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In one of the newspaper supplements last Sunday there was an interview with Miss Polly Rae about 'silver screen hair and retro make-up'. I thought I would put up some of the tips she gave because she always looks so glamorous!



HAIR

1. "There's an art to doing retro styles. To create classic 1940s victory rolls, first put your hair in pin curls and leave it to set. Backcomb to make the hair more malleable, then use a bristle brush to smooth it out. Twist the hair around the fingers, curling inwards, back towards the head. Pin with kirby grips, then spray with Elnet."
2. "My hair is quite limp, so I have clip-in extensions that I dye to match my natural colour."

If that explanation sounds a bit complicated, here are some of my favourite video tutorials of how to get pin-up hairstyles:





I really want to get some of those foam rats to make some victory rolls with. If I do try one of these hairstyles I will definitely post some pictures!


MAKE UP

1. "I go for the typical 1940s look: pale, flawless skin, strong eyebrows, eye shadow in the creases of my eyes, thick black liner, layer upon layer of mascara, bright red lipstick and the token beauty spot."
2. "It's always got to be red lipstick. I've just found a new one, Mac's Lasting Lust, a true red. This is the only one that doesn't come off."
3. "You're not complete without strong eyebrows. Pencil them in with Mac eyebrow pencil in Strut."
4. "I use Stargazer, the classic stage lashes. I had to hunt them down, but now they are everywhere."
5. "To add sparkle, I apply an iridescent Mac shimmer powder on my body, and touch it up during intervals."

I found a handy tutorial on youtube of how to do vintage pin-up style make up:



All quotes are from The Sunday Times Style Magazine

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After seeing Suzie Bubble treat herself to the Viktor & Rolf for Shu Uemura paperclip false eyelashes, I decided that it was time I gave the whole false eyelash thing a go. When it comes to make up I have to say I’m not a big experimenter; that’s not to say I wouldn’t like to, I just never really have time. My everyday look consists of a thick black line on the top lid with liquid eyeliner, and has done for ages, even before Winehouse ruined it! Although I have to say mine isn’t anywhere near the magnitude of her eyeliner usage.
So, I thought, if I draw on the illusion of thick eyelashes, then why not just try using actual lashes? After a quick browse on the ever faithful internet, I found a couple of websites that looked pretty good.
The first pair of lashes I found was these ones, with white droplets on the ends of the lashes, which reminded me of a photograph by Man Ray from 1932.

False eyelashes with white droplets from bodyjewelleryshop.com £4.50

And also, of this image from the back cover of Madonna’s ‘The Immaculate Collection’ (which I used to absolutely LOVE when I was a kid!)

Then I went onto Shu Uemura’s website and found some extremely ornate (and very expensive!) lashes.


Polka dot lashes from Shu Uemura £25

Brown feather lashes from Shu Uemura £25

They really are the crème de la crème of false lashes! But, if you’re not willing to pay that amount for lashes, then I found similar ones on a different website.

Brown feather effect lashes from mydivascloset.com £5

I think these kinds of lashes would be really fun to wear out to a party or club to add some drama to your look. However, for an everyday look, my favourite are these:

Thick black lashes from ferobeauty.com £1.95

They have a kind of Liza Minnelli in Cabaret feel to me which I totally love.
The only problem now is actually attempting to apply them – eek! That’s another story for another day...