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News, NOTD

NOTD – Ciaté paint pots in “PP107 pocket money”

September 19, 2013

NOTD Ciate pocketmoney

I received Ciatés “Pocket Money” (£9.00)  this in July 2013’s Glossybox.

On first glance, it not normally the colour I would go for, but I tried it for the first time on all my nails (not just an excited swatch on an already painted nail, which I do whenever I get new nail varnish) yesterday. First of all I tried it with Avon’s Opal, (on sale at £3.00) but it looked terrible.

Anyhow, I enjoyed the colour so much, that I repainted them today with Avon’s nailwear pro+ in “licorice” (on sale at £3.00) for the tips, and swapping them round on my index finger for an almost “accented” nail.

I adore how the glossy black Avon varnish compliments the classy grown up colour of the Ciaté. It’s like putting metal and finesse together! To finish up, I used my nails inc LONDON (£12.00) top coat.

Definitely going to be doing this one again as well as purchasing more from Ciaté’s range, which is absolutely beautiful!

On a complete side note … it will soon be Christmas, so look out for some nail tutorials of some of my signature “Christmas Nail” looks.

Totally hellbent for combining rock ‘n’ roll and chiqué

-Pants

 

 

News

Pastures New

September 2, 2013

I mentioned in an earlier post, that I was soon to be destined for financial ruin after leaving my job.

Well, I’m not sure how well known it is, but I am a Mental Health Nurse and I finished my permanent position as a Community Psychiatric Nurse on Friday. It was a difficult decision to make, but one I had on my mind for a long time and it was only because I have the support of my partner Brains and my closest friends that I felt it was the right time to finally hand in my resignation.

Brains is a Web Developer and in January 13, he left his job to become a freelancer and set up his own business Biostall. Over the past few months I’ve been dabbling in this too, as well as having multiple other side projects on the go (HBFL being one of these) and it’s something I thought I would try out after leaving my job.

So today was my first day working alongside the other half and a pleasant one at that. We have a huge desk so we can sit side by side. I awoke at approximately 07:30am (naturally and before the alarm), had a cup of tea and apple in bed, then Brains and I did a work out whilst watching a Breaking Bad and starting work at 09:30. Around lunchtime I took the dog to have her nails clipped, we sat down and had lunch together and continued to plow through the work until 6pm.

I’ve had such a relaxing day that it’s hard to think that this could be my new life, so I figured I would share with you guys, my new working space!

newofficeYou’ll notice all the important things – from my massive monitor formerly known as our bedroom TV (someone broke my monitor when they borrowed it for work), my best mug for working (courtesy of Gemma), an Aborted poster (among many others), a lovely picture of Brains and I when we went to Norway and of course much more time to focus on blogging at Hellbent for Lipstick.

Alas, I will keep you updated as to how this working from home malarky goes.

Until then …

Totally hellbent for self employment.

– Pants

 

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….

 

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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, News

Breaking the radio silence

August 25, 2013

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I’ve had a unusually quiet online presence over the last week, no new blog posts, no twitter updates and only very brief periodic Facebook visits to check band messages.

 

Sadly one of my beloved cats, Loki, had to be put to sleep whilst I was away at Sunkfest with Dakesis, and I needed some time in private to grieve and deal with the horrible loss.

Seven days later and it’s no easier to understand how a feline member of my family was fine one day and gone forever the next, but returning my energy to the world around me rather than focusing on my grief is a good step in moving forward.

Vast and sudden change seems to be the recurring theme of my life recently, and thankfully it has not all been for the worse.

Last weekend was the first Dakesis show as a four piece, and despite nerves all around it all went very smoothly. We had one or two very small hiccups with the backing track, but otherwise it was a thoroughly enjoyable set. Lots of compliments both from old fans and new listeners and four Dakesians full of the warm glow of accomplishment.

I’ve always wanted to play an outdoor show where the sun sets throughout our set, and the encroaching night brought a brilliant atmosphere as we moved into the darker heavier numbers. Also there was an epic hair-blowing breeze at the front of the stage that has made me seriously consider getting a stage-fan!

Once our set was over we had a celebratory drink that ended up with us dancing in the rain till the early hours….

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.. then we met a man who was half me and half Amie..

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..and wrapped the night up with a giraffe suit of course

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All in all I had a great weekend with Dakesis and co. that I hope I will remember for positive reasons rather than the bad news we came home to.

I feel very blessed to have such wonderful friends and band-mates, especially in times of adversity.

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Totally hellbent for my amazing friends.

– Gem

 

Nails, News, NOTD

NOTD – Etos Quick Dry 8

July 13, 2013

NOTD Etos green

This was a bit of a rushed job on the way to work, but I loved the colour so much I had to do a post (my poor cuticles)!

