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The New Romantic in Three Colors by Kathleen

 
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Hi folks Kathleen here. Well its no secret I love The New Romantic by Raquel Welch since I own three..lol. In this article I will give you my impressions, pros & cons, style comparison with Kahlua by BelleTress and my thoughts on variances within a style. Above in image one is my first TNR that I purchased from WigCloseouts.com. By the way this is an excellent place to look for a style or color you might want to try. The deals are amazing. Three things The New Romantic has to offer that I love she’s a pixie, she has volume and she has curls. I fell in love as soon as I put her on.

One thing I was happy with was TNR wasn’t made with Raquel Welch’s heat friendly fibers. It seems to me that so many of her styles especially newer styles are in her True2Life fibers. They take a lot more care than regular synthetic wigs. I would say her fibers are fairly dry (especially in her shorter curly/textured hair & not overly shiny) and medium in denier. After wearing wigs for a couple of years now I’ve come to the conclusion that I prefer wigs with a finer denier but RW has such wonderful styles and colors that I find myself still in love with her brand.😉

One thing I wish The New Romantic had is a longer front with more curls. Enter Kahlua by Belletress. Kahlua is a much curlier and asymmetrical style with a longer side fringe that really makes a statement. Kahlua has a lace front and mono part but almost no permatease whereas The New Romantic that has a lace front and mono top has much more permatease. TNR has more volume on top at the crown than Kahlua. This gives the profile of The New Romantic an almost updo appearance.

Kahlua has heat friendly fibers and is quite a bit less expensive than The New Romantic. Now take a look at the measurements in image 4. Kahlua has 3” bangs vs TNR with a 5.5” front. Well clearly the side measurement of 6.5” on Kahlua is really the front. I always go by measurements when researching a wig but wig manufacturers don’t always take the same measurements. Ugh..lol

It doesn’t really show in mage 5 but Kahlua has longer hair and has better coverage at the sideburn area. The New Romantic is more of a true pixie that has been curled on top.

The back also illustrates another main difference of these two styles. Kahlua is curly all the way down to the nape.

The New Romantic texture ranges on this style from loose curls to just a wave.

Out of my TNRs my first one in Glazed Sand is the curliest.

I like it styled very tousled. What is so nice about this style is the mono top which allows you to part it anywhere you want. I have parted her down the middle and she looks great that way.

TNR is short in the back. The nape only measures 1.75” so I keep my nape and neck area shaved. Its a great style for the hotter weather because she is so short.

I have mentioned The New Romantic has a lace front, mono top and permatease. Image 12 illustrates this well balanced cap design that supports her style. She has what I call a 3/4 mono top. The crown is where the permatease lives. The lace covers the permatease. This give her a wonderful bump of volume at the crown. I love it and I will say I have never had a problem covering up the permatease. Partly because of the amount of hair and all the curls/texture. Its very well done. The lace front is very realistic as I have found with all my Raquel Welch wigs. Well spaced knots small knots and the lightest hair used along the front hairline so it blends in with your own hairline and skin. I have one con to mention about this lace. Its quite stiff and scratchy. And this I have found on all three of my TNRs. I notice it mainly when I put the wig on. Once I have her in place I have no problems. I know I have her in place correctly when I don’t feel the lace anymore. I have bio hair but I think the lace might be a problem if you don’t have hair along your front hairline. I’m just keeping it real. 😜To be fair all the other lace fronts from RW have been much softer and not scratchy at all. Obviously since I own three TNRs this hasn’t been a deal breaker for me but I wanted to let you know my experience.

My next The New Romantic (a suggestion for Raquel Welch wigs- please come up with shorter wig names..honestly! Lol 😜) in the beautiful color Glazed Strawberry. The color I should have been born with..love it.

TIP: To break up my oblong face shape I like to style some curls over my forehead.

You can go fancy or casual with this style. Everyone loves versatility.

The highlights in the color glazed Strawberry really brings out the gorgeous texture of this style.

The back of The New Romantic in Glazed Strawberry is darker than the front. A soft light auburn.

Ahhh TNR number three. Shadow Shades Spice. A gorgeous dark chestnut color with medium/ginger Irish red highlights. This color has a dark root. For me I wish it didn’t have a root but for folks with very dark hair its very well done. I got this color because it was the reddest color RW offered. I still say this style would be gorgeous in Glazed Fire. Ahh one can dream.😉

Image 20 illustrates the variance of curl/style on The New Romantic (all wigs have a variance not just TNR) Or in this case the lack of curl. I will be honest I was very disappointed when I first received my TNR in SS30/28. There was barely a wave and most certainly not enough curl to have tousled curls styled over my forehead etc. There was never a doubt I would keep her because I love the color. It was more about finding the best way to style her. One plus was I was able to showcase the mono top since I put a part in her when I styled her. Basically instead of having the curls going forward I have the waves combed back (I styled her with just my fingers) It’s a softer more casual look but I really like her now. If you look at the product page the model wearing this color has very little curl to her wig as well. Raquel is wearing Glazed Strawberry and hers is much curlier. I really can’t complain because the variance was illustrated on the product page. I now take into consideration this natural variance when I order a new wig.

