Tunnel of Love

Can you imagine what it would be like to have an 80's styled amusement park?  I know, so awesome, right?   Well, I'm not the only one that thinks that's cool.

At the University of Central Florida, one of the end-of-semester classroom assignments was to dream up your own miniature theme park.

The goal was for students to understand all the different aspects of running an amusement park — an important lesson if they graduate and move up the ranks into management someday, said instructor Ray Eddy, 47.

One of the groups pitched a park that paid homage to music and pop culture where MTV would be king, 80s music would never be forgotten and a gift shop sold plush Pac-Man.  You can read the full article here  written by Gabrielle Russon Contact Reporter

I would so go there.  Heck, I'd have a lifetime pass!  Ride the Tunnel of Love with Bruce Springsteen wailing on the microphone!

A roller coaster called Heavy Metal perhaps with speakers in the seats blaring the soundtrack to that totally bad ass movie?

The mantra could be Twisted Sister's - Ride to Live, Live to Ride!   In the words of Dee Snider -

Life's short and goes too fast, most pages burn
Don't wait, the end's too near, some people never learn
You all won't fall, the road fever calls
So run or fly, don't crawl

The ideas are endless with that type of theme park.  Everyone dressed from their Izods to their parachute pants.  One glove to big hair.  It's all there!

Thinking about the possibilities puts such a smile on my face.

Would you go?    What would your favorite ride be?

Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!

The music of the 80's is my jam.  But what about the movies?  Oh, my Gawd!  The movies were freakin' awesome.  You couldn't turn around without seeing the Brat Pack in just about everything that was in the theater.  Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, Ally Sheedy, Emilio Estevez, Anthony Michael Hall.

John Hughes was amazing with his screen hits.  We could see a bit of ourselves in each of his characters, you know?  

Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, Weird Science. - DUCKIE!!!  Epic!

Man, those were awesome.  You can't forget The Breakfast Club!  

One of the best movies of the 80's.  It's centered around five students that meet for detention on a Saturday at Shermer High School outside Chicago.

The character I most associated with was Allison, the basket case.  Well, I don't consider myself a basket case, but maybe a little bit more eccentric than most.  I know, you're nodding your head thinking, ahh, that was such a totally rad movie.  Who were you? Andrew; Brian, Bender, Claire, Allison?

I like to take a little part of each of them when I'm creating my products.  Listening to the music and thinking about what was going on at the time plays such an integral part in how that particular scent is going to look.  I want you humming and dancing and laughing in the shower.

With that in mind, I started thinking about The Breakfast Club, The music is so rockin' and the characters.  I know each of you knows someone with similar characteristics.  I started imagining what particular soap each of the characters would be using from Rock the Bath Bar - The New Wave of Clean.

Here is what I came up with.  See if you agree.  Or, which one of my soaps do you think would fit the character better?

Andrew Clark - The Jock -  So full of bravado and gusto. He would use You Want Me.  as he went to accept his sparkling wrestling belt.  That cool scent will have the ladies surrounding him everywhere he goes.  

 Brian Johnson - the Brain - would obviously have Sharp Dressed Man. He's just a  nerd who wants to be cool. There's a little bit of Brian in each of us.  A little musk and sandalwood would give him and you the confidence he needs to pull it off.

John Bender -the Criminal -  When you're playing the tough guy, you gotta be using Whip It. What can be tougher than leather?   This scent exudes manliness and won't let anything or anyone stop you. Fist held high, you can take on the world.

Claire Standish - the Princess - She may have the yuppie look, but secretly, she's a sexual goddess.  Aren't we all?  For her?  She'd definitely be using Hold Me.  On the outside, the look of innocence, while the inside smolders with the sensual scent of amber, exotic musk, and hints of lotus petals swirling underneath. As easily as Claire can put lipstick on with her breasts, you can carry this scent.

Allison Reynolds - the Basket Case -  deserves some love too. So what if she's a little different?  She makes the world interesting as do we all in our own way. Her scent would be Life Is So Strange.  It's good to color outside the lines and with the scent of lemongrass and ginger, there is no reason one can't be on the edge of eccentricity.

Ready to watch it again?  You know you're going to.  Even with all of their upfront personas, in reality, aren't we are all a little like The Breakfast Club with some of their personalities intertwined with ours?  Sometimes life can seem like a bummer cause we want to be seen for who we are and be who we want to be.  Not what someone expects of us.

Like,  we're all under a bit of pressure to be adult like and responsible at all times, but break loose!  BREAKDANCE!  Have a little dance party once in awhile.

Raise your fist high. Take a little time to be less serious.  Be the John Bender you want to be!

 "Did you know without trigonometry, there'd be no engineering?"—Brian

       "Without lamps, there'd be no light."—Bender

Who do you most relate to? Was it the Jock, the Brain, the Criminal, the Princess or the Kook? Tell me who and why in the comments below.  I'd love to hear from you.

And.......don't forget!

 "Did you know without trigonometry, there'd be no engineering?"—Brian

       "Without lamps, there'd be no light."—Bender

Why Can't We Give Love That One More Chance

I was chillin' out this morning and had this great video come across my feed!





 Oh, those were the days of some great songs, great artists and you know?  They are still holding steady today!

Are we considered fuddy duddy's because we love that music?  Hell no!!  The 80's are here to stay dude.  We hear Rick Astley's infamous "Never Gonna Give You Up" for Go Daddy, + Bonnie Tyler's "I Need A Hero" for Kia in just two of the many Superbowl LI Spots.

Allure magazine just wrote that "The '80s Will Be The Biggest Trend of 2017"!   How cool is that?

