The September mix-tape

This post is going up a little late because I've been busy at University and socialising and having to allocate more time to buying adult things like fruit and pasta sauce rather than sitting down and doing a blog post, but despite that, I have found some time to tell you about the music I've been listening to. As per usual, it's a bit of an odd mix.

1. Bite - Troye Sivan
I loved Troye's first album and when I found out he was coming out with another one I knew I was going to love it, I think the whole album is really good but this is probably the song I've been listening to most on the album. It's got a somewhat ambient, chilled feel to it but it's also quite catchy with a good beat - basically, Troye is super talented and I think he deserves all of the credit he gets for his music. I think it's great that his album is good in its own right rather than it just being popular solely because he did YouTube already.

2. Cry Baby - Melanie Martinez
My friend Antoinette got me into Melanie Martinez, she recommended Pity Party to me a while ago and I really liked that, but then she told me to listen to the rest of the album and I did and this is probably the song I've been singing the most from it. It's really catchy and I think Melanie Martinez has a really interesting and unique style of music.

3. Young Volcanoes - Fall Out Boy
In all honesty I've never been too much of a Fall Out Boy fan, I've liked a few songs from them before and I can see why people do like them but they just don't really click with me for the mostpart. However, I watched Evan Edinger and Dodie Clark's cover of this song recently (I don't know why I hadn't seen it before given that I've basically seen all of Evan and Dodie's videos) and I've had the song stuck in my head the whole month, it's a really fun one to sing along to.

4. The Blackest Day - Lana Del Rey
LANA'S NEW ALBUM - CAN WE TAKE A MOMENT???? Okay, I love Lana so much, I think her style of music is different to all of other popular music that's out right now and I've been looking forward to the Honeymoon album since it was announced. I think I might like the Honeymoon album more than Ultraviolence (although, as generic as it is, Born to Die is probably my favourite album). This is such a chilled song with a good beat and it's probably my favourite on the album, although I also like Art Deco and Religion - basically, Lana is amazing and I love her unconditionally (okay, maybe not unconditionally because she does some problematic things but I like her a lot)

5. Isolation - Joy Division
This month I watched Control for the first time and it got me back into Joy Division pretty massively. I've liked them for quite a while but I tend to skip them when they come up on my Spotify (except for Love Will Tear Us Apart Again because that's one of my favourite songs ever and probably, however cliched it is, probably my favourite song by Joy Division) but after listening to the songs in the film I decided to listen to them again and I've rekindled my love for them, I think Ian Curtis' lyrics are literally like poetry, they're just so beautifully written and it's just generally enjoyable to listen to Joy Division songs - like they're beautiful but sad, so it's enjoyable but in a sad way . . . if you feel me . . .

What have you been listening to this month?

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Cacti naming, loving Lana, and the last supper

one.
I popped into my high school/sixth form for an awards evening that a few of my friends were invited to (me and a few other friends sat in the audience cheering them on - #squadgoals) and got to say a final goodbye to my favourite teachers, who were obviously my Philosophy teachers, which was nice - I still haven't quite realised that I'm probably not going to go back to that school.

two.
I went to Ikea with my friend Ma'Suma to buy some cacti for my Uni room (very important) but I'm having a bit of trouble naming them - at the moment I'm thinking Rob, Barry and Dick like in High Fidelity (which is my favourite book and one of my favourite films) but I'm also in two minds as to whether it's a good idea to name a cactus Dick.

three.
I went to Brighton to go drop off some stuff in my new house and I got to pick my room (pretty happy with my selection which is good), only downside would be that the wifi wasn't working - y'know what it's like being in a place without a TV and no wifi . . . I know that sounds very 21st century, but if I can't go on Tumblr to reblog gifs I die (seriously though, why does Tumblr eat up so much data? One of life's many questions)

four.
I'm loving Lana Del Rey's new album - think I might prefer it to Ultraviolence, it's really nice to hear some new material from her!

