Is it me or has August been crazy?  There’s been an absolute deluge of must-have items flooding the grid in a tsunami-like manner since the beginning of the month and it’s been a nightmare, albeit a wonderful one, with so many incredible items on sale that I’ve no doubt purchased and promptly forgotten, or even worse I’ve bought them twice!

Anyway, another awesome event has launched this weekend and this time it’s the turn of the VINTAGE & COOL FAIR to make a massive hole in your Linden balance. I’ve been looking forward to this event with a serious amount of anticipation and on the whole it does exactly what it says on the tin by showcasing numerous styles and furnishings from times past.There’s some absolutely cracking stuff on sale but there are also some very jarring submissions too that are way too modern to include (unless you count things from the middle of last week, which I don’t).  I’m not naming names but you will see items at this event which will make you laugh out loud at the absurdity of the inclusion. We’re seeing that a lot at recent events too, and that’s something that I’m writing about in a bigger post that I hope to feature on these pages when I am brave enough to publish it!

What I am sure of though is that organising events cannot be an easy task, and if a creator turns up last minute with contributions that don’t meet the brief, what do you do? Refund them and have an eyesore of an empty store or let them participate and hope nobody notices?  The latter option is where the problem arises.  In common parlance vintage tends to be used when referring to the ‘Golden Years’ of the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s.  It’s only recently that the 1980’s and even the 1990’s have started to be included into that category. With so much source material to choose from it almost feels like there’s been laziness on the part of some creators who have added some very bizarre items into the event bucket.

Fortunately there are plenty of nice things to buy at VINTAGE & COOL that more than meet the bill and rest assured that you will be impressed by the extraordinary effort from all the parties concerned. It’s an easy to navigate event with some seriously satisfying shopping to be enjoyed, just try not to laugh too hard as you walk by the stores which clearly thought they were coming to something else entirely!I really enjoyed having a wander around and spied some classic retro styling from the 1950’s with plenty of voluminous skirts and neckerchiefs and lots of polka dots too.  There are also some great mini-skirts and dresses from the 1960’s and some cracking flares if 1970’s is more your thing, and has been an incredibly popular influence on fashion this year.  I wasn’t really shopping for anything clothes-wise in particular so left myself pretty open to all the choices that are available, but I did have one thing I had to have above anything else..

There’s been a huge amount of buzz around this beehive hairstyle because it went  ‘SLviral’ on Flickr and Plurk a few days before event release which  of course drove the shopaholics into a frenzy. It’s not surprising  because it’s  beautifully made and really evokes the inspiration behind the name (which, if you don’t know, is of course Audrey Hepburn).  It’s a nice, weighty style which suggests that it would be heavy on the neck, and has acres of volume on the crown.  The back is neatly finished into what was called a ‘DA’ in the late 50’s/early 60’s.  That stands for ‘Ducks Arse’, and it was a particular favourite of teddy boys who created the style with brylcreme and a fine comb.  (Alex Turner from Arctic Monkeys has been doing similar recently too).   I find Ombres the most versatile of shades for my needs I opted for the pack filled with a selection of them and I’m incredibly pleased with my purchase.  I will have to venture back to the event once it’s calmed down a bit though; there’s a free hairband that can be worn with this style in the booth and I don’t want to miss out on that. (Which would of course make this style perfect wedding hair..let’s not go there, OK?)I’m still wearing the astonishing GLAM AFFAIR ‘Katra’ skin that I picked up during last week’s FIFTY LINDEN FRIDAY.  Like I wrote last week, it really does serve as an exceptional base for make-up layers and now that we have the facility to apply SIXTY wonderful layers of nonsense on our bodies you’d better believe I’m all about the eyeliner and the lipstick and all that jazz.  Fortunately there are some brilliant cosmetic brands at this event, and I’m incredibly impressed by a new-to-me brand, LA BOHEME. The make-ups were heavily discounted. Would they be any good? Well, the evidence speaks for itself; as soon as I put them on I knew I was, to coin a Charlie Sheen phrase, ‘Winning’. They’re excellent.  Totally un-touched picture above peeps, and my make up looks ruddy fantastic doesn’t it?  This shot is of me in my bedroom testing out my hairstyle and make-up layers and as you can see this LA BOHEME  Glamour Eyes ‘Hecate’ eyeshadow is simply nothing less than sublime.  Isn’t it a treat? I bought a few packs and I will enjoy using them in forthcoming posts I think (I’m ALL about the eyeliner, I really am) but I tell you what I really like about this eyeliner in particular; it’s quite sharp. Oftentimes the lines look quite smudged and shading can be a tad off, but this is practically perfect and that really pushes all my kitty-buttons.  Turns out LA BOHEME is a brand that is more than happy to supply amazing make-ups at a fraction of the cost that is usually charged in-world.   In fact, the brand has been around since *gulp* 2004!  I actually took a quick trip over to the main store too for a quick nosey; and I’m inclined to think that the store owner is a bit witchy due to the naming conventions applied to her wares..(touches nose in a knowing fashion).  Needless to say once the event has calmed down a bit I’m heading back to her booth and buying everything in the store, it would be rude not too!

