Make, Do & Spend

I keep hearing the phrase grown-up glamour bandied about in the media.
I'm confused, people tell me that I'm glamorous and, at 47-and-a-quarter years old today, I'm officially a grown-up, but when I google those words my screen fills with images of women looking drab in pared-down neutrals, absolutely nothing like me.

There's not a hint of a neon pink bell-bottom, primary coloured boots or aquamarine eye shadow. 

No sign of a flamingo choker,

No armfuls of clanking bangles or even a cobalt painted nail.
Give me ridiculously rainbow glam over the greige variety any day of the week.

Still, it wouldn't do to all be the same. If we were then this vintage dress wouldn't have been reduced to clear in Blighty Bazaar, somebody would have snapped it up weeks ago. It appears psychedelic maxi dresses aren't everyone's cup of tea. Thank god. If every bugger loved them as much as I do there wouldn't be enough left to go around.

We've been busy, organising trade pitches for the ever-growing number of festivals we're doing this summer, reorganising the stockroom and travelling over to Leamington Spa to restock Kinky Melon's retail space at Blighty Bazaar - we can't replenish our rails fast enough lately, very exciting!

We did make a time for some chazza shopping. Our buys included this vintage Kay effects guitar (a make favoured by Jack White and that annoying bloke from The Beatles), some Spanish souvenir tat and a pair of fabulously kitsch religious tee shirts.

We managed a bit of recreational pimping, too. Jon Banksy-ied up some granny bags and I re-purposed an old canvas and some vintage fabric into poodle art and gave the waste bin in the office a Agatha Christie makeover.

1960s St Michael metallic tee shirt & super-flared pants (Courtesy of the fabulous Curtise), vintage suede waistcoat (present from Liz), collar (made by me), Crazy Vix portrait by Clare.

Great news, I did some research and discovered that Barry M ship to most countries - cruelty-free, bargain basement neon lipstick, rainbow nails and glitter eye shadow can now be yours, too.

I'm off to have a quick bath while Jon knocks up veggie Spag Bol.

See you soon!

On Beauty

Keep it simple. Hell would freeze over before I took that advice sartorially but, in the case of skincare, its my mantra.

Tee shirt (20p, jumble sale), Flower power crimplene skirt (hand-made by me using fabric from Linda), Fake Litas (£5, local market), Age 10-11 opaque tights (3 for £1, off the market)

No sooner did I hit 30 than I became plagued with terrible skin, constant breakouts and dry, scaly patches. I wanted to cry every time I caught sight of myself in a mirror. I tried every high-end, over-priced and hyped-up skincare range on the market to no avail. Yes, the packaging looked lovely and the sales assistants were attentive & kind but the spots remained and all the products did were drain my bank account. In the end I chucked the lot away bought a basic range from Superdrug and, I swear, my skin cleared up almost overnight.

I'm no product junkie. This is my bathroom shelf. Own brand body butter, moisturiser, eye make-up remover, eye cream and facial wash  - I don't bother with a scrub, I just wash my face with a flannel. The crystal deodorant lasts a couple of years and the Lush Karma solid shampoo and Jungle conditioner only need replacing every six months. 

Here's where I keep (and apply) my make-up.

Linda made me the Vix card and the patchwork hoop. I owe my child-free state to this little chap.

I've never worn foundation. The thought of applying a layer of brown gunk to my face makes me feel a bit queasy. This radiance cream gives my face a golden shimmer and detracts from the flaws.

The shimmery streak on the right is the radiance cream. 

Once I find make-up I like I stick with it. I'm not interested in trends, miracle creams or celebrity endorsements although I splashed out on a tube of BB cream from Poundland, which I've yet to try! 

I've worn Barry M since it launched in 1982. Its cheap, cruelty free and the colours rock.

These pots of Barry M Dazzle Dust last for years. Tania bought me the liquid eye liner for my birthday. So many strangers have stopped me to ask the brand that I reckon Boots owe me commission.

Subtle colour? Not on your life! Since I went over to the dark side and become a raven-headed bird, vibrant eye shadow has become like crack - I can't live without it. These Sleek palettes are fantastic; cheap, cruelty free and they last for ages. La Dama (my make-up hero) gave me the one on the left.

That No7 shadow was the one I wore on Friday's blog post, it came free with a Boots voucher about three years ago. The cruelty-free Saffron shadows are 99p from an Asian beauty shop in town. I only ever wear crème blusher, never powder. 

I always apply my eye shadow with the applicator provided. Brushes are too messy.

I normally use real hair lashes from the Asian beauty shop, which last about a month. These Eylure ones were on offer last time I went shopping so I gave them a whirl. They're not bad but feel quite heavy compared to my usual brand. I don't bother with mascara, I dye my blonde lashes once a month.

This is the only perfume I use, Karma by Lush.

My nails are almost always by Barry M. I'm wearing Mint Green today.

Here's the skirt I'm wearing - as art. I made it on Saturday afternoon and wore it to the pub in the evening. The joy of dressmaking!

This isn't an advertisement for Barry M, Lush or Superdrug! I bought it all myself!

Hope you had a fabulous weekend.

See you soon.

Hostess With The Mostest

 That's a proper dinner party dress, I thought, when I unfolded this vintage maxi from Linda's parcel of joy, already picturing my hair piled high in a huge topknot, draped across the kitchen table, sharing my favourite recipe for dhal fry served up in my groovy collection of retro tableware.

