Hey guys,

I'm back and ready to do another 'Music Monday'- even though there has been a bit of a gap due to overall laziness and freaking A-Levels. I am ready for my time in the spotlight so be ready for a fun filled music palooza. ( I had to google how to spell that and believe it or not it started off as 'polloza' in my mind)

1. M.I.L.F. $ - Fergie

         


I know. I know. I'm an idiot. Initially I thought this was the worst song ever but after I heard it a couple of times I now love it. I have the worst taste in the world- I mean I think that depending on the strength of other films that 'Just Go With It' with Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston may have a shot at the Oscars. Let me also point out that it has a score of 6.4 on IMDB. Fuck
But, but,but it has Ciara, Chrissy Teigen and freaking Kim Kardashian so I think that it's allowed. This video is going to age so badly, image watching this 30 years from now and thinking "what the actual fuck is a selfie." Oh well for the minute this song is giving me my utter life.


2. Ain't Your Mama - Jennifer Lopez

          

JLo is all types of goal and I'm not just saying that because I've watched 'The Wedding Planner' and 'Maid in Manhattan' back to back type. Coming to think of it, even these two films would provide hearty competition at next year's Oscars. (Just kidding). I love the feminist message in this song and the easy chant- like lyrics have given me plenty of ammunition to yell at unsuspecting people walking down my street.

YASSSS to JLO in that 80s purple suit
YASSSS to JLO in that Rosie the Riveter style denim number
YASSSS to JLO in those freakin' Manolo Blahnik x Rihanna boots which is topped with that choreo giving me all the life that I need.


3. Into You - Ariana Grande

           

 As a person I don't actually think that I'm really into the Grande. I mean licking doughnuts and then putting them back onto a tray doesn't really put you into my top ten list of people. But this song is amazing as is her entire album 'Dangerous Woman.' The pulsating beats topped with Ari's dulcet tones allows this song to be really belong to Ariana making the thought of this song going to anyone else difficult to fathom. Plus having Don Benjamin from America's Next Top Model doesn't hurt either. (Follow the link- you'll thank me later)


4. Family Affair- Mary J Blige

           

Golden Oldie right here. I was recently on holiday in Aberdeen and the lodges had a music system on the TV where you could browse various genres and it was in the R&B section that I re-discovered this lost gem. Mary J Blige's vocal completely slay me  and make me want to get down in this dancery. (Please get the reference otherwise I'm going to look crazy)


5. All In My Head (Flex) - Fifth Harmony ft Fetty Wap

        

NORMANI AND DINAH JANE - what did we do to deserve you. I recently purchased 7/27 and it is one of my favourite albums of the year. This song in particular never fails to hype me up and I'm currently looking to buy tickets to the 7/27 world tour in Birmingham. But until then I'm going to be blasting this song and pretending I am far, far away from the sleeping bag currently on my floor and the cat meowing in my face.


6. BONUS SONG!!! Water Under The Bridge- Adele
       


 And because I am so giving and just want to help the people- I have included a final song from a really small and indie artist that I'm pretty sure that most of you don't know about. I am going to be a villain here and say I didn't love 25 in the same way that I loved 21. Although I loved certain songs such as 'All I Ask' and 'Remedy' in the end it just wasn't 21. But this is one of the albums highlight and I can only imagine how great it would be to see this gem live.




https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQmxHltSp2P6rRTPhiQvFne2kc4RQWUtr

Follow this link for the Music Monday playlist from this week and previous weeks.

Michele
X

Hey guys,
Another installment of Music Mondays. I think this week is definetly a throwback of sorts. I have had such a shitty week; it feels like everything is going wrong so I guess I tried to seek solace in old tracks that I knew would make me happy. Sorry you to bring you down but you let me bring you right back up (without the aid of a chair lift) through the tracks you need to listen to:

1. Explode- Cover Drive ft. Dappy

Oh the days when Dappy was relevant. I remember in year 7 when this band was the actual shit. Does anyone remember 'Lick Ya Down'. I used to sing it like I was a Jamaican pop star; obviously I don't do that now. No way I am way too mature. Plus the lead singer reminds me of Rihanna so much.


2. Sight of You - Tulisa


DON'T JUDGE ME. DON'T JUDGE ME. Trust me I hated Tulisa on the X-Factor she was a super boring judge with nothing to say except for the fact that certain acts were 'urban' therefore 'right up her street'. Furthermore her album was on the whole shite except for this song. I love the wannabe ghetto thug life video. I love the angry guy who looks like he could rip your heart out but when he starts crying looks like he could knit rabbits sweaters in his downtime. I just love everything about it.