Of course I haven’t removed my MANDALA ‘Steking’ Version 5 ears at all yet, and I’m loving the options that they come with too.  You can’t go wrong with a jam-packed HUD crammed with lovely tattoos and pretty jewel colours can you? I’m even wearing the Pixie style rather than my normal human lobes, but how could I not try them when they’re shaped so beautifully? (They almost hint at my feline persuasions..) They really are an incredible product and I’m determined to get the very best out of them.Something else that I haven’t removed recently are my PXL SWEET LIPS.  In fact, I find myself wondering if it’s worth moving on to the newest version? These are the originals and they serve me incredibly well,  and I much prefer them to any of the other virtual gobs out there on the market, but still I do wonder if it’s worth upgrading? ANYWAY, enough of that because I invested in some Sweet Lips-specific lip colours at VINTAGE & COOL too from a brand called ARISE.

Like my LA BOHEME purchases I was so impressed that I treated myself to a number of packs.  Here I’m wearuing a lovely red from the ‘Jenn’ red pack and it is divine. There are 6 different shades of red in the collection and I have no doubt I’ll be wearing all of them pretty frequently.  ARISE is a brand I am often tempted by and I always find their products to be very professional indeed; I think I’m going to splurge out on them a lot more and of course I’ll share my results here with you.  I have no doubt I’ll look virtually fabulous of course!

To finish then, I’m wearing a favourite shirt from my inventory, along with some old LEAGUE bracelets and a recently acquired necklace from the KIBITZ Gacha at Kustom 9. This isn’t really a ‘Look Of The Day’ post, more of a kitty mess-about but here’s an extensive shopping list just in case you fancy any items that I shared today!

Kitty Wears:

Basic look:

BODY: Maitreya ‘Lara’ V3.4

SKIN: Glam Affair ‘Katra’ (Polar) August NB

EYEBROWS: Just Magnetized – Diva Brows – Brunette02

EYES: Nar Mattaru ‘Just The Basics’ Green

LASHES: Hush ‘Flirt’

EYELINER: La Boheme Glamour Eyes ‘Hecate’ S4 -10  – VINTAGE & COOL FAIR

LIPS: PXL Sweet Lips

LIPSTICK: Arise ‘Jenn’ Reds 6 pack – VINTAGE & COOL FAIR

EARS: Mandala ‘Steking’ Series 5 (Pixie)

Clothes:

SHIRT/DRESS: Erm..this is embarrassing! I’ve forgotten what it was called! I’ll name it here when I find it again…

Accessories:

NECKLACE:  Kibitz ‘Cat Charm’ (Gacha) No 3  KUSTOM9

SEPTUM RING:  Cae ‘Septum Piercing’ COSMOPOLITAN SALES ROOM