Still in a festive mood so I thought I’d do another Outfit of the Day. Today it’s the Amelia Check Doll Dress from Collectif. Their winter stuff is adorable this year if you like retro repro. 

I’ve wanted this dress for ages and it finally arrived a few days ago. On, it’s even nicer than I hoped though not at all forgiving to le bewbs. If you’re a bigger busted gal you might want to get the next size up. This dress has a tie around the waist so you can always cinch yourself in without any trouble. It’s got a nice skirt to it which is not quite narrow enough to be A-line but not wide enough to be a swing skirt. Its somewhere between the two and very flattering. The velvet collar is lovely and much better quality than usual. Collectif is really stepping up in recent months with some beautiful pieces. 

The shoes are some old peep toes that I’ve dug out of the wardrobe and have had for ages. I bought them in a Payless in Manhattan and haven’t really worn them but loved them. 

I thought I’d do standard makeup and just add some false lashes for added *~*~*Zazzle*~*~*~*

Also, I find that Russian red has a much more retro looking finish to it even though Ruby Woo has a more authentic texture. I think RW is more of a summer colour in comparison to the deeper tones of Russian Red. 

Outfit of the Day - Work clothes. 

I thought I’d do a non-retro OOTD today. I don’t always wear retro clothes but I like to nod towards past eras when I’m not. I’m particularly fond of the late 50’s/early 60’s at the moment when fashion began to shift away from the post-war restrictiveness of Dior’s New Look and focus on Hollywood stars as fashion inspiration. I’m thinking Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe’s “at home” style photos; the ones that saw them in capri pants and fitted t-shirts and leotards or a casual shirt. Usually, this look would be finished with some thick heeled flats or ballet pumps but I’m making it a little more jazzy with heels today as all of my ballet flats are old and crappy looking from dog walking. I’ve also got a day when I’m not doing too much running/walking after kids. Just sat down and doing work. I used to wear heels all the time and in the past few years I stopped because of work practicalities. Wearing heels is something of a forgotten luxury now and I like it a lot. 

The make-up I have on here is a modern twist on the 1950’s face: a heavy Liz Taylor brow, winged eyeliner and false lashes. I’ve used MAC’s Blanc type on my lid and browbone and accentuated the crease with a pale beige that I’ve had knocking about for so long I don’t even know where it’s from. i’ve blended them together and put on plenty of Soap & Glory’s Thick & Fast Mascara in Super Jet Black. My lip is Midimauve, also by MAC. 

My outfit is a plain stretch cotton scoop neck and the capri pants are made by Collectif. They are the comfiest trousers ever and perfect for running about/driving in. With a not to Dita and the women of Mad Men is my bag, part of Mango Touch’s A/W 12 collection finished with a faux vintage scarf from H&M. The shoes are very old and a little battered and are from Blanco. 

Outfit of the Day/ Friday Weigh In! 

Yes, Friday again! Today’s dress is another 50’s circle skirt from Vivien of Holloway. This time in cream tea rose. It’s maybe my favourite print of theirs and I’ve been coveting one for literally years. At last I have one and it’s perfect. Also, the lippy I’m wearing here is Love That Red by Revlon. It’s one of their original colours and is period authentic. I believe it was released in 1952. I also post my face, partly because a few people asked and also because I’d like to call upon all of you pale skinned with pink undertones ladies. Can anyone recommend a good foundation for my skin tone? Here, there’s virtually nothing under a mid-olive flesh tone and I can’t find anything paler. If anyone knows of a colour you think would match then I’d be very appreciative. Also: New hair! I’ve cut it into a long sort of middy ‘do so that when I curl it up it looks authentic but is still long enough to be worn modern should the need arise. I was channelling Betty Draper’s front flip.

