Tuesday Tip #4 - Eyeliner

Glamorous 'Retro' Eyeliner
The easiest thing to do to give yourself a little vintage glam is the eyeliner flick which got progressively bigger from the 40's through to the 60's. No matter what other make up you have on your face or what you're wearing, this is a nod to a bygone era which will change you from 'half asleep' to 'hottie' in seconds. 
I wear this look for myself, not because I want men to 'fancy me' but because it's my own little homage to the women of the past and it's the one part of my personality I can get away with displaying at work (more than I can with hair and clothes).

But it's worth noting that the look can really only be achieved with liquid eyeliner that has a brush attachment, or a brush and an eyeliner pot - don't buy those crappy pointy foam wands (like the one below) which are meant to make life easier because they just won't work. It's hard to tell from the pics but this is too rigid...

I bought this one by mistake once when I wanted a brown liquid eyeliner, but I kept it as it does have a use even though it's not it's intended use: I think it's really good to use to put a beauty spot on when you're doing vintage looks like Marilyn or Jean Harlow. Pencil is a bad idea for that - use one of these instead.
Anyway, the liquid eyeliner I use at the moment is a Rimmel one that looks like this...

as it's one I bought ages ago. Now that I'm selling Avon I've ordered an eyeliner brush and Supershock Eyeliner so I'll let you know how I get on with those when they arrive. (I think it'll be better for late 50's looks more than anything, as eyeliner got thicker then) but I'll give it a go so I know whether to recommend it or not. The basic idea is that the bristles are what allow you to 'glide' and create the winged effect, so anything too rigid is just more hassle, not less. Also, take a look at the below pic:

Any Marilyn Monroe tutorial that tells you to use a black liquid eyeliner is totally wrong - she wore a brown pencil! I'm not a pencil eyeliner user (in general) but I've ordered an Avon one, especially because Pixiwoo recommended it (below) and I'm going to show you how to recreate the Marilyn look at the next Cake It On. 

It's soooo interesting the lengths she went to with her make-up, and last time I re-created the process it did make me look quite like her!

Just as a final thought, Pixiwoo are usually really incredible at doing vintage make-up tutorials such as Elizabeth Taylor and Marlene Dietrich so check them out on their YouTube Channel :) See you soon xox

Vintage Vault: 1940's Dominatrix

The 1940's Dominatrix: 'Miss Ratherly Stern'
Before Bettie Page and those of her ilk were unleashed on the world (or 'leashed' depending on what the photoshoot dictated...) there seems to have been only contender for the Dominatrix Diadem...Miss Ratherly Stern. 

How I love this woman - she is my idol! She is suitably named, despite the fact there appears to be no tongue-in-cheek nonsense associated with her videos. I think her name actually is Mary Ratherly-Stern but there's not much info about her on the web. I do know she is basically Trinny AND Susannah rolled into a little pellet with a bit of Fanny Craddock sprinkled on top! She's so strict when it comes to what she defines as 'glamour' and it's actually a breath of fresh air. Nowadays girls are leaving the house in such abominations as ugg boots (even in sunny weather) worn with bright pink towelling tracksuit bottoms. It's okay for them to be riding half-way down their asses with a neon thong of some kind on show, cutting into chubby muffin-top so hard it looks like a shoulder of pork that's been very tightly tied with string so all the stuffing doesn't fall out in the oven... Top all this off with a diamante t-shirt that says Cum-dumpster or some such nonsense (or my own personal favourite which was 'Psycho' spelled like this: 'Physco') and there you have an acceptable look for the modern day...
But not back then - she wouldn't let you leave the house if your blouse ruffles were just a bit too big or your head a funny shape.... You must watch these:

She's just brilliant! I'll leave you with these for now but we'll certainly be returning to Miss Stern in future.... However I'm off to work on a new burlesque act in which I ambush unsuspecting women of the audience with heated rollers and contour powder - there's definitely a market for it,
See you soon xox

An Introduction to Vintage Make-up

There are some great tutorials on YouTube which explain how to do the most popular looks from days gone by: Marilyn, Marlene, Audrey etc. But this video by Lisa Eldridge is actually about the products themselves and how they've changed over the years. It's really fascinating, even though it's just a little introduction, and if you look through the rest of Lisa's channel you'll see a two-part history of products in even more depth (http://www.lisaeldridge.com/)
Here's the video "Vintage Make-up...I Love It!"

I find it really interesting that the make-up women wear can depend totally on the zeitgeist of the time - it's not just randomly decided, it's a collective movement to either rebel or conform depending on the circumstances. 
During WWII, many cosmetics companies (including AVON) used half of their facilities to manufacture weapons and soldiers' equipment (especially camouflage make-up), and Avon Ladies sold War Bonds along with their wares. In the 1920's, make up was dark and exaggerated simply because the stars features wouldn't show up on the low quality film without it - but the general public took this as a 'fashion' and that iconic 'Flapper' look was born.

It's incredibly interesting stuff so do check it out xox