Monday 2 July 2012

#28

5 artists
Walk The Moon


Walk The Moon are an american all male band (not a boy band, a real band with instruments!) I recently discovered on YouTube after they released their début single 'Anna Sun', complete with video. In fact, it was almost the video which sold the band to me so well in the first place. The pop-rock/indie sound of the single is undeniably easy to fall in love with, casting me into an upbeat and happy mood as soon as I hear the catchy melody and lead singer, Nicholas Petricca's distinctive voice. It's quite obviously a happy song, and the video only enhances the vibe with utterly ridiculous flash-mob style dance routines, colourful paint and refreshingly averagely attractive extras. That being said, 'Anna Sun' is not all this band has to offer, Singles 'Lisa Baby' and 'Tightrope' both offer variation and are two personal favourites from the album.The band are a refreshing take on what defines indie music today. They've got the instruments, the talent, the style, but they make sing-along music which exudes happiness. They don't take themselves too seriously and if you watch their other videos, you'll soon find that getting big groups of people involved in the terrible dance moves and undoubtedly fun videos is a habit of theirs. This band clearly loves music and what they do, and what they do is pretty damn good! Check them out on YouTube with the link below:

Michael Kiwanuka

You've probably heard this man's début single 'Home Again' (if not where have you been?!) but lets face it, his name isn't the easiest to pronounce let alone remember, making it all too easy to think 'What a nice song' then forget about it soon after. However, forgetting is not something I plan to do any time soon with this artist (thanks to songs 'I'm getting ready','always waiting' and 'rest'). His music reminds me of a certain Jack Johnson yet with his own soulful, unique and exquisitely beautiful twang over it. His music definitely has a calming effect over me and I'd imagine Home Again is the perfect album to whip out when suffering from everything from a broken heart to a boring Sunday afternoon.

Paloma Faith

The return of Paloma Faith to the music scene with new album 'Fall To Grace' was by all means a welcomed one. This woman's beauty oozes out of every pore. She's elegant, classy, exceedingly talented and versatile too (she played the Goth in St.Trinians!). After seeing her live briefly at Glastonbury before I would even class myself as a true fan, I fell in love. Her voice is just as piercingly good, if not better, live and something about her performance bought tears to my eyes. Her music is emotional, relatable and most importantly 100% her. No ass shaking, no risqué stripper outfits just talent and a love for music.
Her début single from the new album 'picking up the pieces' is powerful and yet easy to listen to, something I rarely come across and I am genuinely excited to hear what else Fall To Grace has to offer.

B.o.B

I've always loved B.o.B and felt he was unfairly underrated. And now, well he's back and in my eyes just as good (and verging on better) than before. He breaks stereotypes. He raps...yes. But not about sex, drugs, or drinking (not all the time at least!). His music has real meaning, is about real life and that's what leads me to appreciate him over other current male rappers. The man can rap and carry a pretty good tune with his soulful and Idiosyncratic vocals making him even more of a special find. He has a distinctive music style, much of his earlier music never made it to the ears of the wider public and yet still he comes back with catchy songs of good quality, launching him straight back to his earlier success. And oh my god, a collaboration with Taylor Swift?! I did not see that coming, and I certainly did not see it being as good as it is! An odd pair but none the less they compliment each other on the track 'both of us' perfectly, creating a deep and powerful vibe through the mixture of rap and sweet, feminine vocals. His other latest hit 'So Good' has over 13million views on YouTube and has a much more pop-like sound to it than his previous albums I've owned. Yet, it still has his voice, a good beat, a happy melody and nothing less than cute lyrics. Annnnd, on top of all of this, B.o.B's sense of style needs to be appreciated. The guy can pull of a beret for gods sake! Can we just give him a knighthood already?

Josh Kumra


You may recognise this husky yet oh-so-pretty little voice from the wretch 32 song 'Don't go' which I saw performed about a year ago now. Don't get me wrong, Kumra was great but I didn't picture him being half as good as he is now just one year on. Modestly understated in the music world, Josh Kumra produces slow, sentimental and truly beautiful songs (I am yet to find one I dislike). His music takes a simplistic turn, mainly featuring his voice and guitar and little more. My personal favourites have got to be The Answer and Oak Tree (Stand Your Ground), what about yours? Check him out here:

5 wish-list items







5 things to expect this autumn/winter

Ankle wellies!
I honestly do not know why these haven't been invented before. I think they're great! Perfect for the stylish dog walker rather than the wild river runner!

mid-length coats




oversized knits


Suits







 































The Return Of The Polo Neck






5 beauty tips

1) Sudocrem
I've had this cream all my life as it's great for cuts, grazes, rashes etc. I'd even used it on individual spots before realising that applying the cream to the whole of your face at night leaves you with an even skin tone the next morning! I've personally found it reduces the redness of spots and even enables me to avoid foundation sometimes. Wash your face before using it and apply a thin layer (I usually just put it on my T-zone), leave overnight, wash your face with a gentle cleanser the next day (I use garnier grapefruit wash) and voilà!

2) Spoons
So this tip came from my best friend a while ago, and it only just occurred to me to share it (sorry!). This is covering the problem of eye bags by the way. So you can either put the spoons in the fridge the night before or in the morning (for about 20 minutes). Either works for me, although the spoons tend to cool down quicker the less time they're in the fridge for. Place the back (that's the curved outer side) of the spoon on each eye and hold until the spoons have cooled. The cold temperature reduces the appearance of eye bags and leaves your eyes feeling fresh and awake!

3) Cold water

Cold water isn't going to do much just by looking at it, the idea is that when you've put conditioner on your hair, you turn the shower temperature down as low as you can bare to rinse it off. The cold water locks in moisture and leaves your hair silky and healthy looking/feeling!

4) No7 Pore Refining Serum

There are a lot of different serums and creams out there that claim to do all kinds of things and fix beauty problems we're not even sure we have! However, I've been using this one for about 9 months now and the improvements have been fantastic. My face used to be very shiny all the time, and when I used products that claimed to reduce oily skin my face would dry out and foundation would look patchy instead! I apply this serum every day whether I'm going to wear foundation or not. Although your skin type is down to your hormones and own body to some extent, my pores genuinely have been reduced, my skin tone is more even and my T-zone (where I apply it) is much less oily! Hooray!

5) Replacing fizzy drinks with water


My mum tried for many years to persuade me to drink water rather than squash, juice and various fizzy drinks before I finally came around and decided that I actually wanted to drink water over other drinks! Water has many benefits and our bodies need it, but what you might not know is that it acts as a natural detox. That means it has the ability to flush away things we don't want. For example, spots. Alcohol, Fizzy drinks, sweets, chocolate, it all fills our bodies with things that are going to increase your chances of getting spots when consumed regularly (they also help your body avoid achieving a flat belly!). There's a reason models are on such strict, healthy diets, because they have to stay skinny and their skin must be clear. Drinking more water actually works for me and so does avoiding fizzy drinks (not all the time of course!) and the more you drink it the more you begin to enjoy it as a drink too, if taste is a problem for you!


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