Midweek Mixtape

This week I guess I'm going with a more electro theme to some of the songs. I've definately neglected Miiike Snow's stuff before now, well aside from a Sky Ferreira cover version of 'animal' which a friend gave me on a mix CD a few months ago. Since I use spotify, I ended up looking at the related artists feature and making a playlist on there of similar stuff, and that's what's been playing on my laptop for the most part of the week. The Tom Waits is a bit of an anomaly I know, but without fail, on my way to a more chill night out or a gig, I'll always resort to his 'Rain Dogs' album whilst on the bus. It has that sort of chilling out, traveling feel to it, or at least I think so.

The Hot Chip is in honour of a new, and hopefully regular night out I discovered in Chester.  On tuesday I decided to spend my last £20 on a night out to cheer myself up after being ill all weekend.  We found a gig at a new venue in Chester called 'The Laugh Inn' (awful name I know!).  It's a comedy club for the majority of the time, but on Tuesdays it's transformed into probably the only actual gig venue in town.  We went down specifically to see Jaguar Jones, a local band from Chester/Manchester area, but I was unable to find them on grooveshark to add them into the playlist.  Therefore added in hot chip since I remember it being played between bands, and having a little dance at the bar with my Guiness...

Top (L-R); Miike Snow- Self Titled Album | Jogger- This Great Pressure | The Kills- Midnight Boom | The Films- Being Bored EP | Tom Waits- Rain Dogs.

Bottom (L-R); Fenech Soler- Self Titled Album | Darwin Deez- Self Titled Album | Hot Chip- The Warning | Jimmy Eat World- Bleed American | Rage Against the Machine- Self Titled Album.

I'm well aware that 2 of the tracks don't fit in with the rest of the 'mixtape', but I just couldn't leave them out this week.  For good reason...

Those 2 songs, were the only 2 that managed to actually get me on the dancefloor the other night.  Literally the only songs.  Every now and then me and a friend from Uni go to the local 'metal' night in Chester.  It's not great.  But.. It's all there is when you want heavy music on a night out locally.  The above picture is a motion shot one of our friends managed to get while Jimmy Eat World was on.  As can kinda be seen in the background, not many others were feeling it and favoured the other random crap excuses for metal that were played, which made me resort to going out to the smoking area for half the night, or downstairs to the gay bar for awful cheesy music just to escape the dodgy rock. 

Bleed American (or 'Salt, Sweat, Sugar' as it's sometimes known) is GUARANTEED to get me on my feet.  I admit I'm not the hugest fan of the band.  By all means they're amazing and I do love their stuff, but rarely find myself listening to them at home, but on a night out it's another story.   Always ask for it on requests, and it's the only thing I ask for that ever actually gets played.   Then comes the Rage Against The Machine... Pretty much every week the DJ will play killing in the name of just since it's a classic and he knows there'll be a few of us who'll go crazy for it.  That few this week turned out to be a group of 3 of us from uni, collectively doing damage to anyone around with our hair;  Me with the extreme length of it, Luke with the brutal dreads (and the fact he was almost falling over onto people by then).  Not the best of nights but those 2 tracks made it for me so I couldn't refuse them to the mixtape even if they were a bit of an opposite to the electro!  

Hope you're all having a good week so far!

Kirsten x

Hips, Lips & Fingertips

http://redefiningbodyimage.tumblr.com/

I just found this image while browsing around Tumblr thanks to Milly, and it's prompted me to get a little brave with a 'body image' related post.  Finally! 

I've always struggled with my body and been 'overweight', even as a kid.  I was always the chubby kid at school, with a blunt fringe, horrid thick glasses, and long skirts to hide my weight.  Not that it really worked, I've learnt now that you can't hide shape under baggy clothes no matter how hard you try!  If anything it made me look bigger than I was; favouring guys jeans, band t-shirts and hoodies over anything actually flattering.

