There's no substitute for hands-on experience

I'm gradually working my way through all of the things that I learned on Saturday. It's amazing how much you can absorb in one day, and how long you can spend trying to get it all sorted out again!

This wasn't meant to come out sounding like an advertisement, but I suspect that it will. In fact, I started this post with the title "1950s makeup", but got so far off track that I've decided to change the title of this one, and do the makeup post next. I assure you, though, that I haven't been paid to write this post, I'm just an incredibly happy customer!

In effect, these blog posts following the lesson are my notes on what I got from the day. I'm pretty certain that if you were to search the internet, you'd find all of the information that I've learned and more about styling from the mid 20th century, so I don't think that I'm giving away any trade secrets.

I think that my experience has demonstrated very strongly, to me at least, that with something as practical as hair and makeup, what you can get from the internet is never going to be a substitute for doing a class with experienced teachers.

Like the lessons that I've done in the past in rockabilly dancing, belly dancing and yoga, as well as my university degree and apprenticeship (and all the other stuff that I can't think of off hand), when you've done the hands-on training, you are far better equipped to understand and use information that you can find on line or in books.

It's likely that as I work on trying to gain proficiency in vintage hair, makeup and styling, I'll combine what I learned on Saturday with quite a bit of information found on line, but I'm pretty sure that if I hadn't done the lessons I did on Saturday, I would still be trying to figure out where to start, assuming that I could even motivate myself to start. Saturday was a big kick in the posterior for me, and has got me moving. I'm really hoping that I'll be able to keep that momentum up. :)

If you're in Australia and you're interested in learning about vintage hair and makeup, I'd encourage you to take a course with The Lindy Charm School. If you're somewhere else in the world, have a look around to see if there is something comparable where you are. If not, perhaps it's time to start planning a holiday in Australia. :P