Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Kleancolor Metallics

So, who reckons these are the biggest bargains at $1.79 that we've seen for awhile?



Metallic Purple. Do I need to rave about this? You can see that it's awesome. Yes, it's that shiny, do not adjust your monitors.



Metallic Black. You may think ho-hum but in real life, it has a charcoal metallic fleck in it that is really nice. When removing with polish remover, it turns into silver foil before coming off.



And the star of today; Metallic Pink. Geez Louise!! Again, in real life this color is highly pigmented, super shiny and an awesome BRIGHT color. It's almost too bright, I feel very conspicuous wearing this! So I Konaded over it with black.


And it ended up a big, hot mess. Oh well.
Also, be warned on removal with this color.  It stains, everything, everywhere, BIG time.  My fingers were pink and needed soaking then scrubbing in acetone to get it off.



Metallic Blue. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome.

See my swatches on other Metallics here.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

A Few Vintage Looks


With my new 50's silver confetti Lucite bag I picked up for $50. Very posh.

Top: $2.50 closing down store sale
Skirt: 50's novelty Flamenco full circle
Necklace: as made by me
Flowers: Dynamite-darlin on ebay
Bakelite: sourced from ebay


You have all seen the booby shot of this outfit but here it is in full scale. With a still undressed Miss 3.

Cardi: Bombshell leopard syle, new from ebay
Skirt: 70's full circle
Petticoat: Hell Bunny
Shoes: platform leopards from ebay
Flowers: Dynamite-darlin on ebay
Bakelite: sourced from ebay


I really liked wearing this outfit and it must have showed cause I got heaps of comments. Especially from my Grandma, who is a bit dubious at my choice of decade at the best of times.


I love the pockets on it.

Cardi: Seven Angels, Bendigo
Top: as above
Skirt: 50's Atomic print circle skirt from Bells Belle's
Shoes: Naughty Monkey
Bakelite from ebay
Flowers: Dynamite-darlin, ebay
Snood: handmade on Etsy


Yes, I am demure.


The gorgeous family at The Ginger Factory in Queensland. Altho you can tell I'm in holiday makeup mode ....I look hooded and squinty due to lack of excessive black eyeliner.  Yuck.

Overalls: Freddies of Pinewood
Top: Seven Angels
Lobster: 40's brooch
Earrings: new rhinestone cherries, ebay
Bakelite: sourced from ebay




Monday, August 29, 2011

Spectraflair Cherry & Morbid Holos

I'm still on a roll with my franken holos! I'll lump 2 into one post for you.


This one was made with Rimmel Black Cherry, a little clear and Spectraflair.


One coat.


And this was made with Wet n Wild's Morbid which is a blackened green, a little clear abd Spectraflair.


As you can see it is almost black looking but slightly murky.


I think I like it.

I have a failed orange holo also which is not nice enough to show.  I need more recipes....who has some recommendations for me?

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Spectraflair Midnite Holo


I'm so FREAKING clever!


Constance Carroll Midnight with Spectraflair and a little clear. Eat your heart out DS Glamour!!


Two coats. Finished with a coat of Seche QD.

And the best thing is, I don't have to shake the hell out of this before the Spectraflair mixes back in, this color polish must be a suspension base.......I'm not 100% sure of what this means, if someone wants to explain it to me I would be grateful!

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Spectraflair Rose Holo

I had fun the other night, shaking up my little creations! I did discover that Spectraflair will turn your lovely bright colors into dull, dark ones! Dur Carli, the powder IS a dark grey after all......


I mixed in some Spectraflair with a generic bright pink...I *think* it was a Mode color, with a litle bit of clear.


NOT HOLO ENOUGH!!! So I made a topcoat of just clear polish and Spectraflair.  The bottle looked good but my nails were not very rainbow-y.  Maybe I didn't mix enough powder in.


Much better!


Yum yum, bubble gum!  Finished with a coat of Seche QD.
Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Thursday, August 25, 2011

My Bullet Bra Revelation

WARNING: You WILL see my bra. If you wish to be spared this, please do not read!

This post is dedicated to boobs....big, droopy ones.

Before my 2 darling children, my boobs were a wonderful perky large handful. After breastfeeding them both, they resemble something along the lines of:


Minus the cigarette.

Do you remember my King Kong boobs from this post??


It wasn't until I saw those photos that I knew something had to be done about them.    I have NO WAIST for goodness sake!!  It's all BOOB!  The husband won't let me reduce them surgically (surprise) so the next thing I can only do is somehow change the shape of them. What to do? Minimizers don't really work and I've tried pushups but they send my cleavage into hyperspace.
I had been wanting to try a bullet bra for awhile, as a few of my Vintage dresses are darted at the front and made for a point so I ideally would like to wear them the way they were meant to be worn. 