And, according to Pinterest's in-house analytic team, the '80s trend isn't about to die down.  So, I think we're in good company.

Man, I still have my parachute jumpsuit, ankle boots, studded leather belts.  What about you?  Can I get an Amen?  I know you still have something from the 80's in your closet AND you still wear it!  We don't have to be frumpy and look like we never grew up.  We are confident enough to wear our 80's fashion and combine it with rockin' awesome looks of today to create our own standout fashion!

Here are my Top 5 go to's that still work.

Number 5:

The Animal Print - The 80's were all about this style

and now you can still wear it and be absolutely stylish without looking like you're an old housewife with spectacles and slippers.

Number 4:
Spandex - Oh yeah, the 80's were infamous for the brightly colored spandex on the dance floor.  Even Charlie's Angels were hot in it!  I still have my pair of purple ones.

Today, it's called Athleisure Wear!  Umm, yeah.  Still spandex!  But, we look so much better in it now.  Even if you don't work out, you can still look awesome.

Number 3:
Scrunchies - Oh my gawd!  We pulled our hair high atop our head and wore these things everywhere!  We even wore them as bracelets.  Like, we were so totally cool.

Guess what?  They're back. Take them off your wrist, rock a cool do and top it off with a scrunchie.  With this updated look, you can rock it just like Selena Gomez.

Number 2: 
Metallics - The disco era was over, but man those glitzy metallic dresses were all the rage!  Didn't you wear this to your prom?  So, you couldn't make your own Molly Ringwald dress from "Sixteen Candles", but you were going to really stand out at the dance.

I wish I could go digging in my closet and find this.  Metallic? Check. Rock your socks off?  Hell yeah!  I would wear this everywhere I could.  How sexy is this stunner of a gown?

Which now brings me to my Number 1 pick for 80's fashion go to's that you can still wear today?  Why, of course, it's the.....

Off the Shoulder Shirt.    We all dreamed that we could be Jennifer Beals dancing our way into the best school with the best guy all the while working as a welder.    But that shirt?  You know you had it!

Well now, you can still wear that shirt, dance any way you want, have the best guy and you certainly have other options in jobs besides being a welder.  Show off those sexy shoulders girl.

As you can see, I walk the walk and even passed it on to my kiddo.  She is showing off her off the shoulder shirt, and I'm still kickin' back in my denim jacket that I won't ever give up!

Fuddy duddy, I don't think so.  Let's rock the night and wear what we want to.  We can leave our friends behind.  Cause if they don't dance, well, they're no friends of mine.  Just kidding.  We can still be friends regardless of what they wear.  We know, we'll be creating our own fashion forward trends that they will all be talking about and wanting to follow.

What do you have in your closet that you still wear?  Post a picture in the comments.  I would love to see.

Pump Up the Jam!

Awesome picture, right? I spent last week in the beautiful city of Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I wish I could say it was solely for pleasure, but darn it, there was some business to do at the Indie Business Mastermind 2017.   I was with these awesome, rad ladies in learning how to relax, refine and refresh. How did I do that? First, I spent some totally relaxing time by going snorkeling: We did our own catch and release program of taking pics of the conch shells we found and then tossing them back into the ocean. Then, I tried my hand at zip lining!       After all of that relaxing, it was time to refine.  What do I mean by refine?  I learned to set goals and acquired the skills to reach what I want to do this year. Regardless, of what we do, it's a great thing to set a goal with explicit ways on how you want to reach them, whether it's growing your business or wanting to buy a new car!  They are all goals and they are all attainable.  Write down your list.  Mark a date that you want to have it finished.  Research and find what you need to help you with your goal.  Is it learning new social media?  Checking out car fax for the safest ride?  Then, do it! The third item is Refresh.  Man, do I feel refreshed and ready to go after hanging out with these, smart, powerful, playful, dynamic women.  I was lucky in that I had a goal to attend this trip.  I put it on my calendar, put money away into my savings each month and did it!  You can too.  I know you can! What are you going to do to RELAX, REFINE AND REFRESH?   I'd love to know.  Email me at shop@rockthebathbar.com , post in the comment below and tell me.  Or post it on tmy FACEBOOK page.  I'll be your accountability buddy to make sure you're staying on course!

I Want My MTV!

Happy New Year!

2017 started out a little sad as my youngest kiddo, who turned 19 last week, has flown the coop!  She is spreading her wings and ready to take on the adventures ahead of her!  My original company After the Rayne started when she was born, and it seemed ironic that those doors shut on December 31st.

But, like they say when one door shuts another one opens and here I am with - 

                                                 

The 80's for me was high school, colored hair, spandex pants and parachute jumpsuits!  The movies were The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and anything directed by John Huges!  The music was awesome from Punk, New Wave, Valley Girl (like, oh my Gawd!), Hair Bands and even Debbie Gibson!

And, the fashion!  Who could forget the fashion?   I had my black and white vans, bandanas wrapped from the knee down and oh yes, the Pat Benatar headband!

You think I'm nuts, but guess what Allure magazine has to say about the 80's?

http://www.allure.com/story/80s-fashion-trend-for-2017

I am so happy that it's making a comeback!  It never left my closet!  Now, I wasn't that weird chick walking down the street with everything from the 80's, but I do enjoy mixing the old with the new.

That's how I've always been and I'm not going to change now!

 is an awesome bath + body experience and I can't wait for you to go on this totally rad ride with me!  I am the lead rocker/dancer at this party and I'm going to blast the roof off!

LET"S ROCK!!!