Tuesday Tip #8 - Vintage Nails

The EASY way to get that Half-Moon Manicure
This look is now instantly recognisable as being the one favoured by Dita Von Teese. True to her 1940's style, she has always sported her perfect red talons with the half-moon at the cuticle free from polish. But not many people know that this look actually originated in the 1920s.

The 'manicure' itself was invented by a make-up artist at MGM Studios and it wasn't only the half moon that was left clear of colour - the tip of the nail was too.

This look had 2 functions: 
1) It made the nail polish last a lot longer (we all know the first place your polish chips is the tip, then it looks weird as it grows up and away from the cuticle) and -  
2) It had the added benefit of being a tricky and delicate paint-job that had obviously been done by some-one else (i.e. a manicurist) so it was in that way a good indicator of social status.
By the 1940's, the trend was to cover the tips too, although there was a brief resurgence of unpainted tips which can probably be attributed to the war and sparsity of nail polish.
There are many tutorials that tell you how to get this look by using those nail-tip stickers you buy for French Manicures but I have an even better way to do it.
Those manicure stickers aren't sticky enough and the curve is a bit too wide - instead use hole-punch reinforcement stickers from stationery shops and cut them in half. They're cheaper, they're stickier so they don't allow polish to leak beneath them, and the curve is smaller and tighter. Perfect.

'Cake It On!' and Cake Club

Bake, Brew and Blend...
My two main enterprises 'Cake It On!' and The Clandestine Cake Club are meeting at the end of this month in one big cake-y/cosmetic-ky proper make-up bake-up.

This is because of my Avon campaign dates and mental personal schedule all falling around the same time. So while I'm still on this charity ration diet, what better way to pay homage to the women of the era by not only re-creating their recipes but also re-creating their look and having one big Blitz extravaganza! If your'e not a member of Cake Club and want to be then click on the pic below and join the network in general, then look for my Shoreditch group:

www.clandestinecakeclub.co.uk

And if you want to attend the event you don't HAVE to bring a cake! This is a joint event so you can do either. In fact what I find at a lot of Cake Clubs is that we have soooo much cake left over. We cakey people are sharey people so come along anyway, have a bit of cake and just have fun. There's a war on after all :) xox

Tuesday Tip #7 - Ration Fashion

Mmmm How To Get Edible Stockings...
It's common knowledge that during WWII, many women had to 'Make Do And Mend' and even though my month-long charity ration diet only extends to my food (thank God!) it still gets me thinking about other products, especially toiletries.
During the war, Max Factor stopped making their normal cosmetics and instead made camouflage make-up for troops, Stratton stopped making lipstick casing and instead made munitions casing... I wonder how we'd feel if our favourite mascara was suddenly just unavailable and we had to mix charcoal and Vaseline together to put on our lashes instead?

But the really big one is stockings. Remember, it wasn't only fashionable for women in the 1940's to wear stockings, it was proper. They didn't walk around like women do nowadays with their thongs sticking up over their Juicy Couture tracksuit waistbands or with their skirts so short you could see what they'd had for breakfast... They were more modest. To not wear stockings meant you were half undressed - a bit like like going out in your work-clothes and slippers.
That's why wartime women went to such great lengths to achieve the look of stockings. Initially, with nylon being rationed, a leg-tan cream was produced (by Max Factor). It had the added benefit of being manufactured too thick, so it went even further because it could be watered down by the consumer. Eventually Max factor caught on and thinned it down.
But soon even that was too difficult or expensive to get hold of so women were very industrious and used gravy browning or tea bags to stain the legs, then drew a 'seam' down the back with eyebrow pencil or eyeliner. You could either get a friend to do it or rub the pencil down something long and straight, like a 30cm ruler, and 'press' it into the leg. It seems the gravy browning method was more popular, despite the fact that it used to attract flies in the heat! Also you'd have to wash it off before bed. We all know the biscuity horror smell of 'fake-tan' sheets...imagine if that was gravy?
I also do like the modern interpretation of this, a tattoo of a stocking seam on the back of the legs. 

I'm obsessed with the idea of getting it done, although I won't because it would limit my stocking selections and I'm obsessed with them too. Perhaps I should just draw them on sometimes.... As if I have that kind of patience!!

New Look!

Primark!

