Our Engagement Photos

We finally got around to doing our engagement photos last weekend (read: Superbowl Sunday). We've been engaged for about 9 months now so I guess it was about time to get around to these. We're "frugal" and we didn't want to spend too much on these. I want all the extra cash we can manage to go to the honeymoon and the reception or as I like to call it the "after party." We opted out of getting a professional photographer and instead dragged toted my best friend all over Roswell with us.  Cost $0.

These are just a sampling of the rough photos. There's plenty of photoshopping to be done, but I must admit that I am very happy with these proofs. I wore a vintage inspired dress from Pinup Girl Clothing that I had received for Christmas. Cost $0 (thanks Mom).  Mr. Fiance wore one of his favorite suits that we bought during a 60% sale at Dillards a few years back. I can't remember how much we paid, but he's worn this enough times to work that I can hardly justify it as a cost.

We did all of our photos outdoors at public parks and in public spaces. So that also cost us $0.

Hair was done with my awesome set of hot-rollers (under $25 I might add). I was once a sponge roller girl myself, but Mr. Fiance doesn't let me wear them around him. Apparently they're a bit unattractive and I can't say I disagree with him.

My make-up came from a smashbox make-up kit which was also a Christmas gift (Thanks Mr. Fiance's Mom).

In total these photos cost us about $2.00 and about half a day of walking around. We ended up snagging some books at a thrift shop we happened to pass in case you're wondering where that money went.

I'll be sure to post the final photos once I've finished the photo editing. I just love my engagement photos and I'm so happy we decided to do them on our own. So what do you think, Readers? Did they come out okay?

1930s Skin Care and Makeup Routine

Yesterday evening Fiancé and I went to a Halloween themed RiffTrax party hosted by a friend of ours. He hosts these parties about every three months or so and always starts off with a viewing of several "Riffed shorts." Imagine my surprise when this beautiful full color short staring Constance Bennet from 1937 popped up on the screen. 

I get a little thrill of excitement whenever I see images of the 1930s in color. I immediately fell in love with her peach house coat (that shows up at about the 0:47 second mark) and her over-the-top Hollywood Starlet lifestyle. I was charmed by the fact that she demonstrated her entire morning routine over her makeup. 

It was a little hard to get everything she was saying over the "riffing" so this morning I hopped onto youtube and found the original version to share with all of you. 

So here's a recap of Constance's rather lengthy morning skin care and make-up routine and how you can immitate it. 

1. Cleansing Cream 

Cleansing creams (or Cold Creams) in the 1930s were not what you would think of when you think of "skin cleansers." Today's Skin Cleansers are typically make-up removers or soaps. Cold creams don't really cleanse so much as soften skin and help remove dirt that had dissolved into the oils of the skin. Oil dissolves oil after all. Their main ingredient was typically mineral oil at this time. I know today oil has a bad reputation for clogging pours, but you're not meant to walk around with Cold Cream on your face all day. Simply put it on a thin layer and gently remove with a cloth as Constance demonstrates. 

While I wasn't able to find a truely 1930s cold cream recipe the formula really hasn't changed for two hundred years. There are some differences in recipes, but in general a cold cream starts with an oil base and works up from there. Here's a relatively simple recipe to try at home:

Simple Cold Cream 

Beeswax                     1 ounce.
Mineral Oil                 6 Tbsp.
Distilled Water          4 Tbsp.
Borax                          1 tsp.
Essential Oil               2-3 drops.

Borax works as an antiseptic. Some cold creams contain Borax and some do not. Or you could always do what I would do and buy yourself some Cold Cream. Boot's Original is sold at most Target stores and works wonders. Whichever way you decide to go using your Cold Cream is easy. Simply rub cream onto freshly washed skin (make sure you've removed your make up, unlike Constance) and then gentle remove cream with a soft towel. Many vintage loving gals recommend a muslin cloth for removal, but say flannel also works quite well. 

2. Stimulant Cream 

What Constance is referring to is and oil based cream with something to stimulate the pours. I don't know exactly what product she is using or its ingredients, but the common beauty regimen of the 1930s almost always included some sort of skin tonic, skin stimulant or skin freshener as a follow up to cleansing cream. This could be a cream that contained some sort of skin astringent (cinnamin oil, lemon oil, tannic acid etc) or sometimes a skin irritant to wake up the skin and give it a "youthful glow" (read: redness). I did find one very interesting recipe for a stimulating tonic: 

Orange and Lemon Tonic
Put one slice of orange, half lemon and two tablespoons of castor sugar into a pan with a cup of milk. Heat the mixture to near boiling point. When it cools, it is ready for use. Store it in the fridge. 

Not totally sure how I would feel about rubbing cooked milk on my face. So if you are like me and not quite brave enough to try the above you could try this recipe:

Rose Water and Witch-Hazel Tonic
Mix 3/4 cup rosewater and 1/2 cup witch-hazel. 

Apply to a cotton ball and gently dab over face. Quite refreshing and it smells better than just pure witch-hazel though sometimes I think it makes me smell like an old lady's house. 

3. Complexion Mask

Again I'm not sure exactly what Constance is using here, but I've found a lot of skin care ads from the 1930s that list tissue cream or "skin food" as the next step in a lady's skin care regimen. In the 1930s it was believed that wrinkles were caused by a loss of fat in the face. As the face lost fat the skin fell into the holes left behind causing wrinkles. Tissue cream often contained peanut oils, animal fat, lanolin, or sweet almond oil and it was thought that the skin absorbed these oils and replenished its fat with them, thus reducing wrinkles (hence why Constance wears this cream the longest). This of course was not the case, but that didn't mean they weren't effective in a morning beauty routine. The oils simply sat on the skin and acted as a moisturizer instead. So this is just another moisturizing step. 

In my search for a 1930s complexion masks and face foods I stumbled across formulas from the 1900s through 1950s and found the contents are pretty much the same for a good 50 years. All start with several oils or fats for a base and ad some sort of scent. The earliest recipe I could find for skin food was from 1902.  

Skin Food - 1902

White wax	1 ounce.
Spermaceti	1 ounce.
Lanolin	2 ounces.
Sweet almond oil	4 ounces.
Cocoanut oil	2 ounces.
Benzoin (tincture)	3 drops.
Orange flower water	2 ounces.

Melt the first five ingrediants together, take off the [heat], beat together until nearly cold, adding little by little the benzoin and orange flower. 

I might suggest replacing the Spermaceti (Sperm Whale head fat) with something like Beeswax or avocado oil and the Benzoin (today used mostly as an adhesive) with something like vegetable glycerin. Also, if you have a wool allergy I strongly suggest you don't use Lanolin oil. 


And thus ends the cleansing portion of the video.

4. Glow Base
Constance's glow base is a cream foundation. A pale mauve or ivory with a touch of pink was a popular foundation color in the 1930s, by the late 1930s more peach colored foundations were becoming more popular. A 1930s foundation was very very thick and quite oily. Sheer foundation is not the way to go when you're trying to get the 1930s face. The make up of the day covered very heavily and created a matte, solid color base for make up. Ideally very little of your natural skin color should show through. 


The closest product I've found to a 1930s cream foundation is stage make-up. Ben Nye makes some fabulous full coverage make up. Their concealer pallet and their cream Euro Series are great for the 1930s look. 

5. Cream Rouge 
Most girls don't like cream rouge she says. Well that's because it's a pain in the you-know-what to apply. I don't like it, but if you're going for an authentic look I can definitely point you in the right direction. After you've applied your "glow base" you should have a very stark very matte complexion. You can't leave it this way or you're going to look like a ghoul. The next step is to apply a rouge to your cheeks. Try to look for a pastel pink for an early 30s look. For a late 30s look you can use purple reds or raspberry shades as well.  


Something similar to cream rouge is available in makeup stores like Sephora or Ulta today, but it's more of a cheek stain. Colose makes a good cream rouge, but the colors are limited and it can be difficult to find in stores. Ben Nye stage makeup makes a very thick good coverage cream blush that I love the look of, but I will warn you that it can be difficult to apply subtly. And by difficult I mean major major major pain, needs lots of practice, don't try this if you need to leave the house in 10 minutes. 


To use pat your index and middle fingers onto the blush pallet so you get just a touch of color on them and apply to the cheek bone in circles. Repeat, adding color very slowly and over several layers. 

6. Powder
Follow up with any good powder that you like and matches your foundation base. I sometimes like to use a very very pale pretty pink powder for a lovely glow. 

7. Lipstick
Constance tells us about how she's finally found a lipstick that stays on, but not what brand she uses. I say grab whatever lipstick brand you like and go nuts for this part.  I've had good luck with Covergirl's Color Last line for staying power, but it doesn't have the heaviest pigment. 


For a 1930s lip you want to do a very thick application of lip stick. For an early 1930s look try pinker lighter colors. For a late 1930s look you can use dark pinks, bright redish purples, and even chinese red. For shape you're going to want to do what was called a rosebud mouth. You'll want to give yourself full lips with an elongated bow. You should actually be going a little beyond your natural top lip line. 

Constance neglects to tell us how she does her eyes, but I found the video overall to be very cute and charming. I hope you've enjoyed and are inspired to try your own vintage face care regime. I recommend doing all this in a glorious home made silk housecoat or lounging suit. 

Vintage Beauty Tip Round Up

I finally installed a google friend connect box over on the right there. So if you prefer google friend connect to the blogger "follow" option or an rss feed, please check that out. 

Readers, I just love vintage makeup. I really only wear makeup in the 1940s style as most of my friends and family can tell you. It's easy, takes about 5 minutes, and looks super cute. Here, allow me to share today's makeup look with you via cellphone picture. I call today's look saucy secretary, though in actuality I am not a secretary. Enjoy the 1990s computer monitor behind me there. See, I'm so retro. Even at the office. Right...

Yes those are natural beauty marks (evidence), but I still like to highlight them with a little coal. Makes me feel very Marilyn. Maybe even double Marilyn? So intense? (It's still funny to me okay!) So you can imagine how much I love watching tutorials and reading blog posts about vintage make-up and styling. In the past week the blogging world has been blessed with some fabulous posts.