Talk about the best laid plans and all that.... this morning, as well as my roots, I've managed to dye my forehead a lovely shade of Superdrug's Natural Black, which no amount of nail polish remover has managed to shift - so there's fat chance of an elegant up-do.

And, if I'm not battling with a cat (or three) for possession of the kitchen table,

it's Jon with his Novum Deluxe IV sewing machine and a pile of vintage old men trousers to be skinnied up. There's precious room for me, Sixties ceramics and South Indian delicacies.

Jon, Walsall's answer to Billy Idol

If you're wondering about his sewing talents they hark back to his punk days. He couldn't afford Vivienne Westwood's prices so, like me, he used his mum's Singer to customise stuff he'd bought from jumble sales. We really are a match made in heaven!

In the absence of kitchen space you'll have to make do with my corner of the lounge, the bit not littered with salted peanuts, biscuit crumbs, cat hair and clippings from VW Camper magazine. You'll notice my chair is strategically placed next to the bar (those knitted poodles house the Lidl rum & value cola, I'm such a classy bird).

1970s Crimplene hostess dress worn with Ultraviolet opaques (Xmas, 2010), orange suede platforms (Helga the great) and an Urban Outfitters neon & perspex belt (present from Liz, 2011), Beaded earrings (Auroville Ashram, Pondicherry, India 2011)

Plans for the weekend? Ours will no doubt involve real ale, curry and avoiding the forecast snow as much as humanely possible.

Have a good one & see you soon!

PS Check out our friend Jo's amazing portraits of Curtise, Sandra and me.

Cat Fight

When it comes to wearing animal print I don't hold with any of that toning it down nonsense.

Its highly camp, over-the-top & ridiculous and it turns heads so, if you've already got everyone's attention, why not make staring worth their while?

 Last week Hey Homewrecker! Linda sent me a marvellous parcel of joy, each item worthy of a post in its own right. Friday's post featured the nightie and today this '70s tiger print C&A frock gets an outing. Buoyed up by last night's British Sewing Bee I hacked 6 inches off the hem before I left the house this morning, midi length makes me look like a midget.

Pony print bangle (Ilaria), Fruit wrapper (Senora Allnut) and the rest from charity shops

Several of my blogging friends have recently discussed essentials they can't live without - from grey tee shirts and pencil skirts to skinny jeans & blazers. Nothing as grown-up for me, just a shed load of cheap bangles.

I didn't realise how far my addiction had spiralled out of control until I emptied out my bangle chest and managed to fill an entire bucket with the bastard things.

This is where they usually reside, in the larger of the two chests. These used to sit on Mum's dressing table we were children and I vividly remember my brother and I rummaging through them and discovering our baby teeth in an envelope, forever ruining tales of the tooth fairy. 

Look how organised I am - three drawers - one for plastic, one for silver and the other for wood and brass.

This is the larger of the two after Vixification - trimmed with pompom braid (bought at cost price from my number one fan on the market), decoupaged with Bollywood posters and with the missing drawer pull replaced with a brass button from a vintage blazer.

A Bollywood-inspired bangle bureau!

Tiger print dress worn with 1950s fake leopard coat (£5, Age UK), 1950s rose bag (20p, car boot sale, 2006), crochet corsage (handmade by Sarah Misfit), 1960s velvet & rhinestone choker (£2.50, vintage fair)

Today's been a whirlwind of chazzing, spring-cleaning Ebbie (she's the 1971 VW Type 4, 411LE Variant behind me) and running errands. Jon's got himself a vintage sewing machine in absolutely mint condition. If you're very lucky I might be able to capture him at work altering his trousers.

See you soon.  

Lets Go Charity Shopping!

Yay! Liz had the day off work today so we indulged in our favourite pastime, ransacking the chazzas of the West Midlands for cheap, impractical and frivolous things.

Armed with big bags (Liz made this beauty),

Sensible shoes (mine!),

...and a £4.30 daysaver.

We caught the bus to Royal Sutton Coldfield to explore.

Here's just a few of the town centre charity shops.

We made frequent stops for refreshments (and to inspect our purchases). I bought this 1960s groovy perspex candle holder (99p) and the flower power PVC bangle (50p)

Liz snaffled this 1960s Kangol angora beret for £2.50

No girls' day out would be complete without the obligatory Wetherspoons lunch - cheese & tomato panini with chips and a generous measure of dry white wine (£5.69 a head - bargain!)

It seemed a shame not to make full use of the day saver ticket so, once we'd exhausted Sutton, we jumped on the bus to nearby Boldmere and explored the chazzas there.

Liz got some hand knitted gloves, an embellished warehouse dress, a Laura Lees For TopShop silk blouse, a paisley print shift dress and a satin work shirt.

I bought this odd wood-mounted picture 'cos I can't resist a pretty lady (especially when she's a cheap one).

These 1970s saucers (at 25p each) will be great on the kitchen windowsill as plant pot stands.

A ceramic poodle thermometer for 75p? How could I resist?

Crimplene maxi (my mate Curtise), 1960s vinyl bag & hat (charity shops), fake fur coat (£7, clearance sale 2012)

Talk about a good day, on the way home the owner of my favourite Indian trimmings market stall let me have a big bag of pom pom braiding for cost price and Jon had not only unloaded the van & put away all the stock from yesterday but also had jacket potatoes ready & waiting.

See you soon!

Linking to Patti's Visible Monday and Judith's Hat Attack.