Poppy Tea Dress OOTD

The sun has got her hat on

Ive been a bit remiss with my outfit posts recently, mainly because I was ill all of last week and any outfit post would have consisted of me with slightly greasy hair and a bobbly Betty Boop nightie. Thankfully I'm on the mend and its a beautiful day here at BB Towers so I'm wearing a rather sweet sun dress.

Look no cardigan-does this mean its summer?

I actually brought this dress from a local charity shop last winter. It was a totally different style (a rather hideous maxi dress with a pie frill collar) but I loved the fabric so much I brought it anyway and turned it into a swing dress.

I hadnt realised how crumpled the dress is. Sorry what can I say? Im a slattern

It was actually quite a hard dress to adapt as it had huge bat wing sleeves but with the addition of some darts it fits really well around the chest and nips in before going out to a nicely flared skirt.
My shoes are a fab pair of sandals by Iron Fist which I got from Dolly Mixture clothing. Any sandals which feature skulls smoking tabs are my kind of trotterware.

Loving my Blighty necklace by Lilly Von Pink-sometimes it actually is who you know

I'm teaching a private Vintage Pamper session today along with my best friend Lilly Von Pink and as I will be demonstrating quick and easy victory rolls Ive put one in my own fringe. Ive curled the rest using heated rollers.

Loving the feel of sun on my face

I'm wearing a Blighty necklace by Lilly Von Pink. I gave one away on my blog last week and after seeing my puppy dog eyes Lilly made me my very own. My lipstick is  Lip vinyl No2 Hed Kandi by Beauty UK, brows coloured by HD brows, eyeshadow is from the Primpcess travel set by Benefit and blusher is Rose from  the elf mineral range.

The Details

Dress-Charity Shop

Shoes-Dollymixture

Necklace-Lilly Von Pink

Remember feeling good and looking great has nothing to do with dress size and everything to do with attitude.Never wait to be a certain weight to start enjoying clothes and never reject anything thinking it wont suit your shape. Try it on-you may be surprised.

For more of my Daily Outfit Posts look here

Diamonds and Daggers Blighty Necklace Giveaway and Discount Code

Win this wonderful necklace

The wonderful Diamonds and Daggers are very generously offering one of my readers a Blighty Heart necklace which I'm sure you will agree would look rather lovely at a Jubilee themed get together.

To enter:

• Join this blog if you haven't already
• Leave a comment on Monday's post.

The winner will be chosen via random number generator on June the 3rd 2012

*And the goodies don't stop there Diamonds and Daggers are offering a fabulous 25% off any order for the next month. Use code BettyBee

LottyBlue are also offering a fabulous 20% off their website until the 5th of June. The code is jubilee (all in lowercase)

blog.

The LottyBlue Vintage Popup Shop

We are always hearing the term "Pop up shop but I'm never quite sure what it means. Here my lovely friend Lisa explains why she will be having a one day Jubilee themed pop up shop for her lovely boutique LottyBlue.

What does a popup shop mean? We are hearing the word popup more and more including from the retail guru and high street champion Mary Portas who has highlighted the plight of the empty shops on our high streets. With rents being high and the economic climate perhaps putting independent retailers off from renting a shop, the idea of leasing a premise for a couple of days is somewhat more appealing. The popup shop allows independent retailers and designers to test the market to see if the reaction to new products is favourable.Its simple, its affordable and it keeps our high streets vibrant.

The LottyBlue Popup Shop
I have watched Mary Portas on TV programmes and in interviews talking about popup shops and she is presently involved in talks about with government to obtain funding for schemes across the country to improve the high street. I never thought that I would be having a popup shop myself, it always happens to other people!

Inspired by Mary I plucked up the courage to contact my local shopping centre and ask about the Jubilee celebrations in my town of Stafford. I was firstly very interested to see what was happening in my local town and to see if LottyBlue could be part of the celebrations and perhaps offer my services in some way.

I was blown away by the warm welcome I got from from Ann Graham the Guildhall Shopping Centre manager especially when she invited me in for a chat. It was an exciting meeting and we discussed LottyBlue and my love for vintage nostalgia and what I could bring to a vacant shop, if one was available.
Given that the town was having a 1950’s themed Jubilee celebration with local businesses getting involved it was a perfect fit, Lottyblue is all about vintage style and I have a great love for mid century living, these combined elements meant I could bring an interesting and valuable contribution to the days events.

The popup shop is a fantastic chance for LottyBlue to  have a physical presence on my local high street which will allow me to meet people and talk about my brand and what Lottyblue is all about. Being based online I usually  take orders through my website and whilst I constantly use social media and write about my products and vintage lifestyle on my blog to have the opportunity to meet customers face to face really excites me.

I would have loved to have collaborated with other vintage lovelies but unfortunately  I found it difficult to inspire others with this great opportunity! Perhaps there needs some re-educating about what a popup is? 
Undeterred I approached some high street stores where I found retail giants like Marks and Spencer and Monsoon to be fantastic. I just plucked up the courage to ask if I could borrow items to dress the shop. 

