Ok, so truth be told I'm a dedicated MAC girl. I always try other brands, and always come back to MAC. Plus they have a recycling program, which I'm all for. My one problem is, as helpful as the makeup girls are at the counter, they always seem to want to "warm up" my complexion. I get caught up in the new makeup experience (there isn't much better than breaking the seal on a new batch of foundation and powder), and I buy them, and they're great, but after a while I get a little tired of my paleness being just a little off.
A few weeks ago Besame Cosmetics asked if I would like to review a product of theirs, my pick. I was so excited! Besame is one of those vintage girl staples, everyone seems to have some favorite from them they just can't seem to live without. I was close to choosing a lipstick, as lipsticks are actually the one thing I don't care for with MAC, and Chanel discontinued my perfect red. But while browsing I came across the Violet Powder.
It sounded so...well, so elegantly old fashioned, and unique to the brand, I thought you might like a review of that more.
At first I used the violet powder over my foundation and regular powder. Other than the scent, I didn't really experience much of a difference. About a week into using the previously mentioned combination, I tried subtracting my normal powder and replacing it with the violet powder. I tapped some into the lid, dipped my brush into it, and dusted it from my brows to my neck.
And that's what I've done ever since.
My complexion was cooled, soft, and slightly brighter, and it may be a subtle effect, but if you told me you were going to take away my violet powder tomorrow, I might throw you in a pit of angry wasps.
(Insect or people? Whichever you find most terrifying.)
I don't think I would have tried such a frivolous sounding product on my own dime, as $22 for 0.21 ounces of powder sounded like more of a treat than a makeup staple. But now that I have, I can equalize the price tag to what I'd normally spend on powder. And next time I order this, I'll add a lipstick to the mix and let you know how that pans out!
They do have a store locator on their site for a list of shops worldwide in your area that carry Besame products.
A few months ago I attended a lecture at the local history museum about recent archaeological finds at the Kaiser Shipyard site. Vancouver Washington grew in the 40s due to the shipyard and it's workers. Every time I leave the house in slacks and a bandanna, everyone person over 50 remarks at how I look just like their mother, aunt, sister, or even how they looked back in the 40s, working in the shipyard.
The lecture was very interesting, apparently the most recent dig site was on a small garbage dump area where everything from cold cream jars to scrap metal was found. I was on the edge of my seat when the archaeologist showed pictures of jewelry, workers made from metal scraps on slow days. Crude little metal horse heads and hearts with arrows through them that were rejects for brooches and bracelets. He said even though it was very much against every policy in the book, they would often sell their crafts, and some work was so beautiful the upper management would order pieces of jewelry for their wives!
I will spend as long as it takes to find a little scrap brooch.
At the end of the lecture I gathered up the courage to ask the speaker about any books he would recommend.
(Did I have enough to talk to the elderly woman sitting next to me who had actually worked in the Kaiser Shipyard? No. And I'll kick myself forever for that).
I scribbled down a little list and received them for Christmas, and this being the shortest was the first to be read!
Slacks and Calluses is the account of two schoolteachers who work a swing shift during the summer in a San Diego bomber factory. It's written by Constance Bowman Reid and Illustrated by Clara Marie Allen, and is as straightforward and honest an account as you could find.
It's not exciting, or dramatic, it's really just about their experience in the few months they wanted to do their part. Constance is smart, witty, and there were times I laughed out loud at some account or another. Near the end an entire chapter is dedicated to the girls being forced to wear caps that cover all their hair and the displeasure of every female worker in the factory.
It seems we always see two types of factory worker photos: Those gritty black and white ones where women were covered in metal dust and their hair was up in a bandanna, and those crisp colorful photos where the girls have perfect little curls peeking from their snood and clean slacks and sweaters. I always thought perhaps the latter was staged and the former was the real deal. Well according to Constance and Clara, both were reality.
"Blondie and Phyllis were the old timers of the group. They were absolutely the cleanest girls on the line, and they amazed us, even before we got to know them, because they could arrive for work in spotless, creased slacks and leave work at one o'clock with their slacks still spotless and creased......They could keep their hair in intricate coiffures-up in beautiful curls one day and down in beautiful curls the next, with the whole thing topped by fresh or artificial flowers carefully chosen to match the costume jewelry they were wearing today."
"We in our striped t-shirts and dusty blue slacks did not see how they do it. We asked Babe of the bomb bay how some girls managed to keep clean, and she replied, snippily, that some girls had clean jobs and other girls made it their job to keep clean."
They also go into what a vast difference wearing slacks as oppose to skirts made when it came to how men treated them.
"They called us 'Sister' in a most unbrotherly way, and 'Baby' in a most unfatherly way."
When wearing slacks they were refused service at an ice cream shop, as well as surprised when not a single man gave up their seat on the bus. They even conducted a little experiment and wore skirts and hats on the same bus only to find multiple men jumped up and offered their seats.
Of course there's quite a bit of technical description, and they each go into depth about the jobs they did and what that involved.
If you're interested in a personal account of what it was like to work in a bomber factory, I'd highly recommend this book.
