my day as a pin-up girl. photography

Sometimes I feel as if I was born in the wrong era. I absolutely love the style from back in the 1940's. From the hair to the makeup to the clothes. That's why I decided to make my boudoir photo shoot a pin-up girl theme instead.

I picked up a cute little 1940's "army" uniform that was just revealing enough. On a trip to Vegas earlier that year I'd stopped at the Bettie Page store and picked up an amazing pair of vintage looking TUK shoes. To top it all off I purchased a pair of thigh high stockings with a single black line up the back similar to the stockings from that era.

After getting my lashes, makeup and hair done I was ready for my closeup. Melissa Raimondi of Candy and Cream Boudoir was the lovely lady who took my pictures. I was nervous that I wouldn't know what to do or how to pose but she made me feel completely comfortable and relaxed. She gave really good direction of how to sit or stand that would look best for the camera.

This was her one of her first times doing a pin-up style photo shoot so we both enjoyed thinking up new poses and props that could make this shoot really unique. She told me that since these photos were done there's been a boom of people wanting pin-up themed shoots too. After seeing her work there's no question to why!

We also took a couple pictures in a different outfit. I had on a pair of bright red shoes with black thigh high fishnet stockings. I was wearing black underwear with a cute little black and red shrug.

I've been thinking about getting this kind of shoot done again. It was one of the best experiences I've ever had and I would highly recommend it for anyone. Melissa has so many different options for the type of shoot you can do. You can check out her Facebook page for some more amazing pictures that she's done.

I ended up buying three of these pictures on a wood backing and I hung them on the wall in the living room so I could remember every day how amazing I felt that day.

my day as a pin-up girl. makeup

The next step in my pin-up girl transformation was to have my hair and makeup done.

I had the lovely Heather Thieson of Smudge Makeup do both my hair and makeup. She had such a bubbly and fun personality. Though the whole process took a while to do, she made time fly by with her stories and cheerful attitude. She did a spectacular job on both and knew exactly how to get the look I was describing.

I looked all over the internet for the hairstyle that I felt suited me best. I decided on victory rolls. I've always loved the look but I would have no idea how to do them on myself. I admire the ladies of that era for putting in so much effort into hair and makeup.

Next was the makeup. Heather knew the look I was going for so I just let her do whatever she felt would look right for the shoot. Once again I loved the final product. She bought a new red lipstick specifically for the shoot too. She used a shade called Ruby Woo by MAC Cosmetics. Afterwards I went out and bought the same one because it was such a gorgeous color.

I've had many friends get married over the years and I've given Heather's name to each and every one of them. I recently found out that she even does individual makeup lessons. I've always wanted to know how she did my makeup for this shoot so that would be the perfect way to have it broken down for me.

my day as a pin-up girl. lashes

A couple years ago I decided to have a photo shoot done of me as a pin-up girl. This day was absolutely one of the best ones I've ever experienced. It was a long and exhausting day after the lashes, hair, makeup, and photo shoot but I felt like a princess the whole time.

Before I had my photo shoot I got lash extensions put on. I've only ever worn fake lashes once or twice in my life so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Lash extensions are completely different than fake lash strips and definitely worth the money. They feel like they're part of your eyelashes and take only minutes to get used to.

I got mine done at Lash Affair by the fabulous owner herself, Courtney. They turned out absolutely amazing and my reaction to seeing them for the first time was priceless.

She put on a full set of lashes that were longer than my real lashes to help better add to that pinup look.

I've recommended Lash Affair to many of my friends and that's the only place they'll get theirs done now too.

those early fall days. wearing white dresses

I was looking through my old pictures and I came across these. I felt like I needed to share them cause they're some of my favorite pictures of me. I just loved my hair and makeup that day. And it was absolutely beautiful outside.

One of my friends is an amateur photographer and is looking at getting more practice so he can possibly do it professionally. He messaged me one day to ask if I'd like to help out with getting more pictures for his portfolio.

If you want to see more of his work check out Graham Roth Photography:

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I've worked with him before. He took pictures of me and my bike in the parkade. I was excited for the opportunity to get some nice pictures outside. I decided instead of my usual biker getup, I'd dress up all pretty and feminine.

I took a few selfies. One of my simple makeup, a neutral brown eyeshadow with black liquid liner.

And one of my hair curled with a curling iron and glistening in the sun.

We went to the St Albert Botanic Park to see if we could get some nice shots near the flowers.

They have a really nice gazebo there which was perfect as a prop. A few of my favorite shots were taken there.

We also went to a lake near my house. It was getting darker by then so it was harder to come up with those perfect shots but here's one I really liked with the water in the background and wind blowing through my hair.

mini photo shoot. blue tutu with black and white heels

After Jade and I got back from our shopping extravaganza last week, though we were exhausted, we decided to have a little impromptu photo shoot. She was trying on her new black and white heels and I thought they looked so cute together with the tutu. I went to take a picture and, though she looks amazing, I didn't like that the background was so busy.

