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Metal, News

2 Girls 1 Band: Missing In Action

April 10, 2015

dakesis-quinphonic

Photo © Ian Black

Well we may not have been kidnapped or fallen off the face of the earth, but we have definitely been held prisoner by our own lives most recently. Those of you who have been following us may have wondered where we have been and it’s been driving us crazy being away from our very own ‘blogosphere’. The truth is, that we’ve been putting a lot of our time and effort into the band and haven’t really had any left over for all the fun things, like talking about makeup and beauty! A long while ago, we started our first blog “2 girls 1 band” where we would review the dressing rooms ‘dressing rooms’ of some of the venues we played in which I have to admit was most fun and pretty hilarious to look back on. But it’s something we may consider carrying on under the Hellbent for Lipstick name if there is some enthusiasm sparked for it.

Alas I guess this is a rather short post to tell you all what exactly we’ve been doing with the band and why we’ve been surrounded by mic stands and cables instead of our all too familiar mascaras and lipsticks. Over the past few month’s we’ve been working flat out on the writing process for our upcoming album and part of this preparation was getting two new songs ready to play live for some upcoming gigs, the first of which was the Saturday just gone. This has meant full days spent in the studio rehearsing until our fingers and throats were sore, but we came through Saturday’s gig feeling overwhelmed with joy that we’d managed to pull off not one but two brand new songs in such a short space of time.

We’re still super busy with all the preparation that comes before recording our next album, but we’re still here we promise and will make sure we still get our dose of beauty blogging into the mix, even if it is interspliced with a bit of band news and us squealing mindlessly about how excited we are to be in the midst of album prep.

Here’s a few shots from Saturday night where we played the Quinphonic Prelude Party at the Barge and Barrel in Tipton. We had an absolutely amazing time, not to mention meeting some new friends with Rainover and Temperance the other bands playing – and our month away from the real internets truly paid off.

amie-gem-quinphonic

 Photo © Ian Black

amie-quinphonic

 Photo © Ian Black

gemma-quinphonic

Photo © Ian Black

If you’re interested in following the band you can also head over to the Dakesis Website although we’ll most likely be shouting from the roof tops as album 2 progresses (however our next post is definitely beauty related!)

Totally hellbent for girls who surprisingly -can- play metal

Pants

Festivals, Metal, Music

February Most Wanted

February 7, 2014

As the first month of the year is already over, I guess it’s time to cast my attention (and purse) towards all of the things I’ve been collecting for my most wanted list now that I can almost justify spending a few pennies here and there.

 

l'occitane-thumb

My first pick of the month is the new Sensual Red Cherry Collection from L’Occitane. I’m a sucker for all things cherry-esque as well as being overly fond of the L’Occitane hand creams, I’m just itching to try this out but at £42 for the set (reduced from £64), I’m not sure I can fork out for this just yet. (Beauty boxes take note – all of the samples please!) If your expendible income is a little more forgiving than mine this month you can head over to the L’Occitane website and try this out here.

behemoth

 

Moving away from beauty temporarily, the next thing on this month’s list is the new Behemoth album “The Satanist” – usually I’d have pre-ordered this and awaiting it’s arrival eagerly, alas I haven’t been as quick off the mark and have become a metal warrior who has fallen behind. Not to fear though, it’s available to stream through Spotify and due to me rarely leaving the house in my self-employment I’m able to enjoy this album in full – albeit with adverts – to my hearts content until I get my hands on the physical copy. It’s a truly magnificent album and has such a dark aura about it, my favourite track is the last one “O Father O Satan O Sun” – if you would like to partake in some black metulz you can stream Behemoth on spotify or support them by heading over to behemoth.pl and buying all of their merchandise.

