It’s been over two years since I have written a post. I’m not quite sure where I fell off. I do know it has a lot to do with my personal battle with depression. My family made a lot of big changes within the last two years and it’s been overwhelming to say the least. But, I chose to keep this platform with hopes I’d continue to write again in it. I can honestly say I’m a different person than I was two years ago. Depressed or not, I have grown immensely. For this I am thankful. And one thing still remains the same – my love for vintage. With that being a stable part of my personal interests I would like to write again but with more transparency for other topics. The world is a bit upside down right now and I don’t think it should be ignored. An escape is always nice and needed but we all must come face to face with reality. This way we can heal and move forward. Remember: Vintage fashion not vintage values.
I dyed my hair red with Henna!
What’s up, cool cat’s?
I’m finally sitting down to talk about my experience with henna hair dye! Holy cow, I am in love! For year’s I bleached my hair blonde. I loved it – truly. At the time I was single, actively modeling and had no visible tattoos. I could rock a Marilyn look no problem. When I got engaged I decided I wanted to have my natural hair color for my wedding and began to grow it out. Not too long after that I got pregnant and just kept on growing my natural color out. It was not the color I remembered. I guess years of compulsively bleaching it the second my roots would show my color had changed from a golden honey blonde with red highlights to a flat dirty blonde without me noticing. I hated it. But – I didn’t want to be blonde again. Who I was when I was blonde is not who I am now. She has been laid to rest. Plus, it was an extra expense I didn’t need. I wanted my hair color to express who I have become as a pin up loving wife and mother. I did not want to be a Brunette as everyone mistook my dark blonde for brown. I felt black hair, although lovely, would not work well with my skin tone. What was I left with?
Red. My mother is a natural redhead, a beautiful deep red. I’ve always loved Rita Hayworth. I decided to go for it. But I didn’t want to be dependent on a salon again. I didn’t want to be dependent on crappy box color either. I wanted something natural. I wanted my hair to look natural. I wanted my hair to be healthy for once. That’s when my search took me to henna hair dye. I never heard of using henna in your hair before. I almost feel silly now, never knowing of it. I did a ton of research before even buying henna. I watched a million YouTube videos and read through every henna hair dye forum I could find. After looking up different options, I felt the brand Light Mountain henna hair dye in red would be the best fit for me. I took bits and pieces from what I thought would work for me from all the videos I watched and went for it.
The process was a little intimidating. I was nervous, definitely. The whole point of me dying my own hair was to save time and money. I didn’t want to destroy my hair color and thus having to spend even more money on repairing it. The instructions are…particular. NO METAL is to be used throughout the entire process. But why? Apparently, most box hennas are a compound containing metallic salts to speed up the dye releasing process. When these metallic salts mix with metal you risk getting a reaction causing a yucky green color and not a red. No thanks. What if you’re using pure henna? Most of the ladies throughout the forums I read said not worth the risk and I agree. Once I had it in my head I couldn’t use metal, it was easy picking up that pyrex bowl and wooden spoon for mixing. But, you do need to boil water to add to the mix…
I was confused… you need to boil water…but it can’t touch metal…and you can’t add boiling water to the henna powder or you risk burning the henna. Oy. Like I said…particular. I decided to “boil” water in a pyrex measuring cup in the microwave. I can’t say for sure if it reached a boil but it was mighty hot. I let it cool a bit and added the warm water to my henna powder, a little bit at a time until it became a yogurt like texture. I put plastic wrap over the mixture and let it sit in a cool, dark place for three hours. Light Mountain henna say’s it’s not necessary to do that with their henna as it is quick releasing, but I just figured why not play it safe. I wanted the best color pay off as possible.
I showered and washed my hair with Shea Moisture Shampoo – no conditioner. I used Aquaphor around my hairline and on top of my ears to prevent my skin from staining. Then while my hair was still damp I started to apply my mixture. I wore plastic gloves. Light Mountain provides you with gloves and a plastic wrap for your head when you’re done. Not the best quality – if possible use different plastic gloves and plastic wrap for your head.