Exhibit A;  Aged around 14 or 15

Now at almost 20, I'm still classed as overweight (although I fucking DESPISE that term), but I'm okay with it.  I like to think as I've grown up, I've grown into it better and it's turned out more curvy rather than round, like I was as a teenager.  Thank the lord!  I've also learnt to love my curves, and dress to suit them rather than hide them.  My stomach still wibbles, my thighs still touch, and I still have the hips of your average latino.  But you know what, I'm not changing that!  I love that I've gotten curvy, and I know without this 'extra baggage' then I wouldn't have hips or boobs like I do.  

And now...

Girls, don't be tempted to change how you are to fit into the media's image of a good figure, or that infamous 'swimsuit body'.  Fuck it!  And don't be tempted to hide it away.  Dress to fit it, show it off and be proud of what you've got.  Noone needs to feel inadequate because they're a little curvier or chunkier than these 6ft, size 4 models.  Just think back to the 40s, where a small waist and big hips was the ideal, think Anita Ekberg, Mae West and Rita Hayworth... None of these waif like figures that could easily be mistaken for that of a pre pubescent boy.  Real women.  With real bodies.

It's taken me 19 years to finally accept how I am and not want to change it.  Do the same.  Fuck the haters and embrace it.

"Over weight".. Over WHAT weight?  Who defines what weight you should be?  And who has the right to tell you that you should be slimmer, taller, less curvy?  Noone but yourself.  By all means if you want to slim down for yourself, go for it.  But doing it for anyone else?  Oh hell no!  Redefine Body Image, accept yourself, take control.

Exhibit B... Getting brave.

Love those curves and love yourself! xxx

Luck of the Irish

Happy St Patrick's day everyone!


For most British students, Paddy's day is always a good time of the year!  The excuse to dress up a little during the day, cheap drinks, Guiness flowing freely <3, and of course the fact that for once it's acceptable to be drunk by 2pm... Even if like me, the Irish blood in you is barely worth mentioning, or not at all!

To me though my favourite part of it is the dressing up part.  I'm not one to go for full Irish themed fancy dress, but as people who know me in person will know well, I absolutely LOVE anything green.  It's like heaven for a day!  This year as I'm not in uni first, I'll be cracking out my forest green American Apparel 'sac dress' and the trusty bottle green velvet covered Doc Marten boots, then going to bask in the fact that it's a day where you're not frowned upon for drinking pints of stout when female and under the age of 40.

I couldn't resist putting today an Emerald Isle themed kit for today!  So many brilliant green pieces around at the moment, whether it be casual or dressy, high street or high end.  Here goes...

1; Lanvin Satin Wrap dress- £1,200 | 2; Bordello Teeze Green Glitter Heels- £54.95 | 3; American Apparel Thigh High Socks- £20 | 4; Miu Miu Polka Dot Blouse- £350 | 5; Gold Plated Shamrock Earrings- $24.99 (irishindeed.com) | 6; Vintage Green Nike Dunk High- £60 | 7; Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Paddy's Irish Pub T Shirt- $24.99 (foxshop.com) | 8; Black Topshop Bodycon Skirt- £16 | 9; 14k Gold Claddagh Ring- $189 (claddaghrings.com) | 10; Lunch At The Ritz 'Luck O The Irish' Bracelet- $80 (amazon.com) | 11; Kate Kanzier Luella Green Suede Brogues- £30 | 12; American Eagle Shamrock Boxers- $12.50 | 13; Yves Saint Laurent Tribtoo Suede Pumps- £565

Absolutely COULD NOT resist throwing the Always Sunny In Philadelphia shirt into the kit.  Definately one of my favourite shows, and even more fitting since it's set in an Irish Pub.  I think if all else fails I'll be curled up with the first 5 series' of this, and a bottle of Magners Irish Cider.  

Irish pub, funny as fuck, and Charlie Day starring in it.  Do you even need any more reasons to watch?!  WILDCARD BITCHES!

I'll be cracking out these babies and doing a little jig (perhaps after a few too many stouts), well after I've been into uni and signed a few dreaded forms.  Especially excited for the green clothing now I'm a redhead, authentic Celtic chic! So eat drink, get green, be merry!  I sure will be.  Happy St Patrick's day wherever you are, or...

"Beannacht Lá Fhéile Pádraig!"

