'Thank god for Bettie Page. Not only was she a pioneer of '50s glamour, but her iconic over-the-eyebrow fringe means that when my DIY hair cut ends up an inch shorter than I intended (as it often does), I can simply cite the original pin up queen and disaster is averted. If only I knew about her when my mum used to cut my hair at school!
But having a fringe this short makes it notoriously difficult to train into any other style, and being bright ginger brings in another issue - what make up to wear. So accepting my lack of knowledge in the grooming department, I decided to put my beauty in the hands of professionals Dolly and Rhonda, and pop-
ped down to their ’Pin-Up’ Vintage Hair & Make-Up night down at Drink, Shop & Do in North London.
In a matter of minutes I'm sitting at their make-shift beauty station, enjoying a milkshake and chatting with the beautiful Rhonda, a hair stylist who loves nothing more than to do '60s beehives. I go for some slightly more subtle '40s waves, and she begins curling, pinning and spraying my hair to her heart's content. I learn how to use a parting to influence curls, and how to hide or accentuate that awkward fringe of mine, depending on where the mood takes me.
I was then passed over to Dolly, who shattered the illusion that you can't mix and match hair and make up colours. No matter how bright your bangs are, there's a shade of make up right for you. She teams green and brown eye shadow with some sultry eye liner, with some exaggerated brows and cherry red lips. A look that I'd never have thought would work on a red head, but she pulls it off perfectly.
With my pin up curls and movie star make up I looked like I'd stepped out of a time machine, but, being a school night, I was all dolled up with nowhere to go. And that's where the trusty head scarf came in - not just good for those days when your hair's hygiene is a little past its sell-by-date, it's good for putting your curls on ice until you're ready to unleash them to the world. And on Saturday night, I let my hair down. Literally. And teamed with a few techniques I'd learnt from the girls about prolonging your style, I was ready to go.
But if you don't think your hair will last that long without a wash, or you're not up for wearing the same make up for 3 days straight, then never fear - the girls do personal bookings too. So if you've got a hen do to plan, or you're just feeling like you need a bit of extra attention on a Saturday night, email the girls on dollyandrhonda@gmail.com - not only are they good at what they do, but they are lovely with it.'
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