I got her to move near the door so that there wouldn't be so much jumble and it would put the focus on her.

Jade asked me what she should do and I told her to just move around and try different things like fluffing her tutu or showing off her shirt.

 I suggested crouching down and looking ethereal. I think that she did a fantastic job capturing just that.

Cleo ended up wanting to hog some of the attention. You can see the bond that they have with each other by the way Cleo looks at her and wants to give her nose kisses.

Once I started taking pictures we were joking around about how Jade is going to become a foot model now.

I got a good laugh out of her by commenting on how I was going cut off her head cause I'm such a noob.

I am by no means anywhere close to being a professional photographer but for the minimal lighting and space I had I think I did a pretty decent job. It also helps that my model is so pretty and easy to work with.

roommate adventures. shopping and many new skirts

Jade usually has the weekend off so I'd see her around often. Within the last month or so she's been having to work Saturdays as well. I noticed that this cut back on our roommate time in a big way. I previously took for granted seeing her all the time but I've noticed how lonely the apartment gets without her.

More sad news. Last week Jade found out that we'll be getting even less time together. This past weekend was her last Sunday off which meant we had to make a day of it. We did our hair and makeup, got all dressed up, and hit the town to have some shopping fun.

We started by hitting up the Value Village near Whyte Ave because Jade mentioned that it has the best selection. She is the Value Village expert since, each time she goes, she comes home with the best finds!

Since there were a couple other places we wanted to go, we decided that we needed to concentrate mainly on skirts, shirts, and purses. I needed Jade's expertise with these time constraints. She had such a fluid motion in which she looked through the racks. I made the decision to leave it up to her expertise on what to choose. I am the Value Village newbie after all.

Since she knows my style pretty well and we have similar tastes, she cruised through the rows; throwing things for both me and herself into the cart. I used this time to look at the housewares section and found quite a few pieces that I really liked.

Jade taught me the art of her Value Village success with two very important rules:

1. Everything you may be interested in goes in the cart. Even the items you're iffy about. Sometimes the things that you're unsure of end up looking the best on you.
2. You're only allowed buying the things that you love.

Once the cart was full we had to sort through everything and make the final cuts on what was staying and what was getting the boot. That on it's own took a while because of how full our cart was! (I may have gone overboard in the housewares section. Luckily rule #2 took care of most of those items.)

Next it was time to try on all the clothes Jade picked out for me. I felt that a couple selfies were in order while in the change room. I mean I did dress for the occasion and they had a giant mirror perfect for full length pictures.  (On a side note, I'm really wanting to get a tripod so that I can take pictures of my many cute outfits and share them with you!)

I tried on so many adorable clothes (and later bought most them) that I think I'll need a whole post dedicated just for them! Stay tuned for that later this week!

Jade found the cutest slitted fake leather skirt for herself! I can't wait to see her wear it out.

She also got these amazing black and white heels with a little flower on the side. It's moments like these that my small little feet make me sad. There were no size 5 shoes for me to try on because, the few that they had, were not something anyone should be caught wearing in public.

While wandering around I happened to find a mini Hello Kitty figurine. We both knew it was fate that we found it together. It went perfectly with Jade's super awesome Hello Kitty sunglasses. But why are the bows of different sides?! Which Hello Kitty is the real Hello Kitty?!

I ended up leaving the store with two super cute shirts, two adorable purses, six skirts, and a bunch of housewares/decor items. I would deem this Value Village shopping adventure a success!

Our next stop was Sanctuary on Whyte Ave for some purple hair dye for Jade. This store used to be one of my go-to places a few years ago. If I could afford buying the clothes from here I would own more than half the store. I love the vibe you get when you walk in and you can find so many unique items that nowhere else carries. It took  all my willpower not to look through the shop too much while I waited because I knew that I'd end up wanting to buy so many things.

By then we were starting to run low on time before Jade had to be at a mandatory work meeting (on her only day off this week). We usually like having a couple hours to kill when we're going to Ikea because there are always fun things to look at and decorating ideas to come up with. I ended up getting a set of sheer drapes that I was looking for. I forgot to measure the width of my window so I wasn't able to get the hardware to mount it. I guess I'll have to make yet another trip to the deep south for some more Ikea fun.

Since Ikea is on the opposite end of the city from our place we needed to make sure we had enough time to get to Petsmart before Jade's meeting started. It's almost an hour drive to get back but we made it in time. I figured whilst I was dropping her off there, I should go in and buy some more cat food. It's a good thing I always go with Jade because she helps me fend off my temptation to buy more kitty toys. There is already a surplus at our place which is why I must resist! By the time I got home I was exhausted. I couldn't wait to crawl under a blanket with a cup of tea and watch some mindless TV.

All and all it was a great weekend adventure.