Nails (7)

This is my attempt at 'comic' nails I suppose you'd call them. 

They aren't amazing but for a first try I'm pretty pleased with them. Ignore the one with two blue squiggles and the one with criss crossing black lines..I don't know what I was doing there.

Did anyone watch the Mobos? I need Dappy and Tinchy Stryder presenting together more on television. It was beaut. If you follow me on Twitter you will most likely know about my new found obsession with Ace of Cakes, it starts in eight minutes and I've definitely been looking forward to it all day. Yep. 

Victoria xx

Social Media and The Music Industry

credit: from; here, via; google search.

The music industry has obviously been around for a very long time whereas Social media is relatively new. Recently we have seen social media explode. Everyone and their mothers either use or at least know of the main social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube. However, other social media sites are becoming increasingly popular, especially in terms of blogging like Tumblr, Blogger and FlickR for example. There are of course thousands of social media sites, too many to even begin to name. I also believe that recently the advances in social media and the increased use of it has had amazing benefits for the music industry.

The BT Digital Music Awards were on the 29^th September 2011 (aired on ITV2 ON 3^rd October) and these awards are proof that the advances in technology have effected the industry as it is all about the digital side, obviously. We also see this in the download charts, which don’t take into consideration when the music is bought in a hard copy. These awards showed a video as a feauture about social media and the music industry and it relayed to me some thoughts and ideas that I had noticed lately.

One of the main points that was put across in this video and that I think anyone with Twitter will have noticed is that it is easier for artists to support and even promote each other now. I don’t think a day goes by without us seeing several artists tweeting to their fans to go and buy or at least listen to another artist’s music. I don’t believe that this type of support was so easily given before the use of social media as it was just not as easy to do..Twitter is a very simple, quick and effective method of promotion because in a matter of seconds you have sent something that potentially hundreds, thousands or millions of people could see. (For example, Justin Bieber is on over thirteen million followers.) We see twitter used as a promotion tool daily and often it can seem quite corporate when used by companies but when an artist is tweeting from a ‘personal’ account shall we say, I think it gives the industry and the people on the front on the industry a better image. We cannot forget that obviously these artists are in competition with each other, they all want that number one album or single, they want everyone to enjoy listening to their music and watching their videos but as Example said in the video for the DMA’s he see’s it as though if one artist does well then another will. I can see the logic in this, especially with social media because If one artist is very successful and gets a wide following and then tweets or shares an artist with their fan base who will likely take the recommendation and check the artist out and new fans and exposure are bound to be gained.

Social media also closes the gap between the artist and the fans. The use of social media sites now means the artists can give information and communicate directly to fans or upload videos and images themselves making the artist seem more of a person than a brand or business. I think Twitter is the main tool for this but artists can now blog as well for example and their fans can follow for more detailed updates and information. Blogs will once again seem more personal than a news letter sent en mass from someone’s HQ.

Social media is also an amazing platform for success. The story of Jamal Edwards, founder of SBTV, who created a business stemming from his Youtube account. His success through using social media was shown through the recent Google chrome advert. You can see this below.

Ed Sheeran is also an exceptional example of success via social media. His success must not be slimmed down to just being through social media, Ed Sheeran did hundreds of shows and worked tremendously hard to get to where he is, but I think social media definitely helped his success. He said in the video about social media on the DMA’s that by using social media you can create a fan base for yourself. This can be done even when labels aren’t interested. Myspace and especially YouTube are often used for this. The fact that artists can independently build up their fan base is a massive step forward in the music industry and it’s down to social media for providing the ease of communication and sharing of information. I’ve put his Something For The Weekend interview below as he explains how he began in the industry but there are lots of interviews on YouTube.

A lot of these points were put across in the feature on the Digital Music Awards and I’m so glad they were because they’ve been becoming more evident recently in my opinion and I think social media does need to be recognised for the changes it is creating. We mustn’t assume that there are no negatives with social media and the music industry, for example it is now possibly considered easier for people who wish to, to write very mean and sometimes unacceptable things in relation to shared media. However, in this post I did want to focus on the positives but  I wanted to at least address the fact that there are negatives associated.

If you didn’t watch the BT Digital Music Awards you can do so here and If this topic does interest you then It really is worth a watch.

Do you think social media benefits the music industry?
Victoria 

boot boots.

found here via google search.

Uggs are definitely the marmite boot. I love them. 

I get that they might not always please asthetically, but I think sometimes they can look really nice, especially when it gets colder. Feel cosy, look cosy. 

I will be getting a pair of fake ugg boots this year. There is no point me getting the real deal, I will ruin them within a week. I did try my friends on once and oh my it was like a hug for my toes. I once went through two pairs of the fakeies in one winter. You can get pairs for around £10 -£12 i find usually but I think I had a pair for £7 once. Don't quote me on this because I don't have a great memory but I think it was George at Asda. 

However, I would like to get some other boots too. Last year the military/worker kind of style boot was everywhere and I think we'll probably see a few of those around this year as well. I am really picky with boots and I don't like spending a lot of money, especially when I don't have it. I am going on the hunt this year for, hopefully, some relatively cheap boots but I may have to look at some as an investment if they are going to last a long time. I seriously don't think my feet have grown in like three years, they may have potentially shrunk though? (when are feet meant to stop growing? Does it mean I wont get taller?) 