It just goes to show the utter determination wartime women had to be seen as feminine and to Keep Calm and Carry On despite all the struggles. Think about how we feel when we have an 'off' day. I can't be bothered doing my hair or putting on make-up sometimes. I'm not sure I'd have the kind of strength to cover my bloody legs in gravy, especially if my fella was off fighting a war somewhere. Jeez, when I don't have a boyfriend I don't even bother to shave my legs!
So this post is for the women - determined, resourceful inventors of the Victory Roll, we salute you xox

Blitz Babe's 'Ration Diet'

July 1st - 31st
In hindsight it probably was an odd thing to do since I'm such a cake enthusiast, but I decided to go on a ration-diet for charity. My month-long WWII sponsored ration diet was an idea I had some months ago, and specifically planned to do in July as it's the last full month before VJ Day in August. I prepared myself by buying a book and researching on the internet, as well as going to The Imperial War Museum and chatting to the old dears in the nursing home. Since I'm doing it to raise money for 'Care For Casualities' I guess I can't really just 'cave' and break the promise :)



http://www.careforcasualties.org.uk/

To prove I've been on this 'diet' I'm going to take some measurements now (36-27-34) because I can guarantee that at the end of this I will have lost a bit of weight. You see, despite what may seem like copious amounts of beef dripping and golden syrup, the recipes from this era just contained a hell of a lot of veg and no processed food. It's generally accepted that people's health during WWII was the best this country had ever really seen so I'm not concerned about my health - just about the fact that I can't really have wine!

To see what the rations actually were, take a look at this link: http://www.memorylanehf.oddquine.co.uk/food.htm

The below photo shows pretty much what I'll eat in a week, along with bread and some veg and thankfully 3 pints of milk:

I'm making mine realistic by sticking to fruit & veg which is in season in England in July because during that time I would theoretically be growing my own. There's a really good page for this info called eatseasonably.co.uk. and information from that ensures that I have no excuse to try and sneak a cheeky pineapple or something! In a similar vein I can have the odd bit of pickle or chutney but it would have to be something that was in season June/July and I had supposedly preserved myself.
So there you have it. I'm very interested to see what this feels like after a month, and it's useful as an aid to remembering how brave people were back then and how we don't experience the same kind of deprivation nowadays. If you want to support the cause, please donate to my Just Giving site:

http://www.justgiving.com/blitzbabe

And do keep checking back to see how I'm getting on! I'll post the odd recipe and wartime beauty tip on here to coincide with the ration fast. Until next time... xox

Dita Von Teese: Style Icon

Half-Moon pedicures, Pixiwoo and amazing AVON products.....
Yesterday, in between writing various articles and reports, I somehow kept finding the time to do some vintage pampering/procrastinating. Inspired by Dita Von Teese, and the fact that she NEVER looks awful,  I decided to give myself a half-moon pedicure using my favourite 'Speed Dry'Avon nail-polish in Red Wine. 

Then I thought I'd watch a little Pixiwoo tutorial on You Tube to see their interpretation of her make-up - I love Pixiwoo tutorials, they're just so easy to watch and I find they relax me! Can you imagine then how totally and utterly chuffed I was to see this tutorial with loads of products from AVON??!

I do own some of the stuff (such as the lip-liner in Red Brick) and had wondered if AVON even do a decent red lipstick. (You may remember one of my earlier posts where I said I'd yet to find one...http://make-upbake-up.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/tuesday-tip-5-red-lips.html) 
Now I know: Extra Lasting Lipstick in "Eternal Flame". Then, to make things even better I looked in the brand new catalogue (for the next campaign) and those lippy's are bloody half-price.....£3.50. 

So I gave the look a go myself since I was heading to a Vintage Fair anyway and knew I'd fit right in...

I didn't wear the wig out, of course, but when I went to buy some lovely vintage style underwear in Intimissimi (there's a Sale on btw) the woman behind the counter told me I was beautiful!! 
So, get down to my Cake It On! events and don't waste money on expensive products that may not be right for you once you get them home. AVON might be inexpensive but that doesn't mean it's 'cheap'. If it was, the system to try before you buy wouldn't be in place as they'd be too scared of you using the products and thinking they're crap. It's the best way to buy your cosmetics - and even Pixiwoo thinks theyre fab :) xox

Cake It On! (Avon Campaign 12)

This is a Pink Party to raise money for Breast Cancer Crusade, one of the main charities Avon supports. So...I'm throwing a Pink Ladies Party!

