OOTD: feat H&M

This simple dress from H&M is so versatile, and at £9.99, you really need to be asking yourself why you don’t have it!

You can’t see it in the photos, but I’m wearing the comfiest M&S boots, you can find them HERE for £35.00.

(L-R)
OUTFIT 1
Adding this Asos hat and this biker jacket from H&M, makes a great evening look!

OUTFIT 2
Using my beloved vintage mens shirt, this makes a very casual look. I totally channeled my inner cowgirl for this one!

OUTFIT 3
Anyone who follows me on Instagram, will have seen this jumper from Dorothy Perkins, which I nabbed for £12 in their knitwear sale. This is perfect for a chilly day, going out shopping and grabbing some lunch.

Oh, and for anyone who’s not totally sold on these midi dresses, this one has a slit quite high up the leg, meaning it’s not as restricting as others can be. This is great for someone who wants to try out the trend! For £9.99, you definitely won’t regret it!

It’s my birthday!

Well, yesterday was anyway!

I know I’ve taken a couple weeks off, but I have a serious back log of products for you guys!

I’m kind of in the middle of some big life changes, so I’ll have a lot more time to really focus on my blog.

So, yesterday was my 22nd birthday. I’m down in Essex so I could spend it with my family. I didn’t do much, I’m really not that exciting, but I did some shopping, ate cake, drank wine and had a laugh.

I don’t know about you, but as I get older, I don’t really ask for presents, so anything I get is great. I got a few surprises in there… of items I had actually spoken about on here! It’s always great to know that people take notice of what I write about!

This is really just a catch up post, before I do all the reviews over the next few days.

A snap of my birthday outfit…basically an everyday outfit, but it’s my birthday so I can do what I want…

HAT £12.50 // ASOS
SHIRT // VINTAGE
JEGGINGS £22.00 // TOPSHOP

Here’s a selection of my wonderful presents!!

It’s so nice to see how well people know me. I didn’t ask for anything in particular but everything I was given, was just so me! From a Cath Kidston tea for one teapot (complete with my favorite, robins) and a Minnie mouse onesie from my mum. I totally mentioned a very similar onesie HERE.

Oh, and check out the pillow cases that I mentioned in my xmas ideas post, HERE, which was a little surprise present from my bestie.

Not the best photo, but here is my wonderful wonderful present from my boyfriend! A beautiful Marc Jacobs watch! The same watch I mentioned in my Christmas wishlist, HERE.

And a shock present from my bestie with this Marc Jacobs Honey perfume, that I also mentioned in my xmas post, HERE.

Of course, I ended my night in my onesie, with these two jokers…

As I said, I’ll be posting these backed up reviews once a day. So keep checking in because it’s about to get exciting!

There’s links on the left side of the page to my Twitter and Instagram, where you can get regular updates on what I’m doing!

OOTD & Date Night

I LOVE date nights with Kyle.

I get to dress up, relax and have a lovely, romantic meal.

We went to an Indian restaurant in Whitley Bay called Shakira, it’s won a tonne of awards and luckily for us, we live across the road from it! It always busy in there, so make sure you reserve a table! The food is incredible and the service is first class. If you’re ever in Whitley Bay, you have to go here for dinner!

I wore my red motel dress with a black cardigan and black tights (we live next to the North Sea and it gets quite cold) and my black Linzi heart shoes (mentioned in a previous post)

For make up, I don’t think you can ever go wrong with statement lips and eye liner, it’s a classic!

Here’s a picture of everything I used, I can’t even tell you how much I love the Lush Santa Baby lip tint!!!

Excuse the horrible angle where my nose looks like a cucumber, but this is the best photo of my hair. I had my fringe down and pin curls to the side, with the rest of my hair curled and brushed out.

My look actually lasted a whole 10 seconds when I left the house, due to high winds from the sea… Luckily my hair just fell into a nice curl and no one knew the difference…

It doesn’t matter than my hair all fell out of shape, spending quality time with Kyle is enough.

I also love being in a restaurant, watching families celebrating birthdays, young couples, old couples, double dates, friends etc, everyone always looks so happy.

