I wear short skirts, I wear t-shirts.

 "Because she wears high heels, I wear sneakers. She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers..."

Firstly, I love Taylor Swift. Her music makes me want to dance around my bedroom, singing into my hairbrush. It cheers me up after a bad day, a long shift at work or a fight with someone I care about. It makes me smile when I'm already in a good mood, and is the only thing I want playing on a long train journey. I have some tissue paper hearts that came out of the confetti cannon at her Summertime Ball performance on my wall of posters in my room and I own most, if not almost all, of the music she has released. Red is my running music, Speak Now gets me up in the morning and Fearless plays through my headphones while I fall asleep. Listening to We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together got me through my GCSE revision last year as whenever I thought I was going to go mental doing chemistry questions, maths equations or history past papers I would get up and dance madly around my house, singing along and blasting it from my speakers. And I will be the most excited person in the country when she announces UK dates for the Red Tour.

However, listening to the lyrics of You Belong With Me the other day, I realised something. Although it may be my favourite Taylor Swift song, and definitely her best video, it kind of made me sad. Its safe to say its a pretty well known fact that Taylor is famous not only for her music but for her high profile relationships and break ups as well, so it probably isn't a surprise to anyone when she writes songs about heartbreak and girls stealing her boyfriends from her. But something that occurs almost as frequently in her songs as mentions of beautiful blue eyes and driving trucks through the rain, are lines where she sounds pretty harsh or judgemental about other girls. She is a star, so it is in the job description to be entertaining and make music that people will love and want to listen to over and over. You may think that it doesn't really matter whether Taylor Swift makes a bitchy comment in a song - whether its about what a girl "does on the mattress" or what a guy is doing "with a girl like that?" - and you would be right. With people dying in wars all over the world and losing their jobs and homes due to the economy, the lyrics in music could be seen is completely irrelevant. But you could also argue that it is important; that how we talk about people is what makes us who we are.

And, honestly, that line just really irritated me. Because we all (girls.. mostly) have days where we do want to get up in the morning and put on a really short skirt and a lot of eye make up. Perhaps you're not feeling very confident or there's someone you want to impress, maybe you just want to dress up for the day. And sometimes on Taylor Swift's planet it seems like that makes those girls into the "slutty" girls. But at the same time, maybe even the next day, you might wear jeans and trainers, or go bare-faced, not even bothering with mascara and does that then make you the "sweet and innocent" one? The one "listening to the kind of music she doesn't like?" Not really. The way you dress shouldn't influence what other people think of you, and even though the image you present to world can sometimes feel like the most important thing in the world, it's not. Who you are doesn't change because of how you dress or how your hair looks. And sometimes, I want to wear high heels and sneakers at the same time. That's why wedge trainers were invented, okay.

My little sister, her friends and many people their age and younger all love Taylor and I think a lot of parents would prefer their daughter to be singing along to her music rather than Rihanna or Ke$ha. Its a little more innocent and while they may not actually understand some of the lyrics, Taylor Swift's whole image is just that bit more classy, more appropriate for younger girls to look up to. However as much as this is a good thing to have role models, and to admire people who are talented or successful, I think its just as important, personally, to be a "good" person. The definition of this could vary depending on different people's values, or what they see as important, but overall I would say you should be kind about other people. We're all guilty of it, and people who know me might be laughing if they read this, as I have a really sarcastic sense of humour and can probably say some very harsh things. This isn't necessarily something I'm proud of though, and I hope that people know that when I laugh at them, its because we're friends, not in spite of it!

 

So Taylor, maybe you need to take the advice Tina Fey gave you at the Golden Globes. Maybe you do need some "me-time to learn about yourself." And even though I really, really, really loved when Ed Sheeran came on stage with you and sang Everything Has Changed, maybe don't date him just yet. I don't think the world can take another really good break up album with lots of acoustic guitars and it definitely isn't going to handle two. And, last thing - I promise, please don't make that face again, the next time Adele wins an award you wanted... because we all know what you're thinking. And it makes the lyrics to this song look really ironic.
xxx

If you can't stand the heat...

Summer is almost upon us now. Everyone is beginning to anticipate the hot, lazy days ahead; the year's holiday in the sun. I find myself missing summer all year round, longing for the smells of sun scorched pavements, the concrete almost melting. I miss the heavy feeling of heat on my skin.

