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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Pretty Pastels And Florals From Primark

This weekend we took a day trip down to Southampton, my mum stock up at Fabric Land there for her sewing business and they have great shopping there. We also have family there which is why we go so much, otherwise it'd be a long trip for lycra. It was really hot all weekend but especially Saturday, and while I'm trying to snap out of dressing for winter 24/7 I still find myself wearing black jeans and cardigans almost constantly. As I did that day, black jeans, black strap top and black and pink mini kimono - which was light, but still.

So after we got four huge bags of lycra we dumped the bags at my brother's place and headed to Primark. I spent four years of my life working there, some at this store actually so going in midday on a Saturday does not worry me. I know how to shop in Primark, I know how it lives and how it works...I know where the good clothes hide and how the sizing works. Something, I probably shouldn't be too proud of but I am, it's like a marathon and if you don't take it seriously - you won't survive. 

It's nearing the end of the month but I still couldn't resist spending £57 on a few items of clothing but mainly accessories. The first item I found was a blue skirt which fell just below the knee, and I mean 'just'. The thighs don't really come out often so this skirt covers them just enough that I won't wear tights. I love the vintage cute and fullness of this skirt (£10), it also has a pretty and subtle floral pattern which gives it a nice bit of texture without looking like curtains...although I'd still wear a skirt made from old curtains. 

I've seen some prom dresses by Scarlett & Jo in Evans which I love the look of, but want something a bit lighter for the day so tried to re-create the vibe of the look. I found some of their basic round neck tops for £3.50 each which sits really nicely under the skirt. It also covers a good amount of my chest without any spillage - always a bonus, but still looks flattering.

I've always stayed away from belt, why? No idea! But I'm definitely a lover of waist belts. I picked up these beauties from £1 to £2.50 each. I'm not going to lie, I bought a couple of these because they're Figaro colours...the others because they'd look pretty with some of my rockabilly dresses. I teamed the outfit with the back and gold bow belt, it fits really well and is really cute. Must find other things to wear the others with! 

A few of the other things I bought were two chunky floral and pastel necklaces. They make quite a statement and not normally something I would go for but I think they're really summery and WILL make an effort to wear more jewellery. I love the wire headband I picked up, I have a couple proper ones at home but this was a nice light one to wear, I have a weird shaped head and the bigger ones can often shift around but I'm hoping this one holds a bit better.

 

One of my favourite purchases was this mint satchel bag, again, most of what I bought was to match my car. I have zero shame and I don't care. I will not be happy until I find a mint coloured dress with the perfect cut...but I may just make one. 

I bought a few other little essentials that weren't noteworthy but I find that place so good for all the little thing, there are gems there but you do have to hunt if you're not a size ten and 5"8 to get things to fit as you want when you have a particular idea like I did. Luckily, I found exactly what I was looking for. We also stopped for a quick bite to eat at a new American style diner Buzz in Southampton, do the biggest portion of non-sharing wings I've seen, alco milkshakes and epic burgers. My favourite was the chef's gourmet special - anything with a slab of goat's cheese is a winner in my books. 

There were also these amazing wedding cars on Above Bar Street...totally want something
like this in my life.

Hopefully there'll be more posts of me looking like an actual girl...probably still in black.

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