Here’s a snap of me, trying to get a nice picture of my hair, and Kyle jumps in and ruins it, he’s lucky I love him!

Lazy bones

Work is over, so I’m having a super lazy Sunday night with Pepper. Oh, and I have a day off today, hooray!

Vintage checked shirt and jeans is my idea lazy outfit. Teamed with my new Totes Isotoner Slippers. They are so comfy, like I’m walking on a cloud!

 

I hope everyone is having an easy Sunday 🙂

Put Your Best Face Forward!

Last night I was talking about my hair, so today I was thinking about other features.

My grandma always says that, when using eggs, any left over egg white should applied to the lower eye lid! She swears by it to reduce puffiness and dark circles.

I thought I would write a post of vintage beauty secrets that any other women swore by!

During the war, women didn’t exactly have money for make up the barely had enough food rations. However, it was a time to ‘put your best face forward’ for the troops and raise spirits.

Looking for a deep conditioning hair treatment? Look no further than your kitchen! I’m talking about eggs again… they apparently make a great conditioner, just rub them in!

Or, how about wanting shine? Beer will do the trick for you! Oil will also give great shine results. Simply smother it over your hair and cover in a towel until you’re ready to wash it. Rita Hayworth was a fan of this, using lemon juice to ensure the oil was all wash out.

Eyebrows were usually shaved off, and drawn on with charcoal, so they could always have the perfect full brow! A thin layer of petroleum jelly was put over the top to give it shine.

A fan of the shaved eyebrows was Marlene Dietrich, although she kept them thin, they were always perfect.

This technique was also applied to the eyelid and used as a quick eye shadow!

Petroleum jelly really was used in everything! Mix some with charcoal dust and hey presto! You have mascara! (In all honesty, I will be sticking with my Benefit mascara!)

You know when you wake up to discover a spot? (NIGHTMARE) Well, get into the fridge and grab a cucumber! It apparently works wonders on them, and reduces redness and swelling. – This is one that I will definitely be trying!

Some of the tips I read through seemed silly, and other very practical, some of them, I use all the time! So, for the vintage beauty tips I always use…

Rag Curls! I have tried pin curls, but compared to rag curls, there really is no competition. For the most perfect, bouncy, full, long lasting curls, you need this method in your life. All you need is an old tshirt! There is absolutely no heat involved. I do it after I wash my hair and just sleep in them. I have popped in the youtube video that I used when I first tried them, the girl has long hair so it makes it easy to see what shes doing. When I first tried these, around 2 years ago, i have quite long hair, so it was easy peasy. Then i cut my hair off. However, the beauty of rag curls, is that you really can do it with any length, granted, the shorter the hair, the more fiddly the process, but it’s not impossible. Practice definitely makes perfect with these curls.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ghVmEukygY <— Link to the video.

Dry shampoo! This is widely available in spray cans now, but whenever I’m out, I go straight to the origional- a bottle of baby powder! Even if it’s just for smell… yum!

Cucumber on eyes! I’ve mentioned cucumber for spots, but I regularly put slices on my eyes before bed. Bette Davis did the same, but added a layer of petroleum jelly (which I now believe to be the hero of this post) onto the lower eyelid, to reduce puffiness and dark circles!

Here’s a few more images of iconic women who used the same beauty tricks, and lets be honest, these women are regarded at the most beautiful and most desirable women of all time…We could really learn a lot from them! Oh, and a couple of vintage posters for make up!

 

 

Grr x100

I had a small post for today about my outfit. A beautiful 80’s vintage dress and a vintage bag. Unfortunately, itunes decided to erase my entire phone, so I lost all the photos. Luckily, I took a couple of silly ones on my boyfriend’s camera, so these will have to do.

It was a lovely day here at the seaside though! Also, this is my hair naturally, after a stressful day at work, so don’t take much notice.

Keep your eyes out for a post on vintage make up secrets!

Hair all about it!

With summer coming up, one of the best accessories a girl can have is her hair.

