Fashion and beauty Archives - Page 21 of 33

February 23, 2016

Fashion Pearls of Wisdom: Winter Anonymous

Our columnist Natalie McCreesh aka Pearl, is a fashion lecturer, freelance writer and creator of Fashion Pearls of Wisdom. In this post she’ll be talking about how she misses seeing tattooed people in winter…

Jumper and jeans, jumper and jeans, jumper and jeans… That’s been my staple wardrobe for the past few months. Three near identical pairs of skinny jeans, three near identical black shirts and three crazy vintage 80s mohair jumpers, my unfaltering uniform of warm semi-smart winter work wear. Replaced on the weekend by a less smart pair of baggy boyfriend jeans and a plaid shirt with a stray hole in the back. For someone who works in fashion you’d think I might be more creative but in winter I just long for comfort. I’m not alone, for the most part everyone you see walking around is wrapped up, in coats, hats, scarves, gloves.

As we shield our skin from the elements however in doing so we also conceal our tattoos. It’s almost like becoming invisible, no funny looks, no rude comments, no sneaky stares – well maybe the odd one at the novelty jumpers. It’s made me notice how much I miss seeing tattooed people. The vibrant, colourful bodies of the summer replaced with a sea of grey coats and black umbrellas. When I’m sat on the train I look out for a tattoo peeping out from a cuff, or a little one tucked behind the ear, call it commuters eye-spy. Myself, I find a ripped jean knee or turned up ankle cuff the only way my tattoos can be on show and it makes me realise that I do very much enjoy being tattooed. Not to show them off to other people, but seeing my roosters claw slipping out from an ankle gaps just gives me a reassuring pleasure that this is my skin.

February 21, 2016

A Chocwork Orange Beer Launch

Last weekend our music writer Amber Carnegie had the pleasure of heading to BrewDog Sheffield to try their latest beer collaboration. Here’s what she got up to…

‘A Chocwork Orange’ has been created by BrewDog in Sheffield, and independents Abbeydale Brewery and Skull And Bones Boys Club. A chocolatey pale malt brewed with a focus on citrus fruits and orange peel. The result- a rich beer with a lasting flavour that left you wanting another pint.

‘A Chocwork Orange’ have nailed it with a chocolate focused beer with none of the artifical taste that you sometimes associate with chocolatey beers. The chocolate notes coming from real cacao nibs and chocolate malts for a moreish flavour that certainly paid off with the first cask selling out in under two hours.

The launch also gave us a taste of the latest Skull And Bones Boys Club collection with baby pinks, pastel blues and intriguing washes framing the bar. As their brand evolves so do their pioneering collections, with already iconic products such as chopping boards and straight razors who knows what SABBC will be adding to their portfolio next.

Find out where you can try ‘A Chocwork Orange’ here.

February 12, 2016February 12, 2016

Valentine’s Day Gift Guide

Valentine’s Day isn’t always the easiest holiday to tackle, and some people take it more seriously than others. Our guest writer and journalist 22-year-old Rachel Tucker shares her top five gift ideas to satisfy your beau this coming Sunday…

1. This collaboration from our long-time loves, tattooist Guen Douglas and homeware creators Red Temple Prayer, would be the perfect way to perk up your Valentine’s desk. Gwen’s traditional envelope design is available on a mug or on a card and is available on the Red Temple Prayer website. Red Temple Prayer have a rad collection of kitchenware and accessories, the Forever My Queen mug might even make a good gift to myself. Self love and all that, right?

2. Tattooist, designer for the Grit N Glory clothes line, model and all round bad-ass woman, Megan Massacre, has created these “not your school Valentines” cards for those of you who aren’t into all that lovey-dovey mushy stuff. Saying “you’re my homeslice” and “be my weirdo” might just be the way to win them over without wearing your heart on your sleeve.

3. Great gifts often involve days out, giving up your time and just hanging out, and what better way to celebrate being the rad couple you are than by treating yourselves to tickets for this year’s Brighton Tattoo Convention. This year the date’s been moved closer to summer meaning you might even be able to brave a romantic walk on the beach without being blown away!