Hold your colour

Ahhh the good old retreat to Pendulum song titles, memories!  Okay so these are by no means a new product or even a new purchase for me, but I figured after trawling through my ever expanding makeup bag (well bags, plural!) for a pink lipstick last week and discovering I actually owned 5 of the same range, it kinda warranted a post!

The product I refer to of course, is the Boots 17 Lasting Fix Lipstick collection.  Anyone who knows me in person will know how much I rave over their red (Showbiz) in particular, never without it in my bag/pocket/purse.   That and the fact if ever asked for a recommendation of a dark plum/purple shade, I will ALWAYS say 17's 'New Black'!  As just mentioned, right now I have 5 of these lipsticks which is pretty rare for me to own more than one of the same lipstick, let alone in different shades rather than bulk buying a product I love.  There's a few more I have my eye on but trying to limit my spending for the next few months, so I don't end up in the gutter before loan day!

My Current 5- Clockwise from top left;
Showcase, Hot Chilli, Pink Power, Hawaii Pink, New Black.

I'm an absolute sucker for a good quality, brightly coloured lipstick with a creme finish, and at only £4.29 they're almost impossible to pass over! The Boots website claims "17 Lasting Fix Lipstick provides long lasting, non-drying coverage for your lips that lasts up to 4 hours", which is a pretty accurate description if you ask me.  If anything, I'd say the darker shades may even last longer than 4 hours due to the lip stain effect.  I wore the red while out in Leeds for Milly's birthday a few weeks ago and don't think I reapplied at all through the night.   I can't vouch for how perfect it was at the end of the night since I was a little worse for wear, but at least know I woke up with red stained lips still, so that's saying something!  

Better view of the packaging, simple tubles with a metal contrast edge.
 Newer  ones are the black and pink version.

I think these are probably the first 'drug store' type lipstick that claims to be long lasting which I've actually liked.  Usually they either don't live up to their claim (unless you count 20 minutes as long lasting!), or do last, but feel dry and just plain horrible on my lips.  I won't say that you forget you're wearing it, because obviously that's not going to be the case with a thick lipstick like this, but it applies nicely, wears brilliantly, and feels pretty nice on.  No complaints from me!  Well maybe the fact the packaging is black and pink and I DESPISE pink packaging (well most pink things actually) could be a negative, but a tiny one in the main scheme of things.

And who could forget an actual swatch of the products on!  Don't worry I wasn't going to leave without one or two!  Swatched in one swipe, no base...

Daylight swatch on NC15 skin (well a bit lighter), L-R;
Hot Chilli, Showcase, Hawaii Pink, Pink Power, New Black.

Pretty great huh?  My personal favourite is the red shade, Showcase.  I may even go as far as to say I prefer it to MAC reds!

HOT CHILI; Fiery neon coral.  Almost a tad more cool toned than many corals I've seen, bordering more on a red than an orange shade.  Pretty daring either way!

SHOWCASE;  A perfect true red.  The slightest bit blue toned, but a pretty much true red.  LOVE this ridiculous ammounts.

HAWAII PINK;  Almost a neon rose pink.  Not quite barbie pink, think a wearable peachy hot pink.

PINK POWER;  A true fuschia shade.  Similar to MAC's girl about town though creamier and slightly lighter in finish.

NEW BLACK;  A dark blackened purple colour, pretty warm in tone.  Similar to many berry shades popular at the moment. 

And to finish, my mug wearing the red.  Excuse the old photo/crackhead face, but at least the lipstick looks good...

Boots 17 Lasting Fix lipsticks are availible at all Boots stores in the UK for £4.29.  Also availible in their online shop, where there's swatches and many more shades to choose from.  Go wild!

Tuesday Tracklist

I'm getting majorly lazy with posting stuff on time, sorry!  So what was the Sunday Mixtape, this week can be Tuesday Tracklist.  I'll probably try to stick at the same day each week, but honestly wouldn't be surprised if I ended up coming up with a new name each time after forgetting to finish/post it on the right day!  Apologies, I suck.

