Book review - Vintage Beauty Parlor

Vintage Beauty Parlor

by Hannah Wing
Photography by Penny Wincer

This book provides instructions on how to achieve "flawless hair and  make-up in iconic vintage styles" from the 1920s to the 1980s.
The book starts with a timeline of key trends through the decades, followed by some basic hair and makeup techniques. Methods for achieving the vintage hair looks using modern tools are used throughout the book. 

The instructions seem detailed enough to follow and are accompanied by step by step pictures. 

The makeup directions contain a similar level of detail and tend to focus on one aspect of the look that is unique to the era, such as 1920s Cupid's bow lips or 1950s rockabilly bold eyeliner.
Most of the hairstyles I have seen covered before in other books, but the modern mohawk look (which is achieved without shaving the head!) I found pretty unique.

One thing I really like about this book is the section entitled "Accessorizing this look" that appears with each era. It describes the perfect accessories, such as gloves, bags and jewellery to complete your look. I think this is really important as some overlook these small, but vital, finishing touches that can make the difference between an ok outfit and a stunning one.

If you have a favourite vintage styling book, let me know, as I'm always on the lookout to add some new inspiration to my library.