Workshop Pics and Our Lovely Graduates!

Pin Up Hair Will Make You An Able Grable!

Miss Matilda's Able Grable web site and Pin Up Finishing School have teamed up on a giveaway. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me the name of Able Grable's impending new frock to be unveiled any day now at Miss M's web site, Able Grable.

The prize is free attendance at the August 23 Pin Up Hair Workshop here in New York City!

Your Class~The 2 1/2 - 3 hour seminar demonstrates techniques for doing some popular pin up hairstyles as well as fingerwaving and pin-curl techniques.

In addition there's a hands-on portion where you will learn to make your own hair flower accessories and your own rats, which are useful for victory rolls and other 40's hair styles.

Light refreshments will be served.

Join us for the perfect girly bonding day!

Winner will be picked totally at random by my hubby (who has no vested interest and/or the pugs (that should be interesting).

Draw day is 15th August 2009.

All entries most welcome!

So swing on by with your entry and most of all Good Luck!!

( Lucky winner must provide their own transport, prize is the class only!)

http://www.pinupfinishingschool.com/

http://www.ablegrable.com/

And don't forget to check out Miss Matilda's fabulous blog.

Please feel free to repost this !

August Hair Workshop Special

On August 23, 2009, Pin Up Finishing School™ will be offering a Pin Up Hair Demo Workshop. It will take place from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm at Otto's Shrunken Head on 14th Street between Avenues A & B.

The 2 1/2 - 3 hour workshop will include demonstrations of some popular pin up hair styles, pin curl and fingerwaving techniques. We'll also create simple hair flower accessories and make our own rats which are useful for Victory Rolls and other 1940's hair styles!

And now for a limited time if you sign up with a friend you will both receive 10% off the fee of any of the full Pin Up Workshops scheduled between now and the end of 2009!

* * You must both sign up at the same time in order to receive this offer. Just put the name of the other person in the comments section of the sign up form!

Offer good until August 8, 2009

Sign up at http://www.pinupfinishingschool.com/

Upcoming 2009 Workshops

August 23 - Hair Workshop

September 27 - Pin Up Workshop
October 25 - Pin Up Workshop
November 15 - Hair Workshop

November 22 - Pin Up Workshop

You can sign up for any of the above at http://www.pinupfinishingschool.com. Just specify the date you are registering for in the comments section of the Pay Pal form.

Glamour Girl Accessories!

No Glamour Girl's vanity table is complete without adorable and glamorous acessories! Those marketing geniuses at Benefit are a pu up's best friend in this department! From their fabulous all-in-one powder/blush/lipstick compact of nearly ten years ago, to foundation cases that look like records in boxes that look like record players these ladies know their stuff.

The latest entry into the "OMG, I need that!" sweepstakes is a gorgeous set of Eau de Toilettes that come in atomizers that look like (wait for it)...COCKTAIL SHAKERS!!!! As if that wasn't squee-inducing enough, they come in these ingenious little boxes that look like the outside of a house on the outside and open to reveal the cocktail shaker atomizer in it's natural habitat; a chi-chi living room!

Called the Crescent Row Collection, at $36 this is one accessory every Glamour Girl can afford!

Pin Up Beauty Tip Of The Day - The Beauty Accessory EVERY Glamour Girl Needs

So what is it? What is the one beauty accessory every Glamour Girl needs? It is a particular mascara, foundation, powder? Nope, none of the above. It's a Sephora Beauty Insider Card!

I can almost hear you saying, "But Rocket, it's just another marketing loyalty card like the one I get from the drugstore and the supermarket." Ok, maybe it is, but do you get free, high-end beauty stuff from the drugstore or the supermarket? Chances are, no.

Besides the fact that Sephora is the Holy Grail of cosmetic stores did I mention YOU GET FREE STUFF? Where else would you be allowed to run around and play with awesome department store cosmetic brands like Too Faced, Smashbox and Benefit without the hard sell, someone hovering over you every minute and having to request what you want from behind the counter as if you were a child having to be doled out your daily cookie?