I enjoyed both the writing style and clean illustrations, and accounts of other workers and how their lives varied so much from the teachers (many girls working never graduated high school). Must have been an amazing experience!
Today we have a guest post by Ruby of Ruby Armoire! I met her on Instagram, and was immediately at awe of her hairstyling skills. I asked her to talk a bit about styling naturally curly and coarse hair into vintage style coiffures, as it's not something I have experience in, and isn't touched on much in the vintage world. Do check out her blog, and I hope you enjoy this guest post! Thank you so much Ruby!
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Firstly, a disclaimer of sorts. I am not a hair professional, but over the years I have made a few observations about the stuff that grows out of my own skull, and that of my friends. I hope this post will be useful in helping you to understand your own hair and make the most of it!
Hair textures run on a sliding scale from fine and smooth, to thick and coarse. All hair types have frizz issues too, ranging from static flyaways to a general rough appearance.
My extremely crude diagram shows the four main hair types, but if your hair is anything like mine, it is not so easily pigeon-holed. My hair (when it hasn't been heat styled) falls between curly and coarse.
(I only inflict this image on you for illustrative purposes!)
Vintage hair styles are great for making your hair appear smooth and full bodied, which is achievable for almost all textures once you figure out how your hair behaves. Enter my favourite all-purpose styling product and texture barometer: hair spray. Apply a little to your naturally dried hair near the root and comb through. If your hair absorbs it without adhering and smoothing strands together, then your hair will need a bit of heat to achieve a smooth finish. Chances are that your hair is coarse and naturally curly (like mine), which means getting volume and staying-power won't be an issue! Hair spray is only useful on smooth hair, but blow drying or flat ironing can smooth your hair enough for the spray to take.
If the spray sits on top of your hair and helps it to hold a style, your hair won't need much heat styling for smoothing purposes, but you may need it for volume and to maintain a curl. The best way I’ve found to get a curl to survive through the unrelenting rainy British weather is hairspray and heat combined – that goes for pretty much every hair type. Starting with smooth hair, spray a section, comb through quickly then curl with tongs. The resulting curl will feel horrid and crunchy, but as soon as it is brushed out, the crunchiness magically evaporates and the final curl will be practically indestructible.
If you'd like to know more about curling with tongs and hair spray, have a look at my tutorial for a pictorial guide.
Of course, too much heat styling isn't good for any hair type, but just because your hair needs to take a break from heat doesn't mean it can't still look hot! Wet set pin curls are not only authentic, they look great too. If your hair is naturally curly with a bit of frizz, but can be blow dried smooth (use the hair spray barometer on blow dried hair to check), then wet setting could work for you as well as on fine hair types.
There are a few things to watch out for when pin curling if your hair texture only passes the hair spray test after blow drying, which aren't as necessary for smooth textured types (although you'll get a better curl and a nicer wave if you follow them). Solanah's excellent guide will show you the technique, but here are a few extra tips for the natural curlies.
Firstly, you will need to evenly section your hair into small squares so that as much of your hair as possible is contained in the curls. Make sure each section is soaking wet before pin curling – what’s frizzy beforehand will still be frizzy afterwards. Comb the section at right angles to your scalp (this will help the formed curl to sit correctly later) and run your fingers over the length to ensure it is ribbon smooth. Any bumps or slight tangles will be massively magnified when your hair is dry. Use a narrow cylinder to form the pin curl - I use an empty mascara tube. Wrap the end of the section around the barrel of the tube and curl under until it gets about an inch from your scalp. Push your hair off the tube and flatten it so it looks like a tyre. At this point you can twist the pin curl towards or away from your face. I part my hair on an extreme side parting, and then curl each side towards my face.
Cover your hair with a scarf and leave to dry overnight, or help things along with the aid of a blow dryer. Test one or two of the longest sections to see if they’re fully dry before taking out all of the pins, as the curls will disintegrate into a frizzy mess if there’s even the slightest hint of dampness. Another point in favour of using a blow dryer is it will help smooth the curls, which means you won’t have to brush as much to get a silky-smooth ‘do.
{photos by Sam}
I know I've talked about how much I *love* Jitterbuggin blouses, but I can't help myself. They're high quality, locally made reproductions, that are actually tailored, so I get a defined waist and no gaping at the bust.
I've had my other two Roseway blouses over a year, and I wear them at least once a week, machine wash them, and they're still going strong. In fact, they've only gotten better, since they're cotton they get softer, and more like authentic vintage feedsack blouses.
The Siamese cat blouse was recently released, and I mean come on. It kind of needed to be in my wardrobe.
And today through Sunday Jitterbuggin is offering 20% off any purchase with the code "Vixen20". So if you've had your eye on something, now's the time to snatch it up!
You can also follow Jitterbuggin via these links. Be the first to know about new releases and deals!
Siamese cat blouse-Courtesy of Jitterbuggin
Suspender skirt-Urban Eccentric Vintage
1940s hat-Antique show
Shoes-Flashbacks Vintage