There'll be Grease Soundtracks and a Grease quiz, so I suggest you watch the movie to revise a little bit ;) There'll also be a raffle to win a pink pamper pack of goodies with all the proceeds going to Breast Cancer Crusade. Bring a bottle of pink bubbly if you fancy (£3 corkage) and you can try some products as well as look through the catalogues. Then, learn how you too can look as cool as a Pink Lady...

See you on Friday 29th June at 7pm, Crimson Heart Cafe in Shoreditch xox

Made In Shoreditch contributions:

Check out my article 'Behind the Scenes at Shoreditch Vintage Fair'

The article is at: http://madeinshoreditch.co.uk/2012/06/18/behind-the-scenes-at-shoreditch-vintage-fair/ and there are some great images below. Even the toilets are vintage!

Cake It On!

1920's Prohibition Special

For a little change I decided to do a 20's/30's inspired event to coincide with the 'Prohibition Party' which happens in London once every couple of months. Whenever I go there, people ask me how I do my hair in a Marcel wave. It looks so difficult but is actually really easy,
so I thought I'd get everybody down to the lovely Crimson Heart and use my fab model Julia to show how it can be done on even the shortest hair:

It took probably 5 minutes using just cheap gel, a comb and some sectioning clips you can find in any chemist. Then Julia was able to sit and enjoy the rest of the party as the wave 'set'. 

Because it has to be done on wet hair, a little trick I've learned is to spray the hair with setting lotion before combing gel through. That way, the next day, you can brush it out into a looser wave and it looks a bit more 30's

And if you'd like to see how the make-up is done, have a look at this fantastic YouTube tutorial! I love this one as the girl has gone to so much effort to make it look 1920's - it's fab:

We spent the rest of the evening, as usual, just having a massive laugh! I used everyone's order forms to do a raffle at the end, and the lovely Laura won herself an Avon 'Hollywood Starlet' set of shower gel and body scrub. I like to ensure prizes suit the theme!

Topics of conversation always seem to end up fairly hilarious, especially after the consumption of copious amounts of (illegal) hooch and sugar :s But I'm not going to tell you about that...you'll just have to come down next time ;-) xox

Tuesday Tip #6 - V for Victory!

Victory Rolls

In keeping with the theme of my last Cake It On! party, I thought I'd make today's tip all about Victory Rolls. I was also inspired by the River Pageant on Sunday which was in Battersea Park to celebrate the Jubilee - there were so many pop-up Victory Roll hair salons there and we even had the fantastic Angel Adoree of The Vintage Patisserie in our WI tent. (She's been tagged on my blog a few times so check out the other posts).
The hairstyle is so popular that girls queued for an hour in the rain, just to have this up-do done by Angel and her lovely assistants.

Of course, the pageant was to celebrate the Queens Coronation 60 years ago in 1952 so it may seem strange that Victory Rolls featured so prominently at a 50's bash. However they are associated with the rockabilly music movement from the 1950's, despite their WWII origins, and are still popular today.

According to most accounts, the rolls were named after a maneuvre of a WWII fighter jet and were a fashionable way to keep women's hair off their faces when they started working in the factories etc. They were also a way to express women's style, femininity and ostentatiousness when clothing had become rationed and simplistic. (Similar to the complex hairstyles of the Victorian women who were making up for the fact they were unable to wear make-up).
I love Victory Rolls so much as they really are a statement and product of that particular zeitgeist and what's more they're really easy to do when you have the hang of them, and weirdly addictive!
So my tips are simple. First, you have to curl your hair and it really doesn't matter which direction you curl it in, as long as it's curled. You can do it however you like: tongs, heated rollers, whatever works for you. But for authentic curls which literally last until you wash your hair again, I suggest foam rollers:

