Should Russell Brand get royalties for Katy Perry’s album PRISM!? (late post)

So today’s post is slightly different and quite lengthy! I wrote this piece a while back, but I didn’t really have anywhere to post it – but I am trying to expand the content of my blog to include such things as music, food or places, without taking off the beauty focus of course! 

Because it was written in October time, some of the phrasing such as ‘yesterday on the X Factor..’ won’t be correct but I hope you can look past that! Enjoy..

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It just goes to show, a good publicity team and an interesting private life really helps in the sales of music. Last night I watched Katy Perry on the X Factor, and I just think she is an amazing and interesting woman –  so at about 2 AM last night I impulse purchased her new album PRISM.

 I’m not even a massive fan of Katy’s music, though admittedly I do have a few of her classics on my iPod, I would have never of seen myself actually buying her album and to be honest with you Katy, at some points today I’m beginning to wish I didn’t.

The whole album is dedicated to her break up with womaniser, and also love of my life, Russell Brand and the subsequent shift to her new found love, John Mayer. This album is literally her diary in song form from the years 2011 – 2013 and of course I want to read that diary, but 16 songs on an album about it can be a little dreary.

Obviously the caption to this article is tongue in cheek, but it is heavily influenced by Brand and there is no subtlety about it at all. For example in her song Ghost, she begins it by ‘you sent a text, it’s like the wind changed your mind … now you’re just a ghost.’ These poignant lyrics are synonymous with the interview she did with Vogue in the July issue, in which she stated that she hadn’t ‘heard from him since he texted me saying he was divorcing me December 31, 2011.’

Another clear reference is the hidden ‘other’ reason for which they divorced, which she briefly mentioned in her Vogue feature, saying ‘I felt a lot of responsibility for it ending, but then I found out the real truth, which I can’t necessarily disclose.’ A lot of her songs give subtle reference to this quote, as a lot of them talk about her realising that it was not her fault, or her responsibility and the transition to becoming a stronger woman, one that recognised her worth. Most notably, By the Grace of God, which you could infer hints to Perry taking her own life, ‘laying on the bathroom floor.. by the grace of God there was another way .. I looked in the mirror and decided to stay.. wasn’t going to let love take me out that way.’

It’s interesting really, originally this article was a tongue in cheek look at Katy Perry’s new album, yet it’s difficult to criticise something that is so clearly personal and close to the artist’s heart. Perry suffered badly in the relationship and that is clear throughout the album, although I truly hope it’s a great success for Katy – which I’m sure it will be at first due to her dedicated fan base – I can’t see a lot of number one song’s emerging from this album just yet.. But who knows.. Perry is a strong woman with a strong fan base to match.

What strikes me most about this album however, is what could have been and what could we have lost.. Imagine a world where Katy and Russell were still together, would she have had a Teenage Dream style album again? Or was the break up a blessing that pushed her to a different direction where we now have the powerful and catchy Roar and the most beautiful, By the Grace of God.

My transition of feelings have been an interesting throughout this article, and I feel a lot of people may go through the same thing. At first your expectations are set at a Teenage Dream style, and after the first play you just wish you never bought it. But listening to the whole album and remembering what she went through, I think this is a beautiful, personal, empowering and most importantly honest album. Katy has transformed and grown into a woman. And the answer to the question… no. Russell should not receive a pittance from this album, as this is pure Katy at her best.

2013 Autumn|Winter Faves

2013 Autumn|Winter Faves
2013 Autumn|Winter Faves by making___up featuring OPI
Ignoring the labels and the price tags.. I have pulled together my key looks for this Autumn and Winter.
1) Oversized Boyfriend Coats – Honestly can’t get enough of ’em. Stylish and simple. They aren’t one of those ‘after thought’ coats that you put on and it ruins your outfit – they really make your outfit complete. I think it is worth investing in one of these if you haven’t already because judging by the style and silhouette of the coat, I truly believe it is timeless and not an item you’ll be giving away to charity next year.
2) Winter means Christmas and I use this as an excuse to exploit my nails as much as possible!! I go OTT sparkly and if anyone looks weirdly at them, I just say ‘It’s Christmas….’ and they soon shut up in the fear of being The Grinch. It also means I can comfortably wear dark reds and blacks without being called weird like I am in the summer (I’m really not a fan of pastel nail polish.)
3) FUR AND LEATHER. My two most favourite textures are in their element at Christmas time as they are used everywhere. I have to stress I mean FAUX FUR .. I am so against wearing fur it makes me sad thinking about it .. I have plenty of leather and fur items this winter and they couldn’t be missed in my favourites.
4) The classic black boot. Every year I get a different one, and to be honest, they’re never really that different year to year. But I do love a good stylish black boot that you can put on with almost anything. I practically live in mine, I genuinely can’t remember the last time I wore a shoe that wasn’t a black boot…
They were my Autumn/ Winter favourites or ‘key looks.’
I want to know what you’ve been loving this winter!?