 

nars brush

I do not need any more brushes – especially after my birthday haul (post coming soon) – but with my new found love for contouring, but the NARs ITA contour brush looks to be -the- most perfect brush for the job ever! Unfortunately the price is a little out of budget at the moment, but I’m definitely going to keep an eye out for upcoming offers or the very least – something similar from another brand. You can get around on the internet (sadly not currently availably on the NARS UK website) for £55 – however I have found it for just £25.95 here – although having never used this site, I’m not sure of it’s validity.

hellfest

Hellfest 2014 – What a line up – so many dreams of Gem and I driving to France to sup on wine (perhaps not for me), munch baguettes and listen to metal. I’d worked out how many night shifts I needed to do to get the extra money for two tickets. Unfortunately this sold out the other day, so probably one that is destined to stay on my wishlist. If you want to weep endlessly at the line-up you will be missing out on click here – if you already have tickets – click and smile a smug smile, thinking of those less fortunate than you.

caravan

Since my dreams of Hellfest have been smashed to the ground, it now means I can use my saved money towards a caravan, something Gem and I have been talking about for a while, but now we are nearly a quarter of the way through the year, I really need to get my behind in gear if I was to live it up “glamping” style at Wacken this year with a shiny (because of the Manowar gold we are covering it with) waterproof caravan.

I’m in awe of myself for the distinct lack of cosmetic items featured in this month’s most wanted – don’t fear though, I am not a girl converted – just a girl who want’s too many things of which can not be squeezed into such a small post as this.

What non beauty/cosmetic items are on your most wanted list this month?

Totally hellbent for the days where festivals didn’t sell out

-Pants

 

 

 

Festivals, Make-up, Metal, Music, News

Welcome to January …

January 5, 2014

2014.

How did this even happen? Suddenly Christmas appeared and now we are in yet another year. So here is an obligatory summary of some of the better bits of 2013.

Last year was a pretty monumental year for both Gem and I:

Brains and I moved into our “actually proper just for the two of us” house – situated approximately 7 doors or so away from Gemma at the same time as going to Norway for the first time ever:

januarybrainsnpants

 

Dakesis made the decision to become a four piece:

januarydakesis

We returned to the stage, and went back to enjoying our Dakesian adventures with the four of us and being as mischievous as ever:

januarydakesisfour

 

Gem and I survived the journey to the holy Wacken lands, this time avoiding getting the car broken into, and Gem and Roode shared their first anniversary together. As well as being monumentally owned by the sun on our crossing to Europe:

januarywacken

 

I quit my job and started working with Brains at BIOSTALL, which meant I had more time to do stuff like this:

januarycrafts

 

 

We witnessed the wedding of our two oldest joint friends Libby & Ian (not to mention I went blonde!):

january

 

We then got to spend yet another Dakesis Christmas with all of our lovely friends, fellow Dakesian’s and family which mainly resulted in this:

dakesischristmas

But most importantly, 2013 was when we finally got off our arses and launched Hellbent for Lipstick!

Our first ever post went live on 16th May 2013.

So here’s to another year of heavy metal, makeup, beauty, friends, family and being full of steel! Thank you for reading and Happy New Year :)

Totally hellbent for festivities and friends

-Pants

 

 

 

Clothing and Fashion, Hair, Make-up, Metal

You don’t have to conform to be successful

November 15, 2013

PNB

 

(Brains and I looking successful above. Note how we still look like a bunch of greebo’s, even though we are dressed up!)

I now find myself reading a lot of Magazines. Most of the content I find is mindless dribble and I have to be honest and say that I’m only interested in either the products they come with, or the hope of finding miracle cosmetics that I don’t already own. Despite this, I still read them from cover to cover and occasionally I am irked by the odd article.

My favourite this month was from Marie Claire’s “Nov 13” edition. “Why your fake lashes might just cost you that dream job.”It’s basically an article written by six “top” HR managers on things that didn’t quite land others a job.