I want my hair to be full of salt, sun-bleached and dried into those elusive, genuinely "beachy" waves. I'm craving summery scents: coconut body lotions soothing sun-tanned limbs, the familiar, nostalgic flavour of sunscreen, reminding you of childhood days at the seaside, paddling in the waves and eating ice cream. I want to wear sunglasses everyday, all summer long, simply because the sun is shining so brightly. I'd love a deep tan that isn't out of a bottle, that comes from being outside for hours and hours, for days on end.

I want to not be able to sleep because of the heat. I want to lie under a thin sheet rather than a stifling duvet. I want to find sand between my toes and under my nails, painted a bright, tropical coral or turquoise. I don't want to wear or think about jeans from now until September, if possible. I'll be floating around in maxi dresses and sandals, imagining that I'm already on holiday in the sun. I want to buy a new bikini - something I've done every summer for the past five years. Its becoming a ritual.

Summer. Proper hot, sweltering, blistering heat. I know I live in a country where, if we're lucky, we might get a week of weather like this - and even then it won't compare to the temperatures in a million and one other far away places: from dry, dusty deserts and humid rainforests to crowded, sweaty cities and beaches packed with travellers and tourists everywhere from Brazil and L.A. to Thailand and Australia. I can't help myself; can't stop craving and hoping for a long, boiling-hot, sunshine-filled Indian summer.

I'm not much of a believer in "summer memories" and in fact my recollections of the summer months over the years tend to blur into one, to the point where I don't quite remember which country or which beach I was on in which year, with which haircut. Looking back at the photographs confuses me and I never recognize myself, in the pictures with family and friends, all getting younger and younger as the years go back. I know I'm incredibly lucky in that my family have always loved travelling and booking our holiday is something we look forward to doing all year. I've spent lots of time on beaches and in beautiful cities all over Italy as well as in Spain and many places in England of course and this year I will hopefully be adding a new country or two to my list.



As usual, F. Scott Fitzgerald says
it better than anyone else ever could...

Although my tan will fade away into pale, winter skin, the bright clothes and summery dresses will be put away until next year and I will go back to only ever wearing dark nail polish, I hope to remember the summer of 2013 for a long time. I've waited all year for it to come around: the countdown beginning in March, around the time of my 17th birthday. For anyone of my age, this will be our last ever summer with a back-to-school feeling waiting for us in September, infusing the holiday with regret before it has even begun. This time next year we'll hopefully be looking forward to going off to universities, to travelling or starting exciting new jobs in the somehow very scary "real world." I'm going to enjoy every single moment of this almost-last summer, I don't want to wish away a second.

x

In Defence of Beyonce...

You may or may not agree with me - and obviously would be entitled to do so - when I say that I believe Beyoncé is one of, if not the, most inspirational women in the public eye today. She is a singer, dancer, businesswoman, mother, director and producer of films, designer  (or at least collaborator - with H &M), married to one of the most famous artists in the music industry, as well as being one in her own right - releasing four best selling albums - and on top of all this recently had time to set up her own website and launch (another) sold-out world tour. This is the woman who sang the USA national anthem unaccompanied at a surprise press conference before delivering a show-stopping Super Bowl Halftime Show; the woman who produced not one but two documentaries about her life as an international star (Year of 4 and Life Is But A Dream); the woman who managed to fit in having a baby somewhere in between starring in the music video for H & M's swimwear collection and appearing in the Chime for Change concert with Givenchy. She is a philanthropist - the charity section on her website contains links to the websites of multiple good causes, some little known and some recognizable to most of us. She is a fashion icon, constantly photographed in the latest stunning designer outfits, models fragrances for Thierry Mugler and her own brand but at the same time also often seen make up free, with baby Blue Ivy in tow.

I don't know what she's eating for breakfast but I want some. We can probably all agree on the fact that managing half of what Beyoncé does would be a massive achievement. And the woman is only 31 - how on earth has she fitted it all in? Does she not need sleep? Maybe she gave up TV watching around the same time as becoming her own manager and record label boss? Whatever the reason, her success is certainly something to aspire to or be inspired by. I can't be the only one who asks themselves on a bad day: What would Beyoncé do? However, recently, for a number of reasons, Beyoncé, and to a certain extent Jay Z as well, have been getting a lot of negative attention from the media. While it's true that "celebrities," some people would argue, have to accept that they will lose some of their right to privacy, and even the right to not be slated on the internet and in newspapers, surely there is a line somewhere? And for me, and maybe for you too, Beyoncé is on the other side of that invisible line. I'm in no way arguing that we should not criticise, evaluate or discuss what she (or any other public figure) does or says or chooses to wear - as in fact entire industries rely on us debating these very things - and I accept that as a society we have chosen to value certain people as entertainers and cultural representatives and therefore we are responsible for holding them to accountable for what they do and how they "represent" us.

