Jaundice Chic

I am permanently stuck in a runt with my skin colour, being neither 'olive' skinned or your traditional english rose i am stuck somewhere in the yellowish middle. Yes, thats right, my natural skin colour is simpson.
Although in the summer i do find it easy to tan, the slight jaundice tinge is ever present, causing infinate problems when cosmetics shopping. Bases, foundations, concealers and illuminators seem to come in three shades. Pink, Beige or Brown and when used on my skin leave me looking cakey or over made up.
NO this post isn't just a complaint, it's a solution. I have discovered a perfect summer base, light enough to look natural, allow freckles to show through and blend easily with the skin, but heavy enough to hide all those tiny imperfections. Where is this miracle product from i hear you cry? Simple, you can make it, from products everyone will have in their makeup bag or bathroom closet.
First- Break some bronzer up using a cotton bud or toothpick, do this in a small tub that you want to store your home made foundation in. The aim is to remove all the lumps in the bronzer so it becomes a fine dust.
Second- Add some moisturiser to your pot, do this a small ammount at a time as you want to make sure the colour is just right for your skin, the lighter your skin the more moisturiser you'll want to use. As you are adding small ammouts of moisturiser keep mixing using the cotton bud or tooth pick. You can check the colour on the back of your hand, or for better results on your face.
That is basically all there is too it, don't worry if you have some lumps as you can blend these into your face when applying.
Below i'll include some pictures of the products i use, and the finished thing so you can get a better idea...

Spree

Bonjour blog bunnies...


So... as i've just got a job (it's only for 2 weeks) I decided to treat myself to a bit of retail therapy! Also i am going on holiday next week to Kefalonia (Greece) and i definately needed a few summer staple updates.

Anyway, I've recently rediscovered www.missguided.com, when it first launched i personally thought it was pretty tacky and similar to a lot of cheap and cheerful UK online stores, however on my recent visit i was pleasantly suprised. It certainly hasn't lost it's cheap and cheerful price tag, but the quality and style of its stock has improved ten fold. I personally noticed this playsuit
a steal at just £22.99 when this almost identical one from topshop is £34.00


However, I didn't purchase this...well not today anyway. Here are some of my indulgences from today...
Cute pink jeans only £25.99
vintage style shorts ( i have been searching for a good pair for ages) £22.99
& this adorable & on trend colour block dress for only £26.99.
Needless to say I am a very happy bunny. So heres to a sunny week in Greece

You, your tacky and I hate you!

Geordie Shore, Made In Chelsea & The Only Way Is Essex.... Yes these three programes are completely awful, mind numbing and completely mindless entertainment. But yet thats just what the are entertainment, who cares if a programme doesn't sitimulate you intellectually sometimes we all need a bit of down time right? How better to enjoy it than to sit in front of the TV and watch something that requires no brain power.
Personally I enjoy watching both documentaries and these cheap 'reality dramas', what better way of escapism from real life than watching a bunch of twenty somethings on a country shoot, or getting a vajazzle? These things I can safely say are far removed from my day to day life! Why should it matter if the television i choose to watch teaches me anything or not? It's my choice! I am not ashamed to say that I invest myself whole heartedly into the characters lives and dramas no matter how petty they may be. Is it sad that i really care where Lydia got her bikini from, or if Caggie ever has a chance with Spencer.
So maybe I should be expanding my mind with programmes about outerspace and religion in the 15th century, but for now i am happy to watch Mr Darcy poo on a shop floor.
Lets be honest....we all know which is more entertaining!

Ol'right Bab?

So, our national sweetheart Cheryl Cole has apparently been axed from US X Factor as the Americans couldn't understand her accent. This got me thinking, if the Americans are persecuting people due to their accents have they really changed that much since the race riots and segregation of the 50s and 60s. I understand this may sound a little exaggerated but think about it, if they had axed her due to her skin colour the world would be in absolute uproar but no one seems particularly bothered that our poor Geordie lass is being told that her way of speaking just doesn't quite cut it across the pond. We have David Hasselhoff on Britians Got Talent, and he sits on the judging panel every week looking bleary eyed and completely bemused by our unique entires, but the British public accept this. So maybe Cheryl just didn't fit into the judging panel, maybe she didn't quite understand the Americans culture just as David seems totally befuddled by ours. But if she was cut because of her accent and her accent alone I think a few people need to analyse their predjudices.