My first gripe of this being … who the hell decided that they were “top” HR managers? I certainly wasn’t asked to fill out a survey on how brilliant they are. Then as I read on through the article, I felt more and more compelled to shout at these idiots for being so judgmental. So I’ll just share a few highlights with you all:

Block Brows – “Only last week I had a girl come in with jet-black eyebrows that were entirely pencilled in. She looked bizarre. Given the “scouse brow” is so widely mocked, it make me wonder if she had any social awareness.”

Colorama – “The recent trend for pastel and dip-dyed hair does not belong in an office. We actively encourage individuality in our teams, but we must also be confident that clients will take our employees seriously.” (My favourite here was the advice on how to get hired by telling readers “if you’re still determined to have a punky edge, keep it low key.”)

Talon Show – “Our written code of Presentation even states that employees cannot have overly long nails.” (Scoff – “written code of presentation? Hilarious!)

There were some other top choice comments referring to people wearing fake tan to interviews and having “greasy locks” with some hilarious advice on “if you don’t have time for a blow dry, use a good quality shampoo” – first off, who the hell has time for a “blow dry” at 6am in the morning when they are running late for work? (An apt moment for me to point out that my hair is so long and thick, it takes me at least 3 hours to dry and style it!)

Without going on too much of a tangent here, although I had to agree that some of the looks wouldn’t be something that I would favour … i.e. the false eyelashes, fake tan, perhaps an unfortunate attribute such as having greasy hair – none of these should stop people getting a job. The problem these days, is that people in positions of “power” think they are superior to everyone else, and they often forget that sometimes people just need to be given a break.

The media are very quick to judge those that fall outside of the norm, and pretend that they are offering you advise if you want to “hold on to that crazy punk trend”, when actually, we should all be allowed to individualise ourselves how we like!

wacken

(I’m holding onto that “crazy punk trend” and I bet my makeup has run down my face … how non conforming of me!)

I know lots of people who favour the “block brow” trend, because it’s actually quite “in” amongst those from a similar cultural background as Gem and I. And the comment about the recent trend for pastel dip dyed hair not belonging in an office … say’s who? If this doesn’t affect performance, then why should it matter?

newyear

(Does this count as pastel dip dying? Because I always sat in the office with hair like this!)

One of the reasons this article sparked so much enthusiasm for me, is that over the years and through a variety of different employments, I’ve always been judged for how I look, (except since the “fashion world” has taken so “kindly” to our love of black, leather, wet look and studs, we are somewhat more accepted as being “normal” at least until this trend dyes out). I have piercings and brightly coloured hair, even when I wear no makeup and dress smartly I always seem to have a quirky alternative edge about me, but because people don’t understand the culture that I come from they judge me harshly and think I’m a bad person.

Having worked in healthcare, one of the important parts of my job roles was acting in an anti-discriminatory manner, and treating people as individuals. Something that is then mocked entirely when you are forced into dressing and acting like clones. To be fair, there have been times early on in my career, where I thought people higher in the career ladder than me looked terrible! Their fashion sense was hilarious, the shoes they wore disgusting and their makeup pre-dating my existence, but my job role was about giving care to patients, not creating my own judging panel for all of my managers!

Despite others opinion of me, I suceeded in my career as a nurse and still managed to keep some individuality. I didn’t change my hair, and did not take my piercings out. (They are -not- an infection control hazard, thankyou very much!) What I didn’t do, is turn up to work with a face full of stage make up and I at least had some self-awareness that meant when I was at work, I did my work.

So I guess my point is, you don’t have to conform to be successful, if you are good at what you do, are enthusiastic, look after yourself and are passionate about work you can get to wherever you want to be. Don’t let people back you into a corner and don’t let people change who you really are, just because you don’t fit in with their “corporal image”. In the words of some of Gem and I’s favourite Northamptonians … “Who’s gonna care in a hundred years?”

Here’s hoping Gem and I will always look like this …

album launch

(Would you have time to blow dry my barnet in 10 minutes?)

On a final note … Keep it true and Metal IS Forever!

Totally hellbent for being me … always … no matter what!

