Lessons In Lucite

As with all things in life sometimes we have to learn lessons the hard way.

I have been perusing the bootsale app Shpock for some time and was thrilled to come across this lucite bag for £40.

This was to be my christmas treat to myself and it was for collection 2 miles from my house! I couldn't believe my luck.

I have always wanted a lucite bag and this one with it's carved lid in browns and yellows was perfect, or so I thought.

The bag had the most beautiful carved details on the underside of the lid.

I went and collected the bag from a lovely local lady who informed me that it belonged to her mother in law who had passed away a year ago and, she told me, she has so much other stuff to sort through.

I expressed how sorry I was for her loss and she said she hated using the technology of the app. I gave her my number and told her to feel free to get in touch if she had anything else she would like to sell. This lady was not a vintage seller.

I was so gleeful all the way home, I kept looking at my new bag and thinking how well it would go with my bakelite bangles.

I was a little distracted by the kid on the buss eating chips and stinking the whole place out with vinegar, but as it turns out it wasn't his food that was the problem.

When I got home the smell followed me there. I examined the bag and noticed it was wet inside and stank of this vinegar smell. Luckily I have some experts amongst my vintage facebook friends and one of them quickly jumped to help me out despite it being almost christmas eve and probably not having time for my silly questions.

You can see here the brown sticky marks that have since appeared.

They told me to get the bag away from other plastics basically. When a Lucite bag smells of vinegar and is greasy/wet, and has a condensation look to it (I took these to be wear and tear) the plastics have begun to break down but also this can spread to other things, there is no cure for it. It's known simply as "the disease" she informs me.

My bag couldn't not be cured, there is no handbag Dr to call, nothing to be done. I was a bit heartbroken.

The clouding on the lid, like condensation is another sign to look for. 

I contacted the seller who said her son had cleaned it with water before I arrived, I took it upon myself to tell her what the expert had said and also that it can spread so if she has other items she needs to be careful and examine everything and get rid of anything with similar signs. I also told her that if she is not sure what it is made of she should be especially careful as lots of nasties were used in these old items, I was worried for her son too if he is digging around in this stuff.

She could have offered me a refund or return, she could have said something but no offer was forthcoming. When I informed her the bag was not useable she said it was a shame. No sign of my money back, it's a case of buyer beware on that one as I have no rights in this case, sold as seen.

So the lessons I learned on this one would be:

• When buying things from a dark rainy doorway take time to examine them. 
• Sniff things before buying them (attractive)
• Handle them, check inside, run your fingers around them to see if they feel greasy/wet 
• Look for cloudiness or condensation looking marks
• Count your blessings when you don't get formaldehyde exposure  

As for the fate of the bag I didn't know what to do with it since I didn't want something nasty going to landfill and it's just so bloody beautiful but I don't want it in the house. 

The sensible option seemed to be to use it as a planter and take it to my grandads grave, he was in the fashion trade and was a very fashionable young man himself. I put some stones in the bottom and filled it with these fake plants (I don't want to kill real plants with the nasties) we'll see how long it lasts outside.

Nicest and most expensive plant pot I have ever bought that's for sure! I'm sure I'll find my dream bag one day, I am also sure it won't be £40. 

So be careful out there shoppers, we are all learning new things every day about our vintage treasures. I hope this helps some of you avoid this pitfall. 

Until next time 

Love 

Luciteless Lucy 

Post Party Product Reviews

Christmas 2016 was so busy for me, I think I have only just recovered. I had been meaning to write this post for ages as I used so many new products in the party season, some better than others, here are some reviews you might find useful.

Brit Rocks Vintage Nails, £1.29 per pack

I picked up three packs of these nails in gold, red and blue to match my party outfits as I knew time would be tight and I am a fan of being able to pop the nails on and off to suit.

Unfortunately the best thing I can say about these nails is that the packaging is cute. The glitter on the gold nails was patchy at best but it wasn't so noticeable from far away.

The main issue was that the nails split, in the same way a natural nail would. They didn't feel especially thin so when it happened to the first pair I wore I thought I'd just got a duff pack, but when I wore the red ones on a night out they also split meaning I had a sharp ragged nail all evening which is so annoying!

The red ones were also poor in that when the nail connected with the glue the colour bled everywhere, and where some glue escaped from the side of the nail it stained my cuticle red, which looked like poorly applied polish. If I wanted it to look like that I would have just painted them myself after a few sherries!