Vitamin Sea

I was completely, utterly and totally bored with cosmetic sales people lying to me. I mean is it really that difficult to point me towards the product i am asking for, and well, dont even get me started on product labeling. Time and time again i have wasted money in the search of the perfect exfoliator, and time and time again i have been sold completly usless products. I asked shop assistants for a facial exfoliator that really works, one that is almost for lack of a better word harsh on my skin, i mean i wanted something that actually scrubbed my face rather than its 'foaming beads' covering my face in suddy uslessness. But finally my search is over, i found an actual honest shop assitant and a brilliant product. Lush Ocean Salt

It was exactly what i had asked for, something that scrubbed away all dead skin, spots and dullness on my face. Not only does this product smell amazing, but it works amazingly too. Not that i'm an expert but apparently the vodka and citrus elements help remove spots and although this does make it sting a bit when you put it on, its worth it! Additionally it moisturies after exfoliating so your killing two birds with one stone, it really does brighten up my complexion.
The only prewarning is that it should be used sparingly, about once or twice a week and it should be gentley massaged onto your face rather than scrubbed on....unless you want to remove a layer of skin that is.... Get scrubbing

Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow

Yesterday:
i looked like a boy, but i had a movementy lecture and hey, sometimes it aint all about skin tight clothes. So if anyone even cares, Topshop Blouse £32 Topshop Scarf £14 New Look Trousers £22 Topshop Loafers £32....woah i like topshop

Today:
Love, Love, Love this outfit! Billabong top (i got this in times square) no idea how much it cost ASOS skirt £18 TOMs £32

Tomorrow.....who knows?

Wishlist

I need these: (Office £65)
to wear with this: (Oasis £18)
& these: (Topshop £40)

Oh and.... I literally NEED this dress although on my boobs it would look hillarious. Hmmm...i wish :(

also this, love it. could never get away with it :( damn zara.
I'd post the entire website up here if i could. DROOLLLLL!

Hey Girl, what you readin?

I read, like, a lot! So i thought i'd share a few of my recent reads with you.... h yeah, expect them all to be murder mystery/ triller types i'm a bit stuck in that genre!
Firstly the 9th Judgement by James Patterson, i'd never read anything by Patterson before and the cover told me he was the 'worlds best selling thriller writer' so i mean how could i not buy it? I felt a bit betrayed and patronised by the book, for starters chapters were only two pages long and the writting was HUGE! Saying this however, this fact did allow me to complete the book in a day, something i enjoy doing. and admittedly i did not feel i had wasted the day, the book was enjoyable and captured me within the first few chapters. I engaged with the mostly female charcaters (possibly beacuse i am also a girl) and found the use of these characters a refreshing change from the macho tone of most crime novels. however i couldnt help feeling they were ever so slightly two dimensional and i found it rather difficult to emphathise with them. This was contrasted by two characters the victims, if you will, who were so far from stereotypical as it is possible to be. these two strong women's stories enthralled me and could have easily made better main characters than those of the 'Womens Murder Club' who were almost a grim parody of the Sex and The City girls discussing brutal murders over a drink at the end of the day.

I also read The Confession by John Grisham last week and OH MY GOD, it is a must read, sometimes i find Grishams books too heavy and filled with law jargon, but the confession could not have been more different it was so human, the storyline unexpected and truely moving. I can't say this for a lot of books, but after i read it i couldnt stop thinking about the storyline (a wrongly convicted fellon on death row) and spent days doing my own research into similar cases. There was just something about this book that made it so believeable, maybe it was the pefercted characters, that i could imagine living in Texas. Maybe it was the events in the book, opinions and views held by characters were so real i could imagine them really happening. But i think it was the clear and unavoidable injustice showed through out the book, and if it isn't an arguement as to why the death penalty should be banned i don't know what is. A truely mindblowing MUST READ!