-Pants 

 

 

Festivals, Metal, Music, Skincare

Pants’ top 5 festival life savers for Summer 2013

September 15, 2013

top 5 festival

 

Well festival season is officially over. Dakesis played Sunkfest and The New Disorder Festival, which were great when it comes to prolonging the post festival blues. Unfortunately, it’s now miserable outside and we are almost half way through September!

With so many memories from this year already what better way to reflect, than to think of all the scrummy products I got to try out whilst in a tent with significantly less access to things that make me look clean.

After much pondering on this, I have come up with my top 5 festival life savers for this year. It took some thought, but these are the 5 products that I absolutely couldn’t have lived without!

  1. Suncream – I absolutely couldn’t have lived without my Simple factor 50 suncream as well as the Coola slightly tinted SPF 20 screen. Gem and I were very silly and had managed to get ourselves burnt to a crisp whilst on our ferry to Holland, but the Coola tinted moisturiser matched my self inflicted shade of orange perfectly, meaning I didn’t need to try make foundation work over my sore, sunburnt, orange and peeling skin
  2. Facial Wipes – This are a must have, decent facial wipes to take off makeup, suncream and dirt. So long as I have these, it’s OK if I run out of toner and cleanser or don’t have access to showering facilities.
  3. Eyebrow Kit – This ranks higher than any other makeup product, with my eyebrows filled out I at least resemble a human being!
  4. Jelly Pong Pong Mascara – When the going get’s hot and sweaty, I am loathed to put makeup on knowing it will run and make me clammy. I love this mascara so much that I didn’t need any eyeliner or eyeshadow to glam up. An application of this left me looking refreshed and glamourous despite having spent 4 days in a field.
  5. Facial Spritz – This was a life saver. It was so hot, that Gem and I were teasing each other by asking ourselves to imagine what it would be like if we were wrapped up in fleece blankets, whilst wearing onsies, with a hot water bottle and a heater on. It may not sound much, but the thought of this was nauseating! In this unbearable heat we took it in turns to spray each other (and our partners) with our recently acquired Glossybox spoil. This facial spritz feels like the most refreshing thing in all of the land when it’s 30 degress, with zero cloud cover, a multitude of black clothing and no shade. This is coming with me to every place that is in danger of reaching 21 degress upwards!

Totally hellbent for looking fab with minimum effort

-Pants

 

Metal, Music

To the End.

September 13, 2013

FbookEvent_Birmingham120913

Last night saw Dakesis play our first hometown show since “the big line-up shuffle” (which is the nice way of saying it I think) and wedged between the awesomeness of Captain Horizon and Attica Rage, in honesty, my nerves were running high.

We’ve already had two very well received shows in Hull and Derby, but playing the home turf to familiar faces is the real point of judgement. As the intro track started I was facing drummer Adam, and I was grateful for the optimistic smile he gave right as the first song was about to kick in.

1176119_10151684299267746_2017000580_n

As I turned to face the sea of encouraging smiles in the crowd though, I knew I had nothing to worry about all along. Our nearest and dearest stood with horns and hands high in the air, Josh from Captain Horizon stood in salute for almost a whole song, the sound man Neil looked like he was having a party of his own in the desk, even the new faces, and the ones right at the back of the room looked like they were having a blast, and if the audience is happy then obviously the band will be happy!

There is something very magical about turning to look at your bandmates on-stage and seeing wide smiles. At a few points in the night when I paused for water (which I leave on the drum riser as not to give the audience even more of an eyeful!) Adam grinned and shouted “fucking triumph!”, and honestly that is what last night was for us. A big cheesy power metal triumph!

The cheer that went up at the end of our last song, Valhalla, cemented that no matter what happens, Dakesis will keep at it, through the good and the bad till the very, very end.

Totally hellbent for there being no place like home.

– Gem

 

Metal, News

What a week!

September 1, 2013

I promised myself I would blog a lot this week and have hardly posted at all! I do have a very good excuse though….