But do I dare?  Would my non Vintage friends think I was even weirder than before? What if I looked like Madonna??

Then I saw this video on Youtube:




It made me realise that I need to be ME and I didn't really care what anyone thinks about me or about the shape of my breasts.  I truly hope I look as fabulous as Lynn Dell when I'm 78 years old.

After much research and trying to nut out the conversion of my Australian bra size into USA sizing and 1 failed incorrectly sized purchase, I finally struck gold. A Vintage 40's longline bra on Etsy.


And it FITS me really, really well!!  And no more lumpy back fat!





And I have never felt better. Which is the main thing isn't it? How we feel about ourselves is the only thing that matters. And yes, you may think I look a tad silly but I don't really care. I feel sexier and it makes me happier.   The only important male is my husband and his opinion is the only one I care about.  FYI, he LUVS it so it's a win win all round!

They are also extremely comfortable. There are no underwires yet your boobs naturally stay in this shape and DO NOT MOVE OR JIGGLE.  No more jiggle!! The straps are not elasticated so they STAY IN PLACE...no more straps forever falling down my shoulders and embarrassing hoiking it back into place every 5 minutes.  And no more cold pointy nipples showing through my clothes!


For your History pleasure:

Although designed in 1939 -before the war broke out- ‘The Bullet Bra’ (also known as ‘The Torpedo Bra’ or ‘The Cone Bra’) only came into production in the late 40’s.

The Second World War had a major impact on clothing, in particular on the development of the Bullet Bra.  During the war military women of lower rank were fitted with uniform underwear. Advertising at the time appealed to both patriotism and the concept that bras and girdles were somehow ‘protection’.
Dress codes appeared at the time which required that female workers wear bras on the grounds of
‘good taste, anatomical support, and morale’. Military terminology was used to describe the highly
structured conically pointed Torpedo or Bullet bra, designed for ‘maximum projection’.

By then, the image of the ‘Sweater Girl’ was born, a busty and wholesome ‘girl next door’
whose tight fitting outer garments accentuated her artificially enhanced curves, created
using a secret weapon of mass destruction: the bullet bra.


Fashion’s best kept secret, the spiral stitched bullet bra helped women like Marilyn Monroe and Jean Patchet become the ultimate style and sex symbols of their time. The bullet bra provided full support and coverage to the breasts, as well as giving them great lift and showing off a wonderful décolletage.


A bit more information you don't really need to know:

My Australian bra size is a 12F. After contacting repro lingerie manufacturer What Katie Did, they instructed me to measure my underbust and overbust to get my sizing. Your underbust is directly underneath your breasts, measure while wearing a bra. Mine is 31".   Your overbust measurement is your breast size while wearing a bra.   Mine is 38".   According to the conversion chart, I am a 36D. However, the bra above is a 38D and it fits perfectly.  As I mentioned, I had 1 failed purchase, a size 34D. This is the size What Katie Did told me go with and when it arrived it looked like something Kate Moss could have fit into. I was quite angry as these people should know better, especially when I emailed them my measurements. 

The 2 vintage bullet bras I purchased in Ballarat last weekend are sized 16CC. In a modern Australian sizing a CC no longer exists so I tried one over my clothes at the booth and it seemed to be OK. However after trying them on properly at home, they are a little snug, which means when looking for vintage Aussie bras I need to search for something one or 2 sizes larger than a 16CC.  If anyone knows of an online conversion chart for vintage to modern sizing, PLEASE email me the link!

I have since purchased another Deadstock vintage bra, but this time from the 60's, in a size 38D and it is slightly too big in the points.  Maybe by the 60's women were already starting to slowly morph into bigger body sizing?  I'm going to try and find a 36D and see if that's any better.
Unfortunately it's all proving to be a bit of trial and error.  I will prevail!

A longline bra is great when you are wearing a firm fitting garment and don't want lumpy bits showing.  They are boned all the way down and therefore encourage smoothness and correct posture.  I have since purchased a couple of non longline bullets which are my everyday ones, while saving the longline for dresses with nipped in waists or tight tops.

Till next time Beauty Queens.....may your boobs always be looking up.



Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Spectraflair Magnetic Holo

I've had my little baggie of Spectraflair sitting in the fruit bowl for over a month and I recently decided that enough was enough and I was going to Franken for the first time! I ordered all my bits and pieces from TKB and they arrived about a week later.

