Creating an authentic vintage look is no easy task but London based Lipstick and Curls have perfected the art.  Jo Taylor spoke to Amanda, co founder of the company, on her story so far and what is in store for the incredibly popular company.

Please introduce yourself and tell us what you do?

Lipstick and Curls is a company specializing in vintage beauty and hair styling. It includes a large team of professionals with a vast amount of experience in hair and make up styling, but with a passion for beauty from a bygone era.  The company was established in January 2009 and now in it’s forth year continues to offer premier Vintage Styling to a wide audience.  Specializing in hair and make-up from the 1920s – 1980s we can transform you into a jazz era flapper girl, a starlet from Hollywood’s golden age, a rock n roll pin-up or a 60s sex kitten!  With the busy lives we lead, pampering time isn’t what it used to be, but Lipstick & Curls, with their skills, historical knowledge and love of the eras are determined to bring good old fashioned glamour back to the fore. Whether you are looking for a glamorous Betty Grable up do, a subtle Veronica Lake wave, an attention seeking beehive or just a vintage makeover to compliment your current style, the Lipstick & Curls girls are there to help!

How did Lipstick and Curls come about?

I moved to London when I was 18 and did a 3-year course in fashion and media hair and make up at London College of fashion and with the skills I acquired here I plunged straight into the industry. I have worked in fashion and media for 12 years prior to establishing Lipstick and Curls. I am very interested in film and often research back though the archives to find inspiration for my work. With a love of all things vintage I enjoy the London Vintage scene and became more aware of the need for vintage glamor in our modern day lives, the company has just grown organically.  I now specialize in Vintage Styling and continue to work in fashion and media. It is great to have a focus and research back through the decades. I unearth something new every day!

How has the company grown and developed since you started?

We have been very lucky as a business. In the first instance I wasn’t sure there was a market out there for what I did and loved so it was initially just a bit of fun and a side project to my freelance career. We had only been trading for 3 months when the Metro and various other publications took a huge interest in us and, to be honest, ever since we have had a fantastic relationship with the press. It wasn’t long before I decided to give all of my working time to Lipstick and Curls. We continue to try new projects and are always working with new people to develop the brand. It was only last year we had a pop up in Topshop Oxford Circus, this was a lot of hard work but took the company in a new direction. We now have a larger team than ever and are constantly tweaking the company’s image to keep it current and fresh.

Do you have any advice for anyone wishing to start his or her own company?

I think with any new business you have got to be prepared to give a lot of time and hard work into making it a success. When the company is a success you then have to work hard at maintaining that success. I think as a business you need to constantly be looking for new ways to develop the business and be aware of changes around you. The company profile is very important to us and we work very hard to maintain the status we have achieved within the vintage market place.

Do you have any exciting projects in the pipeline at the moment?

Yes we have lots of exciting things in the pipeline for the future. I have been working with channel 4 on a new documentary that will be aired at the beginning of May. I continue to write various features for magazines and I am very excited about the new Lipstick and Curls blog, I look forward to sharing lots of tips and tricks of my profession and using this as a platform to write about all the things I love.  We plan to continue doing great fashion shoots and are always collaborating with new and great artists within the business.

What is the thing you are most proud of from your time with Lipstick and Curls?

There are so many things that have made me proud, we have worked on a few books, which has been great. Our Topshop venture was a great experience too. We organized a team of 15 girls to work at the first Vintage  festival, which was so lovely seeing all our girls together in their uniforms, I think we spent the whole day having our picture taken and talking to press, we very rarely all get together and we were really well received! I was very proud of an article we did for The Sunday Times, it was a large fashion shoot that I did, I also did the writing and took part in the filming to support the article. I worked so hard on this and was really pleased when it made the front cover.

Is there anything that, as a business woman, you would do differently if you had the chance to do it all again?

No, I am a great believer in learning from your mistakes and I have, of course, made a few. I think you have to try things to see if they work and sometimes your time and money is wasted but it is always a learning experience and strengthens the business.

A gorgeous up do!

What are your plans for the future of the company?

We have a new logo and a new image and a great new website. We have lots of exciting things that will take us into different areas that we haven’t yet tried. I hope to continue spreading the word of our fabulous company and opening doors in other cities across the UK. We are expanding our team and expanding our services. I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to work within a field I am so passionate about and I plan to maintain it’s growing success.