Realist

If you don't know Garbage, you need to sort that out immediately.  I was pretty much raised on Garbage when I was younger and Shirley was a real role model for me. When the alternative female icons were people like Britney Spears it was so amazing so see some sassy, grungey and smart presenting something really edgy.  Shirley still remains iconic. Shirley is an artist who really promotes a strong feminist agenda, but unlike every other female artist like Taylor Swift she does so by promoting actual theory and arguments rather than bold statements about sexism. Recently sharing Rebecca Solnit's book Men Explain Things To Me on Instagram. She's really maintained her role model identity in my eyes.  Here's an all time 90s classic by Garbage. 

I had been sick the last few days and have been reading The Female Eunuch the last few weeks so I decided to spend my sick days off work binge watching feminist documentaries.  I started off with 'She's Beautiful When She's Angry,' which began by looking at the origins of the feminist movement. Here I have included the trailer to give a taste.  What I always find fascinating about watching documentaries and reading books from earlier feminist movements is the changes I can almost instantly consider. This documentary begins by conveying how second wave feminism came into existence in an extremely inspirational way, as something which started off small but grew followers, attention and more support. Equally, the documentary explored the opposition feminism faced from the media, politicians and even other females who wanted to remain housewives. She's Beautiful When She's Angry moves at a wonderful pace and explores every single issue in depth a...

I have been OBSESSIVELY listening to this artist recently. The song 'Storm Bloom' would be my favorite but I couldn't find a great quality version. Instead I've featured 'Almost Living' by HTML Flowers. 

Looking for artistic inspiration? Look no further.  I stumbled across this website the other day while looking up Luis Quiles (as featured in my earlier posts). It's called A Charming Hello. I spend a considerable amount of times looking at blogs, most of which are beauty/fashion related. So I find it refreshing to occasionally stumble across a different kind of blog that I'm drawn to. This particular blog has all sorts of artistic forms. Whether its photography, interior design, graphic design or typography this website has a wonderful selection. If you're seeking some inspiration for your living room. Or if you just enjoy looking at very interesting visually appealing things, it's worth checking out.  Check out A Charming Hello   But for now, here's some things off their site that I liked. 

This exceptional duo where a discovery on Spotify oddly enough. There's something distinctive about these two which I really love and I can't quite put my finger on it. The singer reminds me of Banks, but the music and lyrics are arguably better. Also some aspects of the music, harmonies and looping would remind me if James Blake. Perhaps it's the combination of the two which I love so much.  I'd like to share the video for Bridges. I've been listening to this song on repeat since I've discovered them. Literally non stop. I love the simplicity of the corus with the strong background beats. I also really love the video which is the simplistic concept of exploring a couples' relationship. Something that's become a new theme that I love to see.

This is a post I've been wanting to do for a long long time. I'm a huge fan of Lush Cosmetics for a number of reasons; their products are fresh and actually work, the staff are always incredible and it's a company with what I believe to be all the right values. My skin would generally be relatively normal but prone to becoming dry and occasionally a break out when I've not been looking after it. When this happens I tend to pop into Lush ASAP for one of their lovely face masks. Below is a list of my Top 5 face masks and the reasons why! (For those who are interested I would usually use these anywhere from two to three times a week). 5. Cosmetic Warrior This I think was one of the first ones I ever tried. A lot of people seem to be put off by it because it's garlic. But don't be! This one is another great one for those panic break outs where you need a quick fix. Similarly to Catastrophe Cosmetic it can be a tad drying on your skin but it does the j...

This wonderful link popped up on my newsfeed from  The Huffington Post  about this music video. Since gender is kind of my field, I always think its fantastic for it to be challenged, however it's done. This video challenged it with precision, accuracy and simplicity which worked so efficiently. This is absolutely wonderful to see. I don't know a lot about Ruby Rose at all, in fact I hadn't heard of her before this. This is a fantastic song which I do really like. It's safe to say I've become a rather immediate fan. I'm also tempted to cut my hair now!

Hope everyone had a lovely Easter Sunday. Here's some of Jon Hopkins, who I've become obsessed with, for some all round good Sunday chilled vibes. Starting to feel all summery. 

I featured  Style Like U  in a post a little while back. I have literally become completely obsessed with this blog. For all things inspirational.  This is LadyFag who is a New York based writer and performer from what I gathered. I really loved this interview and found it really interesting so I thought I would share. 

Needless to say I'm a fan of all things poetic and artistic, so yes spoken word is included. I recently completed a very insightful (we'll say) module in college on spoken word, although my module dealt more specifically with gender theory. However it gave me a new appreciation for spoken word. This performer is probably best known for his poem 'OCD' which everyone who has seen it will probably agree that it is incredibly moving and unique. He is really growing to become one of my favourites very quickly. Predominately due to his content. I can't help but consider younger student's responses to such emotive spoken word. I always recall sitting in poetry and people saying 'I don't get it, poetry is so stupid.' I think Neil presents a much more accessible form of poetry. Neil Hilborn 'OCD.' Neil Hilborn 'The Future.'

An amazing blog I discovered a while ago which discusses everything from sexuality, fashion, tattoos and self expression. It's full of incredible, artistic and inspirational individuals.  Style Like You I've featured just a few images below out of interest. 

I've decided to make a playlist of some my favourite bands and artists of 2013. As you'll see, it's pretty varied. But they are all incredible bands and artists. All very unusual and unique. One band which didn't release their album in 2013 was London Grammar, but I became obsessed with them late last year and thought they deserved a mention. PLAYLIST TRACKS. Bastille - Pompeii This song was almost an instant hit and was on pretty much every radio station whenever I turned on the radio for a while in 2013. They are not a bad to be dismissed as the usual pop band that drift. Their music is unusual and they are clearly enthusiastic about their work and open to experimenting such as the 90's hit TLC cover of 'No Scrub.' HAIM - Failling Undoubtedly one of the best bands to have come out of 2013. Absolutely incredible. I'm completely obsessed with them. Their sound is unique in comparison to any other trio girl group I've heard. The...

Detox: How People Power is Cleaning Up Fashion.  I think every Brand should promote this. I've watched a variety of documentaries on the living conditions people of had to live within as a result of these big brands polluting. Their homes, communities and cities are destroyed and dangerous.  Although some people may argue there is more important changes these brands can make such as fairtrade labour and better pay for workers. The reality is that these people also need an income and that this wage is better than no wage.  However destroying someone's health and quality of life as a result of production is awful and should be challenged and stopped. Greenpeace have started some really interesting protests throughout the world challenging these brands to clean up their act. It's a genius idea. As is mentioned in the video, the public finding out about this for big companies, it is a PR disaster, however changing their practices to cleaner ones, this p...