Anyway, in summary of that scatty unstructured paragraph: I would like some cheap boots or a little bit more expensive investment boots. I don't know what I like in boots though, I guess I'll have to go try a load on. 

What type of boots do you like? Any recommendations  very welcome!

Victoria x

p.s. I've said the word boot so many times now it doesn't sound real. 

Fearne Cotton at LFW.

In 2010
via, here.
from the website: September 15, 2010 - Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images Europe

Definitely haven't blogged in forevz. Sorry, there is literally no reason other than not being motivated or thinking I have anything worth blogging about.

Then, I was refreshing my twitter page while procrastinating on my psychology homework (seriously, should get an a level for spelling it right. jkkkk!) and saw Fearne Cotton tweet about her fashion show at LFW. I haven't really been keeping tabs on any LFW business if I'm honest but this caught my eye. 

I read it and was like "FEARNE COTTON HAS HER OWN FASHION LINE?!?!?!". How had I not heard this? Then, I googled a little bit and found it was her line for Very. I love that this was in LFW. 

I love Fearne Cotton, she has always been on my tv screen, seriously as long as I can remember. I remember her having some quite questionable outfits but she has definitely got her style down now. It's beaut. I want her to be a massive designer but stay on the tv/radio. 

Basically her life seems so cool. I sound lame but it's true. 

You can see the show here. 

Opinions? 

Victoria x

Models Own Sale!

I have finally put together my Models Own 50% sale post together. I wont lie, it was a slow process with the photos and there was the potential for tears when we had a little 'not responding' blip. But, it's here. So, here goes..

I'd wanted to try Models Own nail polish for ages, the packaging and displays always appeals to me in shops but if I'm honest I stick to the cheaper alternatives and then the graciously gave us a 50% sale and the rest in history.. 

I chose Purple Poppy, Jade Stone, Misty Grey, Purple Haze, Top Turquoise, Lilac Dream and the MO WAH Nail Art pen. 

The first photo is the bottle showing the name, the second is the colour with flash and the third is without flash. The Misty Grey only has one photo because I couldn't tell which was flash and which wasn't. My bad. 

The flash shows this colour pretty much exactly as you see it in real life. I currently have it on my toes, even though no one see's them. Toes creep me out. 

This one looks almost exactly as it does in the bottle on the nails. It's cute and lovely. The flash makes it look more turquoise than it is, the no flash is a much better depiction of the colour.

This was an add on. I'd ordered but turns out it hadn't gone through, which worked out good for me because I added this beaut and it is my favourite one. 

This took three coats and quite a bit of patience for me. Bare in mind it was late and there was sticky glitter. I do like the colour though but think i'd keep it to just add on top for a glitter coat. 

This, in my opinion, isn't really a turquoise colour but more of a teal. I would say it is the middle of these two photos, darker than the flash and lighter than the no flash. 

and finally..

These are to show you the size of the pen and then a pattern that I did with the pen. The pen is really good (I'm a little bit in love with it) and if I had the money I would by them at £6 but because I don't I think when this runs out i'll stick to my cheapies from eBay in the colour bulk pack I have.

I'm really happy with what I got and the customer service was excellent and the dedication and time the MO team must have and clearly put in before/throughout/after the sale is amazing. 

What do you think and did you buy anything?

Victoria x

Seas would rise when I gave the word.

Basically, I did photograph my outfit today but from a dodgy angle because I didn't have time to stack things up to get the right height, sounds professional i know, so I put a picture of a pretty flower. 

Started sixth form, had one lesson today because of all the introduction stuff and a free and ended up finishing twenty minutes early, had to wait for people walking though. bummer. The dress code is a bit sucky because in my opinion it doesn't really factor in modern clothing/fashion, but maybe you can't expect it to? Anyways. 

Music:

Gravity - Embrace

Your Song - One Direction 

Run for your Life - Matt Cardle

Cheers - Rihanna

                                                      Check Yes Juiliet - We the Kings (Acoustic Version, both good though)

The Scientist - Coldplay

With Me - Sum 41

Never Grow Up - Taylor Swift 

That's basically the gist of what I'm listening to right now. One Directions version of Your Song is seriously lovely and rediscovered We The Kings this week. 

Too many of the songs in the charts right now, to me, seem to be along the same kind of line. About being on the dance floor and the DJ or whatever. I get that dance music has a big audience, myself included sometimes, but the fact that it's dance music doesn't mean it can't be about something or have a message. Example manages this in Stay Awake, explained here, I think anyway. Mini moan over. 

Any music suggestions? I will listen to anything once :)

Victoria x

long time running

Baically, sorry for zero blogging. No reason really but will get back in the game (lol?). Very tired right now but ready for school next week. Probs time my days became productive after something like a thirteen week summer?

andddddd..

Cheeky peak at my models own sale purchases. Going to do a proper post when I've got swatches (right word? said it too many times now..) of them all. 

Anywaaaays, hope your good! 

Victoria x