 

But I find some of the comments and things that are said about Beyoncé to be almost more offensive or hurtful than things that are said about a lot of other celebrities. Recently, for example, when rumours began to circulate on Twitter and E-online, that Beyoncé is supposedly pregnant with a second baby, some of the comments I read from viewing one webpage on the news story were, for a start, harsh, judgemental and, to be honest, really mean. Why do people feel the need to make comments along these lines? You would never take it upon yourself to make judgements on other people's lives, people you have never met, people you know nothing about, so why do it to someone simply because their career and talents have brought them into the spotlight. Why the hatred for someone so obviously talented? The easy answer would be jealousy, because let's face it, who can say they aren't even the tiniest bit envious of Beyoncé's life. However, I think it goes deeper than that. I think, despite the huge differences between countries such as England and the USA and places such as Saudi Arabia where a woman isn't even allowed to drive a car, we as a society still look at a smart, intelligent, beautiful and successful woman, and perceive her as a threat. Whether or not this is conscious, or perhaps we are unaware of it, it is still a problem. Would Beyoncé be judged in the same way, for simply doing her job as a global superstar by being rich, famous and reportedly spending $1 million dollars on her daughters bedroom, if she was a man? I'm sure many men spend $1 million dollars on a lot of things without being slammed in the global media for it. If you could, and wanted to spend that kind of money on your child - money you had earned and worked for - surely that's your choice alone and you shouldn't have to be judged for doing it.

There are obviously other examples of society judging Beyoncé's life when really its none of our business anyway - who cares if she wants to go on holiday to Cuba, its a beautiful country and her fans there probably really appreciated it. The main one though, that really winds me up, is the constant commentary on the way she (and every other female celebrity ever) looks. As if their bodies, and hair, and faces, and oh my god is she gaining weight/losing weight/gaining too much baby weight/not gaining enough/looking fat/looking too skinny is the only relevant thing about them. Forget talent, and brains, and being a generally good human being: we live in a world that teaches us that all that matters is how we look. And personally, it just drives me insane.

It all links with the comments I talked about previously. Whether or not Beyoncé is pregnant with a second child (and I think we can all agree now that that particular internet storm has died down that it probably isn't the case) does that automatically mean the public, and her "fans" have a right to know? Just because you, as I do, buy someone's albums and enjoy their music, your interest in their personal life doesn't win over their right to have privacy. And reacting to news about a celebrity - even if you have very good reasons to dislike them - by typing anonymous, hurtful comments on the internet just makes you pretty pathetic. And accusing someone of having used "surrogates" for her "fake" pregnancy is another one of these weird trends: Kim Kardashian being another example.

I think that what I'm trying to say is since when did we all stop knowing how to be nice to one another? I don't mean nice as in being a pushover, but in the sense of being kind. Allowing people to get away with being horrible about those in the public eye translates to children growing up in a culture that teaches them its okay to make nasty comments, okay to be a bully and okay to make other people feel small in order to make themselves feel better. I don't want to live in a world where we accept this behaviour. I want to live in a world where someone as inspirational as Beyoncé is given credit for all the good things she does, for helping girls to feel good about themselves and the way they look when they see a woman who resembles what they see in the mirror being so successful and influential. If Michelle Obama considers Beyoncé a good role model for her daughters, and therefore for young girls everywhere, I don't see any reason to disagree.

 

Have a look at this article, or, as it says, take it from Beyoncé herself: "I guess I am a modern-day feminist. I do believe in equality. Why do you have to choose what type of woman you are? Why do you have to label yourself anything? I'm just a woman and I love being a woman..." (Vogue).

Any questions?

My love for magazines...

I have a confession to make. While as someone hoping to do a degree in English Literature, if she manages to pass her A-levels, and someone who started a blog to have somewhere to write about all the movies she (supposedly) watches, you might assume that reading a book or watching When Harry Met Sally for the sixth time would be quite high up on my list of things to waste my time doing. However, for the last two weeks all I have wanted to do - every time I finish an exam - is get home and read a magazine. I think they're starting to recognise me in my local shop now because every time I go in its either for chocolate - who can possibly revise without chocolate, be serious? - or Elle, Vogue, Company, or any other magazine I can find.