3. Hey Mama- David Guetta, Nicki Minaj and Afrojack


Nicki Minaj is one of my favourite rap artists. Her style suits her body and I love the message that she gives to her fans. When I went to see her throughout the concert (at least 4 times) she told us to stay in school and get an education. Also I am happy to see that Minaj is able to champion herself as a boss who is sexually provocative. Why should people have to pick one or the other? But anyway this song just screams summer to me, it's fun and I love the rap. Plus the video has a whiff of Mad Max; Fury Road to it. Does it not.


4. Bitch I'm Madonna- Madonna


Controversial choice I know. This song is not for everyone but it is a grower. I thought it was crap the first time I heard it but suddenly the beat just took over and I couldn't stop listening. But I'm not going to sugar coat it even though there were celebrity cameos: Beyonce, Katy Perry, Kanye West, Alexander Wang, Diplo, Rita Ora (so desperate she probably would be in a video of me in a field). They were way too short to compete with the masterpiece of 'Bad Blood.' But credit where credit is due the song is amazing.

5. Going Nowhere- Little Mix


Little Mix are so underrated it hurts. Their last album 'Salute' was so good and I wish it did much better than it actually did. It should've blown up but anyway life is a cruel mistress. This song is an oldie but a goldie from their debut album 'DNA'. If you really want a treat listen to the acoustic version at SiriusXM. AM-A-ZING.

That wraps this week up. I hope you enjoy this posts as much as I like writing them. In a couple of days I'll be going on a Biology field trip even though I won't be taking outfit posts (who wants to see me in a wellington boots looking like a drug addicted rat). But rather I'll provide a feast for the eyes through the scenic pictures I'll be taking.

Much love
Michele
x

Hey guys,

I thought I would start a series about tracks that I think that you would if you would give it a listen. These tracks are normally songs I listen to while I blog or work. Sometimes they make me cry and sometimes they make me feel like Beyonce (jokes I feel like Beyonce all the time) . You can expect a range of music (bar rock- something that I find really hard to get into). I hope to make this a series and not just because of the cool alliterative title but also so I can show you what I listen to and hopefully I can get some recommendations from you guys. But anyway here we go:

1. Keep it movin'- Yazz and Serayah Mcneil
I'm going to apologise in advance this first music post is going to be heavily geared toward Empire the new smash hit, King Lear-esque show that has recently started airing in the UK. After my A-level had ended (Thursday) there was only one thing I wanted to watch which was Empire and it's so good. I couldn't be bothered to go the same pace as the UK (currently on episode 6) so I speeded ahead and I am now on episode 10. The fashion is fierce and the music is so good. Not to mention Taraji P Henson who plays Cookie and slays my whole existence. Anyway all the music on the show is original and produced by Timbaland. This particular song just makes me want to dance all night long I defy you not to do the same,



2. Drip Drop- Yazz and Serayah Mcneil
*Looks away in shame because I picked another song from Empire*. Man this boy, this song it just works. Does anyone remember Ricky from Geordie Shore I swear he had a catchphrase exactly like that- but he was a proper bell-end. Something which this song is not. The beat makes me feel all gangster, like I could make it rain in the club with my £4 an hour job and cat.


3. What is Love- V Bozeman
I promise you the last song from Empire- don't kill me. This song is so different from most of the songs on Empire. It's heart achingly beautiful with so much soul and V Bozeman is just stunning. Seeing the emotion she puts just in the video makes me all teary eyed. Excuse me for a minute I have something in my eyes, it's allergies.




4. The Hills- The Weekend
The video for this dropped last week and it is a show and a half. This song is reportedly about The Weekend and his relationship with Ariana Grande while she was dating Big Sean. The drama! I feel like we're in a playground. But relationships aside this song is a really good look inside the mind of The Weekend. He is well known for being a prolific drug user and this song is able to see into his crazy and chaotic world.



5. Nobody Love- Tori Kelly
I love,love,love,love Tori Kelly. I first found her on Youtube when I listened to her 'Thinking about You' cover originally by Frank Ocean and I couldn't stop playing it. I have been following Tori's career for a while and bought her EP but I was waiting for her to become mainstream and have a breakout hit and I think that this may be it. It's so catchy and fun. Pretty sure I'm going to be playing this all summer.