 

1175432_10151557624157791_932025126_n

Yup, that’s my rather inconveniently sprained left hand. I’d like to say I did it doing something terribly exciting but unfortunately that wasn’t the case. No, silly me managed to tear the ligament beneath my thumb…getting out of bed.

So my left hand is completely unusable for a while, and I have to keep it in this very uncomfortable (and ugly – why doesn’t it come in black!) splint at least til my next hospital appointment next Thursday.

The pain seems to be lessening slightly now, and I’m finding it more annoying! One of the (ridiculously vain) reasons I’m most annoyed is that I cant put enough pressure on my thumb to remove my nail varnish, nor manage to slide it into my Bourjois Magic Nail Polish Remover , so I’ve been repainting the same red over and over!

Guess this means no NOTD posts from me in the foreseeable future! My injury hasn’t hindered my ability to shop online though, so I have no excuse not to write a few reviews with parcels from Fragrance Direct, Avon, Cosmetics Fairy & Ebay either arrived or coming soon!

In band news we had a show in Derby last night which went really well!

Photo credit -  Christopher Jarrett

Photo credit – Christopher Jarrett

 

I cant decide if my splint was a hindrance to my usual plethora of dramatic hand gestures or an awesome perma-grym-hand! I’m certainly glad that I don’t need to play keyboards at the moment that’s for sure – even with only a mic stand to master I had to fumble about and get Amie’s help to raise up the clip!

Still the night was very enjoyable, and I barely noticed any pain during the set once the adrenaline kicked in. We had lots of compliments and positive words from fans and friends old and new, which is very appreciated in a time of such stark change for the band. It makes me very excited for the future of Dakesis =)

 

Totally Hellbent for painkillers, ice, helpful bandmates and having a boyfriend willing to cut all my food into little squares for me.

– Gem

Festivals, Metal, Music

Gemma’s Top 5 Heavy Metal Treasures

August 27, 2013

Reading Amie’s recent post on her beloved metal shinies reminded me I put together a list of my own favourite bits and pieces but never got around to posting it – so here it is!

Amie and I, like most heavy metal fans, will hoard and stash almost anything related to the genre, be it a limited edition signed CD or a scrap of paper a band member drew a penis on.

Being in a band means we also have a huge collection of memorabilia from our own tours and shows, and from other bands we have met along the way!

We all have those treasured things that rise above the rest though and I thought I would share a few of mine with you.

 Iron Maiden Vans

Maiden Vans

Have you ever had a pair of shoes you loved to the point you let them get in this state?

Amie bought me these as a birthday present some years ago and I literally wore  them every day till they reached the point they are in now. If I thought I could get away with wearing them as they are without looking like a complete hobo I probably would.

Even now I cannot bring myself to throw them away…I even still have the box they came in (full of gig tickets and other memorabilia in the loft!) and I imagine I wont ever throw that away either!

 

Edguy AAA Pass

Edguy badge - metal treasure

You know that one song you listen to, that no matter how dire the situation it -always- cheers you up? For me and my band-mates that song is “Superheroes” by Edguy.

When we were offered the chance to support them at the HMV Institute in Birmingham we were all more than a little excited (as you can tell by look of Amie and Adam’s fridge!)

Edguy were all very lovely and we hung out in the dressing rooms backstage after the gig which was just the perfect end to a great day.

 

Bloodstock Artist Wristband

BOA band

 

For the uninitiated, Bloodstock Open Air (BOA) is a annual heavy metal festival in Derby, UK. I’ve attended every year since 2007 and don’t plan on missing one any-time soon!

I don’t think there is a single metal band in the UK who doesn’t dream of playing BOA  from their very inception, it was certainly at the top of our dream-gig-wishlist!

Last summer we finally got the email we’d been wishing for, and my artist wristband is a lovely memento of our first major festival slot.

 

Original “Sign of the Hammer” Manowar vinyl.

Sign of the hammer

 This was a birthday gift from a student at my music school and her family earlier this year. I squealed so loud when I opened it I think I burst a few eardrums!