I don't seem to be able to escape Sweedish writers and after devouring and loving the Millenium Trilogy last year (Stieg Larsson) I decided to read another series of books from a Sweedish author called Jo Nesbo, adveristed as 'the new Stieg Larsson' and frankly i was confused. Yes both authors share a country of orign and both write books in a similarly heavy fashion but these seem to be the only similarities. Nesbo's books bemused me with the constant mention of places i had never heard of and could not pronounce, i felt constantly lost when reading them as characters, places and events all blended together into one big sweedish mess. i supose this is the struggle when reading translated books, they are difficult to identify with as cultures are so differnt. however saying this after battling my way through The Snowman i had come to grips with Nesbo's style and felt confident to read The Redbreast, which i truely enjoyed the plot was brilliant and although it spanned two time periods i found it esay to follow a gem of a book.

Review Me?

Noticing this blog is mainly reviews, i decided to include the only 'proper' review i have ever written. As i dabbled in Journalism last semester one of our assessments was to review ANYTHING we wanted, ha! well let me tell you i was in heaven. Having recently (then) become addicted to Rhianna's album 'Loud' i couldn't not review it.
So here goes:

Beautiful Barbadian twenty two year old Rihanna’s career could have easily taken a hurtling nose dive following reports in early 2009 suggesting abuse at the hands of her boyfriend ‘Kiss Kiss’ singer Chris Brown. The ensuing 12 months should have been enough to force, even the most brazen star into hiding; photos surfaced of the stars stunning face bruised and bloodied and with countless court battles it seemed, to many, unlikely that new material would follow. However the incredibly talented singer has refused vehemently to become a victim and her new release Loud reflects her fierce attitude perfectly.
After the release of Rated R in late 2009 it was clear Rihanna had taken a step away from previous hits like ‘SOS’ where she begged ‘come help me, it’s not healthy the way you make me feel’. The star reinvented herself as somewhat of a sexual icon, with lyrics such as ‘come here rude boy, can you get it up’ clearly the turbulent year had unveiled a new persona for the star. Loud follows many of the sexual themes from Rated R displaying the star as in control of her relationships and having power over men, it would have been obvious for the album to reflect some of the issues faced by the singer recently especially as they were ignored in Rated R. Yes, it is true the album does have some references to domestic violence, most notably in the duet with acclaimed rapper Eminem ‘Love The Way You Lie’. But these references do not come across as a contrived cry for sympathy, they are simply statements showing, how some relationships really can be.
The album is club friendly relying on heavy bass and catchy beats to over shadow the sometimes slightly boring subject matter of the songs. How cliché is ‘Cheers (Drink To That)’ a repetitive, bass fuelled attempt at a club track, with the original and shocking subject matter of getting drunk! This song can’t even be salvaged by a sample from Avril Lavigne’s hit ‘I’m With You’. Thankfully the rest of the album does not follow the same monotonous theme, saved by the staccato beats of raucous anthems such as ‘S&M’ and ‘What’s My Name’ emphasizing another of Rihanna’s reinventions punctuated by her new bright red hair. These tunes, feature the albums trademark heavy bass line and catchy chorus’ making them sure hits, a point already proven by ‘What’s My Name’ hitting number 1. ‘S&M’ sounds something like a Ke$ha or GaGa reject song, but Rihanna’s husky tones save this song from sounding contrived and bring an original form of sexuality to its controversial lyrics.
It must also be noted that this album does feature some ballads, although ‘Fading’ and ‘Complicated’ fail to find their feet in such an otherwise strong album ballads like ‘California King Bed’ and ‘Skin’ manage to hold their own. More original than your standard pop ballads, these songs flow and move beautifully held by the tone of the stars fascinating voice.
Overall this album is a must buy, the weaker tracks are held above the surface by the strength of the sure hits featured on the album and many of the collaborations would be a shame to miss. Loud shows us a new side to Rihanna, still as ‘Hard’ as the Rated R singer, but also not afraid to show her softer side.

I like golf now

I do, it's true. I can even watch it on tv and it's not mind numbing! Plus I know a cute golfer

plus, a weekend of golfing helps if you have a buggy & the new Vogue. Sigh at all the wedding dresses and ancedotes of wedding days, it's definately a keeper for when i get married. Not that i'm a wedding physco or anything

I'll never be an artist

This is my finished mask, well minus the wig. I have to say I am not that proud of it at all, and just to note, I did not want the cross eye effect it seems to have. The boy drilling the eye holes drilled mine wonky, so annoyingly i now have a rather goofy looking mask, oh yeah and i also can't see a thing out of it. Enough of the blame game though as everything is completely my doing, yes thats right, the shoddy paint work, massive nose and miss shapen head were all my doing. Maybe mask making isn't my calling in life, never mind i enjoyed it all the same.
& here are the whole class' masks so you can judge just how awful mine really is!

