Some of you may have noticed that from time to time there are a variety of typo's, misspellings and malapropisms with the writing of this blog, and some of the other writing coming out of Lady K Loves.
This isn't out of laziness, or not double checking and proof reading things, it's simply because I have dyslexia. It's really not a big problem in day to day life, in my case it simply means the ability to take sounds and turn them in to a series of letters (and the other way around too) doesn't work very well.
One of the aspects of this is that I may well get the right letters just not in the right order, and some times I even get a right letters to spell a word.....just not the one that I wanted! However, I can still construct an eloquent sentence, I just might not spell all of the words correctly.
Though my brain doesn't hold series of numbers or letters in my head very well, it works much better in a different way. I'm far better at the maths needed to cut pattens, work out shapes and design clothes that fit and flatter, so there's always a sliver lining.
Anyway....I just wanted to provide a little information as to why there will be a lack of good spelling cropping up here.
Friday, 30 September 2011
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Powder Compact
I've wanted to post about this for a long time.....When I was little I really wanted a powder compact, they always looked so pretty, and something about the solidness of them really appealed to me. That they didn't just get thrown out when the make-up ran out, weren't plastic and cheap. They're truly glamours, combined with matching cigarette case, perfume defuser or lips stick holder it's the sort of thing dreams are made of.
But then as I grew up I wasn't really one of wearing foundation everyday and I didn't really know how to use powder. Until I found a blog post which someone else had written telling you how to re-fill them. The idea of just having a compact case to use as a mirror didn't work for me, I have a real love for practical design rather than just pretty.....
So deciding they were the way forward, I changed how I did my make-up a little. I'm very lucky becuase for the most part I have pretty clear skin so now I use a combination of concealer with powder. Mainly concealer is for my under eye's and occasional blemish, plus around and on my mouth to give my lipstick something to hold on to, then powder on top......
Anyway, I doubt you care about my beauty routine, here is how you can refill your own vintage powder compact. The good news is loose powder is normally cheaper than pressed so you can go 'up' a brand or so for the same amount of money, you'd normally spend. The resulting finish is very soft, once you run a brush over it, the top layer loosens very easily and has the finish of loose powder, with less potential for mess.
You will need
2. Next gently pour in some of the pressed powder, if you can pour in small spoonfuls of the surgical spirit, other wise pour very carefully. Now mix together to form a paste.
3. Repeat step 2 until the whole tin is full. I was busy nattering away and taking pictures so put way to much alcohol in it...hence why the whole dish is swimming on my table. It's probably worth mentioning here to make sure you do this on a surface which is either protected, covered or on which a little alcohol won't hurt. Glass tops are very good for this as long as they don't have an fancy finishes.
4. If you would like a texture on top you can press a piece for fabric into the draying pan.
5. Leave to dry, this is really important, if you use it too soon the surgical spirit will dry out your skin and give you a break out. The best way I've found to be able to let them dry enough before use, is to have more than one, what a shame!
6. Enjoy!
I first read how to do this over a year ago....and I can't find the blog anywhere, but DC Metro Retro and The Vintage Lifestyle File, both have blogs on this, with the same technique but no pictures. I also found Powder Compacts which is run by the lady behind Vanroe compacts, which sells restored compacts and has a page on refilling with loose of modern pans from various brands. She also talks about the alcohol option detailed above as being messy, it is a little, but I really enjoy the ritual of it, like setting your hair, or cleaning and refilling a zippo lighter, polishing your shoes. It makes sure you look after it, keeps in in use and at it's best performance, it's the chance to clean it all out, take care of any little bits which might need a touch up and get it back to full working order. That said I'm after 2 new mirrors for mine and would love it hear from anyone who knows a UK based company that can help.
But then as I grew up I wasn't really one of wearing foundation everyday and I didn't really know how to use powder. Until I found a blog post which someone else had written telling you how to re-fill them. The idea of just having a compact case to use as a mirror didn't work for me, I have a real love for practical design rather than just pretty.....
So deciding they were the way forward, I changed how I did my make-up a little. I'm very lucky becuase for the most part I have pretty clear skin so now I use a combination of concealer with powder. Mainly concealer is for my under eye's and occasional blemish, plus around and on my mouth to give my lipstick something to hold on to, then powder on top......
Anyway, I doubt you care about my beauty routine, here is how you can refill your own vintage powder compact. The good news is loose powder is normally cheaper than pressed so you can go 'up' a brand or so for the same amount of money, you'd normally spend. The resulting finish is very soft, once you run a brush over it, the top layer loosens very easily and has the finish of loose powder, with less potential for mess.
You will need
- 1 powder compact
- selection of cotton wool and buds,
- surgical spirit
- spoon/fork/mixing implement
- loose powder
1. Use the surgical spirit to clean the whole compact out, if it has a pan in the bottom (which you will need so if the one you buy is missing the original one you can probably get a replacement from here), take it out, clean all parts and leave on a clean surface to dry.
3. Repeat step 2 until the whole tin is full. I was busy nattering away and taking pictures so put way to much alcohol in it...hence why the whole dish is swimming on my table. It's probably worth mentioning here to make sure you do this on a surface which is either protected, covered or on which a little alcohol won't hurt. Glass tops are very good for this as long as they don't have an fancy finishes.
5. Leave to dry, this is really important, if you use it too soon the surgical spirit will dry out your skin and give you a break out. The best way I've found to be able to let them dry enough before use, is to have more than one, what a shame!
