Phew! I have been working my little tush off recently! Yesterday I completed my dissertation - all 9,562 words of it! That's not to say my toils are over, I still have two more massive assignments to complete, but come the 22nd May I will have completed my university life and will be out there in the big wide world.
Here it is, my finished baby...
Look at it all bound and looking official!
In other news, I tried out a new hair set this week and utterly fell in love with the results. It is much looser than the more 50s style I usually wear but is just as elegant. I think it has quite a late 30s early 40s vibe to it which is something I've never achieved before. I used bigger foam rollers (I'm going to guess they're about 1.5") and set them around the base of my head at the back, and then in two rows on the heavy side of my hair so I could structure in the wave the next day. It's the first time I've set a successful finger wave so I was pretty chuffed - the photos really don't do it justice!
Definitely trying this set again soon - I might even do a tutorial for it over on my Youtube channel!
I've decided, now I have a fancy iPod with Instagram and that, that I should take more photos of my face and what not. So here is my experiment:
I plan on taking a photo of my face everyday for the foreseeable future, no matter it's state, and report it back to you on a weekly basis.
I don't know how long this will last, but I hope it shall be fun whilst it does!
Here we go...week #1:
As you can see, I've had quite a styled week - doesn't day five (What I shall now term as the Sunday Set) look glamorous? Oh, the woes of being a vintage goddess! (Pah I wish!). I wore my hair up in victory rolls on day one, then set it on day two in an updo that stayed for two days before being brushed out and worn down for two days. Sunday Set came along on day five, and as you can see from both days six and seven it was highly successful!
With my upcoming rockabilly tea party (The Mad Hepcat's Tea Party) I'm putting together a mini series of entries of everything rockabilly: Clothes, Accessories, Hair & Make Up, and Music.
No rockabilly look is complete without a slick of red lipstick and an edgy hair cut. This entry will show you the basics of hair and make up. It might look scary, but, as with anything, practice makes perfect and soon enough you'll be looking like the perfect pin up!
Hair
There are three very simple hair styles that you can perfect and individualise to your own tastes, whether that's all out or just a subtle touch.
1) The Bettie Bangs
So named after the Queen of Pin Ups Bettie Page, this is a short fringe cut into a 'U' shape. These, surprisingly, suit most face shapes, and if you don't like it, it grows out in a couple of weeks! If you are going to get it cut in, remember to take a photo of the lady herself so the hair dresser knows exactly what they're doing.
2) Victory Rolls
These look really scary to do, and they will be a little tricky to create at first, but once you get it, you will be on a roll (please, pardon the pun!). You can just do one at the front, two at the side of your head, or as many as you want. Curl the rest of your hair, or roll it up in a bandana for the best result!
Here's my little tutorial on how I do mine...
3) Waves & Curls
Whether you do these with curling irons, heated rollers, foam rollers or pin curls, the result will always be rockabilly. By brushing out the curls in a certain way you can get a variety of looks from page boys to poodles! Just remember to use plenty of hair spray!
Katy Perry sporting a victory roll come Bettie bang fringe
Make Up
The make up is really very simple. Matte foundation, black winged eyeliner, red lipstick. Of course you can complicate things with eyeshadows and what not, but if its simple you're after just stick with that. Mac probably do the best lipsticks, but 'drugstore' brand ones are just as good. Remember to shop around to find the best red lipstick for you; if you have a yellow skin tone orange based reds work well, and if you have a pink skin tone, stick with the blue based reds. The eye liner will take a little practice, and a steady hand, but just be patient and you'll get the hang of it!
For both hair and make up the best Youtube channels are:
This is probably the most iconic 1950s hairstyle as it's most famous sporter was, of course, Marilyn Monroe. It's always my 'go to' style when I want to set my hair with pin curls (you can do it with rollers too - I shall probably do a How To video on that too) and I've now got the technique down to my best ability so I'm pretty pleased with how the style came out today.
Also, my hair has been pink for two weeks (almost!) now and I think the hair dye has lasted pretty decently! I haven't reviewed the product yet because I'm waiting for it to completely fade but don't fear, there will be a write up!
Check out how I did my 1950s Page Boy Hairstyle by watching the video below:
Imelda May works this style the best and has brought it to the mainstream
It's a question I get asked whenever I wear my fringe/bangs rolled up so I thought I'd show ya'll my interpretation on how to achieve this look. It can be done on any length of hair as long as the piece of hair to be rolled reaches around your eyeline - so a long blunt fringe, a side fringe or just a long piece of hair from the front of your face would work.
First up is how to create the look from wet; I find this look is a lot kinder on my hair but doesn't have the staying power of the style created from dry hair (I usually have to re-roll it the next day and add some more spray).
The style on dry hair is just as quick to create and takes about two minutes once you've got the hang of the technique. Like I said above it is quite harsh on the hair so I wouldn't recommend doing it too often - plus its a pain to brush out when you want to restyle your hair! Because it has so much back combing the style's staying power is a lot longer and generally can stay in until you want to take it out.
I hope those explanations were easy enough to follow, but if you have any questions just leave me a question below or on my Youtube channel =)