I love this side and that little curl at the bottom.

You can see where I parted her and how dark the root is. The highlights are a gorgeous ginger Irish red. It is a wonderful color for someone who normally wears dark brunettes but would love to try a red. It’s a little of both.

You cannot beat the gorgeous dynamic colors of Raquel Welch wigs. The take away here is if you wear pixies but would love to try a wig with some curl but still want to keep it short with the added realism and styling versatility of a lace front and a mono top then The New Romantic is a wonderful choice. I love her and highly recommend her. Enjoy!

You can see all of Kathleen’s posts here as well seeing her talent as an amazing artist at KathleenRyanArt.com.

How to Wear Short To Long Wigs by Kathleen

 
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I have heard over and over again…oh I can’t wear long hair or oh I look awful in short hair. Oh I wish I could wear this or that. One of the biggest reasons we feel we can’t wear a certain length wig is our idea of what looks good on us. Most often its because we never had anything but the length we feel comfortable in. In my case I have super baby fine bio hair. BW (before wigs 😉) I wore pixies most of the time. Mainly because my hair didn’t look good in longer styles. Notice I said my hair didn’t look good not me.
I have experimented on lengths and colors for the last two or so years that I have been wearing wigs and have come to the conclusion that you can wear any length within reason..lol) What you need to know and understand is your face shape. Then you can choose lengths and styles that balance your face shape. Below (images 2 & 3 ) is CysterWigs easy way to measure and determine your face shape.

Its fun and easy to determine your face shape and you might be surprised with the results.

Its not only fun to find celebrities who have your face shape it helps you verify yours.

Wearing Mia by TressAllure in Sunset Glow

Now I have an oblong face shape. Basically an oblong face is an elongated oval face shape. Oval is the ideal shape. My face doesn’t scream out oblong at first glance. She isn’t super long and you might be thinking but aren’t oblong faces thin? Not necessarily. Your face shape has nothing to do with your weight or how fat your face is. A little fyi…you don’t see this straight on view (image 5) from me very often. I prefer a three quarter view…why you ask? Again its a balance thing and a three quarter view makes my face appear more oval. Measurements are important. As I remeasured the length of my face for this blog I realized its 4.5” not 4.25” like I always thought. So take your time to get accurate measurements.

It helps to know all your head measurements. One that I know I had been taking the wrong way for quite awhile until I saw Heather’s video was my ear to ear measurement. I think I had originally measured barely 11” which is really really small. After viewing Heathers video I measured and my ear to ear is 12.5” which is between a child and petite size. Soooo yeah I know my head is fairly flat up front. (insert intelligence joke here 😂) So in my finding wigs that look good on me balancing this out is also important.

Above in image 6 are some stills from Heathers video. Its pretty self explanatory how not to measure. Lol Fyi… I originally measured over top like the photo of Heather in the upper left of image 6.

In image 7 Heather demonstrates the right way to take your ear to ear measurement. Measure about 7” from your hairline to your crown. Now take the tape rotate it and keeping the tape at your crown measure from the bottom of your sideburn (this would be the bottom of the ear tabs on a wig) to your other sideburn.

I have found to balance my oblong face I need volume on the sides. This breaks up the straight line I have by softening or obscuring this line. A side sweeping bang is also something I look for as a way of visually shortening my face. The same goes for needing volume on top to balance my head shape. In all the wig lengths I want to wear I always keep this in mind. Now the fun part. Lets take a look at some of my wigs and why they work for me.

Lia works because she has side fringe and enough volume on top to give me the illusion of an oval face. The bangs on one side gives my face visual width right where I need it..mid face. Fringe/bangs especially a sweeping side fringe will break up the straight line and visual length of my forehead. This is especially important when I want to wear a longer wig.

Ahh my beloved Kahlua. She does the same thing as Lia but even more effortlessly because of the curls. Again visual width on the sides gives the illusion of an oval face. The height on top (mainly from the curls, not permatease) balances out my head to give me an ideal shape. The curly side fringe breaks up the visual space of my forehead and visually shortens the appearance of my face.

Dylan has enough hair and overall volume to work for me. I do play with the layering on the sides to get some volume along mid face. Even though she has an impeccable mono top there is plenty of hair to get some lift. The bangs look best when I let them sweep to the side (to visually shorten my face) as in image 10. Overall this style is the most universally flattering one I have.

