Last Thursday evening I was invited to see ‘Stranger Things’ at the Secret Cinema in London with M.A.C Cosmetics [ part of a paid partnership ] and to attend a couple of Fashion Shows the following day as part of London Fashion Week.

I packed my bags, happy at the prospect of leaving Sheffield for a couple of days and heading down to the ‘big smoke’

London is always fun and I’ve become quite fond of the 2 hour train journey down where all I do is sit, drink coffee, munch on chocolate bars , contemplate life … and read.

Yes folks you heard correctly I am back reading ‘ Feel the Fear and do it anyway‘ … because I was doing all those things !

S E C R E T C I N E M A | stranger things

It’s immersive cinema and in all honesty I wasn’t sure what to expect? We weren’t told were it was. We were Just informed that a taxi would pick us up at the hotel and drop us off . A guide would meet us at the other end and take us across to the secret location. I was intrigued already!

As soon as I entered the ‘cinema’ it felt as though I had been transported back to Hawkins. To be exact 4th July , 1985. If you are not familiar with Stranger Things Hawkins is the town in which the series is set.

Your mobile phone and camera are confiscated as you enter the cinema so there are no photos or instagram moments from the night. It felt very bizarre but I guess it’s so it keeps it intriguing and doesn’t spoil it for anyone else.

It’s actually a grand idea; it makes you feel ‘in the moment‘ . As you are not stopping every few minutes to record something on your phone you can just enjoy the experience.

It really was like being back in 1985 when mobiles didn’t even exist !

The sets are amazing , the music is amazing … think Whitney Houston, White Snake … it’s just fabulous .

The cocktails are strong [ I can recommend the Long Island Tea] and the burgers very moreish. The actors who walked around and interacted with us were so much like their on-screen characters I thought they were the actual ones!

The memo for the evening was ‘dress for the 80’s’ ; but as I was working and only advised very late the night before I didn’t have any time to pull an outfit together.

No batwing top or ra-ra skirt to hand unfortunately !

So I concentrated on making my face and hair look the part. Luckily we had been gifted a selection of items from M.A.C Cosmetics and I had taken a few coloured khol pencils with me.

A quick look on Pinterest gave me all the inspiration I needed AND if I say so myself I did a pretty good job.

I shared the photos on my Instagram stories before I left and surprisingly they got quite a lot of love.

Happens people liked my retro sparkly blue eyes and candy pink lip…

The receptionist in the hotel however had other ideas. As I sat waiting for the the rest of the ladies – conscious of the blue eyes, bright pink lips and scrunchie – she approached me not once.. but twice … to see if she could help me? I had the distinct impression she thought I was a prostitute touting for business in her establishment!

You have to laugh …

Anyway back to my outfit ; the only thing that was missing was my tight perm and stiff quiff – Storm Dennis would have had a job trying to move that buggar [ la quiff ]

Talking about my quiff I’m sure it contributed to eroding the ozone layer. It makes me shudder the amount of ‘Super Firm’ hairspray I went through back then.

Today I thought I would recreate the 1980’s look [minus the hairspray ]and share it with you, you know in case you ever felt the need to ‘take it back.’

I N S P I R A T I O N |

All images above have been taken from Pinterest, thankyou

The products I used :

From left to right |* affiliated link

• Lipglass ‘Good Juju’ | M.A.C Cosmetics *lop

• Lip pencil ‘Beet’ | M.A.C Cosmetics *

• Lipstick ‘Candy Yum Yum’ | M.A.C Cosmetics*

• Glimmerstick ‘Jade Metallic’ *

• Glimmerstick ‘Twilight Sparkle’ | Both Avon Cosmetics *

• Reflects Turquatic Glitter | M.A.C Cosmetics *

• False Effect Black Mascara | Max Factor *

E Y E S |

to recreate the eyes I applied a neutral cream base all over the lid. I ran the blue liner [Twilight Sparkle] across my upper lashline and winged it out. I then packed ‘Reflects Turquatic‘ glitter over the liner to create some sparkle.

I applied the green [Jade Metallic] underneath the bottom lashes and again went over it with ‘Reflects Turquatic‘ glitter to add sparkle underneath too.

I lined the upper and lower inner waterline with black Khol mixed with ‘Twilight Sparkle’ I curled my lashes and applied a couple of coats of mascara. Tah-da!

L I P S |

I lined my lips with ‘Beet‘ lip liner, blending it out so it didn’t leave a harsh line. I wanted definition but a bold line would have been too 1990’s

I then filled my lips in with ‘Candy Yum Yum‘ a vibrant pink and applied a little of the ‘Good JuJu ‘ lipglass to the centre of my bottom lip. This gives seriously good shine.

I finished off by popping a scrunchie in my half up , half down hairstyle and off I toddled into the night …

ready to go party like it was 1999 1985!

Below |the only photo I was allowed to take … me outside the Starcourt Mall at the Secret Cinema

Its a little random … but I hope you have enjoyed this post.

Let me know your thoughts below AND please let me know if you are a Stranger Things fan. We can discuss season 4 plots if you are !

Until next time , Tracey x