In diet bore news, I’ve really hit the old exercise bike hard this week, doing about an hour/45 mins a day. Though I’ve lost only two more lbs so far but wow - I feel so much better for it. Much more energy so I can’t complain. i’m also trying to make healthier food choices and have discovered the rather awesome Veggie Belly (link feature not working but it’s www.veggiebelly.com) site which appears a veritable goldmine of legume based goodness. Still no luck on the bingo wings though. : / 

So, after much waiting I have finally got my hands on Dita Von Teese’s new makeup with Art Deco. Honestly, I was mixed about this because while Art Deco is a good quality brand, celebrity makeup lines are usually a bit meh. But, naturally, coming from Dita Von Teese, I should have known better. The colours are retro perfect! Lots of lovely matte eyeshadows, matte lipsticks and natural looking blusher colours. There are also 4 slightly shimmery shadows, liner and mascara available too. I really had to restrain myself because even though it’s “drug-store/chemist” makeup, it is still not cheapy cheap. Each of the little eyeshadows are 5€, the power is about 17€ and the magnetic palette, 27€. That said, the palette is refillable and honestly, a very substantial metal coated container. It’s not the kind of cheap plastic that would break if you dropped it on the bathroom tiles. 

Onto the actual product then; First up is the magnetized container with the eyeshadows/blush. This is great. Trust the ever efficient germans to come up with something like this! Art Deco make a series of eyeshadows/blushers/concealers/correctors in small magnetized pans that all slot neatly - in whatever combination of colours you need - into these little containers. I picked a neutral flesh base colour in 554, a taupe shade for the eye socket in 520 and a deeper brown for either the crease or for an evening look, in 524. All of these shades are matte, true colour powders. I’ve yet to test them on my eyes throughout the day, but from sweeping them over my hand they seem as smooth and lovely as MAC’s matte shadows. Fingers crossed. The blusher in this set is No. 20, a light pink shade. It blends very well, as one would expect from an Art Deco product, but isn’t as tanfastic and TOWIE-looking as many blushers. For vintage fans in particular, finding that subtle pink shade is a nightmare but these colours are the closest matte shades I’ve seen yet. Again, their colours are comparable to other brands, in this case, Illamasqua who make some very similar colours of blush.  A lovely touch on this palette and the powder is the mirror which is a clear magnifying mirror that has “Beauty is an Art” scrawled in one corner in Dita’s signature looped handwriting. Cute. 

Next up is the powder which is a fine milled, heavy coverage old fashioned matte powder. There is a slightly floral smell to it which some people may find off putting but it reminds me very much of the scented powder compacts that women used in the 40’s-60’s. In particular, Guerlain’s poudre aux violettes, something which I got for a birthday present once and never bought again because it was so horribly expensive. This though is far larger, just as good (maybe even slightly better colour wise) and comes highly recommended. it will be interesting to see how it fairs in this extreme heat we’re having. 

Finally, there is the lipstick, something which I was really looking forward to. There are six shades in the Dita Von Teese Classics range - starting with a rich red-orange, progressing through three shades of red (starting with a bright pin up red and finishing with a deep, vampy 30’s claret shade) and finishing with two shades of pink - a bright blue toned fuschia and a pinky red shade. I chose one of the reds in the middle. This is No. 620. It is a fairly mid toned red, maybe with a little blue in it but balanced enough that I think it would be a nice, classic red for all skin tones. It is really a semi matte tone, not as chalky as MAC’s Ruby Woo but still “dry” enough to look authentic. Upon first application it seemed smooth and not at all claggy. However, I’ve been wearing it for a couple of hours now and it’s starting to get a little sticky and “bitty” which isn’t great. I suppose that could be remedied by wiping the whole lot off and reapplying throughout the day. It doesn’t smell too strongly and tastes faintly vanillary. It’s barable but I’m still not swayed enough to abandon my trusty Ruby Woo forever. That said, the colour does look beautiful on and hasn’t started to wear off yet even though I’ve been sipping water for a good hour or so. 

Overall, I’m very impressed with Dita’s range for Art Deco. I think as the line suggests, the colours are classic shades that are suitable for everyone. There’s no crazy high fashion shades and they’re not the kind of things you won’t be wearing in six months time. They’re timeless colours and formulas which I think gives this range a really great selling point.