five.
I went to get my meningitis jab which I've been putting off since about Results day,  I'm really scared of needles and making phone calls so calling up to make an appointment was really daunting, but I've done it now so that's a small battle out of the way.

six.
I decided to do the most depressing movie night ever and watch Control and Kurt Cobain: About a Son. Watching Control has majorly gotten me back into Joy Division again which is cool because I've liked them for quite a long time but I've been listening to them pretty much non-stop since watching the film.

seven.
I met up with my friend Ma'Suma for a little Cafe Nero meetup which was nice, I'm still finding it strange adjusting to asking for soya milk in my coffee. I know it's just one extra step but I get worried I'm going to forget - #veganprobz.

eight.
I've been obsessively borrowing CDs from Dad's music collection before I go so I can rip as much as I can (like I know a lot of it is on Spotify, but I'm not paying for Spotify premium I need this shiz on my phone) so I've been constantly in and out of the music room with about 10 CDs at a time - my Dad's an avid CD collector, it's pretty fortunate that we like a lot of the same music.

nine.
I've been so obsessed with Bob's Burgers at the moment. I watched series 1 a while ago and I really loved it but I started watching other shows when I finished it, but now I'm back on it and it's literally all I can watch. I hate to sound really cliche but I am Tina, like I am Tina.

ten.
I met up with some friends for a cheeky nandos (the last supper) before I go off to University. Probably one of the best nights I've had in a long time, I was cry laughing the whole time (probably not a great idea when you're wearing quite a dark smoky eye). It still hasn't quite sunk in that I'm not going to be living in the same city as them for the next few years (they're all staying in London) but maybe that's good, means fewer tears I suppose . . .

How have the past couple of weeks been for you?

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The August mix-tape

This month has definitely been more upbeat, dancy songs (sans the Lana Del Rey song) ranging from One Direction to The Cure, so y'know there's something there for everybody.

1. Drag Me Down - One Direction
I've been through quite the journey with One Direction in the past year - I've gone from disliking them intensely, to liking them ironically, to liking them ... not ironically.. and I have to be honest, I didn't think One Direction would be so good without Zayn Malik, but I think this song is really catchy and quite a bit of fun, and in all honesty, I've been listening to it a heck of a lot this month.

2. The Sun And The Rain - Madness
I've been listening to this song non-stop since hearing it on the credits on an episode of White Teeth. I already liked Madness quite a lot but I'm not sure if I had heard this song, but since hearing it I've been obsessed - so much so, that I tried to find the sheet music to play it on the piano (and I failed) and then I worked it out myself because I love it so much. I think the actual music is just so well arranged and it's such a fun one to sing along to.

3. Where's Me Jumper? - Sultans of Ping F.C
I first heard about this song because I was listening to Lily Allen's desert island discs episode on podcasts and I gave it a listen, and it's just the most random song. It's about anarchy and general political ideologies, but then it's literally about someone who's lost their jumper. It's such a fun song and it's been stuck in my head all month.

4. High By the Beach - Lana Del Rey
I'm so excited for Lana's new album - Lana has a special place in my heart, she's one of those artists who I can listen to any song and love it, so I've been loving the little snippets from her new albums that have been coming out. High By the Beach may not be the most interesting track lyrically but it's quite chilled and the video's pretty badass, I just think Lana has such as unique voice - almost hypnotic, so any song by her is a yes from me.

5. Why Can't I Be You? - The Cure
I feel like such a fake Morrissey fan when I listen to The Cure because of Robert Smith's and Morrissey's feud but I do love The Cure. I actually hadn't heard this song but I think I saw someone talk about it in a blog post and I decided to give it a listen, I love the instrumentation (as I think I've mentioned in other places, I looooooove a brass instrument and this has just that) and it's just really upbeat and fun. I personally think the upbeat songs by The Cure are their best ones, y'know like Boys Don't Cry, Friday I'm in Love, Just Like Heaven, Inbetween Days etc. and this is right up there with them - been listening to it a heck of a lot.