Anything with glossy pages, shiny adverts, beautiful pictures. I want interviews with Cara Delevingue, or Kate Moss, fashion editorials of clothes inspired by The Great Gatsby, beaded flapper dresses, headbands, feathers. I want to read about what eyshadow I should be buying, even if it costs £19 rather than £2.50, and I have only set foot into Mac once and left because the 500 different shades of lipstick scared me. I want to tear out pictures of models in fairy-tale, princess dresses, in photo shoots set in snowy woodlands to stick to my bedroom walls.

I want free samples of foundations and moisturisers I would never actually buy, glued between pages of adverts and articles about hair products. I want the free gift that you get with the magazine - whether its a Benefit mascara or a travel size conditioner that smells of coconut and summer.

I love reading about the people who live the lives we would all secretly love to have. The parties on millionaires yachts, holidays to glamorous islands with secret beaches, St Barts, the Caribbean, Ibiza and Hawaii. You can almost imagine yourself to be lying in the sunshine, picturing blue skies and golden sands, enjoying a gentle breeze from the ocean and the palm trees, drinking cocktails and wearing a sparkling designer bikini and sunglasses that don't come from Primark.

There's nothing wrong with a bit of escapism, especially in this grey English excuse for a summer.

Growing My Hair

"Long Hair Don't Care."

This is one of those quotes that I see all over Twitter all the time and have to pretend I have a clue what people are talking about when they use it. I also have suspicions that those people who do say it don't really know what they mean either.... However, it seemed an appropriate starting point to this post: I don't have long hair yet and I really REALLY do care. About that fact. Also about other things - mainly how to make it grow faster. This is a slightly random topic, but it's something that's been on my mind more than usual lately. In fact it's becoming a bit of an embarrassing obsession. I feel like I spend half my day looking at my hair in the mirror, pulling it straight so that it looks that all important half-inch longer and generally driving everyone around me mad. I saw a quote someone posted to Twitter lately which I can't remember exactly but was something along the lines of: "The biggest mistake in a girl's life will always be that one time she cut her hair short." Oh wait, I found it: Here's a cheeky screen shot. Is it bad that I actually have no idea who this is or why I follow an account named BoobsOnBlonde??



PREACH.

Whether or not you agree with this, it certainly struck a chord with me, and judging from the amount of retweets, clearly a lot of other people felt the same way. Like most little girls, when I was really young I had that typical bob with a fringe from the ages of about four to six, at which point I think I started growing it longer. I've seen pictures and when I was that age it did honestly look quite cute - although I've not forgiven my parents for dressing me in a kilt and a matching bobble hat. WE'RE NOT EVEN SCOTTISH - what were they thinking?!?! Anyway, I honestly have no idea why, at the age of about 11, when my hair was actually a reasonable mid-back sort of length, to chop it all off again. Any people lucky enough to have seen my stunning Year 7 school photo will agree with me here - I look ridiculous. I then went through a phase of growing it and then cutting it short again for the next few years and also had a fringe from some of this time. I also discovered hairdye - so hey there, split ends, welcome to my life. Please move in, stick around and basically ruin the condition of my hair.

Throughout Year 10 and 11 I coloured my hair about five or six times, sometimes with friends to help and sometimes (more messily!) by myself. My hair at prom was a dark-red and in mid-length (for me) curls with a fringe and at the time I absolutely loved it. It helped that by that point I had found my amazing hairdresser who is literally the only person I have ever felt comfortable with cutting my hair and has been so full of helpful advice when it comes to growing it - mainly: Don't just stop ever having it cut. She also said: Don't bleach it, but I conveniently managed to forget that one and yeah, I tried out the dipdye look - don't judge me. I've learned my lesson and will not be bleaching it again any time soon - until I'm willing to have a good inch at least trimmed from the ends. I liked it at the time, but the main problem with bleach (as probably I should have thought about first - duh) is not even so much that it damages it at the time, but as its weakened the structure, the damage done to it by blow-drying and other heat styling as well as general day-to-day wear and tear has so much more impact.

Anway, for the last couple of months to a year, I have been, sometimes slowly, and sometimes really, really slowly, growing out my hair. This process isn't exactly fun: the awkward stage between a bob and my shoulders is thankfully over now, but the whole thing is giving me flashbacks to primary school. It's mainly growing out the fringe that is painfully slow. I loved my fringe but I'm bored of it now and the problem I can't just click my fingers and be rid of it... I wish! At the moment my hair isn't exactly what you would call long, but it's no longer short so that's something. My goal is waistlength... I can dream.This will probably take me several years and that's being optimistic so for now I'll settle with being happy with shoulder blade length. It's officially past my shoulders now even when dry so only a few more inches to go.