MERRY CHRISTMAS 2013

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This is my tree this year! Feeling Christmassy as I settle down with some food for the night. My family’s Christmas Eve traditions are just as important as Christmas Day!

I just wanted to say a huge Merry Christmas to my followers (and everyone else!). I know I have only just started out and am still very amateur in the blogosphere but I have (virtually) met some really kind people and read amazing blogs these past 6 months. Really excited to continue this journey throughout 2014.

Wishing you the best Christmas,

Making___Up X

LIP LINER – THE DIFFERENCE – PART II

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To emphasise the amazing Rimmel Lip Liner (in 018 Addiction), I thought I’d show you the difference between my normal lips and when I use this product.

The first picture is of my lips without absolutely anything on (except lip balm put on the night before.) They are undefined, a bit blotchy, and yes I have a few freckles on them too!

The second picture is simply wearing lip liner and more lip balm which I blogged in more detail about yesterday.

If you tried this look, tweet me a picture at @making___up, I want to see!

NATURAL BIG LIP EFFECT

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Christmas is all about those deep plum and festive red colours on the lips – but for every day, these aren’t always suitable. My most worn look (and favourite) is simply using a lip liner and lip balm. It gives a really nice effect without looking OTT. 

I use Neutrogena’s Norwegian Formula Nourishing Lip Care Balm which is literally the best balm I have ever used and I line my lips with Rimmel’s Exaggerate Lip Liner in 018 Addiction. I think this colour would suit almost everyone and really emphasises your natural lip shape without bringing a whole other colour to your face. I wear this look practically every day and I love it! I have also seen great reviews about Topshop’s Lip Liner in Ceramic, but I personally have not tried that yet.

 

The lip liner in the photo’s probably looks quite harsh to you, but I obviously I have zoomed right in to show you – usually you would just see a shadow effect which gives the illusion of a bigger lip.

These lip liners would be a great addition to a stocking filler at Christmas! 

What’s your favourite lip liner?

 

 

 

 

QUICK FIX: BLIND SPOTS

When you look into the mirror to do your make up, you only see your face as if you are standing directly in front of you..

But remember – people see you at every angle! Especially when you’re chatting to your friends, you’re moving your head, people are sitting either side of you – you’re not always going to be seen straight on (as you see yourself in the mirror) all the time.

I often get break outs around my jaw line and this is a spot (ha ha pun) I wouldn’t see if I always looked straight into the mirror. So when I apply foundation, I move the mirror and my face to every angle so I can cover every blemish! This is also helps to reduce that dreaded foundation line too…

I hope this helps to make your make up look completely flawless!

What’s your beauty quick fix?

 

PRIMARK/NEW LOOK/ TOPSHOP/ MISS SELFRIDGE HAUL

I am not really a clothes person – I could definitely spend all my time and money on beauty products – but recently have been splashing out on clothes which is not good for my student budget…

I have wanted an oversized boyfriend jacket for aaages but I needed to find the right one, and when I did, it was out of stock ….. for 3 months. And I’m not joking. I searched and refreshed the New Look website page for THREE MONTHS. I thought I was never going to have the jacket until a miracle occurred and they finally had my size last week and here it is! Some of you are probably thinking why on earth did you wait such a long time for that. But it is exactly what I wanted and every other coat I saw, I only compared to this one.

It is from New Look and is only £39.99 which I don’t think is that bad. It has a really good quality feel but you have to remember it is only a jacket and is not lined like a coat, for a cold day I would definitely have to layer up.

 

My second two purchases were these fluffy gifts of heaven. I really like this stringy/fur/soft texture that a lot of shops have at the moment and the cream one was a real bargain. At only £10 from Primark it feels exactly the same quality as the Topshop one next to it, which was £38. I heard there is almost an exact replica of this black jumper in Primark but I couldn’t find it for the life of me, so I forced myself to buy this one. Fortunately I work for Arcadia, so I managed to get it at a slightly discounted price because I’m really not sure my budget could stretch that far.

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My last two purchases were from Miss Selfridge. I fell in love with both of these items as soon as I saw them. I have wanted a black faux fur gilet for absolutely ages, but I couldn’t find a flattering one at all. I tried on this colour however and I loved it. So easy to put over anything for extra warmth and glamour. I usually dress like I am going to a funeral every day – all in black – so putting this on makes me look a bit less Wednesday Addams. It was £59 but on promotion when I bought it. I have no idea why Miss Selfridge have decided to advertise its shape in such a distorted way though..

Finally these dogtooth leggings. They are my favourite! Like I said before,  I usually always wear black. I have various different types of black leggings and jeans and just swap between them on a day to day basis but I took the plunge and went for these. Yes the main colour is grey and black, so not quite the bright colours but they are big step for me! Very stretchy and warm, I think these would look really flattering on anyone. And these were only £24, but again on promotion!

I hope you enjoyed my first fashion – style blog. Not sure whether to continue them or not, I’m more confident in the beauty sector.. HMM

Thank you anyway and I hope it gives you ideas!

CHRISTMAS QUICKIE

Just a quick note to tell you about one of the best and universal Christmas gifts you can give someone this year.  Christmas shopping is stressful but I guarantee anyone will love this product.

It’s called a Juice Cube and it’s a portable phone charger which sounds reeeally boring but it’s so so good. Normally these portable phone chargers are absolutely crap but I got one for my birthday in September and it’s literally changed my life. If I forget to charge my phone over night, I just pop this in my bag and I’m guaranteed another 80% battery life.. It really works and looks cool too! You can get it in various colours to suit anyone and it lights up depending on how much it is charged. It’s not just for Iphones, it comes with different removable charging tips but you don’t actually need them.

Mine didn’t come with an I Phone 5 charging tip (not sure if they have updated that) but you just take the USB tip, put it in the cube and connect it to your phone and wha la!

Reading this back I sound like a proper sales person, but I am in no way associated with this brand, I just love it! (I’ve got the pink one)

THE ART OF ASMR

YouTube is usually a place where I watch countless make up tutorials or music videos, but I have found a whole new way of experiencing YouTube and that is in the form of ASMR.

ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response which sounds complicated but really is just a long way of saying that certain sounds can cause triggers, and these triggers set off a response in your body, usually a nice tingling and relaxing feeling.

I first came across this art when I had trouble sleeping, and searched for calm sounds in YouTube to which I came across the channel GentleWhispering.  I really love the tone of her voice, and her soft spoken accent, it really calms me. I have found that I usually am more responsive to sounds and visuals (which I’ll explain later) but I could just listen to her voice my whole life and be eternally calm and happy. 

Incase you’re still wondering what the hell I’m going on about, I want to try and explain what I feel from ASMR. Remember though – everybody is different, and everyone has different triggers and responses and some people don’t respond at all, so don’t worry if you watch and aren’t getting the same feelings as I am.

When I listen and watch my favourite ASMR videos, I feel what I can only explain as a blanket, starting at the nape of my neck, and lifting over my overworked and overtired brain. I feel as if someone is softly pressing their hands on my mind and it begins to feel numb as I grow distant from everyday life. If I really concentrate on being relaxed (without falling asleep) I can feel a mental massage on my mind and I literally can’t do anything else whilst I am concentrating on this – my mind literally won’t let me.

its scary how powerful your mind is

I saw a comment once on a video, saying they listened to it whilst they were doing an essay so I thought ah.. I’ll give that a go.. nope.. physically couldn’t do the essay, the effect ASMR has on me gives me mental block to do anything else. It’s scary how powerful your mind is.

In terms of sounds: some videos are dedicated to purely sound and no talking. I think that MassageASMR does this best as you will see throughout his channel. The concept behind it, is finding simple things around your house that make crinkling/ tapping/ touching/ anything noises and combining them effectively into a video stream. It works wonders when you’re suffering from insomnia!

Now onto visuals – these come in mainly two forms. Firstly, doing an action visually to trigger a response e.g, brushing hair, folding clothes, playing with hair, a massage. Or secondly, a newer type of visual ASMR, which is role play. I personally connect the least with role play out of every type of ASMR, but there are many different variations, such as getting your eyes tested, having your hair cut or even having your ears tested, so give it a good go before you decide. My favourite type of visual is definitely brushing or playing with hair. This was my first ASMR experience and I won’t forget it. All it took was a lady talking about anything and brushing her hair slowly to send me in the calm state and I will be forever grateful to that lady for introducing me to the world of ASMR.

My second favourite visual video, is by GentleWhispering, who folded different clothes whilst speaking. I couldn’t take my eyes off of it, the sounds and motions when she folded the clothes were mesmerising!!

I know some people will read this and think jesus woman, you are absolutely crazy! but don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! I’ve only been doing it a few weeks and I love it. I think it’s a true art, so I just wanted to share my favourites with you:

MassageASMR: Definitely the best channel I’ve found for sounds. His Crinkle Heaven 7.7 is my life – I have listened to that whilst trying to fall asleep countless times. I find it really enjoyable watching this man, he is so talented and passionate about it and that is clear from the video. That really helps to engage and connect me mentally.

GentleWhispering: Also really passionate, her soft voice captivates me. My favourite of her videos are ones of her voice, and her visuals such as folding clothes or doing make up.

And finally, the one that set it all off. The first ever ASMR video I watched that I can blame for my addiction was this one – simple but effective heaven in my eyes.

This blog post was different to my usual ones but I hope you enjoyed it!

Let me know if you tried ASMR or know of any other similar techniques?