Flapper Style

The Flapper Style is equal parts bohemian, sexy, and stylish. When they hit the scene in the early 20th century, they scandalized older generations with their short hair, heavy makeup, smoking, and wild dancing. The Flapper reveled in her feminine charms, she drank like a pirate, and enjoyed a good man... as long as he didn't cramp her style!

I recently sojourned in Nashville and along with an obsession for the city, I picked up a fabulous feather headband. With a mass of brown feathers and a golded flower applique, it's my favorite adornment. And it set me in the mind for the style of the flapper.


For feathered headbands:


http://www.estiheadbands.com/


Your eyes should be heavy. Think rich browns, blacks, plums, or even gunmetal. This is perfect:


http://www.sephora.com/browse/product.jhtml?id=P211900&categoryId=C18697


If you really want to emulate the look, have hair cut into a bob. Wear a cloche hat or headband.


http://www.hatsinthebelfry.com/category/womens-clochet-hats.html

Bangin' Bangs!

Some people are afraid of giving themselves bangs. I'll admit, it's better to have them professionally done and then trim them yourself. But I just gave myself some fabulous bangs after months of growth and it was easy!

1. Wet the area to be snipped.
2. Make sure hair is reasonably combed and not tangled.
3. Pinch your hair between your index and middle fingers, like a crab. Hair should be pulled together in front of face to almost a point.
4. Cut right below the line of your finger.
5. Remember to leave an inch or so more than you think you want. Hair will climb up when dry and your bangs might be too short.
6. Blow dry and fluff so they're nice and puffy!
7. Delicately snip any too long strands.

Voila!

Outdated Beauty Advice

Yahoo's article about outdated beauty tips and tricks. I'd heard of the meat mask, but some of these were new to me:


http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/beauty/outdated-beauty-advice-that-thankfully-hasn-t-stood-the-test-of-time-464097/

Miss Monroe

After several months of mulling and researching, I give you my best effort to compile Marilyn Monroe's beauty tips and tricks. It was hard work because she did her best to keep them secret, but she lived her life surrounded by people and a few trickled out to the public.

Marilyn's Figure:

5'5" 1/2 tall
36-24-34
Weighed 117 pounds at the time of her death
Heaviest weight was 140 pounds
Shoe size was a size 7

*Marilyn jogged long before it was a popular exercise
*Lifted weights when it was only a man's sport
*Undertook a series of stretches every morning when she woke up

Marilyn Monroe was extremely body-conscious. She took great pains to shape and preserve her figure. An urban legend is that Marilyn Monroe was today's size 14 and that she was a full-figured woman. While this would be a nice ego boost for the non-skinny of us, it simply isn't true. All one need do is look at pictures of Marilyn to see that she was an extremely trim, small individual. She was an hourglass, but by no means ever wore a plus size. A size 14 then is a small size today.


Marilyn's Hair:

Natural Color was a reddish brown
Curly-headed
Hair ranged from golden blonde to platinum throughout her life

Marilyn's idol, Jean Harlow, was the inspiration for her hair. After she made a name for herself, Marilyn employed the hair dresser who dyed and took care of Harlow's hair. Unfortunately by the end of her life, all of those dye jobs had started to take a toll and Marilyn's hair was falling out and fraying.


Marilyn's Skin:

Fair

Marilyn took obsessive care of her skin. She used Shu Uemura, Nivea, Hormone Cream, Vaseline, and Cold Cream throughout her life. After cleansing her face, she splashed her skin 15 times with as cold a water as she could stand. If she wasn't going somewhere special afterward, she slathered Vaseline or Hormone cream all over her face. This habit often embarrassed her friends because she would run errands with a greasy face. This also led to fuzzy cheeks later in her life.

If she was going on a date or to an event, Marilyn still applied Vaseline, but then covered that with a fine powder. She then applied more Vaseline followed by more powder, which she repeated over and over until she got a flawless look.

Marilyn did not like the look of tan skin and took great pains to protect her fair complexion.


Marilyn's Makeup

Used Elizabeth Arden, Max Factor, and some Guerlain

Marilyn's makeup was most important to her. She spent hours putting it on and perfecting it. This led to her being late for shootings and interviews because she was never sure she looked good enough.

I won't say too much about her makeup because there are so many other great sites about her makeup application and, honestly, it's exhausting to repeat all of it! Just know that eyes and lips are equally important and she worked laboriously on both. She used as many as five shades of lipstick on her mouth to give them fullness and depth. She always wore false eyelashes.

Here is a great site. She has put a lot of work into this and I consider this the best page about Marilyn's makeup: http://teamsugar.com/group/137941/blog/197582

Random Trivia:

*Cut a quarter of an inch of one heel to give herself a sexy walk
*Bathed in Chanel No. 5
*Laid in ice baths to smooth skin
*Underwent regular colonic irrigation treatments to slim herself
*Used Greta Garbo as inspiration for eye makeup
*Also used olive oil on her face