Hydrangeas and Grape Vines

Yesterday we took Lola on an outing to Saguaro Ranch for a little bird watching.  This farm, started in the late 1800s and now a historic park, is populated with a wonderful array of chicken, guinea fowl, and peacocks.  Lola was quite thrilled with the outing, and we quite enjoyed the overcast, breezy day that the monsoon season brought us.

I wore a handmade 1940s dress adorned with colorful sprays of purple and pink hydrangeas.  I just adore its bright and springy color scheme!  I paired it with a purple cinch belt and matching 1940s heels, 1940s pink celluloid and wooden heart earrings, a bright pink rose, and Revlon Cherries in the Snow lipstick.

The first grapevines were planted here in 1895, though I'm not sure how old these vines are.  Now they are home to those wonderful birds, who populate the farm with plenty of color and lots of noise!

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

Portrait of a Starlet

A couple of weeks ago I styled a model for a Hollywood glamour and pinup shoot with Doug Monce.  Tess had lovely, thick brown locks and gorgeous eyes--her looks really suit the 1940s--and she was a delight to work with!

For makeup, I used a mix of Ben Nye, MAC, and Yaby.  On her eyes, I applied Ben Nye Santa Fe on the lid, Mink Stole in the crease, and Vanilla to highlight.  A light dusting of Yaby Glazed Rose added a bit of shine and depth to the look.  Her brows were filled in slightly with MAC Coquette, applied with an angle brush, and before applying false lashes (Ardell 102s), I applied a thin line of black gel liner (Inglot 90).  On her cheeks I used Ben Nye Raspberry powder rouge, and I used MAC Red on her lips (which were lined with NYX Red.)

I helped with some of the wardrobe as well--for her first look, she wore a black satin nightgown trimmed with aqua bows, paired with a marabou stole and rhinestone jewelry.  For her second look, she wore a 1980s-does 40s cocktail dress paired with a mink stole and more rhinestones.  For her pinup looks, she wore a yellow 1940s-50s bathing suit and a red cherry tie top (made by Vee Vin Tage) paired with black sailor shorts made by Bettie Page Clothing; both outfits were worn with cherry jewelry from my collection.

I loved the way the shoot turned out--Tess looks like she was plucked straight from the pages of an old movie mag!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

 

Ink and Iron

A couple of weekends ago my Sweetie and I headed out to the Ink and Iron festival.  His band had been booked to perform at the event, and we were quite exited to visit the Queen Mary!  It was quite a treat to appear at such a fun event on such a beautiful ship.  Our visit was a whirlwind three days, and of course I took hardly any photos (sometimes I wonder why I even bother bringing a camera, I never remember to use it).  But I do have a few to share with you!

On the drive out, we stopped at the wonderfully tacky Cabazon dinosaurs.  I'm wearing an Allure Original Styles dress in navy linen with a coordinating flecked cream bolero jacket.  It was so windy that my turban refused to stay anchored!

We managed to visit the beach before the show on Saturday--I wore my Carole Landis dress by NudeeDudee, paired with a Dixabilly bolero sweater and red jewelry.

Since we performed on the ship, I couldn't resist going full-on nautical. My dress is an original design based on a 1940s Hollywood pattern and was made by Vee Vin Tage--I just love the bright blue linen collar! The patches on the sleeves are from WWII, and would have been worn by the ship's musician. I was quite excited to find these--my grandfather was in the Navy, and although he wasn't a Navy musician, he was a trumpet player who performed in many bands. I think he would have been pleased with my choice!

Before we drove home on Sunday, we stopped in Newport Beach to see the ocean one more time (and I snuck in a little shopping at Swellegant--I love that shop!).  I wore another Vee Vin Tage custom design--this one a red, white, and blue floral rayon dress trimmed in white pique--along with one of my trusty Arthelia's Attic snoods.

xoxo,

Amanda Lee

The Carole Landis Dress

Photo borrowed from the Carole Landis Project
When it came to style, actress Carole Landis had plenty of it. A pretty, polished, and patriotic blonde, she even managed to look fresh and fashionable when performing for the troops overseas during WWII. Case in point—this amazing floral print sundress with peek-a-boo cutout. Carole is positively luminous, and that dress—what a stunner! I decided I needed one just like it, and Kim of NudeeDudee was just the lady to make it. After finding the perfect fabric—a similar cheery floral print with added bright polka dots—Kim set to work recreating the sundress.

