Best victory roll tutorial

Diary of a Vintage Girl | Vintage Fashion & Lifestyle: Victory Rolls in a jiffy!

Like Christmas Morning

OK, so I know I am a total noob when it comes to pin curling, but The Unveiling (as I have come to call it in my mind) actually got me out of bed before 9 AM on a Sunday.  I sprang forth, like it was Christmas morning, scampered to the bathroom...well ok, dragged my de-caffeinated butt to the bathroom mirror and was frightened to behold ...

Yeah, so wind out of my sales, time to make some coffee.  This good lady must be thoroughly caffeinated, or the world is just not right, yes? Ten minute cappucino making ritual complete (grind beans, load, tamp, seals, free milk steam facial, you know, the regs) and I find myself in the living room instead of the dreaded mirror. Chicken.  

So, eventually finding my way to the mirror and unclipping my pincurls.  Some of them stayed wound cleanly like snail shells against my head until I pulled them gently to finger-comb my hair. And then, Foof! It's really fluffy, and now I don't know what to do with it.  Argh.

Many mixed messages.  My sister's, "Don't brush it!" but one blogger I had read said it needs to be brushed.  I finger picked, then combed with broad tooth, and then I brushed it. I used Garnier's frizz ease to take the fried looking frizz down to a manageable level.

I don't know about this pin curl stuff.  I think I'll do more shoe shopping and work on my caffeine level before I tackle it further. Christmas was a disappointment...

Chic + Rockabilly = My New Look?

OK, so this year I REALLY am going to blog more.  But, I am expanding my blogging topic to include more than nail art topics.  I am restyling my look, and my resolution is to wear a dress or skirt at least once a week, and post it or purge it.

And the new look?  I want Chic, I want Fun, Funky, Retro, a Little Feminine, a lot Nerdy, and Rockin!
So, Chic Rockabilly.  Yeah, I totally made that up.  It's not just Retro, it's a little tongue in cheek since I am a total nerd. And forget the saddle shoes, let's not get all crazy like--I won't touch those unless I draw them on a pair of ballet flats or something.  Now, that's an idea, more later.

What a pin curl could look like...

 I love Rockabilly, but I'm over 40 (eh hem, can I add "barely" over, without feeling too vain? no, I can't!). I am also a teacher (which I love doing!), so I have to limit the cleavage, skulls and tats and such.  I am thinking more Chic + Rockabilly = My Look, not full on Rockabilly and not full on Chic. I want to keep it playful. As I am developing my new look for the new year, I've been doing a lot of research via Google, and Pinterest, my handle there is http://pinterest.com/mrsmenzie/my-style/.

By playful, I mean lots of color instead of the typical limited Black/White/Red of a Rockabilly Gal. I am sure with a bit of tweeking and some very fun shopping that my wardrobe will evolve if I wear the pieces I have purchased and hanging in my closet. I am totally in love with certain looks, but I'll get more on style later.  For now, the biggest (and cheapest) impact I can make on my look is my hair. I already have plenty of it.

What MY pin curl DID look like.

Tonight is the fifth night of 2013, and I am sitting in my fourth attempt at pin curls.  Not. Easy.  My first full head attempt. The first attempts, I didn't even make it through an entire head before I dissolved into all thumbs, and took them out in frustration.  My pin curls were a tangled mess!

Youtube seriously let me down on this.  Usually, I can watch a video on youtube and be just like those "I slept at a Holiday Inn last night," commercials and pretty much do anything I set my mind to.  But oh no, not pin curls.  It was bad.  Really bad.  Nobody told me it would be THAT bad the first time I tried it.  They all made it look soooo simple.  Evil, evil youtubers.

New things I have learned as I venture on my new hairstyle:  1. Braiding the bottom half of your head does NOT approximate a pin curl, and 2. Setting Lotion is downright crunchy, and not in a 'good' way.

If it's not too scary, I'll post the results tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Here's another cool article by Betsey McClain on nail trends for Spring 2011.

2011's 6 Coolest Nail Polish Trends  By: Betsey McLain

Summary-Pale blues, metallics, lavenders and nudes are in.

Man(niquinn) Hands

Ah hah moment...nude polish should contrast with your skin tone--if it's too nude, and you look like you have "Maniquinn hands"...I hadn't thought of it that way, but that finally puts the words to something that had bothered me about nude polish.  How do I go nude?  I have used OPI's Designer Series for a base coat when I do french tips so...even my nudes never look "nude," I always add a little sparkle to add depth and detail.  McLain's take:  make sure your polish is a high gloss and a shade contrast.  My sister complained for years I was stuck in a nude rut, I think I am out of that rut now.  I dress conservative, even blah, alot of the time...for work...my nails show my weekends, my artisitic side that carries through the week.

Why I am thinking about this?  I enjoyed this article, and it used the phrase that caused me pause and wanted to share it with you:  2011's 6 Coolest Nail Polish Trends By: Betsey McLain on refinery29.com .  The article doesn't cover nail art, just nail polish trends, but shared some great colors to keep in mind when shopping.  It's great to have a phrase to fit the situation...

Say no to Manniquinn hands!

8 Crazy Cool Nail Trends Seen at The Spring 2011 Shows

I was checking what's hot in nail trends and wanted to share this post with you.

I will re-do ALL of these looks for you, and shoot a video for my take on each of these hot trends. Vote in the comments which one you want to see first! OK, I know theres only a handful of you reading, so the first response gets the first video/directions.


8 Crazy Cool Nail Trends Seen at NYC's Fashion Week for the Spring 2011 lines as written at hotbeautyhealth.com  ( Photo is not mine, but is from website story link)

Cheetah tips

Love a little cheetah in my life now and then!

To create this look, I used Glad Press'n'Seal to mask the bottom half of my nail, then stamped the cheetah onto the tips using my Konad m57 image plate with black.

It's pretty simple, and leaves absolutely no residue.  I press it onto the center and then pull the sides down just a bit to get a curve to the tip pattern.   Looks sweet!