 

My haircare routine is probably pretty much the same as many other teenage girls. I don't do anything remotely special and tend to use whichever brand of shampoo is lying around our bathtub. My routine does also include using a couple of products that I swear have saved the life - or at least salvaged the condition - of my poor hair. One is a VO5 miracle oil as well as a VO5 Frizz Free Blow Dry Creme. Not only do these products smell amazing, they make your hair soft and managable even after drying and curling/straightening etc. They provide really good heat protection as well. The other main things I do are focus on mainly using repair and protect type conditioners such as anything of this type by John Frieda or Tresemme. I'm lucky in that these are the brands my mum tends to stock up on but the rest of the products I use I buy for myself.

There are also a couple of tips I've discovered that have really helped with this process, mainly from beauty blogs and magazines, so I thought I would post my own version on here and explain what has worked for me.

1) The first, and most important, is to treat your hair as if its very delicate and fragile. You want the growth that's appearing now (if you're trying to grow it) to still be strong and healthy when it becomes the ends. The length of time this takes will depend on how fast your hair grows but in any case, taking good care of your hair and getting regular trims is definitely the most beneficial thing you can do to improve the condition. You can do this by:

- Washing your hair gently. Don't scrub at it, just shampoo gently. Then wring as much water as possible out of your hair before applying conditioner. Concentrate on the ends, otherwise the roots can get greasy faster if over-conditioned. Combing through with a fine toothed comb at this point is a really good idea to remove tangles as well, although I don't know whether this works for every hair type.

- I always squeeze my hair to dry it and avoid "rubbing" with the towel with can cause damage. Wet hair is delicate and prone to breakage. When it 70% dry with the towel I comb with a wide toothed comb, find my parting and apply a little oil or serum to the ends, followed by blow dry creme all over. I give the products a few minutes to sink in and seal the cuticle before blow drying. If I feel that my hair is over-heated or getting dried out during this, I spritz on more heat protect, usually from a spray. You should always do this before heat styling as well and, in my opinion, its best to buy a cheaper brand and use a lot more spray as its essential to your hair remaining healthy as well looking gorgeous.

- Finally, don't overbrush your hair, as this can actually do more harm than good. Personally, I give it a quick brush every morning and again in the evening. I also sleep with it in a plait, if I remember, to prevent it getting tangled. If I know I have time to wash it in the morning I will apply a bit of oil to the ends before plaiting it.

2) Eat well, as your hair ( like your skin and nails) is one of the best ways to reflect the health of the rest of your body. Your hair needs certain minerals and vitamins to keep it strong and although you can get these by taking supplements, if you consume them in the form of fruits and vegetables you get all the other benefits, such as fibre, etc. as well as the fact that they are delicious. ALthough I have never eaten an oyster in my life, I eat a lot of other things on this list, such as carrots, green vegetables and whole grains, and my hair does grow quite quickly so there could be something in this. Healthy fats, like in salmon and nuts, are also good for hair.

3) Drink water. Drink water even when you are not thirsty. One thing one of my dance teachers always told us was that if you are thirsty, you're already dehydrated. Just keep drinking water all the time, especially when you exercise. Your hair will look so much better for it. And then, apparently this is the kind of growth you can be looking at in three to four years.

YAY!

I just quickly want to say before I end this post that I am in no way at all an expert and to be honest you might be better off not listening to anything I say. I just wanted to talk about what has worked for me. I'm not being entirely serious when I say don't listen though - seriously, vegetables are good for you :D What are your thoughts on ways to get your hair to grow faster? Please leave any comments below! xoxo

*Also, none of these pictures are mine - I basically stole them from tumblr.*

and in other news...

So I was taking a shower today and after I dried my hair I had a really long look at it and decided that today was the perfect day to do something totally impulsive. Normally I buy a specific colour of hair dye that I already decided on beforehand and it sits in my room for a few weeks while I "decide" when I want to be brave enough to do it. Not today. I got dressed, walked to the supermarket and picked up the first box I saw that was on sale. Schwarzkopf Live Colour XXL Tempting Chocolate: £4, three hours (I'm messy, okay) and one episode of Downton Abbey later and this was the result:

My face is still surprised by my
hair at this point

Combined with my fringe, its slightly more Jessie J than I was hoping for. Its darker than I wanted but overall - even if one friend described it as "uber-oriental" and I didn't have a clue what she meant until she texted back saying "like a sexy Chinese girl," hey I'll take any (weird) compliments anyone wants to throw me - I LIKE IT!

xoxo