My first go at using henna I made my mix a bit too watery and really gooped it on. Once completely applied I covered my head with the provided plastic wrap. This is to insulate the mix and keep it contained. I also did my eye brows – that’s not for everybody but I wanted it to look as natural as possible. I didn’t want to be too risky with the color and simply used the box mix and water for the first time. However, if you add certain herbs or spices it’ll change the color slightly – I did this on my second go and was very happy with the results. You’re supposed to leave it on for at the very least two hours. I lasted an hour. The mix was sliding down my face and felt very heavy on my head. When I rinsed it out it was an absolute mess. This is something I anticipated. You can only use conditioner to help break up the dried henna (mine didn’t really get the time to dry) no shampoo this time! Once washed out you can’t wash your hair for at least three days to ensure the color stays. It came out very orange. Everything I read warned me of this so I wasn’t too upset, I knew I had a few days for the color to settle. But I looked like Bozo the clown for a solid three days. Once the color settled I was in love. IN LOVE. I got a ton of compliments and I can’t tell you how many people think it’s my natural color! Best compliment ever!
On my second go I was planning on doing just my roots. I added a table spoon of cayenne pepper – everything I read says it really brings out the red. I figured if I tried something different might as well do the entire head of hair. My mix was thicker this time and over all it was a much smoother experience. I left it on a little longer than an hour this time. I was happy with the color from my first experience and didn’t want to stray too far from that. The cayenne pepper burned a bit. More of a tingle, nothing too unpleasant. Until of course I got in the shower. Be very careful of where that henna mix travels in the shower if you catch my drift. I do think the cayenne helped the color truly pop and will be adding it in future mixes. Overall, I am thrilled with the results and the experience. The dye is cheap, you can do it at home and the color is beautiful. I’ve been warned not to use heat styling tools as it’ll burn the henna. I have risked it three weeks after application on a low heat and didn’t notice any changes. But that was my experience. I don’t plan on risking it often.
I did dye my natural hair with henna. I read you can not dye already color treated hair with henna. My ends were still bleached blonde and the henna did not absorb well into my ends. It left with me a streaky orange. It didn’t bother me. It looked kind of pretty with the rest of my hair until I ultimately cut it off. I want healthy hair that is one color.
Oh! Henna is a natural conditioner. One of the many perks!
With henna the pros absolutely outweigh the cons. For me the only cons is the process and the mess. Worth it. I highly recommend Henna hair dye. I highly recommend the brand Light Mountain. Be sure to do your own research! That’s the most important advice I can give. Watch endless YouTube videos, read a ton of Henna Hair Dye forums. Nobody knows you better than you! Figure out a plan that’ll work best for you and your needs and I’m sure it’ll be a rewarding experience! Good luck!
Below are some pictures for reference. The pictures with the henna are from my second experience.
2016 in what I call my “Rockabilly Marilyn” phase
Excuse the snapchat filter…but here’s a great example of what my hair looked like not too long before I dyed it red with Henna.
Mixing the henna with the cayenne
Keeping it covered
Putting aquaphor on my forehead
The application….so attractive
Waiting…
The beautiful end result!
Showing it off!
Shout out to Monte and The Pharaoh
The spider web dress I’m wearing above can be found here and this was at an event at Village Connection Network.
The Radio Show!
Finally doing it!
So, for years my buddy Dennis has been asking to work together. I mean, years. We met several years ago when I just began to tend bar. Eventually we ended up working at the same place….the magical pool hall. I was tending bar and Dennis was bouncing. We’ve been close friends ever since.
We’ve had five shows so far and it’s been a blast. Dennis is fantastic and a lot of fun to work with. The show is called “Pin ups, Cool cats and Comics.” It’s a variety internet radio show. Dennis is a comic, I have my love for and experience with pin up and the cool cats is any one in between! We’ve had some amazing guests on the show so far such as Comedians: Mike Keegan, Richie Byrnes, Billy Mira and Paul Bond. We’ve also had on Andrea Cillo, a stunning muli-talented woman. She is an acupuncturist, a model and a professional ballet and belly dancer. On our last show we had the beautiful Samantha Cirillo who is an incredibly grounded fitness trainer, nutritionist and reiki master. So, we’ve had on some pretty amazing and talented people. I don’t want to say TOO much, it’s something that you’ll have to go check out and watch yourself. But we have some exciting and big things happening in the near future. There are several options to watch live such as the Village Connection Radio Website or their Facebook page. You can also tune in on our facebook page at Pin Ups, Cool Cats and Comics. We’re also on Twitch and will soon be on iTunes!
Here is Dennis and I with national head lining comedian, Paul Bond, from our third show! Paul is not only hysterical but an all around awesome guy. He spends a lot of his free time rescuing cats, so he gets an A+ in my book. If you’re interested in his comedy or his animal rescue you can check out his website. There you can contact him if you wish to donate and help safe animals! Then you can get an A+ in my book too!
