A Very Vintage Valentine's

I know, I know, this dates a little, but I came by the photos while going through my phone and wanted to share them with you. Also, confession number 2: it was only mildly vintage. I just thought the title sounded cool.

Coat - Collectif

Velvet Dress - Collectif

Jewellery - Topshop

I tried to take a close-up of my hair but couldn't get the light right, so all I'm left with is this rather embarrassing selfie to show off my faux-rolls. Oh well.

Despite the fancy schmancy outfits, we had quite the trashy bohemian night, with a Sing-Along screening of Moulin Rouge at the Prince Charles Cinema (THAT is how this movie is supposed to be enjoyed. With singing and mock-crying and shouting at the screen and an audience in show-girl costumes), dinner at Five Guys and witnessing a mysterious break-up scene on our way home. Quite the adventure.

Homemade Almond Lip Scrub

First World problem it may be, but Boots doesn't sell lip scrub. It's awfully inconvenient. Of course, I could get it at Lush, but it seems overpriced for something I could make in my own kitchen, and so I did.

How to make your own lip scrub:

You will need:
- Sugar
- Honey
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Essence of Vanilla/Almond/etc. (optional) for flavour
- Red or Pink food colouring (optional) for colour

- A small container
- A mixing bowl
- A teaspoon and a tablespoon

Just follow these 5 simple steps!

I had this small Body Shop container left over from a promotion they were doing a few weeks ago. Knew it would turn out to be useful!

 Step 1:

Place 1&1/2 to 2 tablespoons of sugar into a mixing bowl.

 Step 2:

Pour approx. 1 tablespoon of olive oil onto the sugar and mix it in. These measurements are approximate because they will depend on consistency.

 Step 3:

This is the consistency you're aiming for: sandy, sticking together but not very oily or mushy. If you're not sure, see how it feels on your lips. Too oily? Add sugar. Too abrasive? Add oil.

 Step 4:

Add a touch of honey, for moisture, flavour, and to keep the mixture from separating. Half a teaspoon will do, any more might make the scrub too sticky. Mix it in until you reach the desired consistency.

 Step 5 (optional):

Now's the time to add flavour and/or colouring to your lip scrub. I chose to use almond essence, because I love the taste and smell, but vanilla essence or orange blossom water would've gone just as well. Just a few drops will be largely enough! 

If you want, you can use food colouring as a kind of built-in lipstain - I chose not to for the very simple reason that I am a klutz and would have gotten it all over my clothes in no time.

Pop it into your container, and voila! 

Your very own, personalized lip scrub.

 I had some left over, so I decided to wrap it into tin foil and a teabag-shaped package as a small present for my sister.

Gasp! My real name was almost revealed!

Southbank Vintage Car Boot Sale

Last weekend I was at the Classic Car Boot Sale on the South Bank. I'd gone to the very first one last year (more below!), but this time it got extended to a week-end long event, due to popular demand. Talk about popular! The queue was much longer than last year, but the weather was lovely, so we queued in the sun with a cold refreshing beer (sadly the Southbank Center bar stall wouldn't let us carry a pitcher of Pimm's away...). We were treated to entertainment (in the form of an Everly Brothers-style duo of vintage suit-clad boys playing acoustic renditions of Johnny Be Goode, and impromptu 'dance rehearsal' performances) while we planned and schemed about the most effective way to go around seeing everything.

Any attempt to be logical and responsible in our trawling of the market was promptly abandoned when stall after stall caught our eye and we zoned in on vintage pieces with wonderment. Everywhere we looked, fashion, homeware and classic cars, all at a reasonable price! Most items were mid-century, although I did get my hands on a Regency reproduction coat (which, sadly, didn't fit), and with a little rummaging it was possible to find older pieces.

Dress - 1950s vintage (Peggy Lane, thrifted in Amsterdam)

Cardigan - Vivienne Westwood

Shoes - Primark

Bag - Thrifted (Absolute Vintage)

After a few hours, my friends decided that they 'had lost their rummaging spirit' and simply couldn't take any more of it, so we made a beeline for the food shacks (Ok, so I stopped once. That 50s ball gown just HAD to be tried on. I got stuck in it.) and had the best sautéed  mushrooms on toast ever made.

Somewhere along the way I appear to have decided on a theme for the day's shopping, and ended up with a full 'explorer' outfit - think Indiana Jones, female version. I'll do another post about that vintage haul!


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Last year's Classic Car Boot Sale:

Dress - 1940s vintage (Absolute Vintage)

Hat - bought on site!

So soft!

Sadly, he wouldn't buy it.

Sexy leather trousers

And a few film shots, courtesy of Elisabetta:

 Last year, I walked away with a vintage deerstalker (see pictures), a Victorian black silk apron, and the most beautiful 60s satin gown I have ever seen.

The award for Find of the Day, though, goes to my boyfriend who managed to get his hands on a perfectly tailored, hand-finished original 1930s tailcoat.