Saturday, February 22, 2014

Hairstyle Me Vintage

Hello!

I apologize the long hiatus! In the past three weeks: I was knocked out by the flu, went on vacation, and returned to a busy week of work. I'm finally finding time to catch up on blogging, and will be posting more about styles that I've been trying!

Today, I wanted to talk about hair. For one thing, I'm definitely not shy when it comes to experimenting with it! I've tried many styles from the 1920s to the present day. From short to long vintage hairstyles, there hasn't been anything that I haven't tried at least once! Whether you are looking for some inspiration, or just curious about vintage inspired hairstyles, here is a look at some of my favorite looks:

Party at Gatsby's

Telephone Girl

Full of Grace

 
Technicolor Television

Lavish Liz

"V" for Victory

Paging Bettie

"Mod"ern Madame

For the majority of these looks, I needed to curl my hair. It was a preliminary step I had to take before tackling most of the hairstyles above. As part of my experimentation, I used a variety of methods to style my hair ranging from: pin curling, foam rollers, flexi-rods, and curling irons/wands. 

*As a disclaimer, I'm not claiming that my styling methods or hairstyles are 100% authentic to the time periods represented. However, my vintage recreations are inspired by the looks of those times.

To wrap up, here are some of my thoughts on these hairstyles:  
  • The most challenging: Victory Rolls. Although a lot of people say that it's an "easy" hairstyle to achieve, I've always struggled with how much hair I need to gather, where I should roll them, and how to get them to stay in place. It's a trial and error, and I'm constantly practicing!
  • The easiest: Faux Bettie Bangs. It was probably the fastest style to do because I took a lot of shortcuts. All I did was tease my hair, roll a portion my hair into a hair sponge, and then pull the rest of my hair back into a bun. 
  • The most fun to do: The Roaring 20's. At the time, I wanted to switch gears from the fresh feminine looks of the 40's and 50's and try something new. Despite struggling with S-Waves and trying to create the illusion of short hair (when I had long hair), I still had a lot of fun!
  • My Favorite style: The luscious locks of the 40's. I love brushing out my curls, and watching my hair become these romantic, soft waves. It's a style that I love repeating time and time again!

There you have it! I hope you enjoyed this post and will try these hairstyles out! Please let me know if you have any questions or requests for my future posts. Happy styling!

Until next time!

Melissa





Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Romantic Valentine DIY: Crown of Daisies

Hello!

Today, I wanted to share one of my favorite DIY Projects for Valentine's Day: the flower crown. I love it because it's whimsical, beautiful, and simple. Whether you are planning on making this project for yourself, or thinking of giving it away to someone special, I think it is a wonderful alternative to a traditional flower bouquet. What do you think?

If you're ready to get started, here is what you will need:

  • 1-2 bouquet(s) of silk/fabric flowers of your choice
  • 7/8" wide green ribbon 
  • scissors
  • hot glue gun
  • a pen

STEPS
:


  1. To begin, take your ribbon and measure it around the circumference of your forehead. Use a pen to mark off the ribbon length on each side of your head. Make sure to measure an additional 6-12 inches of slack on each side before trimming your ribbon. This "slack" will be used to tie the bow at the end. You can always readjust the tail length of your bow later on to your taste.
  2. Then, carefully remove the flowers and leaves from the bouquet(s). Make sure the leaves remain in tact. Your flowers may have an additional plastic "stem" still attached to it. That's okay. Don't worry about it until step #4.
  3. Next, hot glue the leaves side-by-side onto the ribbon until you reach your pen markings.
  4. Now, cut off the "extra plastic stem" still attached to the flowers. Discard the plastic stems and then hot glue the flowers side-by-side. (Tip: Cutting the extra plastic "stem" is crucial, because it will allow your flowers to lie flat onto the crown. You will recognize it because it will stick out at the end.)
  5. Lastly, tie your remaining strands of ribbon together to form a crown.

Side View

Back View

There you have it! A simple DIY project for Valentine's Day. I hope you will try it out! If you have any questions or want to show me your completed crown, you can message me or tweet me @tran_gerine. 

Good Luck!

Melissa

Saturday, February 1, 2014

All About Bettie

Happy February everyone!

It's my favorite month of the year, and there is so much to talk about! I can't wait to post some more of my favorite looks, styles, and DIY projects for you this month.

Let's get started!

Today, I will be talking about a new hairstyle that I recently tried, "Bettie Bangs". Bettie Page was well-known for modeling and escalating the popularity of this iconic look. If you ever get a chance to read or watch a documentary about her, I highly recommend it!


Before trying the look myself, I wasn't exactly sure how I felt about the idea of short, fringed bangs. As a young woman with a round face, I wasn't so sure if it would suit me at all. Naturally, I went onto the internet and looked up tutorials and pictures of other women who had tried the look. I eventually convinced myself to give it a shot. Faux Bettie Bangs seemed like a safe bet because it did not require commitment to cutting my hair. At least if this didn't work out, I tried the hairstyle in the privacy of my own home.

Here are the steps that I used to achieve my look:
  1. First, I took one of my donut shaped bun sponges and cut it in half.
  2. Then, I back combed my hair to give it some volume.
  3. Next, I sectioned of a small semicircle shaped portion of hair toward in the front of my scalp to save it for the bangs.
  4. To continue, I pulled back the rest of my hair into a bun to keep it out of the way.
  5. At this point, I took my front section of hair, and rolled it around the hair sponge toward my face to achieve the bangs. I made sure to spread out my hair evenly to conceal the sponge, and bobby pin everything into place. 
  6. To finish, I added some pomade and hairspray to hold down any flyaway hairs, and tied a silk scarf around my head.
NoteYou can try this look with long or short hair. I recently cut my hair about shoulder length (no layers) and have blunt bangs (about eyebrow length). Did I see this as a setback? No. If anything, it was a great challenge to tackle. Work with what you have. It makes the end result all the more rewarding!


There you have it! My experimental Bettie Bangs. No scissors required! I had so much fun trying it out! Maybe next time I will be brave enough to wear it out! My next goal is to keep practicing new ways to make my fringe better. Who knows, maybe next time I'll try it sans the hair sponge.

What do you think?

Do you have any good tips that could help me to improve the look or technique of my faux Bettie Bangs? I would love to hear your feedback! Thanks for stopping by! 

Until next time,


Melissa