Definitely check out the show! Come laugh and learn.
♥Theresa
I’m here!
Cool cats! I am the worst! I apologize for being horrible at blogging. I’ve had a very busy few weeks.
Maybe I’d be better at vlogging? Anyway! So, much has happened since my last post:
- I started doing an internet radio show with my friend, Dennis. It’s called Pin ups, Cool cats and Comics. You can watch the show every Wednesday at 7pm through Village Connection Network. It’s on facebook as well as youtube. It’ll soon be on itunes, not too sure about google play yet. Watch it live or go back when you can and catch the recording!
- I dyed my hair red with Henna! BY MYSELF! It went wonderfully. I always felt I was meant to be a redhead. Even when I wanted to be/was blonde, red’s always been my true wish. Blonde was the girl I wanted to date casually, but red was the girl I wanted to marry.
- My daughter is crawling, trying to walk and has two teeth! ♥
- Work has been added to my in-progress sleeve. After being tattooed for years I cracked and bought a numbing gel. Yeah, I know. But let me f%^&ing tell you something…IT WAS AMAZING.
That’s a quick little “Hey, how ya doing?” for you guys. I don’t want anyone to think I have abandoned blogging before I’ve even really started. I’m planning on doing a blog for each bullet point above. This way I can go into detail about it and answer any questions you guys might have. Very excited to discuss it all!
♥ Theresa
How my Pin-Up style has changed:
I must honestly say, I don’t dress pin up daily. I did in my early to mid-twenties when I had the time and a job that allowed me to wear what I wanted to freely. I particularly didn’t dress pin-up while pregnant. Not that I didn’t want to, of course. I had terrible morning sickness much of my pregnancy. It was very difficult to get out of bed let alone put a cute outfit together. How could I wear that outfit with pride as if I wasn’t going to vomit at the smell of coffee brewing in it? Yes, the smell of coffee made me sick early in my pregnancy and yes, it was very depressing. I lived in sweat pants and maxi dresses throughout my pregnancy. I can think of two days I attempted to dress pin-up while pregnant: Christmas and my Birthday. Both ended poorly in terms of feeling well… and feeling cute.
Clothing →
As I stated in my previous post, I do try to have a little pin-up/rockabilly flare in my outfits. It is a great confidence boost for me and I truly feel “me” that way. But my pin-up style has certainly evolved. Especially now that I am a mother. I noticed now I go for more cute looks, especially when going out with my family. Something fun that I can easily match an outfit with my daughter to. Recently I’ve been into a darker — more gothic pin up look when going out with friends or on a date night with my husband. As my tattoo collection grows so does my love for a classic vampy, Morticia-esc look.
I also dress to better suit my post pregnancy body. I am much thinner than before I became pregnant. My “Va-Va-Voom” dresses just don’t sit the same on my slimmer frame.
My early days of pin up style were rather basic. I wore typical, staple pin up pieces. I was not very adventurous and stuck to clichés of the fifties and rockabilly fashion. Now, I’m all over the map. And I love that.
Hair →
I wore a bandana in my hair every day. It’s still one of my favorite go to hair dos. A little pompadour with straight hair or braided pigtails. That was my “lazy” hair.
As I grew my confidence, I would randomly curl my hair and have a suicide roll or victory rolls. Victory rolls will forever be my favorite hair style (that I don’t do enough). Getting older my new “lazy” hair became a high and tight bun sitting right on top of my head. I add a bow or flower to match my outfit and out the door I go. It’s so easy and cute I wear it rather often.
My hair is very soft, frizzy and not exactly straight…not exactly curly. It’s very difficult for my hair to hold a curl. The only thing that holds well is a wet set. I love the out come but I don’t enjoy doing a wet set at all. If I don’t do it just right I lose the curl and it drives me insane. I wish I had the patience to do it more often. My plan was to try and do it once a week….but life just gets in the way. At least that’s my excuse.
Make up →
I always loved playing with make up. I used to wear very creative eye shadow. I had a lot of fun with it. I still have fun with it but prefer the classic pin up look. Matte shadows, winged black eye liner and a red lip. It’s my daily face. For occasions, I add some dark shadow for drama. I try to jazz it up a bit. It all depends on my mood and how much time I have.
