In the WooWoo Wonderland™

The Fifty Books Challenge, year three! (Years one, two, and three just in case you're curious.) This was a secondhand find.




( The first lady's savvy and sensitivity to the symbolic nature of dress... )

The Fifty Books Challenge, year three! (Years one and two, just in case you're curious.) This was a library request.




( Just Because I Was Turning One Hundred Two Didn't Mean I Was Going to Dress Like an Old Lady! )

For my fellow pin-up/vintage/Marilyn Monroe/classic film fans:

Here is a particularly gorgeous entry of her various pin-up and nude photography shoots. If you, like I, are still trying to wipe the memory of the desecration made by Linday Lohan (Bert Stern, what were you thinking?!) of Marilyn's last photo shoot a few years ago, this is a must-see.

Being on something of a glamor bender (as opposed to a glamour-bender, which is something I'm always on), due in no small part to meaculpa_g's influence and super fucking rad birthday package (!), I've been wandering through YouTube and have found some fabulous instructional videos, or rather, they found me. I was cruising through some of my favorite '2os links and these popped up alongside.

Notes: Back in the day, when I aped via make-up the style of Miss Bow, I never soaped or otherwise plastered down my eyebrows, partially why I ended up looking like Marilyn Monroe (with a dark wig) trapped in a Silent movie. I'm not sure if it would've helped, given how... resilient my eyebrows are (thick and dark), but this (an easier, cheaper version of Kevyn Aucoin's clever "tape" suggestion) makes me want to try it. Well, if I still did things that way.
Maybe it's better now since I realize make-up doesn't have to look the same all the time? I still can't believe I actually went to work at Marshall's (for those that don't know, Marshall's is a bargain basement department store that I somehow thought it was a good idea to work for) in my disgusting ghetta redneck urban sprawl nightmare suburb in make-up like this whilst my clothing looked like a punk hippie flapper explosion. I marvel at both my ingenuity and audacity to wear that stuff. Of course, the particularly cruel comments I received (in fairness, I did get some nice ones: a woman told me "You belong in an art opening New York City, not in this crummy lil' town.")in this kinda ended that, but still.

And rawr, our instructor is quite the looker, y/y? Of course, the accent is a big factor.

PROS:
• Good historical background (relevant for doing period make-up)
• She may not use shapes as a reference, but she does give movement as to how to blend
• She does mention brand name products, but it can't really be called shilling since the items are fairly specific.
• She gives colors rather than just brand names, ALWAYS handy.
• Her advice works for both make-up artists as well as "self-appliers".
• Proper respect goes to La Bow.

CONS:
• She doesn't have her hair pulled back, a must for make-up
• She doesn't mention cleansing or moisturizing, another must for make-up, particularly in heavy jobs like this one
• She rushes through several segments (the eyebrows especially need more tutorial)
• In doing foundation and concealer, you should always set it with the powder BEFORE you add anything else. Also, it's just easier to rid any "imperfections" like under eye circles BEFORE you start the fancy stuff.
• Finishing with powdering is a great way to fuck up the eye make-up you just worked so carefully on constructing.
• Since, as she notes, the '20s lip shape is as important as the eye, you should "erase" the lines of your lips FIRST (concealer) to give you a blank slate to work with.
• It's much smarter to apply lip liner under the lipstick rather than the other way around. Not only does it last longer (and is harder to smudge), it gives you a better control over the shape, something vital to this look. You can go back after you've done your lipstick to retouch and "clean up" with the lip liner and the concealer respectively.
• She doesn't mention anything about maintenance of this look. Even if you're wearing it just for a photoshoot, you need to know what to have on hand, what's especially smudgeable, et cetera.
• Anyone else not see "flapper" so much as "Courtney Love", particularly with the floppy hair?

Notes: Seeing as how I manage to have those rolling fingerwaves by my face (for the most part) even when my hair is long and my hair is naturally curly, I will never really need this video. However, the presentation is so charming and creative it's worth paying attention to.

PROS:
• Come on, the fakey Silent film jump is adorable!
• As are the title cards, which are actually more than just creative, they make it easier to follow.
• She offers both tight and loose curls
• She emphasizes "DO NOT"s, save for that t-shirt (see below)
• She is working an opposite style into her hair (she has longish straight hair and is doing a short hairstyle with curls) with really nothing more than bobby pins


CONS:
• We don't see any close-ups of her doing the pin curls-- typical for this type of video, but very necessary.
• Speaking of close-ups, we could've used one for the back.
• In a hair tutorial for style, never put "style as desired".
• Ack, can you imagine getting that t-shirt off to change into the '2os garb we see her in at the end? It's pretty safe to say the hairstyle would be significantly damaged.
• She could've been a little more specific about what kind of decorative clip works and what doesn't-- how heavy or how light, for example.

And in case you were wondering, yes I am going to have a ginormous braggy post soon of all the gorgeous, generous, and fabulous gifts I received for my birthday. Hopefully I'll have pictures of one of frozendoll's gift, a muchly needed haircut!

Okay, I stumbled across this set of dresses and how much do I want this one?

My figure responds best to that of the Post War era. Er... usually.