I'm Back! Let's Catch Up.

I’m back!

So I haven’t blogged for a while now, things take over, life, decorating, Instagram stories (speaking of which, come and have a follow). So I woke up today with the fire burning to get back into it. So here I am. I need to revamp the blog a bit so I’ll be doing that little by little and changing direction. 

I now live with the bearded wonder and have done for a while actually, my current obsession is decorating. Over the past two years we’ve worked hard to transform the house of magnolia and brown to a more colourful/mid century/Jetsons inspired wonderland. I say wonderland because frankly, I think it’s fabulous. I just can’t stop. So I’ll be doing some posts to show some before and afters, some DIY jobs we’ve done and some absolute bargains we’ve found online. 

I’ll still be posting about some hairstyles that I love, my hair was so long for a while that I just couldn’t do anything with it, so I’ve had a load chopped off so this should resume. Let’s also not forget about the fashion, you know I love weird and wonderful outfit, this has not changed.

Here's a few pics from the last couple of years, have a nose, I'll be back! 

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Cherry Dollface Photo Shoot at Le Keux!

Some people say you should never meet your heroes, WRONG! I'm glad I didn't listen to them, meeting Cherry was one of the best experiences I've had. So forgive me, this post is two years in the making. I'm not entirely sure why it's actually taken me so long.  I've shared these images on my Instagram so it's about time I show them off properly. Cherry Dollface was my gateway into the vintage/pinup scene. I'd always loved it but didn't realise there was a whole world of people out there who lived this life daily, that is until Instagram and Youtube. Since discovering this wonderful world I've met some of the most wonderful women you could imagine, empowering, encouraging and inspiring. It all started for me because I wanted to do my eyebrows in a pinup style and I found Cherry's channel. 

Then I realised she also did videos about how to style your hair, and so the interest grew. I've kept up to date with her videos and posts ever since and I found out she was doing a UK tour and offering photo shoot packages with hair and make up done by her lovely self, I couldn't turn it down so I signed up and patiently waited. 

The shoot took place at Le Keux Vintage Salon in Birmingham, a place I had been wanting to visit for a while actually. They do photo shoots, hair, make up and offer lots of different packages so it's definitely worth a visit. I arrived with a dress I had made especially for this occasion, a leopard and cherry print dress with a huge skirt and underskirt. It was the most complicated dress I've ever made and it was by no means perfect but I loved it. I found the fabric in a little shop in Lyme Regis called Sew-La-Di-Da Vintage and I managed the buy the last of the stock they had of it so I had to make sure I turned it into something fabulous and I feel like I did it justice.

The salon is wonderful and the staff were amazing. Lynsey looked after me and talked me through what would be happening and really put me at ease. Not having done anything like this before I was a bit nervous and really excited to meet Cherry. You could hear her before you could see her, bouncing around and chatting excitedly with the lady she was shooting with before me. Before it was turn I had a little look around at the rooms available to use for shoots. Spoiler - they're all great.

So it was turn, meeting Cherry was lovely, she was so warm and full of fun you instantly felt excited. I hadn't had my make up and hair done professionally a lot so it was a real treat and I had intended to pay a lot of attention so I could replicate it at home. Unfortunately I was too caught up in conversation with Cherry to pay proper attention to all the processes so styling my hair successfully with heat still remains a mystery to me. 

Make up close up (excuse the millions of filters)

I love how she did my make up, I used to always use eyeliner on the bottom of my lids but she didn't and I couldn't believe how big it made my eyes look. She gave me a bright red lip also, I love red lips but never felt too confident with them like I couldn't quite pull them off because my lips were big and I felt I looked like I'd just pushed my face into jam. But then Cherry said something that has forever changed how I feel about my lips, she said I only feel like that because I have big lips, this doesn't mean I can't wear it and basically that my big lips were wonderful. Since then I've worn lipstick almost every day and love when they look big and bold rather than shying away from them. Big lips embraced. Tick.

I have no idea how she did what she did to my hair, she did tell me, and the products she used. But I can never re-create this, it looked perfect. The curls were so silky and defined, and the set held for a couple of days. When I use heat my curls drop in a matter of hours and can use get success from doing wet sets.

A few sneaky dressing room snaps before the shoot began

Suddenly I was ready to get dressed. I really wasn't sure what to expect as I've never looked like this before, but I couldn't have felt more confident and couldn't wait to get started. I had a few sets to shoot in and I wasn't a natural, at all! But soon I felt more at ease and didn't want it to end. Lynsey took the pictures and was great at giving me direction and tips which helped me so much.  It was a wonderful day, I made some great memories which I'm now ready to fully share.

 Ignore the dodgy hem...

Above is probably my favourite 

I feel like this one is perfect for my blog name, I also love how it shows off my dress

If you're thinking of doing a shoot like this but haven't done one before and feel nervous - do it anyway. Give it a try, I see bloggers who do this all the time and I wish I could afford to do it more. I can't recommend Cherry or Le Keux enough.

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Superdrug Haul

 

I never thought I would be one of those girls who love make up, and who loves trawling the aisle of stores like Superdrug for the perfect shade of matte lip stick, but here I am, trawling and loving. 

I always kind of stick to the same colours, a sort of deep, powdery, vintage pink, I really don't know how to explain it but that about sums it up. I do of course love bolder colours but I have quite big lips and sometimes feel like it's too much for the office and you don't have to keep on top of lipstick bleed or it rubbing off too much if it's a bit closer to a natural shade. Plus, I'm a bit clumsy and would 100% wipe half of it across my face so I'm always hunting for that perfect shade. Usually I love Meir by MAC but I wanted a liquid matte lip colour as another option. 

So I went in and had a look around, I always end up around the Makeup Revolution stand, I tend to steer away from their lip products as you generally get what you pay for with lip products and I've never had much luck with them. I did buy a lip kit from them recently but it was so awful there are no pictures of the event...