Here’s a visual timeline of my pin up evolution →
2014
Here’s a more stereotypical rockabilly/pinup look. At this time I was tending bar at a real dive and could wear what I wanted to. I got both the top and jeans from a local clothing store that is no longer in business.
2015
I love this look and wish I could apply my make up this perfectly all the time. I did the victory rolls myself and remember being incredibly proud of the outcome.
2016
This is the day my husband asked me to marry him! We were in Salem, MA for his birthday and he ended up surprising me with a proposal! The top is from Go Jane and no longer available. The skirt is one of my favorite prints and may be difficult to find. There are limited sizes available here for the Banned Palm Springs skirt.
2017
Here I am with my husband on my 29th birthday, 8 months pregnant. It was very hot and we were miserable. I planned to wear this dress just for my birthday. Not the best choice for a big baby bump as this dress has no stretch. That was my own fault being very stubborn and determined to wear it. I truly am in love with this dress and it’s still available here: Voodoo Vixen – Adelyn Striped Swing Dress
2017
My beautiful baby girl and I on Christmas. I loved this look and the matching happened by accident. This look is what started me wanting to match for every occasion. I bought her dress and sweater from Carters. The fuzzy sweater is from Collectif, the skirt is from Hell Bunny, the brooch is from Erstwilder and are all no longer available.
Looking at these photos, I feel like my outfits got better but my hair has become incredibly boring. I stopped bleaching it after I became pregnant and haven’t decided what my next step will be. I definitely don’t want to go back to blonde. I loved it but that look was part of a chapter in my life that has since closed. Plus, once my roots started to show I ran to get them done and that gets rather expense.
I’m hoping I can find more excuses to dress up and match with my little one in the future. And hopefully figure out what in the world to do with my hair!
Until next time.
♥Theresa
What pulled me into Pin-up?
I had always loved vintage, even in my childhood. My mother always told me I had “an eye” for it. I could zero in on vintage items at thrift stores (still can!) as if it was a magical gift. Each vintage item has a story to tell, a deeper history behind it. I love every detail about vintage, and as for many vintage lovers, I am drawn to the fifties. This era had good girl vs. bad girl style; each holding on to a level of femininity and class not like any other era.
In my teens my obsession for Bettie Page began. Her spirit was care free. She managed to be rebellious just by being herself and in my youth, I was attracted to this notion. It created a wonderful winding road into pin-up history and fashion. The older I got the more my admiration for pin up grew. As well as my fashion sense. I began to better organize my outfits. I tried to have a little pin up flare even in my most modern styles. I am the most “me” when dressing in a pin-up inspired outfit or having pin-up inspired make up.
Pin-up is about accepting who you are for exactly who you are. This includes your “flaws,” may they be physical, mental or emotional. It’s about owning yourself, your mistakes, your quirks. Most importantly it’s about being happy with who you are, in this moment.
“Modern” pin-up I believe is a movement. It’s more than dressing cute, cheeky or sexy and taking pretty pictures. It’s a life style of open-minded, body positive, uplifting people loving life and celebrating who they are, together. So…maybe the pretty pictures pulled me in but it’s history and ever evolving force is what holds me.
♥Theresa
Trying to navigate the blogging world.
Kindly, be patient with me as I am still learning how the wonderful world of blogging works. Thank you!
♥Theresa
Welcome, Cool cats!
The time has come for me to officially start my blogging journey! It’s something I have tossed around for years now, with several lazy or failed attempts along the way. I think I have settled enough into myself to confidently take this ride at this time.
A little bit about myself:
❤️ I am a married mother of one.
❤️ I am a crazy cat lady and all around animal lover.
❤️ I have had a love for vintage since I was a young girl. I began collecting at the age of five.
❤️ I have a love for it all! Cute, classic, creepy! It all has a story to tell and I’m all ears.
❤️ I love fashion. Particularly, retro inspired! I try to have a pin up feel with all of my outfits.
A little bit about this blog: Right now, I plan to post my pin up fashion inspiration collages. I’ll be posting outfits I have worn as well as outfits on my wish list. I’m going to try my best to ensure the clothing and accessories I post in the collages are still available to buy. There’s nothing worse than falling in love with something and having to search the deep corners of the internet to no avail.
As time goes on, I’ll be adding more personal pictures. Posts about my life, vintage collection and Etsy store will certainly become a part of this as well! My hopes are for this blog to be a fun and understanding place where like minded people can connect with myself and others!
Thank you for taking the time to check out my first post.
❤️Theresa
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