#TBT/OOTD/First Impression Extravaganza: We Can Do It!

This week is homecoming week at the high school where I work. Today was Throwback Thursday, a day where you can dress according to a decade. It was supposed to be from the '50s-'90s, but I cheated a little. This look is the Rosie The Riveter inspired look, and let me tell you, it was an absolute PITA to accomplish.

I have to say up front that I work at a low income school where gang activity is the norm. So bandannas or other possible gang symbols are out. I had some red tulle from a Robin Sparkles costume a few years back, and attempted the hair with that on Monday night.

The hair was a complete disaster, obviously. It wouldn't poof, and the tulle was definitely way too thick for my hair. So, I hopped over to Michael's and found some polka dotted red ribbon to put in my hair. I also knew that my deepest, brightest red lipstick wasn't sufficient:

I went to CVS and I bought some Wet n' Wild lip gloss in Red My Mind and some black liquid eyeliner. Why I decided to do that, when I have my precious Noir eyeliner, I'll never know. I guess I figured I would be able to get a more precise cat eye with it? But I was sorely mistaken.

I woke up at 6:00 AM, and things started off fabulously. My hair poof was poofing in all the right places. The ribbon was working wonders. The borrowed denim shirt fit perfectly. 

I tried to apply the liquid eyeliner first, and it was a total nightmare. I will never, ever try liquid eyeliner again. Thankfully, I only spent like $3 on it, but ugh. It was so tough to get a precise wing. It didn't blend well, being a waterproof liquid eyeliner, and the result was crappy. But by the time I realized I should have gone with the Noir, I would have been late to work. So I made do.

And let me tell you, that BRIGHT RED lipstick was a shock for me. I'm so neutral in my colors, especially on my lips, that it was almost like I was putting on clown makeup.

And it was a complete PITA to get off, too. I had to wash my face twice, use a makeup remover wipe, and then eventually resort to a shower to get it all. When I tried to wash it off, I looked like I was Fruit Punch Mouth from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I had red ALL OVER my face/cheeks.

I will say this, though: both of the Wet n' Wild products I used today had awesome staying power. The red lipstick lasted through lunch and four blocks of absolute chaos with ninth graders. The eyeliner did come off with my Just Release Me eye makeup remover by Philosophy, though. It clung at first, as it should, being waterproof, but it did its job.

All in all, I'm pretty pleased with my outfit for #TBT. The kids didn't know who I was (again, very low income school, you can do the math), but I was able to explain it to a few of them. My poof stayed poofy until about 1:10. I don't think I've had that much hairspray with those bold shades of makeup since ballet class in the '90s when bright blue eyeshadow, multiple bottles of extra hold hairspray, and red lipstick were part of the everyday routine. It does make me enjoy the performance art sort of thing, if you know what I mean. It's not often as an adult that I can be bold with the colors and go wild with a costume. It was worth getting up an hour before I had to leave, for sure.