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.