So all in all these are a 0/10 product, they didn't last more than a few hours, were poor quality and created more work than they solved.

I took myself off to the nail shop in the end and treated myself to a full set of acrylic Dita nails which I am loving.

Maybelline Lasting Drama by EyeStudio £7.99

My mum took the advice of a friend of ours who does the most fantastic make up looks and bought this eyeliner on her recommendation. I am in love with my poundland inkwell eyeliners so I was excited to see if a more upmarket product could offer anything my current brand didn't.

I have to say I am not a huge fan of this eyeliner, I like my eyeliner to be inky black and this one needed a couple of layers before it was to my liking, also the brush that comes with it was thicker than it needs to be. I might try again with a thinner brush (I find nail art brushes good for this) but all in all I wasn't so impressed with it that I could throw out my poundland one!

5/10

NYX Jumbo Eye Pencil - Milk £5.00

I am always after eye products that will form the base of a 50's eye and I have real trouble with whites. I have some skin tone products for my 40's looks but because I am quite pale there is never a real contrast for the more pin up style eyes I like to do.

This eye crayon goes on easily and blends well, the pigment is very strong and it can either be blended or layered up depending on the drama factor you want. The price is very reasonable for it's performance. It will budge a little if you are going to wear it all day so I had to use an urban decay primer potion underneath to help it stay.

7/10

NYX Liquid Suede - Cherry Skies £6.50

I had wanted to try out the darker lip colours for a while after seeing so many good pictures on Instagram. I love the bright vibrant 50's reds but I wanted something darker and less novelty to try.

This lip product goes on like a gloss and dries to a matt finish. I have found products like this drying in the past, especially in the cold weather but this one not only stays on really well (I only retouched a little in the centre of my lip once in a day) but didn't dry my lips out.

The packaging is really cute and the wand is also a good size for accuracy.


I would recommend using a lip liner as it may bleed on some people but also it just helps it all stay in the lip boundary.

8/10

NYX Soft Matt Lip Cream - Copenhagen £5.50

I also bought this lip colour to try out something other than red, it performs in the same way as the liquid suede and I was just as happy with the results. The bottle is smaller making it more portable in tiny party purses.

8/10

*To note - the smaller lip cream product is 8ml and £5.50 and the larger Liquid Suade is 4ml for £6.50 which I think is really odd. I'd definitely buy the the lip cream again but I can't say I would pay the extra £1 for half the product!

NYX Full Coverage Concealer - Green £5.50

As regular readers will know I get psoriasis and since having the flu I had two rather large red areas on my face which were proving stubborn to heal. I haven't used a green concealer in ages as my skin had been so good up to now however since parties involve photos I decided it was worth picking one up.

This green concealer is one of the better high street ones I have tried, I have been through a lot of cheap crap trust me, it takes the redness out of the areas you want it to but isn't overwhelming green (which these products aren't meant to be) and layered under foundation you would not have known that the redness was there.

It's a light creamy consistency  which heats up well with the warmth of your skin, anything too waxy means you are pulling your face about and if you have redness that is all it needs!

Another thing I love is that it doesn't smell of anything, really odorless which is good, unnecessary perfumes are bad for problem skin too. I'd love try out more in their concealer range.

9/10

Eco Tools Mystic Luxe Trio Brush Set £30.00

I decided to buy myself some new make up brushes in the sale, I am not a fan of having huge brush sets and really only need a few key brushes so this set was perfect as it had all the basics covered with none of those brushes that usually sit in my make up box gathering dust.

You get 9 brushes in this set including:

• Foundation brush 


• Full coverage concealer brush 


• Airbrush concealer brush 


• Stippling brush 


• Blush brush


• Lip brush Eyeshadow shading brush 


• Eyeshadow blending brush 


• Angled liner brush 

These brushes are PETA certified (I am aware not everything in this post is) the bamboo is from renewable sources and the aluminium and plastics are recycled.

The brushes are super soft and there was no hair loss when I used them, the eyeshadow brushes give a really lovely blend and I am so impressed with the airbrush concealer brush as I usually apply concealer with my fingers and the shape of this brush gives a flawless blended finish in record time. I would definitely buy from Eco Tools again.