4. London based artist Alex May Hughes creates amazing, one-of-a-kind gold and glass artwork. Using actual gold carat foil, pearl and mirrors, Alex creates these amazing pop culture inspired pieces. If you’re feeling lavish, why not commission your Valentine’s name, anniversary date, the place you met? Maybe even something from their favourite film or a quote. The possibilities are endless and the results are beautiful.

5. Last but not least, the idea that I’d like to think is most obvious to fall on. Get a fucking tattoo! Now I’m not saying go and get eachother’s names on your buttcheeks, just because there’s so many different ways you can appreciate eachother through tattoos now! Plenty of studios have flash days on Valentine’s Day so you’ll have loads of ideas to chose from, and lets face it, having something on you forever that reminds you of that person is pretty much the ultimate sign of love.

Tattoo by Ian Parkin

So there you have it! The perfect gift guide for this Valentine’s day. Eat, drink and get smushy.

February 11, 2016

Samantha Fielding: Performer

Samantha Fielding is a 42-year-old photographer and creator of the Performer portrait project, a book celebrating the creative minds and secret worlds of night performers. We chat to Samantha about her upcoming book…

Performer is a homage to the night performer the strong and creative minds that make you forget about the everyday world we wonder in. Night is a time for reinvention. No one understands this better than the underground performer. Bursting free from the limitations of routine and shedding the skin of an every day identity, they become someone else. Someone braver. Someone wilder. Someone truer.For the night time performer especially, there is a certain isolation that comes with putting their vision and endeavour out there. The irony is that they find exhilaration and purpose in their respective acts or identities, and yet they are often judged and mocked as oddballs, outcasts, or freaks.

As both a photographer and interviewer, I shone my light back stage and focussed on the characters behind the parade of masks, eager to capture both the practised pose and the unguarded moments. The result is a series of portraits that capture the beating hearts of a world I feel fortunate to have been able to document. I will say that not only is this book an homage to the featured artists, it also challenges the judgements and preconceptions that we make of others. Either way, I hope my lens conveys a sharper understanding of this misunderstood world. And I hope this work fosters a new communion between the audience and the performer.

I grew up in the south of Spain where my mother owned night clubs. From a young age I was curious of the glitz and glam of the drag queens that had a night club next door. Stunning and tall they always let me sit and watch them put their make up on. I feel at home in this world. I am not a performer but maybe a closet performer. I go to Burningman every year. I actually met my husband there 10 years ago. I have always loved dressing up and have a garage filled with feather head dresses and costumes for all styles and occasions.

I want this book to cover all walks of performance artist’s from burlesque to drag, fire eaters to contortionists. I have given myself three years to travels to London, Berlin, Paris, New York, Las Vegas, Los Angeles and San Francisco. I hope this book brings an understanding to the every day person that you should never judge a book by it’s cover. Through my journey I have met some of the smartest, happiest, well travelled and well versed artists. These performers choose life.

Watch Samantha’s video below to find out more about the performer project:

February 6, 2016February 6, 2016

The Art of Jana Brike

Latvian artist Jana Brike creates oil paintings that explore notions of innocence and coming-of-age narratives.

Her inspirations for work has been as diverse as: folklore fairytales, children book illustrations, imaginative soviet animation films and supernaturally realistic classical painting; the colorful forbidden rare secret imagery of the western pop culture surrounded by mystical, almost religious tone for the soviet children; the terrifying war and deportation stories that her grandparents, and their little brothers and sister witnessed as small children; pompous alienated eerie atmosphere of the catholic church ceremonies in the Latvian countryside, and the breathtakingly beautiful ballet performances in the opera house, where she was taken since the age of two, as well as others. – all the bitter-sweetness and irreality of the every day.

The main focus of Jana Brike’s art is the internal space and state of a human soul – dreams, longing, love, pain, growing up and self-discovery.

Sailor’s Wives

Aphrodite with Kitten

The End of the Last Unicorn

Paradise of Shared Solitude

Gardener and the Centre of the Universe