As I have only got the pop up for one day I really didn't want to buy props such as a dress, bunting etc and wondered if other stores would be prepared to contribute. I am so pleased I asked as they loved the idea and thought that it was a great concept and would add interest to the towns Jubilee celebrations. I pitched it to them that LottyBlue would direct people to buy the displayed items from their shop and I feel as long as you are giving the lender / retailer something back in return most were  happy to contribute.

What will be going in the Shop?

An eclectic mix of mid century furniture which I have restored Parker Knoll, G Plan and Ercol all of which dated from the 50's and 60's atomic. New designers such as John Green, Lisa Stickley and What Katie Did are just a few of the fab names which will be featured. All of them are influenced and inspired by nostalgia of the 1950's to create beautiful products for today’s modern consumer.

Parker Knoll furniture

Little Waltonbank ceramics

I am also absolutely thrilled to be having a ceramics designer in the popup Sarah Heaton from Little Walton Bank Pottery (http://www.littlewaltonbank.co.uk/). I stock her stunning pottery and it is a delight to have her come in on the day and she is also thrilled about the pop up shop idea.

For me having a popup shop for one day only is really exciting and although of course it is also hard work it's a unique opportunity to showcase my business while including other local business too and engaging with the general public face to face.

Lisa Stickley ceramics

In one way I am glad I am doing this shop on my own it's me who approached the shopping centre manager and in true dragons den style pitched the idea and obtained a unit  so well done me and if I can do it so can you!

So on the 2nd of June LottyBlue will be opening up her popup doors for one day only at Stafford Guildford Shopping centre. It would be great to see you! 
And hopefully will pave the way for another LottyBlue popup adventure soon.

Sterk Apron Giveaway

Sign up to the LottyBlue email newsletter and be entered in to a prize draw to win a hostess apron  
LottyBlue are also offering a fabulous 20% off their website until the 5th of June. The code is jubilee (all in lowercase)

Diamonds and Daggers Blighty Necklace Giveaway and Discount Code

Win this wonderful necklace

The wonderful Diamonds and Daggers are very generously offering one of my readers a Blighty Heart necklace which I'm sure you will agree would look rather lovely at a Jubilee themed get together.

To enter:

• Join this blog if you haven't already
• Leave a comment on Monday's post.

The winner will be chosen via random number generator on June the 3rd 2012

*And the goodies don't stop there Diamonds and Daggers are offering a fabulous 25% off any order for the next month. Use code BettyBee

All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Bee unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog.

Brush Cleaning Secrets

Many of you will use brushes to apply your make up and if you go for brands like Mac this can be quite expensive. Whatever the quality of your brush how you take care of them will make a big difference to how they perform and how long they last. Working at the Vintage Pamperbox myself and Lilly Von Pink have to clean an awful lot of make up brushes.Here's Lilly's  top tips for beautiful brushes.

My Girl Lilly Von Pink-Sharing her beauty knowledge

Working as a make up artist my most prized processions are my make up brushes. I have lots of different brands and in very different price ranges but the main thing is they do their job and last the distance. Some of my brushes are a few years old and have gone through this cleaning process a lot

I'm not a massive fan of brush cleanser sprays but if I'm on a big job and haven't enough brushes a brush cleanser spray is helpful.I use one by Elf which work well.

I use Elf Brush Cleaner on big shoots

Here is how I give my brushes a deep clean so they are ready for make up application action!

1. I use a baby shampoo or washing up liquid and a few drops of

Macedonia oil as I don't want it to dry out my brushes. Dip the make up brush

into the cleaning solution.

2. After dabbing some solution onto your brush rub it back and forth on your hand to loosen the make up from the brush and to get the cleaner through the bristles. I work my way through all my brushes then I'm ready for the next stage.

3. I then grab a bath towel and fold it in half and place it somewhere flat and start rinsing my brush's

4.when rinsing your brush I have the water warm and hold the brush pointed down so the water doesn't run back into the barrel of the brush, moving the bristles round, making sure I have rinsed all the soap and make up out. Then still pointing down I gently squeeze the water from the brush and lay them on the towel.

5.I always rinse my big brushes then I will fold the towel over again and then wash my smaller brushes.

*make sure all your brushes point the same way*

Second layer of brushes

6. Once all the brush are clean I roll the towel into a roll remembering which way the brushes are facing.

7. I then wrap an elastic band round to keep the brush's in place.

Then I put it on the radiator brush still pointing down so any water cant run back into the barrel of the brush and leave the heat to dry them. *as long as there not in direct contact with the heat they are fine*

And that's it- wait until they dry

*Disclaimer : I have cleaned my brushes this way for years but use this method at you own risk*
For loads more hints, tips and beauty tutorials check out my Vintage Beauty Page

Diamonds and Daggers Blighty Necklace Giveaway and Discount Code

Win this wonderful necklace

The wonderful Diamonds and Daggers are very generously offering one of my readers a Blighty Heart necklace which I'm sure you will agree would look rather lovely at a Jubilee themed get together.

To enter:

• Join this blog if you haven't already
• Leave a comment on Monday's post.

The winner will be chosen via random number generator on June the 3rd 2012

*And the goodies don't stop there Diamonds and Daggers are offering a fabulous 25% off any order for the next month. Use code BettyBee

All content (text, photos and other) are the property of Betty Bee unless otherwise stated. Please refrain from copying any material without recognition of the author and a link to the source on this blog.