Simmer works for me which I’ll admit came as a bit of a surprise. Normally straight longer styles accentuate my straight oblong face. Simmer has volume at the crown that visually helps balance out my head. And there is a beautifully sweeping side fringe and wave to simmer that does two things. The wave pattern gives me just enough width mid face to balance out the length of this style. The sweeping side fringe/bang has a little lift right at the part that gives me just enough volume to again balance her length that would have otherwise drawn the eye downward and would have made my face look longer and droopier.

Finn works on many levels..the volume on top and on the sides (especially mid face) is perfection for me. Finn is long but the visual weight is not at the bottom. The layers get thinner towards the bottom so the visual weight even with a wig of this length and texture is mid face. Again you have a sweeping side bang that visually shortens my face.

Last but not least you have the beautiful Sloane by Tony of Beverly. First of all she doesn’t have a lot of permatease so not a lot of volume on top right out of the box. I really had to work with her. The layering and hair fibers are so light though that I was able to get enough volume on top and still have her look very natural and believable. Her big loose curls/wave pattern also gives some width visually to my face. Notice I have her swept to one side in image 13. This gives me visual width mid face just where I need it. The take away here is that anyone can wear short to long wigs you just have to know your face shape and in my case head shape so you can look for wigs that balance out your unique face shape. These tips are for my face but the concept goes for everyone. Its certainly more fun shopping for wigs when you know what to look for. Enjoy!

You can see all of Kathleen’s posts here as well seeing her talent as an amazing artist at KathleenRyanArt.com.

Kahlua by BelleTress Love at First Sight by Kathleen

 
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Hi folks Kathleen here with my review of Kahlua by BelleTress. I will just start off by saying I love this wig..I love this color..the fibers are amazing..especially for a HD wig. The lace front and mono part are so well done. Its not puffy and mainly relies on its curl for any volume. So fair warning I might gush a little here..lol 😉

I think the price of Kahlua is quite reasonable (even before any sales or coupons) for a lace front mono part wig. I’ll just throw that out there. The fibers are very fine and silky but since they are HD fibers there is virtually no shine..this wig just looks like healthy beautiful hair.

Image 3 showcases this lace front and mono part. Nice density and well spaced small knots. You can actually part this and it will look realistic. A pet peeve of mine are monofilament features that are so dense they might as have a permateased top. Btw I have a piece of flesh colored soft silicone medical tape on the underside of this part. That is why you don’t see the white styrofoam wig head through the monofilament. Its what I do to mimic scalp as a way to add realism to my wigs. (I have ultra thin neutral light brown bio hair 😉)

Omg look at this style..honestly its sooooo cute! Its curly but mainly the cork screw curls are just the longer bangs that I sweep off to the side. The rest of the style is shorter..a pixie really. But still has curl/ wave to it. Even the back has a wavy texture to her.

I love the fact that both the sideburn length and nape aren’t too short. The balance of design on this style is gorgeous. You get a little flavor of asymmetry from the longer side sweep bang but the rest of the style isn’t extremely short compared to the front.

Right out of the box she was a little flat which can be expected. My hubby said it looked like a 1920’s style hairdo. It did look very old Hollywood. If you wanted you could wear it just like that..adorable that way. I myself need some oomph on top..lol There isn’t a lot of permatease and certainly no pillowy permatease. Just enough to support these curls and texture. Shake it, finger style the curls and waves and you’re read to go.

Image 7 illustrates the cork screw curls of the bangs/front. You can see how the curls transition beautifully into the rest of the wig.

This color..beautiful soft warm but not gold sandy blonde with the most beautifully colored soft warm light brown root. Just enough to add realism. Not too dark or too long which drives me crazy when I see that on a wig or on someone’s bio hair. In reality I would never let a dye job go that long between touch ups..if we are talking realism here..just saying..😜

The back..oh its gorgeous…my bio hair needed to be shaved on my neck (yeah I have a low hairline so normally keep it shaved) but since my bio hair is so close to the root color of CWAP it almost adds more realism. On the left you can see my bio hair along my neck. 😂I was too excited to try Kahlua on and take photos before I shaved my neck.

This style is everything I love. Curls, short, lace front mono part, gorgeous color (Champagne With Apple Pie is my favorite blonde hands down) sassy, cute, easy to wear and comfy. The cap fits me well. No bagginess at all and I just took the adjusters in on the nape a little. I would say she fits true to average.

The take away here if you love curls, pixies and natural volume and want a style that can go from day to a night on the town then Kahlua is for you. I can’t recommend her enough I adore her..enjoy!

You can see all of Kathleen’s posts here as well seeing her talent as an amazing artist at KathleenRyanArt.com.

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