Now, mine if okay, shoulder length, warm brown and curly. It was very very damaged, but about 2 weeks ago I started using Tresemme Platinum strength shampoo and conditioner and leave in conditioner, I won’ go on about it, as I really want to do a proper review, but let’s just say, holy bloody snozzcumber!

So, to help my hair be as strong and good looking as possible for when summer really hits, I have decided that the straighteners and blow dryer have to go! I will start off going 2 weeks, from now, not using ANY heat. Then after that, I will hopefully be so happy with the results that I carry on.

I don’t even use that much heat on my hair, but I think its so damaged that any heat I use, just does 100x the damage.

Well, I will keep you updated on how it’s going. I have also recently started taking kelp tablets, so fingers crossed, I get the desired result.

Anyone else take Kelp tablets and noticed a difference? Waste of time? Or is anyone embarking on this very same mission… we can be in this together!

Mwah!

As promised, the post on kissing is here! I can’t be the only one who loves kissing. I could kiss for days, and even though I have been with my boyfriend for over 5 and a half years, kissing him always sends me weak at the knees!

So, I thought it would be fun to look at kissing in the 30s through to the 50s. What was allowed, what definitely wasn’t and then include some lovely photos of couples showing some serious PDA! (Public Display of Affection)

During the 1930s, a production code was released about what was acceptable and unacceptable to show in films and programs It covers all the topics you could of, but I was interested in the ‘sex’ topic. It proved for very interesting reading!

It says that scenes of passion must be treated with caution, and keep in mind, human reactions. This was so it did not arouse dangerous emotions in the young, immature or criminals!

Is romance, kissing or sex an essential part of the plot? No? Then it is not be shown! There is no need to include them in the film.

Excessive kissing, suggestive poses or even gestures, and lustful embraces, were not at all to be shown.

It’s a wonder kids knew what to do!

When looking at the 40s, they took a different approach, and instead of hiding everything away, they brought of photos to show teenagers exactly what to do.

I have to say, the second ‘wrong’, is kinda right to me…

The 50s was a time where mild forms of physical affection were seen frequently in public and such terms as ‘petting’ and ‘necking’ were heavily in use.

Teenage dating was redefined during the 50s, after the 2nd world war, teenagers had money, a voice and cars (which was where most of this ‘petting’ and ‘necking’ took place!) Teenagers were a new source of power.

Even though they were becoming more publicly experimental, there was still a proper conduct that boys and girls respected when it came to dates and dating, for example;

The Boys:

• Always wear a suit on a date!
• You should bring flowers for your date
• Never honk the horn or wait in the car, go to the front door and meet her there
• You should meet the parents before you leave, giving the father a strong handshake
• Always open the car door (or any door for that matter) for her
• Help her with her coat
• You should walk between her and the road, in case a car splashes a puddle.

The Girls:

• Don’t ask the guy out, you should wait for him to ask you
• Always be ready for when he rings at the door, don’t keep him waiting
• Introduce your date to your parents
• Don’t apply make up in public- you’re not a floozy!
• Don’t ever offer to pay for the meal- this will humiliate your date!

Rule no1? NO KISSING ON THE FIRST DATE!

I think it would be lovely if some of these things still happened today, men just aren’t chivalrous anymore! I know that men and women are equal, but I think everyone like’s a bit of chivalry.

To round off this post, here’s some of my favourite kissing pictures from way back. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

 

Saturday, Tynemouth

Whenever I have a day off at the weekend, the morning is usually spent looking for nice things at Tynemouth market. It’s just one of those places where I feel at home.

After last weeks disappointing visit when they’re really wasn’t much to write home about, apart from the cupcakes, this week has been a success!

Firstly, I got some more cupcakes, and this time the woman had her name on a sticker on the box! So now I can credit her and give you all a link so you can check her out 🙂

I got a mint chocolate one, a regular chocolate and a banoffee one this time. (Holy shit, the banoffee with blow your mind, it’s that good)

 

This is the link to her facebook page, get liking!!

