romance enhancement specialist,� as she jokes, for Slumber Parties. The in-home parties might not be as common as the Tupperware or jewelry parties, but bedroom accessories have gone mainstream — Burkhardt even calls her job recession-proof.

“This is the rage right now. Tupperware is gone,� she said.

The mother of four boys started doing the parties on the side, but left her job as a banker when she started making more at what she considered her side job. She has been holding parties for more than 10 years and does about two or three parties a week as well as selling merchandise on her website, www.slumberpartiesbykandi.com.

When she was invited to her first party in South Carolina, where she was living at the time, in 2001, Burkhardt said she had no idea they even existed. The now-Murrieta resident said she is shy and didn’t even consider going, but it was her “morbid curiosity� that made her go.

“It wasn’t just the kinky kinds of things like some people think,� she said.

It wasn’t until she moved to Virginia two years later that she decided to start doing Slumber Parties as a side job to meet people.

Sheila Novak, a Canyon Lake resident, said she didn’t know what to expect at her first party either, but it was a good experience. The Huntington Beach event was her second party and just as fun.

“It was just like getting together with your girlfriends,� Novak said.

While the parties are fun, they are also about letting women feel more comfortable with their sexuality and feeling sexy.

“We’re voicing what we want . . . we’re expressing our sexuality,� said Huntington Beach resident Mary Voegelie, the party’s host.