What music have you been listening to this month?

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A foundation that fits me better than my favourite sweater

I tried to find other song lyrics for the title of this post, but I couldn't resist the Lana Del Rey reference (she is one of my favourite human beings, I like her a lot) but there are bigger things at hand than the sadcore queen . . . Okay, maybe not, Lana is important shiz but seriously I've found a foundation that matches my skin perfectly and, that too, is important shiz.

See if you can spot what's a little bit wrong with this photo, if you get it comment down below . . . 

The foundation in question in the Maybelline Fit Me foundation which I haven't heard many people talk about on the bloggersphere or in the world of YouTube, the odd mention here and there but never any rave reviews. Here I am to fill the void. This foundation literally matches my skin's neutral-kinda-warm-but-kinda-not-sure-because-i-am-incompetent undertones and the consistency of it is like putting an extra layer of skin on the face, but not in a creepy White Chicks kinda way*. I hate to use the word dewy because dew reminds me of either grass in the morning or sweat, neither of which are things I really want on my face, but this foundation gives a semi-dewy finish which is really nice for the warmer seasons in my opinion. I usually powder afterwards anyway which makes it more neutral in terms of matt-ness or dewy-ness but this foundation just looks exquisite on the skin whether you use powder or not. It lasts pretty well on the skin although my oily nose eats it up, but my oily nose eats up most foundations, braver foundations than Maybelline's offering have tried and failed to stick around on my nose, however even against my nose Fit Me stands up pretty well, but I usually cook my powder around that area anyway so that's not too much of an issue.

One of the reasons I felt it especially important to inform you all on the amazeballs qualities of the Maybelline Fit Me foundation is because of the compliments I've been getting on it as well as how much I like it regardless. Basically, this foundation is under a tenner, has a pretty decent shade range, has a nice finish, and is generally just pretty fantabulous - this stuff is the shiznitz.

*Don't get me wrong, I love White Chicks but regardless of how many times I watch it, I still find their faces creepy.

What's your favourite foundation at the moment?

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Music of the month - July 2014

Hello there readers, it is the end of July and time for another music of the month post because I prioritise finding new songs to socialising with others.

1. West Coast - Lana Del Rey

Lana's new album is so so so so good, I absolutely loved Born to Die and I didn't expect Ultraviolence to be as good but it was but it was different. I feel like I overplayed Born to Die, so it's nice to have something equally good but different. This was the first song I heard from the album before listening to the whole album in one go (which I have done several times now), so this song stands out to me on the album.

2. The Killing Moon - Echo and the Bunnymen

I reckon this became a favourite ever since watching Donnie Darko for the first time in my last Philosophy lesson, I actually wanted to watch the film for ages and it's one of my Philosophy teacher's favourite films so he decided to educate us in the world of film and so we watched it. I've watched it again since then - it was that good. 

3. My Judge and my Jury - The Diamonds

This song may seem a little out of place but I've always had a varied music taste. At the moment I've been listening to a lot of 50s/60s music because I am a massive Beatlemaniac but when it comes to other 50s/60s music I'm quite the amateur, so I ventured onto grooveshark and looked into songs of this era, I have been literally singing this song non-stop since hearing it. If I for some strange but lucky reason don't end up forever alone and I get married, this is definitely a song for the wedding playlist!!

4. Lisztomania - Phoenix 

When I first heard this song, I genuinely thought it was The 1975 from the intro, I already liked other songs by Phoenix and this is no exception. They're just very upbeat and fun to listen to.

5. Citizen Erased - Muse

I blame Dan and Phil for my recent listenings to Muse, I liked a few Muse songs before but as I'm off school and all I'm doing really is watching Dan and Phil videos over and over and over again, I've heard them mention Muse quite a few times so I took the liberty to listen to the Origins of Symmetry album (which is both Dan and Phil's favourite album allegedly) and I think this was Dan's favourite song.

Thanks for reading this post on my favourite songs of July, stay classy readers and I'll see you soon.