The G.I. Jive

Doug of Atomic Age Pictures put together this video--didn't he do a fabulous job?

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Makeup Mondays--Skincare

Maria asked me to talk about my skincare routine, and I’m very happy to oblige! My skin is the sort that is very sensitive and easily irritated, and I struggled with it in my teens and early 20s. I began using cold cream at that time, and my skin loved it—it cleared right up, in fact. I was a loyal user of Pond’s from that point forward until about two years ago, when it seemed that cold cream no longer agreed with my skin. It was back the drawing board then, though I never really found a suitable replacement for my beloved cold cream. A few months back I read that Pond’s had changed the formula of their classic cold cream, and had added a number of potentially irritating ingredients. Apparently, the store brand cold cream (CVS or Walgreen’s) continued to be made using the original formula. Intrigued by this bit of information, I picked up a tub and tried it out—and the skin issues I’d been dealing with (mostly excessive oiliness) disappeared in just a few weeks, and my skin is back to normal once more. So, I wholeheartedly recommend trying cold cream—for anyone who tried Pond’s and didn’t like the results, you might try the store brand and see if that works for you!

My routine is fairly simple: morning and night I apply cold cream to dry skin, massage it in, and then remove it with a warm, damp washcloth. In the mornings, I follow cleansing with a light moisturizer and sunscreen—my morning routine is quite simple, which is a good thing as I am usually running behind (I wouldn’t describe myself as a morning person.) In the evenings, I follow cleansing by exfoliating with an BHA product, and then apply moisturizer and a retinol cream. That’s it—my skin stays smooth and clear and I’m quite happy with the results.

I adore Arcona’s Magic White Ice serum; this lightweight moisturizer is wonderful for normal to oily skin types. It applies easily and absorbs quickly, and it smells delicious too (like grape Nehi—I love the scent, as does my Sweetie.) It’s the perfect base under makeup, and I like to mix it with any treatment products I apply in the evening, to buffer the active ingredients. I’ve already repurchased it twice, and plan to purchase another bottle when I run out of my current—and for someone who is a product junkie, and is always trying new things just because, that really says something!

For sunscreen, I use BurnOut’s Clean and Clear SPF 32 sunscreen. I’ll confess to avoiding sunscreen for many years (having temperamental skin makes one shy away from it, it’s a catch 22 for sure—wearing it can cause breakouts, not wearing it means skin damage in the long run), but now I use it faithfully. It took a number of tries for me to find one that works for my skin—chemical sunscreens are out (as they cause major irritation for me), but most physical sunscreens are thick, greasy affairs—not an elegant product to apply on their own, and absolutely horrid worn under makeup. I finally found an excellent product in BurnOut’s offering—a physical-only sunscreen that feels light and non-greasy and works fabulously under makeup. Oh, and it does its job well—the only sunburn I’ve gotten in the past six months that I’ve used this was due to me missing an area when I applied it (at the military benefit I forgot to apply sunscreen to my chest, and had a delightful red “V” for a few days. Lovely, it was.) Again, I’m already on my second tube, which really says something! If you’d like to try this product, it can be found here; it applies best on damp skin, so I apply moisturizer and then follow with sunscreen right away.

In the evenings, I use Arcona’s Raspberry Clarifying Pads—I cut the pads in half, as they are quite large. I adore these as well—they are well-suited to sensitive skin, and have a light, fruity scent. The other product I swear by is Avene’s Ystheal Emulsion, a retinol product that is the only one my skin has ever been able to tolerate. I mix a pump of it with a pump of Magic White Ice and apply after using half of a clarifying pad; this has been my nightly routine for the past few months and I am very pleased with it.

That’s it—my skincare routine is fairly basic and streamlined. It took me a number of years to find the right products, but I’m quite happy now, and recommend all of them. I'd love to hear your favorite products--what works best for you?

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Ahoy There!

I apologize for the cheesy blog title, but I couldn't resist ;-)

The military vehicle show turned out to be great fun--I had a fab time hanging out with Brenda Lee and Melissa Moxie. Both ladies were lots of fun to chat with, and I think our booth was quite a hit! Brenda Lee was representing the Pinup Angels, a group of pinups that puts together care packages for the troops. Melissa and I were both selling our 2011 calendars, which proved to be quite popular (everyone should have a pinup on their wall every day of the year, don't you think?) Doug Monce of Atomic Age Pictures photographed and filmed us (video clip to follow soon, so stay tuned!)--I wore my cheesecake Marine uniform (a custom design by V Vintage) on Saturday, and a pinup sailor outfit (borrowed from the Brenda Lee) on Sunday. Melissa and Brenda Lee also dressed in pinup military attire--and let me tell you, a lot guys asked us where they needed to go to enlist! We also met a gentleman who enlisted in 1945 at the age of 13 (he had some great stories) and a spitfire named Helen who was a WAVE--as you can see in the photos, her uniform still fit! All in all it was an enjoyable event, and I hope to be back next year.

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Vintage Military Vehicle Show

Cheesecake Marine Uniform by V Vintage
Photo and artwork by Jensen Photography

This weekend I'll be appearing at the Vintage Military Vehicle show along with local pinup models Brenda Lee and Melissa Moxie--the three of us will be at a booth selling our pinup photos and calendars. There promises to be a good turnout of military vehicles and other goodies, including uniforms and other collectible items. I attended last year's show, and had the honor of being one of the auction girls--it was great fun :-)

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Calendar Girl

Doug of Atomic Age Pictures and I put together a classic one-page calendar for 2011 (his talented sister Donna Monce was the graphic designer), and I realized I never mentioned it on my blog! So, although January is almost through, there are still 11 months in which one can use and enjoy this calendar ;-) We're selling them for a mere $10 (plus S&H), so if you'd like one, do let me know!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

A Little Marilyn

A few shots from my latest photo shoot with Matt Carson. For this shoot we went to the Tumacacori Mission ruins, which are located about 40 miles outside of Tucson, and I have to say the ruins are amazing! The history behind the mission is incredibly interesting, and the area where they are located is incredibly peaceful.

My outfit for this shoot was a copy of the costume Marilyn Monroe wore in the movie "Bus Stop". V Vintage did a wonderful job creating it; the peasant blouse was done up in olive green crepe-backed satin with an emerald green lace overlay, and the skirt was made in a satin with a bit of stretch for wearing ease. I highly recommend this seamstress, as she can create anything you can dream up, and is a delight to work with as well.

The purse and necklaces came from Matilda's Vintage Closet; seamed fishnets and my Remix platforms completed the look.

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

A Little Red White and Blue

I thought I’d share a few photos from Saturday’s benefit show—these were taken by my talented photographer friend Matt Carson. The event was well-done; the band started a bit late as the other portions of the benefit went over the planned time, but it was a very nice tribute to the military. The people who put on the show were incredibly nice and appreciative, and we were glad we could help out!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee