The last few months!

Well it's been so long since I last posted, I feel like you need a quick run down of what's been going on in my life, if only to justify my absence. Since my last post I have handed in a dissertation, taken a number of exams, completed University, been to my summer ball, been on holiday to Marrakech, done work experience at Sky Sports, had a friend's 21st, visited a friend in Manchester, went to a wedding in Cardiff,  and yesterday I graduated. So, just as a taster, until I give you a bit more info on each of these events, here are a few pictures for you :)

Derby Day

Tonight is almost certainly the night when the premiership title will be decided. Manchester City are set to host local rivals Manchester United in one of the most anticipated derbys ever. Clinging on to a 3 point lead, Manchester United need this win if they are going to hold on to their top spot, there's no denying that United really have gone about it the hard way in trying to retain their title. After last weekends drama, with City beating Wolves 2-0, and United  throwing away a win against Everton, only manging a draw, the pressure really is on for both teams. Ferguson has been quoted as saying "This is the derby game of all derby games", and I'm sure the nerves are hitting him hard after the first meeting this season, where City thrashed United with a score of 6-1.

 I'm not a fan of statistics, teams change so often that it really is completely irrelevant that United actually have the upper hand when it comes to past matches, having won 67 of the last 161. The most important statistic will be made tonight, when the full time whistle blows and the score is final. Right now, that is the only statistic I'm interested in.

Made in Chelsea vs Geordie Shore

So if you love reality TV as much as I do then here's something for you.. It's a short debate I wrote for Heading Out Magazine, so I thought I'd share it on here as well Let me know your thoughts!

MADE IN CHELSEA VS GEORDIE SHORE

Reality TV is everywhere, and most of us have to admit that we do indulge in at least one of the guilty pleasures that producers have provided us with. But what makes these shows, and which is your favourite? We’re back to the battle of the North and South as we see the North East Geordie Shore, battle it out against West London’s Made In Chelsea!

Jersey Shore was a massive hit, time for the Geordies to show them how it’s done properly. Unlike other city based reality TV, the cast were not filmed in their everyday life, instead they were put, as strangers, in a big house, and basically told to get drunk. They did not disappoint.

In Season 1, there were only 8 members of the cast, meaning we were able to get to know them all individually, picking out our favourites on the way. Whether you loved Vicki and her filthy insults, Charlotte and her Barbie metaphors, or Gaz and his promiscuous ways, there was something for everyone. Season 2 saw the departure of boring old Greg and the arrival of Ricci and Rebecca. By mixing up the characters, MTV kept the drama levels at an ultimate high, serving us up with a hearty Geordie platter of fights, banging, serious relationships and even a helping of bed wetting.

I don’t think it could have been expected just how much impact these 2 new characters were going to have, with Rebecca quickly making an enemy of Queen- bee Vicki, who labelled her as a having an attitude problem.. Ricci however went to the other extreme and, throughout the series, managed to convince her to ditch current boyfriend Dan and enter into Geordie Shore’s most serious relationship yet. Sorry, Gaz and Charlotte, you just can’t compete.

The shameless antics and drunken behaviour of this motley crew may make the Made in Chelsea lot gasp and snigger into their champagne flutes, but it certainly makes for entertaining television!

Made in Chelsea

This, totally amazing dahling, reality show follows the lives of the wealthy youth of West London, and whilst we don’t regularly see Millie Mackintosh ‘tashing on’ with muscly, orange beefcakes on a weekly basis, these privileged individuals certainly know how to whip up some drama on The Kings Road.

Most beloved characters include (surely gay?) Ollie Locke, whose hypnotising tresses are enough to keep you captivated for the whole show. And then there’s Miss Caggie Dunlop. ‘Caaaags’ has been at the centre of the most prominent storyline across three series, for her on/off/what is actually going on here relationship with Spencer Matthews.

Whilst there is just as much partying as in Geordie Shore, the cast of Made in Chelsea tend to spend their nights sipping champagne and slagging off fellow cast mates instead of downing Grey Goose and falling over, more sophisticated yes, but is it as entertaining? Maybe Jamie Laing needs some Northern influence on how to ‘pardy with a d!’

Whilst the background stories of the show are amusing, cue psycho multi coloured hair Gabriella, it does become slightly tedious watching the characters emerging from behind the curtains of posh changing rooms. It seems it’s constantly up for discussion whether the latest extravagant dress purchase is going to be enough to make their ex jealous at the next ‘small get together’ they are attending. Basically, whilst the show has its positives, the overall concept is getting slightly repetitive. Maybe the producers need to concentrate on throwing in a bit more eye candy for the girls, instead of the latest leggy female additions we’ve seen in the newest episodes, Mark Francis and Hugo just aren’t quite up to the same high standard..

And the winner is..

After careful consideration, I can now officially declare Geordie Shore as the winner of this battle. The hour long episodes contain more laughs than a whole series of Made In Chelsea as the endearing, albeit slightly clueless cast prepare themselves for night after night on the Toon.

Whilst we love Caggie and her permanent pout, the lives of the upper classes just aren’t as entertaining as the shameless behaviour of the Geordie lot. 

WHY AYE!

The Muamba effect

Generally described as over paid and ungrateful, the footballers of today have not created the best reputation for themselves. Most press coverage of the sport focuses more heavily on the scandals surrounding the players, as opposed to the actual football they are playing. Even if you don’t know anything about the actual game, chances are you are very familiar with the Luis Suarez racism incident, John Terry’s affair with Wayne Bridge’s girlfriend, and just about every detail of David Beckham’s life (including what underwear he is wearing). So considering how often we hear stories about the bad behaviour of these men, it was slightly refreshing to hear of them all coming together at a time of crisis.

As a sport that is closely followed and reported by many, it didn’t take long for the world to be informed of the collapse of 23 year old Bolton midfielder, Fabrice Muamba on the 17^th of March. Shocked team mates watched on as the man they had been kicking a ball about with just minutes earlier lay lifeless, face down on the grass. Panic quickly took over White Hart Lane, where the match was being played, as the seriousness of the situation gradually became clear. Paramedics rushed on to the field and gave mouth to mouth resuscitation, before rushing him off the field to hospital. It later transpired that Muamba was ‘effectively dead’ for a whole 78 minutes before medics were able to get his heart beating again. For anyone of such a young age to suffer a cardiac arrest is shocking enough, but for the incident to occur in such a public way, provoked mass shock and hysteria across the footballing world.

The huge amount of support that followed the event could not have been anticipated, with rival teams suddenly forgetting their battles and posting encouraging messages for the player, with #prayforMuamba trending worldwide.

It seemed that it did not matter what team you played for, that for once the boundaries became blurred and showing you cared became the priority. Not only were messages sent via Twitter, several teams showed their respect by taking part in a period of applause for the player before matches kicked off, and others wore shirts with encouraging messages. Even players in different countries were moved enough to have the name printed on their shirts, one of the most famous being Crisitano Ronaldo, who is currently playing for Real Madrid.

As much as other teams did their bit to show support, no one did more than the Bolton fans themselves, demonstrating a spectacular mosaic display in dedication to the player, and both the Bolton and opposition fans, turning up wearing shirts with ‘MUAMBA’ on the back. 

Fans from across the country fled to White Hart Lane, where Muamba collapsed, and his home ground to lay flowers and leave inspirational messages for the player and his family. It would seem that the family truly were grateful for the prayers and general support from the nation, as they publicly issued their thanks on twitter.

Even fans of local rivals, Manchester United, left messages.. Shame they couldn’t get his name right though.

However, despite the football world putting up a united front, it would seem the general public weren’t quite playing fair..

Enter Liam Stacey. Whilst many twitter users jumped on the #prayformuamba bandwagon in an attempt to gain more followers, or in a shameless attempt to get a retweet from a top footballer, this youth took things further. After openly mocking the player’s collapse, Stacey followed this already unacceptable behaviour with a series of racial slurs, later claiming that his twitter account had been hacked, oh so very conveniently..

Stacey has now been sentenced to 56 days in jail as a punishment for his ridiculous comments, and has acted as a warning for the rest of the twitter world that think it’s acceptable to send out tweets full of hate, (obviously anything directed at Piers Morgan is an exception to this rule).

However, ignoring Liam Stacey and his childishness, this incident really did give me a bit more faith in humanity, in football anyway. Pictures of players turning up at the hospital to support the man they play against on a regular basis, fans shedding a tear during dedicatory applause, the footballing world truly was captivated by the collapse of this young man. Luckily, it would appear that our prayers were indeed answered, as Muamba seems to be well on his way to recovery, sitting up in hospital, responding to questions and moving his arms and legs. His recovery has been described by doctors as ‘nothing short of miraculous’.

The picture was tweeted by Fabrice’s fiancee Shauna, who said: "Fab wanted me to post this pic for you all and to also say thank you for such overwhelming support."

Even though it took such a great tragedy to unite the footballing community, it did prove to us that it can happen, and maybe this is something that will keep being proven to us, although hopefully in less life threatening circumstances..

Garnier BB Cream

I know I don't normally review beauty products, purely because there are so many blogs out there that focus on cosmetics, and I really don't know enough about these things to try and compete..
However, whilst I do not profess to know much about make up and cosmetics, I do use them. Quite alot.
An issue that I have found recently is that so many foundations on the market seem to be made for people wanting to create a liquid to concrete, bullet proof mask for their face..

This is not the look I am going for.

I do admit to the fact I don't look after my skin anywhere near as well as I should and am frequently reprimanded by my friends for my lack of skin care regime. Apologies that I am sometimes just too lazy to take my make up off, but having never particularly sufffered from bad skin, I seem to have grown immune to the after effects that many seem to suffer with.

Despite not having frequent outbursts of acne, I can't say I have the perfect porcelain complexion, meaning I do have to resort to some form of cover up..
So, last month when my old foundation ran out, I went on the hunt for a new product.

Having seen adverts for the new Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB (blemish balm) Cream, I cannot say I was convinced, although the concept seemed ideal. For those of you that haven't yet seen the advert, this cream is said to combine the concepts of skin care, and make up into one handy cream, with moisturising and concealing qualities.  I decided to risk the £7 price tag and give it a go.

After 3 weeks of using the cream, I have to say I am suitably impressed and would recommend the product to anyone looking for just that little bit of help in achieving a flawles complexion, without looking overdone.

Upon first application, the product does feel greasy, but providing you wait a few minutes before applying the rest of your make up, this did not prove an issue. Throughout the day my skin felt moisturised, but not shiny, giving me a natural looking level of coverage.

Another positive of this product is that it is so so easy to apply. Simply squirt a bit on your fingers and rub into your face! No brushes, no streaks, easy.

So if you were contemplating buying this product, I am telling you to go out and do it. So many products are tagetted for long lasting, clubbing proof durability, Garnier has found a real gap in the market, promoting a natural looking product designed to be used during the day for a natural and fresh face!

P.S it also smells REALLY good..

Perfection

Every time you pick up a magazine do you feel jealous?
I look at the perfect complexions and figures of the celebrities plastered across my screen and I know that even if I wasn't interested in the salacious gossip of the A- listers, I still wouldn't be able to escape the perfection of these people. It would be impossible. All you have to do is turn on the TV, open a newspaper or go to the cinema and the beauty is pushed right up into your face.
I don't enjoy knowing that I succumb to the pressure. I don't enjoy the fact that quite a lot of my thoughts throughout the day focus on whether I’m a dark enough shade of orange, whether my hair has gone frizzy, or just how big my bum looks in my jeans. It's a difficult mindset to get yourself out of once you've become too involved. People can tease you about being high maintenance and trying to be a Barbie, but do you not think their reaction would be far greater if you turned up for a night out in trainers, a tracksuit with greasy pulled back hair and no makeup?
I'm not a skinny girl, despite my efforts, and on occasion the obsession with my weight really does begin to take over. Diets with me tend to be either failures from the beginning or month long battles with myself where after all my hard work, the weight reappears again distinctly quicker than it left.

I know everyone has their hang-ups... but if we lived in a world where celebrities didn't hide or cut off their own imperfections, then maybe everyday people wouldn't be so ashamed of theirs, and we could move past this phase of fakery, with diets, hair style tips, and caked on makeup, and bring back normal people.

 

Steak and blowjob day..

Show your man how much you care. By cooking him meat and performing sexual favours? Would they not prefer me to run them a bubble bath and present them with a bunch of flowers?

It's very easy to see the way to a man's heart. Most girls I know would be more than happy if on the rare occasion their partner spnotaneously arrived at their house with a simple bunch of flowers, even the petrol station variety would usually suffice. Why is it that men feel they should have a day where they get what they want? As far as I was aware men always seem to get waited on hand and foot , so it hardly seems appropriate that they should have a special day assigned for it..

Anyway, let them have their day if it is so important to them. Personally, I can't wait for the new Chocolate and Diamonds day that I have just put in place. Now let's see how keen they are on keeping to these yearly traditions..