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Ellies-Cupcake-Kitchen/264372833642600?fref=ts

Next I got an absolute gem, a lovely pot to keep my window sill herbs in! Currently they are in pots and I dont really like them, so now I can put them all together and they will be more in keeping with the kitchen! Only cost me £2, I am a very happy bunny.

I am obsessed with tea cup sets, breakfast sets, any kind of pretty plates, so when I saw this set of 2 egg cups and 2 plates, I almost died. I knew I HAD to have them, even before I knew the cost. They are T.G Green Tableware, a very good make, and all beautiful items.

At £10, this was an total bargain! I can’t wait to make my man egg and soldiers for breakfast!

Last week I also rooted through a box of vintage scarfs, but couldn’t really find one I REALLY liked, but this week I did! I love tartan, so this is perfect! I got it to just wear as a head scarf, it’s dark blue and green tartan and fits like a dream. (Excuse my silly, close up face!) This was just £1.

When I was younger, going to Tynemouth market was just a fantasy world, full of relics from years and years ago. My favourite thing was to look through shoe boxes of photographs, Just random photos of families and couples, in their back garden, on holiday, etc. They are someones memories, and I like to be a part of them. My boyfriend thinks it’s weird, but, I love making up stories about how people were feeling and it’s just a great little slice of someones life.

Today, I got a postcard, a photo of guys in army in Cairo, and a little envelope, which held 2 photos of a couple, and half a dozen negatives from the camera, from a day at the countryside. I will be doing a separate post on these, as I just find them so special.

This is the postcard, from 1951. This stood out to be like a sore thumb for 2 reasons, 1, I love boats, 2, the word ‘gran’ and all the handwriting in fact, is almost exact to my granny gravy’s handwriting! Seriously, it’s like identical!

 This is the guys in Cairo.

 And this, is the couple, who’s holiday photos I now have in my possession. However, I will do a separate post on these in a few days.

I really have had a great Saturday. I’m not writing this post with a cup of tea, and doing a bit of revision for another post, where I’m looking at kissing! This will be up in a couple of hours, after I get some house work done!

I hope everyone has had a great day 🙂

Under the weather

I woke up this morning feeling awful. Not well at all, and i know I was in for a day of lounging on the sofa, watching James Bond and drinking copious amounts of tea.

I know that when I’m ill, I may take some cold and flu tablets, have a hot bath, rub some vicks on my chest, have hot water, lemon and honey etc. They’re my must haves on a day like today.

So I thought it would be fun to look to the past, and see what vintage remedies I could dig up. I’m sure our grandmas have tried to share a secret or two. For example, my granddad’s mother would smear goose fat over his chest when he had a cold and would even send him to school with it on. He could never look at goose fat, and always refused to eat it as he had such bad memories about it!

Here are a few more I found;

• Having a mustard bath! Yes, that’s right, mustard. Just pop some in your bath, and it’s supposed to bring your blood to the surface, giving you a fresh glow, and clears your nose! 

 

• Dipping an egg roll in Chinese horseradish will sweat out your cold. For best results- keep mouth closed! – I’m sure if you wanted to try this one, you could dip whatever you liked in a strong horseradish, or just grab a spoonful.

 

• Grab yourself an onion, chop in in half and hang it in your room! It will act as a de-congestion while you sleep. If you have no where to hang it, you can chop it into smaller pieces and pop them onto a plate by your bed, then just fall asleep, and voila! You wake up and your nose and throat are (apparently) clear.

 

• Not a fan of having an onion hanging in your room? Well try this, cut it up, and pop it into your socks! Make sure the onion is touching your toes though! This is draw out the cold!

 

• Got a stuffy nose? Try snorting salt water! Add 1/4 teaspoon of salt to 1 cup of water, and simply pour some into the palm of your hand and snort it up, thus, clearing your nose.

 

I think I’ll stick to tea and eating oranges and cuddles!

I had a lot of fun reading about what people swore by as their cold relief. However, the most important thing is that people just get well again, do whatever you can to get back to feeling 100%.

Here’s some fun gems from the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s.

20s

 

30s

40s

50s

 

 

I’m wondering if anyone has tried any strange and funny cold remedies before? Or do you just stick to what you know?