6. Enjoy!
I first read how to do this over a year ago....and I can't find the blog anywhere, but DC Metro Retro and The Vintage Lifestyle File, both have blogs on this, with the same technique but no pictures. I also found Powder Compacts which is run by the lady behind Vanroe compacts, which sells restored compacts and has a page on refilling with loose of modern pans from various brands. She also talks about the alcohol option detailed above as being messy, it is a little, but I really enjoy the ritual of it, like setting your hair, or cleaning and refilling a zippo lighter, polishing your shoes. It makes sure you look after it, keeps in in use and at it's best performance, it's the chance to clean it all out, take care of any little bits which might need a touch up and get it back to full working order. That said I'm after 2 new mirrors for mine and would love it hear from anyone who knows a UK based company that can help.
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Blogger Dresses
For those of you who don't follow Retro Chick or Andi B Goode.....this week both girls blogged about the dresses they designed for Lady K Loves....
Both are limited edition, with only 7 being made in total, one in a bespoke size for both of the bloggers and then one in each size from an XS to a XXL (we're listening to your requests for larger sizes and producing then where we can). We know that releasing these at the middle of the month might make buying them a bit tough for some people so we're offering a holding service with a deposit. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more.
The dresses are £90 each, made out of vintage fabrics and trimmings.
I love both of them becuase they're so different. It was really exciting working on the project, the distance and our busy schedules made it take longer than originally planned. But I hope we're found something which is a bit of the bloggers and a bit of Lady K Loves.
LKL x
Gemma in her Retro Chick dress
Andi B dress worn by Miss Kitty Boo as the sample is a little small
Both are limited edition, with only 7 being made in total, one in a bespoke size for both of the bloggers and then one in each size from an XS to a XXL (we're listening to your requests for larger sizes and producing then where we can). We know that releasing these at the middle of the month might make buying them a bit tough for some people so we're offering a holding service with a deposit. Please get in touch if you would like to find out more.
The dresses are £90 each, made out of vintage fabrics and trimmings.
I love both of them becuase they're so different. It was really exciting working on the project, the distance and our busy schedules made it take longer than originally planned. But I hope we're found something which is a bit of the bloggers and a bit of Lady K Loves.
LKL x
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Photo Shoots, Cocktails and Tattoos
It's been busy here and there's not been time to fill you in with all of the exciting adventures we've been up to!
A couple of weeks ago now we did a photo shoot with Betty Flowers, Sarah French and models Hannah, Stef and Debs. It was a really busy day, we started at about 10 in the morning and didn't finish until 7:30. However it was really worth all of the effort, and was so much fun I don't think any of us noticed the time.
Betty working on Hannah as we all set up.
Part of the aim of the shoot was to get some great shots of the swimwear which had recently come out in new colours, which you can see above. We used a lovely cocktail bar, affectionately called Volcano Joe's in Black Market in Hastings Old Town. Joe makes a mean cocktail, and was a really great help all day, particularly since he didn't mind us steeling Debs (in blue) for these shots.
We headed out to the sea front to get a few of the new Annette knit, shorter leg jeans and polka dot Shirley dress, whilst the weather and light was holding out and got some great shots but the miniature railway line and station. You can see some of the sea front attractions in the back ground. It is one of the things which works really well in Hastings, as long as the weather holds out you can always find a great location to shoot at.
Next up was the lurex dress, She's Not So Dumb, it's named after an old war poster I had. From a modern point of view it's hugely insensitive,and stupid. But I think you have to take a different view point and hope that we have come a long way from these ideas! All that said, it's a great image, and I love the idea of this siren wooing men in to revealing all of their secretes.So the She's Not So Dumb dress was born, though doesn't really have much to do with this one.
The other shot I really wanted to get was the one below, as I've written about before, our Dorris Dress in white with black polka dots has a look of the famous Berts Belles image. And this is one of what we got, the wind wasn't going in the right direction, we spent a lot of time trying to pull Hannah's skirt up whilst the wind fought us, and then we looked behind us to find a band of builders watching from half way up a building on the other side of the road! I think we made their afternoon much more interesting.
Finally we went for coffee....it was all too much! And coffee was also on the way to our final location of the day Madam Butterflies Tattoo Parlour
There was also loads of shots to get done of things like the new knitwear, Bernie and different colours of the capri pants, including the limited edition purple leopard print ones. We were looked after by not only the guys in the studio, particularly Ben, Betty's wonderful gentleman who not only put up with all of our giggling, but also set everything up for some shots including his tattoo gun!
A couple of weeks ago now we did a photo shoot with Betty Flowers, Sarah French and models Hannah, Stef and Debs. It was a really busy day, we started at about 10 in the morning and didn't finish until 7:30. However it was really worth all of the effort, and was so much fun I don't think any of us noticed the time.
Betty working on Hannah as we all set up.
We headed out to the sea front to get a few of the new Annette knit, shorter leg jeans and polka dot Shirley dress, whilst the weather and light was holding out and got some great shots but the miniature railway line and station. You can see some of the sea front attractions in the back ground. It is one of the things which works really well in Hastings, as long as the weather holds out you can always find a great location to shoot at.
Next up was the lurex dress, She's Not So Dumb, it's named after an old war poster I had. From a modern point of view it's hugely insensitive,and stupid. But I think you have to take a different view point and hope that we have come a long way from these ideas! All that said, it's a great image, and I love the idea of this siren wooing men in to revealing all of their secretes.So the She's Not So Dumb dress was born, though doesn't really have much to do with this one.
Finally we went for coffee....it was all too much! And coffee was also on the way to our final location of the day Madam Butterflies Tattoo Parlour
Thursday, 1 September 2011
Adverts
Just a very quick one this morning.
You may have noticed we now have sponsors, or adverts or what ever you’d like to call them. I just want to make sure it’s known that, no body has paid to be on this site as a link, these are for the most part friends, who do great work, who I want to help spread the word of the great things they do.
You may also notice over the course of the blogs I write, a lot of these peoples names will appear, which is great, because I get work and socialise with such talented people.
Get clicking and seeing what other people do!
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