My first play franken was to distill some of my Essence Copper magnetic polish with a little clear and some Spectraflair. I had seen Cathy do this successfully but was still worried that I wouldn't get my ratios right and end up losing the whole effect.


The magnetic stripes did come through but it is more noticeable in these photos than on the nails in real life. Especially when you compare it to my magnetic photos in an earlier post.


The rainbow holo effect is lovely. Next time I try frankening a magnetic polish, I won't add as much clear or dilute it with any other color.


Anyone got any good Spectraflair recipes for me??

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Zoya Ivanka v's Nyx Emerald Forest


In Australia, Zoya is $19 a bottle and Nyx is $8 a bottle, so if you can find almost dupes, then share them with everyone!


Both colors are 2 coats. Ivanka is on the pointer and ring fingers.


Even tho the bottle colors are pretty much the same, Ivanka dries slightly darker and has a more foil finish. Emerald Forest looks more glittery when dry.

Hope this helps in some sort of decision making!
Sorry, short and sweet today as I have heaps of beads to make!

Monday, August 22, 2011

The Thrill Of The Chase.....

I've been on the hunt a lot lately, with doing a couple of weekend markets in other small Country towns and rummaging thru Vintage Fairs. The latest Fair was this Saturday gone in Ballarat. I don't know if it's been on before or if it will be on again but it was GREAT! Either I must be used to Melbourne prices or being in a Country town, the prices were so much CHEAPER!

Look at what I scored in one day:


A 50's novelty Chinese pagoda printed full circle skirt for $35. A 40's beaded dress in gorgeous condition and with original belt for $35. And a 50's gold beaded evening purse in excellent condition for $15.  The blue dress is very elegant and formal, something I can see myself wearing when I'm around the 40 age mark, altho the ladie's in the communal dressing room said it looked good jazzed up with my red shoes and armful of bakelite.


A 50's umbrella with lucite handle for 10. Vintage Butterfly printed paper parasol for $5 and then the stallholder gave me another larger one for free! Too big to carry around, maybe I'll hang it in one of the kid's rooms.


A pile of 40's knitting books for $1 each. I do not knit and never will, but the photos of the women are invaluable for research and hair styling ideas. An Australian 1947 New Idea featuring a very young Liz Taylor for $1.  And an Atomic style looking tie for $3.


2 Deadstock bullet bras for $5 each! And they fit!! A have a post planned on this wonderful 50's invention...stay tuned! A deadstock 50's apron and hankies set for $5 and a vintage men's socks box for $5.  I needed an apron so one for $5 was great!  The socks box will fit in nicely with my 1,500 other advertising tins.


2 Vintage millinery fruit sprigs for $2 that I will use on a couple of belts or a hairclip.


And I added to my china trio collection with the top 3 trios for $5 each....almost fainted here when the women said how much, you can never get anything like this for $5....the bottom 2 were $12 each.  And a 50's china tray complete with original sticker for $5.


One of the cars parked outside the venue. I will be on the WIN news this Monday night if any locals are reading this!  I also had 3 people recognise me from my blog and tell me how much they enjoy reading it.  It sounds rather up myself, but it was soooo nice hearing them say that!


Down one aisle of the Fair.

My Mother-in-Law picked up 3 new fur coats in as new condition (Yes, she is old school and actually has the audacity to still wear fur) for $30-$40 each.  The $40 one is Mink and she couldn't believe her luck.  She also picked up a couple of old rhinestone Coro collar necklaces for cheap.

So, who else has been hunting and thrifting lately?  Find any super dooper bargains??


Sunday, August 21, 2011

Vintage Nails Modernised!

Inspired by Nailside comes my take on a Vintage manicure style.

I went to another Vintage Fair this weekend and always do my Vintage style nails when attending one. Instead of a normal rounded half moon, I thought I'd try a sticky tape zigzag theme instead, as this seems to be the 'in' thing in the manicure world at the moment!


I started with a thin coat of a generic Black and a coat of Seche QD cause I'm super impatient. After about 10 minutes I stuck my zigzagged cut pieces of tape along my cuticles and pressed down firmly.
Starting with a black base meant that I had to seriously layer my top color and because I picked OPI Cajun Shrimp, which is a thin sheer Coral, I had to do 3 coats of it to make it appear opaque.


When it was dry I peeled off the tape and finished with a coat of Seche QD.
Easy peasy, just a little time consuming waiting for layers to dry. I recommend doing this watching a not so interesting movie.

Have a nice Sunday!