Betty's Blog: Achieving Your Vintage Brow Shape

Welcome back Betty for this month's installment of your vintage beauty blog... we're excited about getting those perfect eyebrows and can't wait to see how...

Well what a currant trend brows have become over the last couple of years! They are making such a statement at the moment, but when we look back brows have always made a statement throughout the decades, they truly are just as important as our other facial features and should therefore be looked after, enhanced and premed as part of our daily routine. We can enhance our own natural brow by gently darkening the natural brow shape with a brow pencil or eyeshadow but to create a defined new vintage brow shape we have to appreciate that unless your happy to shave your eyebrows off and pencil them on it's not going to happen overnight! We firstly we need to find a picture of the vintage brow shape we would like to aim for, then we need to patiently work with our tweezers or ask your beautician to work towards this certain brow shape, plucking threading or waxing approximately every 2-3 weeks to start creating this shape, some of us will need to grow the hair in some areas, some of us will need to have them removed.

Once that brow shape is achieved we can then look at suitable products and colours that define that brow shape even further to give us our perfect vintage brow, again depending on the look you want you may want to use a colour close to your natural brow colour or you may want to go darker for a more dramatic look, bare in mind using an eyeshadow type product will have a softer edge on your shape and a pencil will give you a more defined stronger look. Good luck with those brow shapes!

Look out for Betty's Blog next month to see the best vintage eyebrow product reviews . . .

Chattanooga shoe shine boy...

...Our resident shoeshine expert Ken Ralph gives the low down on how it's done properly...

With Easter coming up this weekend, you’re bound to be prepping for a family get together, and you’ll want to dress in your Sunday best of course! So what better time to give your shoes a good spring clean?! And you know the old adage if a job's worth doing....

Here’s our handy guide to giving your shoes a jolly good once over, by our resident shoe shining expert and vintage enthusiast, Ken Ralph, who some of you may remember from an exclusive interview with our Lullabelle, over on the VandOak Website…! Yes, he dances, he cycles everywhere on a vintage Pashley Guvnor, and he even knits! This is a man of exquisite taste so read on chaps and chappesses…you just might learn a thing or too!

----------------------------------------------

Ken Ralph knows how to shine his shoes!

Welcome to my occasional blogspot, here on The Secret Vintage Fair I've been asked to write a piece and this first one is about impressions.

First Impressions, if you will.  Shower, Shave, Shoeshine...

Shoeshine? a bit of kiwi, a quick brush over, what else is there?Well there's a bit more to it than just that. And that is what I'm going to show you.

Of course, my shoes are always bright, so here are my cycling shoes that are just a bit worse for wear. On the right, how they were, on the left, the waxed one.

First you need to remove the laces, put them to one side, away from the kitten. Better still take the kitten out of the room. Next ensure you have the correct colour wax. Very often new tan shoes need a clear shoe polish, brown shoe polish will result in a shoe several shades darker than they are now.

Next, put down some newspaper, really, there is nothing worse than small spots of wax falling into your carpet.

Get a nice bristle brush full of wax, and brush it into the welt of your shoe, the part where the sole is stitched into the sole, go all around, including the heel, and include the edge of the upper, do this on both shoes. It keeps your shoes waterproof.

Go put the kettle on.

Next, take the brush, and with less wax, brush it all over the upper of the shoe.

This is important. Go make your tea, go on, go now let that wax soak into the leather. At least ten minutes. Have a biscuit with your tea, Write a letter to your favourite aunty.

Tea finished? Good. Now you need a lint free cloth, nope not another brush, you need a cloth, wrap it around your index and middle finger, really tight, that wax is going to grip hold of the cloth and in small circles bring the shoes to a nice bright shine. Both of them.

There, so much better..

But wait, there's a little bit more. You need to put a drop or two of water on the shoes, and use the water to push the wax in further and bring out that shine.

If your aglets are in the same state as mine, it's time for some new laces.

Rethread your laces brush the edges of the soles and heels and walk out ten feet tall! 

Betty's Blog: Red

Betty promised us a review on the best lippies out there for a vintage loving gal and here it is..

Well there certainly are copious amounts of Red lip colours on the market but which ones give us that true vintage Red that we are trying to achieve? Many of them are just too pinky, or just don't seem to have enough depth?

Something to consider is that there are certain factors which have an effect how a Red is portrayed to ourselves and others, like the fact that we all have different skin tones this can effect how a red looks on one to another, and the lighting we are seen within can play a big part too, but through many a research, trailing and testing here are a few of my all time favourites that I often choose for clients and wouldn't be without in my kit.

The ArtDeco Dita Von Teese collection, well, it says it all in the name! Colours created by Dita Von Teese, my favourite colours are 634 and 650, 650 being a darker Red. Lipsticks are £16.50 from larger Debenhams or direct at www.artdeco.co.uk.

I have 3 favourites from MAC Cosmetics. Firstly MAC's Ruby Woo, one of MAC's best selling colours! An amazing colour I do find this particular lipstick can be a little dry to apply but this can be resolved by mixing with a little lip balm. Then we have MAC's Red, Just called MAC Red, this lipstick has slightly more moisture than Ruby Woo as it is a satin formula, this vintage red has a slight cherry pin up red look to it. And lastly from MAC we have from the Viva Glam range number 1, this again is a great vintage red, a great all rounder, and as with all the viva glam range 100% of the proceeds go to the world AIDS foundation. All MAC lipsticks are £15.00 available from MAC stores or online at www.maccosmetics.co.uk

And last but by far not the least is Rimmel's Kate Moss range lipstick in 001, if your not used to wearing Reds and it's something you want to try without spending a fortune, then this lipstick is a little winner, a great vintage Red and costing only £5.49 it's worth giving a try, available at Most supermarkets, Boots and Superdrug.

Does anyone use these colours? what do you think of them? or does anyone use any other Reds that they think deserve a place on the list, please let me know, it's always great to hear.

Until next time . . . . 

Vintage love