Lisa at Snoodlebug gave us a great little history lesson about manicures and shows off her fabulous nails. I love vintage manicures, though I admit I hate doing them myself. So hard to get those little creasants at the bottom right.

Fleur at Diary of a Vintage Girl gave us a fabulous fabulous video tutorial about creating that scrumptious 1940s lip. You might remember Fleur as the model from my post about Besame lipcolor.

Beauty is a Thing of the Past shared this neat article from 1938. What a pretty hair style I thought to myself, I sure wish I had the patience to create this updo. Maybe I'll do something similar for the wedding. Or maybe I just have a stylist do it for me. I like that plan better.

Couture Allure told us all about buying vintage stockings. I don't really do vintage stockings myself... mainly because I'm a stocking killer. I'm very talented when it comes to getting runs or getting my stockings caught on something, but do check this post out if you have any interest in vintage stockings especially if you're not sure what the different denier numbers mean.


And as a wrap up I'm going share with all of you the first official piece of my Wedding Ensemble. (Mr. Fiance, please avert your eyes).

Royal Blue Contrast Seamed Stockings from What Katie Did. $20.00 (You don't think that just because this is my wedding I wouldn't try to keep things under $25 did you?)

See you!

Weekend update

So this is as far as I got this weekend on the Ruby shorts.

Made some darts and hemmed the pocket. Still have no clue what Ruby wants its pocket seam allowances to be. I went with 3/8 as that seemed to make the pocket the right size. I think on Purple Ruby Shorts #2 I'm going to omit the back pocket. It's cute, but it is detracting from that 40s vintage vibe. Of course, Purple Ruby's fabric colors are already detracting from its vintage vibe. Purple Rubys I think will have much more of a 70-80s look, while Pink Ruby's will have a nice 1940s or 1950s feel to them. I'm already planning to pair Pink Rubys with a white button down blouse, a large brimmed hat and some white vintage sandals. I need to swing by the goodwill and my favorite consignment store before I pick any shoes up on the internet, but these are at the top of my list.

Currently they are $20.00 on etsy. I've been dying for some white vintage shoes since I saw this post by the Vintage Baroness. I, of course, was not willing to pay for any of the shoes she posted despite how glorious they were. I was, however, very inspired and went in search of something a little more reasonable. To me dressing Vintage is about having a vintage look that evokes a certain time period, but is not necessarily accurate.  I suppose you could say I lean towards the Rockabilly side of vintage fashion in that way.

Luckily for me, fashion is cyclic. What was once in style will be again and again and again. The sandals are probably from the 1960s or 1970s. The maker is Corelli. The heel is just perfect for the vintage 40s look. It wasn't very common to see different colored heels at the time. You'd be surprised at how difficult it is to find a pair of white peep toes with a solid white heel these days, but if the white heel isn't important to you etsy has a lot of white 30s and 40s looking strappy shoes from the 1970s and 80s under $20.00.

I'm also on the lookout for a sweet 40s red lipstick shade to go with the look. Besame has some great Vintage Reproduction lip colors. I'm leaning towards Merlot for my 40s look.

What do you think? The 1940s look is characterized with a flat foundation, light eyes, a dark liner over the eye (cat-eye optional), a thin highlight under the eye and a dark lip. I'm worried Merlot might be a little too dark for my pale skin, but maybe not. Here's a cosmetics ad from 1947.

Blue Red is pretty dark as you can see. Besame's Classic Enchanting Lipstick even comes in a vintage styled lipstick tube. How cute! The designer of their lipstick collects vintage lipstick tubes and designed their packaging accordingly.  Besame Classic Enchanting Lipsticks come in a large variety of colors, are quite thick, are highly pigmented and are about as close to the lipstick of the 1940s as you are going to get. The tubes sell for $15.00.

I Vinspired myself

I had a bit of a lazy morning today. Spent most of it working on some graphics for my Beau's business twitter account. So I had plenty of time to set some hot rollers and create a look inspired by the photographs from yesterday.

So I fired up my $24.99 set of hot rollers and went to work. I call this look my Quick and Dirty retro look. After curling the whole look only took about 15 minutes or so. When I'm going for that accurate look I take more time with my hair and usually use sponge rollers set over night. Girls of those days always seemed to have every curl and hair in line, but I wanted this to be fun, a little bit messy, but still recognizably retro. Yay or Nay?

I went with the flat faced 40s make-up routine that I mentioned yesterday. A very flat base foundation with a mineral powder. Combined that with dark eye shadow liner. I've been having a serious allergy issue with eyeliners lately and have had to settle for black eyeshadow and a wet brush. Seems to be working out pretty well, but I miss my thick smooth liquid liner lines. I used some shimmer dust around the eye which seems to show up a whole lot more in the photos, but just believe me when I say it's not that defined in reality. Not too shabby for a 5 minute make-up job.

And on another quick note. I have 7 followers! Oh! Em! Gee! I know this is like nothing to most of you, but I've never had followers before. Thanks so much for your support and comments! It makes posting things like this really fun and awesome.

Just noticed I forgot to fill in my beauty marks! I'm running to do that now. Best!