I hope you enjoy this new series. I have placed them into a playlist on Youtube that you can easily find as it is the same name as this series. I will update the playlist each week.

Please place any recommendations in the comments- I want to hear them! There is only so much Empire a girl can listen to (jokes, probably going to be listening to the soundtrack until I die)

Much love
Michele
X

Hey guys

In April I got the oppurtunity to go to Grenoble, France to see the ILL and the ESRF (really science-y places) for physics. I got to go away with a bunch of girls who I did not know at all and I was so nervous. I didn't want to the kid that sits in the corner and cries or the one who looks like she eats baby rabbits in her spare time. But actually I made some really great friends and although the science wasn't exilarating at all times (I mean there's only so much time I can spend listening to magnets- cut a girl some slack) the people I went with were able to make it great.


Luckily the friends I met loved shopping as much as I did so when we saw Sephora we knew what was going to happen. I bought a lot less stuff than expected and I think that I was so stressed about exams that I wasn't fully aware of what I was doing (I'm a retard I know). But I picked up a couple of things that I would love to show you. Just like to mention that I bought these things in APRIL and I've been keeping them closed off in a high security unit until I could blog about (Ok, maybe not a high security unit but rather in a bag in the corner of my room). I deprived myself of these goodies for you- don't ever say I do nothing for humanity. God I'm such a nice person. I just keep giving. But anway;

                                         


When ever I read Sephora hauls people always talk about the mini products near the tills. I always thought I was above this. I am superior, brilliant and I would never bend to mini travel sized products. But proves I'm not that superior and that's why I spent £7 on a mascara and I  regret nothing. This is the Outrageous Volume – Dramatic Volume Mascara





The Creamy Body Wash in Cotton Flower is amazing. Now before I left I actually read some reviews and many didn't actually love this scent. But I love this detergent/fresh scent but it's not for everyone.








 I normally really like massive statement necklaces and big ass rings. But after seeing some of Anna from ViviannaDoesMakeup's jewelry it made me want to go smaller. I found this ring in a little basket completely separated from everything else. But I love it and I've started wearing it every day, a rarity for me. But it's supposed to be a midi ring but it is massive not just on me but everyone but as long as I superglue it onto my finger all is good.


 To finish I though I would share some photos of Grenoble and the amazing things that I saw,ate and did. If anyone wants a more in depth post on Grenoble I would be open to do one. But there isn't that much except for skiing but the shopping and the food is great.


I only remembered to take a picture after I had eaten some of it- don't judge me.





Why can't the UK have macarons and Sephora on every street corner? Now that would be the ultimate dream.
Anyway I hope you enjoyed this haul. If any smaller bloggers have recently done a haul please post a link so I can check them out. I love reading them because I'm basically really nosy.

Much love
Michele
X

Watching: The DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend for those of you who aren't in the know)
Reading: Genome- Matt Ridley
Listening: To U- Alunageorge, Skrillex and Diplo

Hey everyone,

Recently in the news there have been lots of talk about one family, one person in particular. Unless you're living under a rock (or blind because the name is in the title of this post) you know about Caitlyn Jenner. I mean the Mail Online (I know don't judge- it is a guilty pleasure)  are running at least 5 stories about her daily.

Caitlyn Jenner formerly known as Bruce Jenner Olympic athlete has officially transitioned. The final result was documented on the cover of Vanity Fair and was shot by none other than Annie Leibovitz. Now when I initially heard that Caitlyn's transition was going to be on a cover of a magazine it shocked me a little. Rather than feeling like person working through their own journey; placing it on a magazine cover felt like it had an undercurrent of commercial purpose. Excuse the cynic in me but the magazine cover plus the docu-series that will premiere on E! sometime in the future made me feel like we were paying to see a spectacle rather than serious and sensitive issue that many people struggle with on a daily basis.

 But that all vanished when I saw the cover. I am not a regular watcher of 'Keeping up with Kardashians' but when I do it didn't take a genius to see how unhappy Bruce was all the time and when I saw the cover I saw genuine happiness in her eyes. That made any thoughts of money go away. She just wanted to be able to be comfortable with herself all the time and who is anyone to hate on that.

source

But what I find even more overwhelming is the positive support from everyone- I know that if Caitlyn was a regular person she may have been faced with a lot more prejudice and discrimination. But all twitter/blogs/instagram are so supportive and that has just alerted me to how far society is come. Obviously transphobia is still rife but if this had happened in the 70s/80s I doubt people would've been as supportive. Trust me I've seen it, somebody I knew decided to transition and on the whole everybody was really supportive. But you always have the low-lifes who referred to her as 'it' or deliberately used the wrong pronoun. Seeing these tweets of support and encouragement just make me feel happy so I can't imagine the overwhelming positive iimpact it has had on Caitlyn.