10/10

Lashes - Eyelene £1.00

I always buy cheap lashes, I've had more expensive ones but if you buy the right brand you can get away with the budget ones. I used to wear lashes everyday but only use them on special occasions now after some eyelash loss drama! I do use a more expensive glue, the Revlon black lash glue, as it keeps them put all day.

These lashes were great, they were a little long and needed a trim but better too much lash than not enough. See Top tip!

The lashes had a thin base that was easily disguised in the lash line and lasted all evening without any hassle. Sadly I forgot to take a photo before I flushed them down the loo after a night out but the range is worth checking out anyway!

9/10

I hope you enjoyed these reviews. If you have any recommendations of products to try or are a company with products that you think would be  good fit please get in touch at rockabillybrunette@gmail.com



Until next time

Love

Lucy



*All products were purchased, I am not affiliated with any of these companies, all views are my own.

Building a Bakelite Collection

Since getting into vintage I have become a bit of a geek. Bakelite really peaked my interest, it's hard to imagine the pre-plastic world so I find the many uses of it fascinating!

I picked up this book in a local RSPCA charity shop in their book sale so it was reduced to £3.50 and it's such an informative read. I'd recommend reading up if your planning on starting a collection. Of course I've learnt so much from contacts on Facebook forums as well and most sellers are happy to answer general questions.

I started my Bakelite collection with these two bangles, one in yellow and the other a translucent bangle, commonly known as apple juice. These are both what is known as a spacer.

Spacers are thin bangles that can be used between thicker bangles in a stack, personally I like how spacers look all together too and have mainly collected spacers so far, but I'd love to add some chunkier pieces to my collection.

These two are square, Bakelite bangles can come in different shapes so when buying online check that you are buying what you really want. They can be tubular, saucer (like the edge of a teacup hence the name) or square, you can also find more unusual shapes but tubular are my preference.

Also be sure to check size, you might see them described as maiden, or standard size. Before buying measure your wrist, or a bangle you already own and check with the seller. Standard size Bakelite is actually quite small for some, I have small wrists so can take advantage.

After perusing online I decided to buy sets from then on so I could create stacks (and I must admit I have a little thing about symmetry) so everything I've bought since then has been in two or more.

These bangles are a toffee colour and I have two of them. These were my first of this kind with the definitive swirls that many will be familiar with and I fell in love with them.

I bought these three wider "tigers eye" bangles from an eBay seller in France in a bundle with some earrings. I love how Bakelite bangles may match eachother but are never quite the same.

These two bangles (one spacer, one wider) are known as banana bread. It was a colour I was after for a while and I was so pleased to be offered these by private seller.

The four bangles below are known as corn and are a lovely bright, slightly mustard colour which coordinates with so much in my wardrobe.

I kept an eye out for earrings that would match all my various bangles. With the bundle I got from the French seller I got two pairs. 

One set are domed and one pair are flat disks, both are clips. Bakelite earrings can be pierced, clips or screwbacks. I don't own any screwbacks as I find them uncomfortable.

Flat

Domed

I love these yellow hoops which I have worn in lots of my Instagram photos. They are pierced and are such a good size for me. Bakelite hoops can come in various sizes so always check before buying

I managed to find these bigger toffee coloured clips to match my bangles, they are monsters compared to the size of my other clips!

I also bought these orange clips which look to be swirled with red but are actually translucent swirls which cut through the colour and give that effect. I nicknamed these blood orange but I'm not sure how others refer to them.

I have a lot of green in my wardrobe and so I couldn't pass up these dark green pierced earrings. I love the unusual shape because I don't have any others like this.

These hexagonal clip hoops were also a great find, they are a khaki colour which I adore, I'd love to find more of this colour in bangles but I've never come across any.

I also picked up these dark aqua hoops, again in a different shape, Bakelite is so versatile in terms of what shapes you can find.

I wear my Bakelite earrings almost every day.

Colour Families

From building a small collection (compared to certain friends of mine!) I am able to mix and match all of my bangles to coordinate with my vintage outfits.

My advice would be to start slow, window shop and learn a bit about Bakelite before you start buying, particularly online.There are other colours I am particularly drawn too such as the mouldy cheese type colour (yellow with hint of blue swirled through) but as with all things vintage you just never know when they will crop up! 

Until next time
Love
Lucy
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