This is in immaculate condition, having been part of her father’s personal collection since it’s release in 1984.

I love it so much I keep it out on display at all times in my room with the rest of my Manowar treasures (of which there are a great many!)

 

Handwritten Thunderstone setlist and stage photo.

Photo © John Moore

Photo © John Moore

In September 2010 we supported Thunderstone at The Roadhouse in Birmingham. Having been huge fans of the band for years, when they finally came to England for a one-off gig in London we jumped at the chance to talk them into letting us support them at a later date.

Jump to a few months later and we’re in the green room with the heroes that inspired my own band to form. It was an absolutely magical night for us, culminating in being invited on stage to sing “Until We Touch The Burning Sun” on-stage with Thunderstone.

I also managed to snag the handwritten set-list which has been pinned to my “Wall of inspiration” ever since!

 

So there you are, my very favourite treasures! Do you have any items of significance, maybe even some Dakesis trinkets hidden away somewhere!

Totally hellbent for priceless pieces of scrap paper

– Gem

 

Clothing and Fashion, Festivals, Metal, Music

Nothing last’s forever, right?

August 26, 2013

WRONG!

First and foremost, Metal -is- forever.

With that bold impregnable statement shared, I do all that I can to preserve metal artifacts so that I may have them in my possession forever. I also collect a vast array of things to remind me of good times. Some examples include tickets and posters. (I get very annoyed when ticket people don’t give me my half of the ticket back, or I have to print out an “e-ticket”)

lastforeverlastforever3lastforever4

 

Another of my most prized possessions are my festival wristbands:

lastforever2

 

They may not look many, but on this wrist, I bear the following tribal festival marks:

  • Bloodstock Open Air 2009
  • Bloodstock Open Air 2010
  • Bloodstock Open Air 2011
  • Bloodstock Open Air 2012 (Artist wristband from our acoustic set)
  • Bloodstock Open Air 2013
  • Glastonbudget 2011 (Dakesis have played there three times now, but I only have one wristband)
  • Hammerfest V
  • Hammerfest IV
  • Hellfest 2012
  • Metalfest 2009
  • Wacken 2006
  • Wacken 2007
  • Wacken 2008
  • Wacken 2010
  • Wacken 2011
  • Wacken 2012
  • Wacken 2013

More recently, Gemma had to remove hers as she ended up with a horrible rash and she came up with the idea of putting them back on with some elastic. Since a lot of mine are nearing death I figured I would try this theory out. I hate getting mine wet which is inevitable due to the whole showering regularly and the use of many products, so I figured an additional bonus would be to remove this as I wanted.

Alas, this was a success and I have now sew elastic onto all but my Wacken bands, they are removed easily and the only problem I had was the fight with the very temperamental sewing machine.

wristband1So when you are sad that your bands are falling off, because other festivals just haven’t taken the hint from Wacken and still use those stupid plastic ends, do not fear – elastic is here!

Totally hellbent for festival wristbands

-Pants

 

 

 

Festivals, Metal, Music

Festival Season Fun!

August 12, 2013

Well we are finally back to normal life after over two weeks of drunken shenanigans at Wacken Open Air and Bloodstock Open Air, crossing many international borders along the way! We have Sunkfest (The first Dakesis show with that silly blue haired girl on lead vocals) next weekend to go and then we can put the tent away for another year.

Festival season ’13 has been absolutely brilliant, and though I’m sad it is drawing to an end, I’m already excited for next year (EMPEROR, EMPEROR, EMPEROR!!!)

 

IMG_5108

 

Needless to say we road tested plenty of festival essentials, saw numerous amazing bands (and wonderful festival sights!) and came back with more than a few new pretty things which we will share with you over the coming days.

 

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For now however it is time to shower and then play with the many boxes of make-up and assorted products that arrived whilst we were adventuring!

Totally hellbent for a night in my own bed

– Gem