Making tiny furniture is not as adorable as it sounds!

So, for one module in my course we have to make a model box, this is effectively a 1:25 scale model of a performance space. Within this space we have to create staging, props, audience seats and performers all made to a 1:25 scale. Thus ending up with a box, complete with a tiny scene from a chosen play!
Sounds cute, it's not! I chose a relatively easy concept of 4 boxes, painted black that all fit together and can be moved by performers as I am terrible at anything creative. But even this simple concept is proving incredibly difficult for me, I am attempting to make my 2nd box out of 4 and am already covered in super glue and very frustrated. The card is difficult to cut, i struggle to draw in a straight line (even with a craft ruler) and i have discovered i was not designed to use super glue (my entire bedroom is a sticky mess)

Rant over, i am excited to finish this box, to see what it will look like and hopefully i'll get a good mark for it. God knows i put in a hell of a lot of effort.
Currently it's pointless posting a picture as im sure you all know what a minature box made of card looks like. But when i FINALLY finish i'll post some pictures of the final design!
Now, back to cutting and sticking (who knew uni would be this challenging eh?)

Avenue Q

25th Febuary, Hall For Cornwall, Truro

Yes, it is the show my blog is named after, but it is by no means my favorite show. The tickets were a Birthday present from my boyfriend and although I already knew most of the songs I had never actually seen the show. Everyone I spoke to however only had good praise for the Musical, initially shown on Broadway, when moved to the West End and is now touring the UK. I knew I would enjoy the show, but was a little unsure that my boyfriend, who is by no means a theatre lover would feel the same way. However as soon as the show began it became apparent that I had nothing to worry about as he was laughing along with the politically incorrect subject matter of songs such as 'Everyone's A Little Bit Racist' and 'The Internet Is For Porn'. I must admit though that although we throughly enjoyed the show, having been exposed to such themes and language before I would not reccomend the show to anyone of a younger age than myself as some scenes are pretty x-rated. Similarly I cannot see my parents enjoying the show, it's not that they are prudish, it's just that the overuse of swear words and explicit content i know would offend them.
Even though the explicit content is approached in, an argueably innocent way through the use of sesame streetesque puppets it is still obvious that many would find it offensive.

I, however have nothing but praise for the show & the touring cast who were incredibly talented. The demanding content of the show requires the small cast to multirole between different puppets (who sometimes are on stage at the same time) and the chorus are often needed to animate the characters when main cast members are swapping between two voices at the same time. My main comment about this show was that, for some reason it didn't feel like a musical, well it did, obviously beacuse alot of the content was sung. But the storyline, unlike other unbelieveable rose tinted spec's storylines found in musicals was real, the characters seemed real rather than the stereotypes often found in the musical genre. This may sound stupid as the characters are predominantly puppets and how often is someone beheaded by a quarter being thrown off the top of the Empire State Building but it's easy to empathise with the characters struggling their way through money, social, and romantic issues this makes the show real & an incredibly enjoyable night out.

Umbrellas Of Cherbourg - Knee High Theatre Company

14th Febuary Leicester Curve

It sounds lovely doesn't it, a theatre trip on Valentines Day to see 'A French romance that happens to be sung' this was the trip i was most looking forward too after hearing such high prasie of Knee High's incredible physical theatre & story telling style. Well how shocked I was, based on the french film of the same name the play stayed close to the original 1960's plot of love & loss, a theme which has now been done to death over every art medium. So this for me was the first sticking point, it was predictable, dull, and seemed very shallow. Secondly, the play was stuck in a difficult territory between Opera & Musical all dialogue was sung & I must admit in the orignal all French version this was beautiful. But when traslated into English, it was wearing to say the least....I found myself begging actors to stop singing & just speak thier lines naturally. For me translating the dialogue is what ultimately let this play down and as Knee High are known for thier story telling ablilities I feel the story would have transcended through this languague barrier. Many of the characters seemed shallow and stereotyped and it was difficult to form any kind of feeling or empathy for them, I merely found myself destesting each character more and more with every passing minute.
As a good point for Knee High they added in a Caberet style character called Lola, who sang the only French spoken song in the show, whom interacted with the audience providing light relief from the otherwise draining show.
Worryingly for Knee High (a small Cornish company) they are taking this show to, more or less the West End in London, it would be a shame for a small company to get terrible reviews for thier first big show but, I feel this might happen.
Here is a clip from the film, which is much more watchable than the Knee High Production.