A bit of a chill one this week I guess.  The Iron and Wine and Daniel Martin Moore tracks were pretty much obligatory this time round after seeing them both live on Saturday (post coming soon about that!), so I figured it'd be good to pick the other 8 tracks as ones that went well with the first, rather than a mismatch and sudden change in styles.  Hopefully I've managed a nice combination here, at least I think so.

Top (L-R); Iron & Wine- Shepherd's Dog | Horse Feathers- Words are Dead | Daniel Martin Moore- Stray Age | First Aid Kit- The Big Black and The Blue | The Envy Corps- Dwell.

Bottom (L-R); Frightened Rabbit- Swim Until You Can't See Land (single) | Bowerbirds- Hymns for a Dark Horse | Tokyo Police Club- A Lesson In Crime | Grasscut- 1 Inch/1/2 Mile | The Duke Spirit- Neptune.

Put on your dancing shoes...

... Aka; Shoe lust!

Seriously guys, you have no idea how much fun (see; torment!) I had trying to pick a name for this post.  Sometimes my habit of using song titles/lyrics in place of regular names for blog posts turns from a bit of a quirk, to being straight out annoying to decide on!  Only this time it was the sheer amount of shoe related lines rather than the lack of them.  Nothing wrong with a bit of old school arctic monkeys though. As much as I hate to admit it through the epic generic indie-ness, I still love their older stuff!  

Pt 1- Heelz so high

So... Back on topic!  Mmmm shoes.  I may not dress like your typical high heel coveting, platform wearing girly girls, but my god trust me I can be the world's worst shoe fiend at times!  Despite the fact that at any given time I'll be rocking either battered tan oxford brogues, studded Chelsea boots, or my much loved bottle green velvet Doc Martens (note the recurring flatness theme!), even for a night out... buried amongst piles of clothes and various junk in the shit tip of my bedroom is a high heel collection to rival any wannabe fashionista and girl about town.

ALL OF THEM!  I neeeed them.  Okay maybe not the pink ones so much, but still.

Considering this, there's absolutely NO need for me to buy any more shoes that I'll only wear to prance around the house in after telling myself "I WILL wear these, I CAN justify buying them!" then you guessed it, adding them to the hidden collection.  Problem is, I'm female!  There's no possible way that any chick with an interest in fashion can resist an amazing pair of shoes, even if they well be confined to being worn indoors and just looking pretty on a shelf.  I usually manage to restrain myself, but after rediscovering my love for Paloma Faith (specific post coming soon, don't you worry!) after her performance on Jason Manford's comedy rocks show and remembering her amazing shoe collection, the fiend in me was reborn and I've spent the last few days frantically searching the internet for the next pair of sky high heels to grace my feets.

I think my best discovery aside from the asos and office sales in an upcoming post, was the website http://www.heelzsohigh.co.uk/, seriously I'm in love!  Now a lot of them are your typical market stall trashy shoes, and 'stripper heels'  but there's some absolute gems hidden away on there, and all at a pretty affordable price!  The best part!  The majority I've seen have been under the £20 mark with the most expensive pair being £27.99, although still cheaper than I've seen the same pair for on various other websites.  Colourful platform heels galore!  The best part is for the majority of their collection, each pair is availible in a number of colours.   So no more "oh I like these, but I'd prefer them in _____" deliberations.

Purple snakeskin Gladiator platform- £10.99!

Navy glitter platform- £19.99... Budget Bordellos?!  YES PLEASE!

Yellow Mary Jane platforms- £27.99

It seems recently my taste in shoes/clothing has became a little more saturated, drifting over from my usual dark colours and black and grey mix.  I'm not even sure why I'm so taken with these 3 pairs in particular but all I know is I have a major case of shoe lust!  Thankfully this one kind of agrees with the piss poor state of my bank balance right now!  No purchase made just yet, but emails have been sent enquiring on when they'll have my size back in stock in the yellow pair in particular.  They may be stripper heels on a technicality, but somehow the cheery yellow shade makes them more of a quirky skyscraper heel purchase, rather then the probably intended 'slutty bumblebee'.  Swings and roundabouts, hey!

All I know is these need to get on my feet.  ASAP!

There's no place like home... Red glitter mary jane 'Dorothy' shoes £24.99

http://www.heelzsohigh.co.uk/