Tag: Vintage

8 Dec: Ciate Mini Mani Month – Vintage

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Okay you guys, I have a confession… I took these yesterday, because I knew I wouldn’t have enough time to get everything done today – I’ve gone off on a day trip with my parents to a Christmas fair. Or rather, by the time you read this I will have! I also took a peek behind the window for this colour earlier in the month – and I’m glad I did, because the bottle had a tiny hole in the top, hence the colour leaking everywhere! Thankfully, Ciate’s customer service was excellent, and they sent me a replacement.

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This creme is called Vintage, a blue-hued grey. Ciate says: “Rich, deep and majestic grey. Unusually striking and even more so when paired with our Matte top coat, Mattnificient. Wear this futuristic nail trend and watch the compliments roll in.”

Unfortunately, I don’t have a matte topcoat, but I still like the look of this bold colour! It’s lovely as a creamy gloss, but I think I’ll try it out with matte if I ever get one…

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Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair

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On Saturday (1 December), my husband and I popped into Judy’s Affordable Vintage Fair, so I could get my hair did for our big night out (more on that later)! I managed to restrain myself from spending big, although I’m now kicking myself because my parents have planned a roaring ’20s Agatha Christie murder mystery night for New Year’s Eve (okay, I sorta suggested it… and already had the kit… shush). If I had known then what I know now, and all that – although I have to admit, I’m more of a ’50s-era fan! (Despite the victory rolls!) There’s been some fierce, flapper-related eBaying since then, but we’ll get to that later – onto the fair!

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The fair definitely lived up to its reputation as being affordable, and there were plenty of goodies on offer. I love vintage accessories, and although I don’t own any vintage clothing, that’s just a matter of time… I did try on a lovely long-sleeved white lace dress, but in the end I couldn’t get on over my hair – how about that for ironic?

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One of my favourite things about vintage fairs is how beautifully all the products are displayed. I spent most of my time taking pictures of everything rather than looking properly, in the end!

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I love vintage homewares, and I even spotted some Babycham glasses just like my nan used to break out at New Year’s!
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That brought back some memories, I can tell you! I also coveted these gorgeous phones, and there was plenty of pretty crockery to be had.Vintage Fair 6 Vintage Fair 2

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I think for sure the highlights of the show for me were these pair of frankly amazing hats…

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I especially had my eye on the bottom one – I don’t even know what this style of hat is called, but it’s lovely. I think the price was £50 – sadly too much to spend on something I know for a fact I’ll never really wear (as opposed to things I know I probably won’t wear but take a punt on anyway in case one day I wake up thinner, more daring, and more likely to be invited to lounge around a casino in Monte Carlo or something…)

These babies, however, were in my price range, and something I know I would wear…

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So I bought the lovely silver one on the right – £6! Bargain!

Did anyone else visit the fair at the weekend? Or any other vintage fair recently? Let me know what you bought! And if you know what that style of hat is (and where I can get one, just for future reference, y’know), leave a comment – I’d be everso grateful!

Much love for the Powderpuff Girls: my vintage makeover

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I love the vintage look, but I don’t indulge myself very often. See my post on Hush – I work from home, and the postman just isn’t as ready with the compliments as she should be, so I generally slob around with no makeup on, wearing comfy clothes and a dressing gown (actually a Wonder Woman dressing gown – she’s glam, right?).

But when I do go all out, I like to do it properly, and one of my favourite indulgences is a makeover at The Powder Room!

This company offers a selection of reasonably priced beauty and hair services, and I’ve been there twice for makeovers since I found out about them. The first time was for my hen party, and the second was recently, when I had to attend a party for work.

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The salon isn’t that easy to get to on the Tube to be honest, you have to walk about 15-20 minutes from the nearest station, but once you get there it is totally worth it! There’s a lovely atmosphere, cocktails on hand (for £5, not bad!), and everyone is beautiful and happy. Heaven!

When you get your makeover from The Powder Room, they offer you a look book to go through with different hair styles or make up. Both times I’ve chosen the same thing – a pony tail with a quiff, and a cat-eye with red lip for my make up.
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Looks pretty snazzy in front of that Tube sign, doesn’t it? Totally unintentional, but I love it!

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The great thing about this make up is, it lasts so much longer than when I do it – and I can NEVER get my eye liner to flick like that, no matter how hard I try… Sigh. They also use lip liner, which is great – I so need to get one of those. It just makes everything look neater and last longer.

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Here’s a photo of the detail at the back – I’d never be able to get my hair looking like this in a million years… (And this is back at the hotel, after the party, about 12 hours later!)

