Shakespears Sister

I BLOODY LOVE SHAKESPEARS SISTER!  I did when I was 10 years old, and I still love their music now...even though they disbanded years ago.... Well Siobhan still operates as a solo (and I think Marcella does too) but it's not the same is it?  No disrespect to Ms Fahey, she has always been my favourite.  Afterall, the band was her idea, and if I remember rightly, Shakespears Sister originally, was just her.  I loved the way she dressed on stage, her unhinged persona, at 10 years old, I wanted to look like her, dress like her, sing like her, dance like her....get the idea?....yes, I wanted to be her.

I heard that Siobhan was performing in London in November as she was over here for a couple of months on a trip from America where she now lives, LA I think.  I couldnt make the gig, which I was a bit gutted about, but hey ho.  I occasionally speak to her son online, also of course, the son of Dave Stewart (Eurythmics) not about Shakespears Sister, just about general music chit chat (him being a musician, me working in the industry) me living very close to where he lived in London before he moved to LA.

I think for me, there's a certain nostalgic element that the band portray.  It was great being 10 from what I remember (which to be honest, isn't much!)  I think this is when I was properly discovering music, it was around then that I became a fan of Guns n Roses...and Im pretty sure that Shakespears Sister, in particular Siobhan were the reason for my obsession with make-up, especially the pale skin, gothic eyeliner and glitter elements which I champion on most days!!

In this entry, Ive included some of my favourite SS pictures; below, the cover photo from their Album Hormonally Yours.  At 10, the androgynous appearance of Marcella and the Vivienne Westwood 'SEX' jumper which Siobhan wears, had a real impact on me and my views on gender, fashion, style and have certainly influenced me as a person to this day.

The picture below is another of my favourites.  In the new year, I plan to buy a print of this, and have it in a beautiful black gothic frame at home, I think it is an iconic image of them.  I'll end with a link to one of the best/well-known songs/videos!  For your sensory pleasure....enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eXw47qb4U0

"The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page" St. Augustine

Since living in London and having to use the tube pretty much every day in order to get from A to B n all that, Im realising that there is some kind of tube culture going on.  People are very straight/serious-faced, only thinking about getting on that tube as quick as possible.  Fuck it if they run into someone, push them over, get an item of clothing/bag or even themselves trapped in the tube doors.... as long as THEY get where THEY are going. 

I just dont get it.  Of course there are delays at time, but when running well, they are pretty damn frequent, with only a couple of minutes waiting time inbetween each one..... so why do people rush so much?  Is it just them conforming to the aforementioned  tube culture and becoming tube zombies, where as soon as they enter the station until they leave at their destination station, they are almost transfixed, and nothing else matters (as Metallica said in that EPIC song...I dislike that word for a currently unknown reason, but it seems so fitting, cos man, that song is breathtaking) 

Something else I am now questioning, is will I become one of these tube zombies?  Im trying to fight it, taking my time whenever I use it, even if Im running late (which is often the case with me) I still try and remain calm.  So what if Im late?  Worse things have happened in the Universe, that I am sure of.  Stuff being on time, bring on tardiness I say!

"In all ages, far back into prehistory, we find human beings have painted and adorned themselves" H.G. Wells

I love tattoos!  Each to their own n all that, and Im a firm believer that you should do things for you, and only for you.

I got my first tattoo when I was 16, then my second at 17; a butterfly and swallow respectively.  Since then, Ive had a few others done, all in places where they can be covered up, if needs be.  Actually talking of covering them up, has anyone tried Kat Von D's tattoo concealer from her Sephora range?  Id love to know if it's any good.  I plan to buy a few things from her range (via Ebay with me living in the UK), Ive heard it's amazing!  Anyway, going off the point there, which I often do......  Ive recently had the two previously mentioned ones re-coloured/shaded and re-shaped...as after 10 years (giving my age away haha!) they were starting to fade, and as the years go by, our tastes change, and I was finding one of them looked how do I say it, a bit cartooney.  Im very happy with the result, and am planning on getting one more (an amendment and add-on to a current one) done in January.  Myself and my mum (yes, she got her first tattoo recently!) have had work done at Metal Morphosis in London and Manchester, and from the artists we've met there, have been stoked with the results.  My mum had Dusty in Manchester, and I had Holly in London http://www.metalmorphosis.co.uk/

Im hoping to get one done in the not too distant future by Kat Von D (LA Ink) so we shall see where I get to with that.  A portrait of my darling cat, Angel (it seems so inappropriate to call her a cat, I mean she is one, but she's so much more - any cat lovers out there will know what Im talking about) is what Ive requested for Kat (aptly named!) to do.

There are so many good (and bad) tattoo artists out there.  Always do your research, see what they specialise in, whether it's portraits, colours, tattooing certain parts of the body, and never be afraid to ask to see sketches and pictures of any previous work.

As the saying goes, "good tattoos aren't cheap and cheap tattoos aren't good"

“The night walked down the sky with the moon in her hand” Frederic Lawrence Knowles

Beautiful quote, I thought...

Ive always had pretty dry skin, but around this time of year (December!) my hands get real bad - painful and sore.

Ive tried tons of hand creams from Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour, Vaseline Intensive Care, Dove, Molton Brown, L'Occitane, Space NK's paraben free creams, and although they've all helped initially, and when I say initially, I mean for about 30 mins, Ive never seen or felt any longstanding benefits from any of them.

I recently read about Kiehl's Ultimate Strength Hand Salve and at approx £12 for 75 ml, I thought I may as well give it a go. The fragrance I believe is eucalyptus and does this stuff work wonders! Ive been using it for about 10 days now, only applying a few times a day (not like a girl possessed!) and it most definitely is THE best handcream I have EVER used, EVER!...and that's saying something; you will not be disappointed with the result. Without a doubt, if you have dry, cracked and generally damaged hands, do give it a go!

And I am now hooked on their Lip Balm #1.....more to follow!!

Goooooood Morning, Vietnam!!!

Well hello there!

Ive often thought about starting a blog, where I can share many of my (many) passions with whoever happens to come by this.

There are so many things that Im into and feel mega passionate about; music, movies, cats, make-up, the colour black, the 50's, the swinging 60's, velvet, lace, leather, drinking tea, Jack Daniels, gingerbread, Art Deco, sunshine on cold mornings (well all the time!), tattoos, black & white photographs, cherry yoghurt, film noir, I could go on....and indeed throughout this blog I probably will do!

I feel that I have a pretty good knowledge on a variety of things, some more than others, ie make up (!!!) and so I want to share this info with you....and of course, Id love to hear from you!