& a review of the show by annother theatre goer that I found online

Nursing Lives - Vamos Theatre Company

11th Febuary Worcester Arts Workshop

I was dubious, I must admit before going to see this show. A full mask piece? An hour and a half? No speech? I could honestly not see myself enjoying Vamos' work. But boy, was i suprised, i would urge anyone to go and see mask work, especially that of Vamos, who are a travelling company so there is no excuse. It seems impossible that you wuld be able to build a relationship with a mask, that is only able to convey one emotion, but trust me it is. Within half an hour I was laughing and crying with the characters. The plot is based on the former Worcester Hospital and switches between time periods of the present day and WW2, with one key charcater a nurse called Florence in her nursing hayday and then as an old women visiting the hospital for the final time.
In addition to this treat of a show I enjoy the further luxury of having Vamos' Artistic Director & Performer Rachael Savage as a lecturer & what a suprise it was when I was told we too would be able to create a 'Vamos' mask.
Here is the beginings of my mask, Firstly the clay stage where the mask & it's expression can be moulded and played with...

My mask is a character inspired by Vamos' next show 'Much Ado About Wenlock' she is a jolly bar maid, I think i'm going to call her Ester, but I'm not quite sure yet.
Here is the second step of mask making, the clay mask is put in a vac former where melted pastic moulds into the clay, we then primed the plastic with a white primer to make it easier to paint in the next lecture

Journey's End

10th Febuary, Malvern Theatres.
The R.C Sherriff play originally performed in 1928 has been modernised and reimagined for a modern audience. Set in a dugout of the front line trenches in WW1, audience members wuld have to be inhuman to not feel moved in some way by this incredible performance. The aim of naturalism, to immerse the audience and completely recreate a real setting has been totally reached here. Characters seemed totally real, it was almost impossible not to fall in love with fatherly Osborne or laugh at some of Trotters dubious jokes. The plot, aptly takes the audience on a complete journey, mainly thorough the love/hate relationship with heavy drinking Captain Stanhope who we see intimidating new recruits but then breaking down when closest confidant Osborne is killed. The Stanhope we see, is a human being destroyed by war and through James Norton's portrayal of this character the audience is exposed to the softer, desperate side of the Captain as well as the harsh, heavy drinking side it could be easier for the actor to focus upon.
Journey's End is a perfect piece of naturalism as it was obvious to see upon leaving the theatre that every single audience member was moved by what they had seen. An incredibly talented creative team brought the front line to the midlands through a perfcetly recreated set. Designer Jonathon Fensom made sure every detail of the set was how it would have been in the trenches, from the hierarchy of where members of the company slept to the indivdual stripes & medals on thier uniforms. Without such a detailed set, the complete naturalistic feel to the piece would have been lost.
Finally the point in which most shocked & interetsed me about the performace was th final minutes where the curtian is lowered, the auditorium set in complete darkness and sounds of bombing and gun fire echo through the room. These sound effects are so effective as they are literally ear splitting, making the audience feel uncomfortable & slightly scared, when the lights are brought back up we see the characters stood in front of the Arras Memorial, it sounds cliched this image was so striking that there was not a dry eye in the house.

Doe, Ray, Me

'Let's start from the very begining'
I'm new to this, & quite honestly 100% sure that my musings on here will go unread therefore this blog is primarily for me. As part of my uni course (Drama & Performance) I get to watch some amazing shows and some 'interesting' ones, I feel a blog is the perfect place to review, criticise and admire some of the work i have been lucky enough to see.
In addition to the theatre i am also passionate about many other forms of art & i enjoy voicing my opinions, so.....here goes.