Has anyone else been to this parlour of perfection? What did you get done? Anyone planning to go in the future? And, has anyone tried the ‘tricks of the trade’ lesson for £60? I would love to try that out!

Visit the boutique’s website here, or check out main site here – they also do events and parties, and they have an online shop as well!

Water Off A Duck’s Back

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At the SkyRide I was excited to come across a British company selling some seriously stylish (and by all accounts, very waterproof) cycling jackets. Now, I already have a couple of waterproof jackets – one is for walking, and one is a cycling jacket – but both of them are fairly short and neither of them are particularly fashionable. Once you see the beautiful macs from Water Off a Duck’s Back, I’m sure you’ll agree that ‘fashionable’ is definitely the right word to describe them…

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In fact, looking at them, you probably wouldn’t even realise that they’re cycling coats at all…

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But, there are loads of really nifty touches to these that make them perfect for cycling – such as reflective bands on the wrists, back of the waist tie, and the collar.

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The sleeves are extra long so that they can cope with the extension of your arms when you’re reaching for the handlebars. There’s even a special clip at the base of the coat that keeps it from flapping open as you cycle. And, there’s a detachable hood as well.

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You can probably make out the gorgeous purple lining in the hood too – beautiful! You can even tuck your coat neatly into the hood to make it more portable. Best of all, the coats are waterproof – not just, as the site points out, showerproof.

The coat comes in black or stone (love it, but I’m totally scared of getting it dirty!) for £130 – not cheap, admittedly. In fact, probably more than I’d pay for any coat, but let’s just say the sun was shining, my credit card was calling me, and Antonia was offering a special discount at the event which shaved off a few pounds…

Check back later for a real review of the coat in action – I’m pleased to say I’ve not had to use it yet, but my favourite season is approaching and I’m sure there will be plenty of showers!

Etsy treasury: vintage leather and red

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I mentioned before that I’d been searching Etsy for some great bike accessories and hadn’t found much. Well, I’ve been keeping up with my searches and found a lot more than I originally thought! I decided to put them all together in an Etsy treasury list here, so you can check out these extremely beautiful objects and the talented folk who produced them!

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Find my Etsy treasury list here!

What are your favourites? I have to say, I’m totally loving the barrel bag and the mudflaps – seriously cool.

I don’t need to be taken seriously…

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…when I have such an awesome bike basket…

That’s right, folks – I pimped my basket with a garland of fake roses that I picked up on eBay. It’s not exactly the best way to prove yourself as a serious cyclist, but frankly, I don’t care. Maybe I’ll make someone happy with my silly flowers – who knows?

Pimp My Ride: Custom Headbadges

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If you have a gorgeous vintage or Dutch style bike, I can imagine these custom headbadges looking right at home!

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Made by Laura Crawford of Tangerine Treehouse, these one of a kind badges are hand-crafted to your exact specifications, all for the very reasonable sum of $80 and up, for copper (silver is from $95).

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These are so beautiful and charming, I wish I had one – but they would also make an excellent and thoughtful gift, too! (I can totally picture one based on the bird from the Zelda logo, which would be perfect for my hubby!).

If your tastes run to the more electic, you might get a kick out of this bike mustache:

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The mustache comes in copper ($45) or sterling silver $55), and is also available on Etsy.

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It’s so cool to see artisan products like this are available for your bike – proof that cyclists are just inherently cool and slick people, maybe?

Lady of the Night: Miss Cyclist 2011!

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I love Bobbin Bicycles’ site – if I was an affluent girl about London-town, I’d pop in a pick up a Pashley Princess in black (or maybe a Pashley Sonnet Bliss Claret), a cycling mac and some leather gloves, and then cycle around Piccadilly Circus, dodging buses. Alas, I need something a bit cheaper and a bit more practical, when it comes to my bike, but I still love to browse. One of my favourite products is the Miss Bobbin Sash:

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Priced at a rather reasonable £20, this is a reflective sash that you can wear over your coat or clothes, and personally, I think it looks awesome! I wish I’d had something like this last year when I was jogging at night – it’s a useful item that really doesn’t need to be limited to cycling use.

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It shows up quite well in the dark, and because it’s so prominent, you don’t need to be wearing light coloured or reflective clothing underneath to be seen. Also, I would imagine you could store it in your bike bag so you never get caught out on a dark night (or morning!).

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I love the colour schemes of these as well – and check out those cute little buttons!

Find the Miss Bobbin Sash at www.bobbinbicycles.co.uk.