And for every dollar you spend, you get a point. When your account reaches 100 points you're eligible for premium samples and gifts. So far I've gotten a really nice foldable Sephora shopper, a full sized Urban Decay liquid eyeliner and Philsophy Purity Made Simple facial cleanser, among other things.

In addition, you get special offers on products that are only for Sephora Beauty Insiders. You can earn points for in-store AND online purchases!

If you are a make-up addict like I am, then why not be earning points towards free stuff while you're chucking your disposable income at Sephora in the pursuit of the mascara that won't wind up half way down your face or the perfect eyeliner brush?

Sign up online at Sephora.com!

Rockin' The Pin Up Girl Look - Part 2 - Stockings

Before there were pantyhose (invented in 1959), there were stockings and every woman wore them. Except during World War II when nylon was needed for the war effort, it was considered the height of sloppiness to leave the house without hosiery.

Now, thank goodness, we have choices, but seamed stockings are still the pinnacle in sexiness for the pin up girl look.

The ultimate in authentic bombshell stockings is the Fully Fashioned (or FFS) stocking, so called because they were knitted in one piece on the machine and then hand finished by an operator who sewed the seam in. The famous hole at the top of the welt was left so the operator could turn the stocking!

There are currently several different types of heel available in FFS; the pointed heel (which was invented by the French and is predominantly a European style), the Cuban heel (the most common and most authentic), the Havana heel (similar to the Cuban but thicker and ending higher on the calf) and the Manhattan heel (a more recent design).

There are only a handful of manufacturers still making full fashioned stockings, one of which is Magnolia Hosiery here in the United States, who have been making FFS on the same machines continuously since 1954. You can still order from them directly! What Katie Did offers a nice selection of FFS including contrast colored seams (most recently blue and red). FFS come in a number of solid colors, in full contrast beige with black seams and also black feet and seams.

Another type of stocking which was introduced in the 1950's is the RHT or Reinforced Heel & Toe. These are seamless and give more casual look. They can also be purchased from Magnolia and What Katie Did.

Leg Avenue and a host of other brands offer modern seamed stockings. The difference between these and FFS is that the seam is sewn on afterwards as a decoration and is not part of the stocking construction. Many people find these kinds of stockings more comfortable because of the stretch (they are more akin to a pair of modern pantyhose than FFS are).

Whichever type of stocking you choose, make sure that your seams are straight. You can achieve a straight seam by carefully gathering the length of stocking up so that it is all in your hands, place the toe of the stocking on your foot and then point your foot on the floor. Slowly pull the stocking up your leg, keeping a finger on the seam and guiding it along the center of your leg. You can try spraying the back of your leg with a little hair spray to make the stocking stay put before putting it on as well.

Whether you choose fully fashioned, RHT or modern seams, in order to up your "oomph" quotient, a pair of stockings is a must have!

Pin Up Beauty Tip of The Day

I don't know why I've never heard of this before, but now that I have, I'm sharing it with all of you! (And if you already know this, I'm sorry. I give you permission to mock me in the comments ;-)).

In this era of daily hair washing and blow drying the "I've just washed my hair and I can't do a thing with it" joke will probably earn you blank stares, but those of us who set our hair and expect it to do fancy and elaborate things know that freshly washed hair is the worst hair to work with.

So what's a glamour girl to do? You may not always know when you need to give your hair two days notice.

Well then - it's sea salt spray to the rescue!

What it's designed to do is give you that tousled, day-at-the-beach look, but it's also good for texturizing and BODY. Viola! "Dirty" hair without it actually being dirty!

There are lots of brands out there: John Masters, Aquage and KMS to name a few. You can even make your own with a recipe found here!

I know what's on my next beauty product shopping list! Maybe even tonight, since I forgot to give my hair two days notice that it needs to be set tomorrow!

Pin Up Beauty Tip Of The Day - Eyebrows

Make sure that your eyebrows are perfectly plucked or waxed, and groomed The inner corners of your brows should be the thickest point, thinning out towards the tips. Before you are finished with your makeup, you can color your brows in thoroughly with an eyebrow pencil to add drama to the look.