She did a fabulous job, and I’ve decided this will be my go-to dress this summer!  Kim has three variations of the style listed for sale in her Etsy shop--one made in up in the reverse color scheme of mine, and two tie-front versions in a red tulip print and Mexican novelty print.  Go check 'em out!

Matt Carson photograped me at the Chinese Cultural Center in Phoenix.  I'd never visited the gardens before--the setting was lovely and would be a relaxing place to visit in cooler weather (it was bit warm the day we took these pictures, even early in the morning!)

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

I recently modeled this dress in a recent photo shoot for Vee Vin Tage.  The beguiling yellow and black roses were too much for me to resist, and so now this dress has a home in my closet!

Vee Vin Tage is taking custom orders for this fifties-style dress, which features a fold-over neckline, wide straps, and a floaty skirt.  I cannot sing enough praises for this mother-daughter design team—no detail is overlooked in any of their creations!

These photos were taken by my friend Matt Carson on a lovely Sunday afternoon in the town of Jerome. 

xoxo,Amanda Lee

Makeup Tips and Tricks--Manicures

Since I’ve been asked by a few of you what nail polish I use, today’s post is all about nails—an episode of Makeup Mondays on a Wednesday!

I’ll preface this post by saying that I don’t have great nails to begin with—I’ve struggled with peeling for a few years (and I don’t tolerate a lot of polish brands), which has always made it a struggle to keep polish on for more than a day or so.  Last year I heard about a new type of product, a hybrid gel polish that promised two weeks of chip free-wear.  Intrigued by these claims, I went in for my first manicure—and was thrilled with the result (over two weeks of perfect wear—wow!)  I started getting regular Shellac and Gelish manicures, but after awhile, I decided that the expense was too much.  Right around that time I noticed that Sally Beauty was now selling both the nail colors and the UV lamp required to cure this type of product, so I decided to splurge and picked up a starter kit.  I found it fairly simple to apply at home, but I ran into issues when it came time to remove the product.  I’m rather impatient, and in my haste to speed up the removal process I ended up damaging my nails scraping and peeling off the color.  After about two months, I was left with very thin, weak, and sensitive nails, and I knew I needed to give them a rest.

So it was back to regular polish again—but luckily, even though I’d weakened my nails, the Gelish seemed to have almost completely resolved the peeling issues.  So, for those of you who have the same issue I did, you might try getting Gelish/Shellac manicures to see if that helps the peelies grow out!

My current fave products are made by Revlon—the “Post Trauma Nail Treatment” is an amazing base coat, and it has definitely helped strengthen my nails and eliminate the remaining peeling.  After removing the old polish and pushing back my cuticles (I use Blue Cross cuticle remover for this step), I start with a single coat, allow it to dry for a couple of minutes, and then apply two thin coats of color (Revlon Red, Love That Red, Fire and Ice, and Cherries in the Snow are my go-to shades—in the hair styling videos, I’m wearing Fire and Ice.)  Then, I apply a thin coat of Revlon’s “Extra Life No Chip” top coat.  I find that although this delivers on the promise of no chips, it takes a little too long to dry (did I mention that I can be impatient?)  So, I top this off with a layer of Seche Vite, which provides a glassy finish and dries in just a few minutes.  With this combination, I get a good two weeks of wear with minimal chipping or peeling.  And when it’s time to redo my manicure, it takes only a minute to remove the polish and start over—no more endless soaking and scraping!

Anyway, those are the secrets to my vintage manicure—I hope you find them helpful!

xoxo,
Amanda Lee

Join the Space Rangers!

Just a few "recruiting posters" from a project Doug Monce and I are working on--we'll be filming a short video to go along with this retro space look!

The costume is another amazing design by Vee Vin Tage.  Seriously, this creative team can make anything you can imagine!  This outfit was based on a 1940s pattern and made up in the super space age "liquid lame."  The boots I'm wearing were a F21 impulse buy from a few years ago--I had to have them but had no idea how to style them.  Now that I have my very own space girl outfit I finally know what to wear them with!
xoxo,
Amanda Lee