I did however see a nice cream contour set (£.3.50). I really need to up my contour game so this was a nice affordable step to start with. I've tried to powder ones before but find them too dark for me and struggle to blend so cream was the way to go this time. While I was there I also found a nice primer, they don't have it online anymore but you can see it in the picture. It's different from most primers I've used that are creamy. This one was almost a serum with a shimmer running through it so putting it on makes me feel instantly fabulous. 

The stand is next to Freedom Makeup and my skin has been looking a little red recently so I bought some green camouflage and correct concealer to sort that out. I'm still on the fence about this product, it doesn't feel like it melts into my skin very well, but it does tackle the redness and it's £3.00 so it's fine enough. 

I was still struggling to find the perfect matte colour until I found myself looking at the Barry M stand, they have a new range of 'Matte Me Up' lip kits. The kits comes with a liner and a lip paint for £6.99.  I chose the shade 'Berry' which perfectly fulfills all my colour preferences. 

 I tried it and loved it! I've not used lip liners very much but this was brilliant. The lip paint goes on really well too and dries to a lovely and velvety touch in seconds. This colour was so great I'm going to go back to look at the other shades. I thought for £6.99 it was a really really good value for the quality. I thought I might need to use the liner to keep the bleed from the lip paint in check but you don't actually have to. It actually does stay on all day as well and during eating a huge burger...because I'm classy like that. 

 

p.s. yes I love all the filters

 

Now I'll finally end this post with a bit about the face products from their own Naturally Radiant range. I've felt I needed to finally start using serum and cream and I can have sensitive skin so I thought I'd give this range a go as it was on offer. I actually really love it, I've been using them every day, night cream and serum and will definitely continue. At the moment you can pick up the cream and serum for £2.95 each.

I also bought Micallat water, because you know, it's life. I've always found great buys at Superdrug, any recommendations?

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Halloween Is Coming...Make Sure You're Ready!

Who doesn't love Halloween? OK, some people. But I do, a lot. I would wear this stuff every,single, day. And I do to be honest, so I've rounded up a few of my faves to show you. I do sometimes find it hard to find great novelty seasonal wear in my size but the fashion industry is nailing it at the moment. What else have you seen that you love? Comment and let me know or tag me on Instagram (@victoryrollsandmixingbowls). All of the links are in the titles.

1. Boohoo Plus Emma 'Bite Me' Bodycon dress £12.00

If you want to salute Halloween without drawing too much attention to yourself (although, hello? You want people to be looking at this dress!) then this dress might be a good option. It's fairly plain but you'll look killer in it, black is always a winner in my book and I often wish I could tell those around me to 'bite me', so it's win-win right?

2. Boohoo Plus Tia Skeleton Hand Halloween Tee £10.00

Another beaut from Boohoo,  they do subtle Halloween really well at the moment, although to be fair I would use these both all year round. This one is probably more office friendly and you could wear it out for the evening as well. Again it's not too full on, some of you may prefer something a bit more out there but I love how this one is a bit more casual, it has a bit ole scooped neck which means you could probably team it with a nice little choker for some 90s vibes, I like it how they've styled it with some wet look/leather trousers I would probably do the same if I were you!

3. Asos Curve Halloween Tights £8.00 a pair

Tights that fit my thighs, hurrah! I know, I know, it can be a pain to find cute novelty tights to go over majestic thighs such as mine, but these go up to size 24-26 so I'm fairly sure even I could even I could wiggle into these fairly happily. I love them all but I think the bats are my favourite, and for only £8.00 a pair it would be rude to not try them all...especially now as I signed up to free next day delivery...whoops... 

4. Club L Plus Cape Velvet Midi Dress £34.00

Oh. My. God. Look at this little beauty, this appeals to all my witchy traits. While it may not be covered in baths, spiders or skulls, I think I'm in love and would totally rock this for Halloween. I have a bolero in a similar fabric and I'd love some more green velvet pieces. It's looks so luxurious and is a pretty good deal at £34.00. It's also not just limited to Halloween...with the other festive season just around the corner this could be your go-to dress for many a occasion. 

5. River Island Plus Black Choker £8.00

Now earlier I talked about chokers, I really love this one in the new RI Plus range. It's pretty simple in case you don't want to feel restricted and it's only £8.00. I really like the diamante circle in the middle for a little bit of sparkle. This is a great starter choker before you try out maybe a full one or maybe even a spike one. Ah, I do miss the 90s.

6. Hell Bunny Harlow 50s Dress £49.99

Now this print is one of my favourites out there at the moment, I have it in the skirt version and I love the dress! Just look at the print, it fulfills all of your Halloween dreams with pumpkins, bats, spiderwebs and ghosts. I got lots of compliments on the skirt and I intend to wear it all year round, no shame, no shame at all. They also do it in a top too... 

7. Voodoo Vixen Katnis Dress £66.99

Right, this is another one of my own purchases, it's been about at least a year but I bloody love it. It makes me feel a million quid when I step out in this dress. It's lovely and heavy too and...it has pockets!!! It is a bit pricier than the others but the proof is in the quality. The scalloped neck is to die for and let's not even get started on the colour and the cat print. I recommend you get this as soon as you can. Now.

8. Interrobangart Pumpkin Circle Skirt £50.00

If you really want to rebel against the subtle then this baby is for you, being a bit sucker for skirts I couldn't resist adding this one. I've bought from this lovely before and her skirts are great so go and have a look. I love this one, just look at the huge pumpkin face, it's great! She's designed the fabric herself and you can contact her about altering sizes as they're made to order. 

Images taken from Boohoo, Asos, River Island, Hell Bunny, Voodoo Vixen, Interrobangart.

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