But for me I don't understand why it is so difficult to see Jenner the way that she wants to be seen. It's not going hurt anyone if Caitlyn suddenly wants to be known as her and personally I think that her cover gives people a greater insight into the transgender community. Obviously I am no expert in this area and if you want to do further research I am sure that there are many websites and books. But I think that watching Caitlyn Jenner's journey unfold can give us a little insight into what this journey feels like.

If you want to read the full interview you can buy Vanity Fair or here is a link to a portion of the article

Much love
Michele
x

Watching; Empire
Listening; You Know You Like It- Alunageorge and DJ Snake
Reading: Game of Thrones

Hey guys,
Recently the VMAs (Video Music Awards) graced our TV screens; now I am not a big fan of the VMAs sometimes I feel like the show just screams: same shit different day. Everyone tries to be "cool" and "controversial" and it just becomes boring But when it was announced that Beyonce had won the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award and would be performing I just knew that I just had to watch it. (SPOILER ALERT: BEYONCE SLAYED THE VMAs- and I mean she literally killed it we're talking about machete,  Friday the 13th killin' it).

So with every award show comes the red carpet and with the red carpet comes dresses. One good thing about the VMAs is that it has allowed me to address a problem I have with this blog.  I'm too nice. I'm just going to say it I'm just too damn nice. So I decided to sharpen my claws and present to you:

Worst dressed at the VMAs (in order of course)

                                                         5.     Iggy Azalea

Oh Iggy, you were on my best dressed list! I had such high expectations but they just came crashing down. This dress is just too glitzy and it makes Iggy look disproportionate and her hips look much wider than they actually are. The material is puckering against her hips and it looks like she is going to cause the dress to burst. I hate the way the dress has a cage detail I feel that it is so necessary; with all the silver there was no need for extra flesh on show.                       4.     Kim Kardashian

Now Kim Kardashian is not really my style icon. I respect her for how she is able to dress her body and still look good but I can't really see myself pulling off some of her looks. This being one of them; I hate the poncho style of this dress. I did really like the pattern and the colours as I thought they just screamed autumn but again I would've liked the pattern in a poncho cape or table runner. But there was just too much flesh on show and I also I didn't like her hair. If it was slicked back it would have made the dress more fashion rather than sex icon bombshell.  Lets be honest no one was listening to her while she was presenting her award we were focused on something else, literally everytime I looked at the screen it hit me in the face. WE'RE NOT ALL KANYE, KIM!    3.     Ariana Grande                       I love Ariana Grande's music and you can't argue with that whistle register voice. However the same can't be said for this dress. Leather is such a tricky material and it can go from high fashion to dominatrix in a couple of seconds. I am a much bigger fan of coloured leather as I feel like it adds a bit more excitement to an outfit. However the thigh high leather boots and the moschino belt is just a no for me and it isn't helped by the baby face. Ariana Grande either dresses like a three year old or a fifty five year old cougar. I wish she would find a happy medium; here's hoping.                                                     2.     Katy Perry and Riff Raff                               *ALERT, ALERT DENIM OVERDRIVE. SYSTEM SHUTTING DOOOOOOWN* I know this was supposed to a sort of tribute to Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears. I know it was supposed to be funny and ironic. But to me it is all sorts of wrong. Everything is wrong, there are too many dimantes , too much denim too much everything. The dress is made out of patches of denim and even though I do like the patchwork look on jeans but here it just doesn't work. I just noticed the denim collar. I think I'm going to cry.                                                           1.     Amber Rose                   I really debated whether to put this outfit  series of strings into the countdown because what can I talk about? There is nothing to describe. She should have saved this for her and Wiz Khalifa we did not need to see this. I appreciate the risk taking but come on? Really? I hope you've enjoyed my countdown and it was fun to get my claws out for once. If you would like a best dressed I would be more than happy to oblige or an Emmys countdown (BREAKING BAD KICKED ASS- YAAAAASSS). One other thing I have recently signed up to Bloglovin' so please if you would like hit the button and chose to follow me. I hope you've had a good summer even though it is nearly finished #sadface (that was ironic I swear) Much love Michele X <a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/12693579/?claim=rmrzvbsfr5y">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>