To get a decent 'set' which is actually less hassle, I put curl balm on my hair (which was about 89p from Superdrug) then I spray with my favourite setting lotion (see my previous post on that - it's fabulous stuff!). Because setting lotion has alcohol in it, after you spray your hair it won't be long before it suddenly feels about 80% dry. That's when you put it in rollers and forget about it. 
Now I need my curls to really last and I can't sleep on rollers, so what I tend to do is take the rollers out before bed and kirby grip the curls flat to my head - that's a flat pin-curl. If you put a bandana over your head you can sleep comfortably, and that is exactly why the bandana look was popular in the 40's and 50's...to hide the pincurls during the day! (See Lana Turner in The Postman Always Rings Twice to see how effective that is.) If I have a vintage event on a weekday evening, I'll literally keep the curls in all day, under a scarf - see my previous post on that too :)
Once you take the curls out you'll look like this:

The rest of the style simply involves taking sections of your hair from your parting to right behind your ear and first brushing it out a bit. Then, back-comb or 'tease' (as the Americans say) the inner part of the chunk of hair and then you'll find it basically rolls over on its own fairly easily. Then, when you're happy with its position you can use bobby pins/kirby grips to keep them in place, and they'll really hold because of the teased hair. Do have hairspray and a brush handy to neaten up the front and smooth the baby hairs too. And when you get frustrated with it, try to remember that apparently there were no kirby grips back then so the women used to use pipecleaners to do their styles! I have no idea how...
Once you know how to roll you'll suddenly find yourself doing all sorts of styles.

My friend made this!  http://folksy.com/shops/Babooshka   

It's difficult to describe in just words and pictures so check out some YouTube tutorials - my favourite ones are:

http://www.youtube.com/user/thecherrydollface

http://www.youtube.com/user/classicretroglamour

or better still get down to one of my Cake It On! events and I'll show you how to do it! next one is Tuesday June 12th  - see you there xox

Cake It On!

Blitz Party Special (Avon Campaign 10)
Turning off the main roads of Shoreditch and onto Leonard Street, you begin to feel the hustle and bustle of the City slowly fade off into the distance. Then, stepping over the bright red threshold of the cosy Crimson Heart vintage shop, you've finally reached your oasis of calm. 
Descend the stairs like Alice in a retro Wonderland, and all the delights of the tea-shop await. For this particular Cake It On! which had a theme dedicated to the upcoming D-Day special of The Blitz Party, those delights included a soundtrack of fabulous 40's female singers and foam rollers aplenty as well as the usual fabulous ambience and decor.

The purpose of the event is to allow women to chat and have a laugh over a cuppa and a cake, while perusing the Avon catalogue and asking the Avon Lady (me!) any questions about the products. It's nice to be able to try the samples and get recommendations, not just from me but from the other customers, which products are the best. I also like to include some Avon history during the course of the evening and this time it was the fascinating story of their company (and other cosmetics companies) during the war. Half of Avon's factories became weapons manufacturers during WWII for example, and their mosquito repelling formula (which is now found in Avon 'Skin So Soft') was manufactured originally for the troops.

Courtesy http://www.hagley.org/library/exhibits/avon/

However, my passion is for vintage style so I like to offer tips and tricks on how to achieve that look, as well as inject a bit of fun into the proceedings
This time I opted to do a Victory Roll tutorial (in-keeping with the theme) with the help of my lovely models Ella, Kayleigh and Paola. Anyone going to the next Blitz Party, take note!

Modelling my own rolls while hard at work

The tricky part is trying to get the 2nd one symmetrical!

I used a simple tong method in those pics but for more hold and authenticity I'd certainly recommend sleeping in pincurls for rolls that will withstand any bombing! ...Or withstand an energetic evening with the boyfriend... haha ;)
I also created a little 1940's pin-up quiz for ladies to fill in the blanks: on the list, some first names were left blank, and others had blank surnames. I think the funniest thing was people adding the first name that came to their heads! The the first one was meant to be Lana Turner - instead I received different variations including Tina and Anthea! I also got Gene Simmons instead of Tierney and Lily Savage instead of Anne... We did have a winner though, and she received a free 'Vintage Glamour' shower gel from Avon - can't complain :)

We were naughtier than usual as it was a Friday night, so we brought along our own bottles of bubbly and just paid a £3 corkage. We whiled the rest of the night away with Billie Holiday, Judy Garland and lots of cake. 

So get yourself down to Crimson Heart on Tuesday 12th June for the next event! If you have any questions or any requests for tips/tricks at the next one you can e-mail me at theteasemaid@gmail.com or leave a comment on here. Until next time! xox

See http://www.theblitzparty.com/ for information on the next Blitz Party