I picked this up in Rotterdam on a visit to see my lovely other half for the bargain price of €2.50! I’ve got a few of the Etos quick dry range, you could consider Etos to be the Dutch equivalent of Boots and thus this is a bargain own range line.

It applies very easily and dries faster than any UK quick dry formula I’ve tried!

Downsides? Hrm, well I’m not the biggest fan of numbered shades rather than names but I suppose I can let that slip!

The left hand picture with flash is a much closer to the true colour than the shot on the right without!

I can’t seem to find an online purchase link but you can check out the Etos range here.

Totally hellbent for summer brights

– Gem

 

Music, News

The first band practice

July 12, 2013

Just a quick post about practice tonight – sans pictures I’m afraid, we were all a bit wrapped up in music and excitement (and very hot, sweaty and shiny!)

So obviously things were sounding very different with the lack of a male lead voice, a second guitar and keyboards, but it really feels like all the songs have a new lease of life! We also tried out a few new cover ideas for a bit of fun, and well, had lots of fun in general.

I wont lie, singing for three hours straight has very much tired me out, but I’ve got a lot of faith in my vocals (and Amie, Matt and Adam’s backing vocals!) after getting through it!

Things feel different. Very very different, but you know what they say – change is good =)

Now I just can’t wait to get up on stage and rip these songs a new behind in front of an audience!

Totally hellbent for a great night making music with my best friends

– Gem

News, Vegetarian

Veggie vs Vaccine

July 12, 2013
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Me, feeding a baby calf, on a recent adventure to a farm.

 

I don’t know how many people know, but I am a Psychiatric Nurse in my spare time (OK for 37.5 hours of the week when I am not playing with metulz and makeup). Part of this role, exposes me to lots of health risks as I work in an environment where lots of bugs are passed on.

Today I had to attend Occupational Health regarding my immunisation status. I was given an MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine when I was a child to protect me like most others. Unfortunately, there was a large population of parents who didn’t vaccinate their children around the 80’s due to fears that it would make their children autistic and as a result there have been a few outbreaks of measles recently throughout this non vaccinated population. Thus panic ensues across healthcare organisations everywhere, and I have to prove my immunity to this!

Now, I’m not sure whether ingredients are common knowledge to people in the production of vaccinations, but as a Vegetarian I hold some very strong morals and beliefs about harming animals unnecessarily. I don’t eat any animal based produce besides milk and free range eggs/cheese – which is more acceptable to me because the animals are either dairy cows or -should- come from free range chickens. They are not butchered unnecessarily for my consumption.

(Before I go on to share with you some horrific news, I want to post some pictures of some cute animals I have recently encountered to get you in the mooood ….)

vegvac2 vegvac3

 

Alas, it is interesting to know some of the ingredients that are still and have been used in vaccinations:

  • Chicken Embryo (still used in most vaccines)
  •  Pork Gelatin/Hydrolyzed Gelatin
  •  Monkey Kidney
  •  Chicken Kidney
  •  Mouse Brain Culture (used in Japanese vaccines)
  •  Fetal Bovine Serum (I believe this is used in MMR vacines)

Now most of these are self explanatory – although actual kidneys and brains aren’t used, the cells are taken to produce live cultures (to the best of my knowledge anyway). Gelatin is mainly animal by products, and the sheer thought of fetal bovine serum actually sickens me. The process of this involves the collection of blood from the bovine fetus. Or to simplify this, when they take cows to the slaughterhouse, they collect blood from the baby calf inside and allow this blood to clot to use in a serum for vaccines. Now funnily enough, there has been some “ethical” debate/discussion between some people high up there, about whether or not the “bovine embryo/fetus” experiences pain when they are removing this blood from it.

Can you image the uproar involved if you took Ms Smith, a 25 year old woman who was pregnant, to a slaughter house. Whilst killing her with a bolt through the brain, you then proceeded to take blood from her unborn baby to use in a vaccination – and then you proceeded to raise some discussion as to whether said unborn baby experienced any pain during this!

Now I understand that vaccinations are important to prevent some life threatening diseases and of course I would take this into consideration if I too were being put at risk. Working in a very risky environment such as the criminal justice system, where I am around IV drug users and people of poor health who may pass on various infections to me, I have to consider carefully what vaccinations I do need for my own health. In most cases I can justify this – for example, my first hepatitis B course – if I become ill or unwell, not only can I not care for others, but I can also pass illness onto other people who will also then have to go on to use medications that animals have been used for. So in having this vaccine, hopefully I will prevent this.

It turns out that after two courses of Hep B and a booster I still wasn’t immune and as for the MMR I already had that as a child so I presume I have some sort of immunity to that. I had already made the decision before my appointment this afternoon that if my blood results say I am not immune I will not have the MMR due to this. I have to say, the lady I saw (either a nurse of phlebotomist/vampire) was absolutely lovely. She had piercings and slightly zaney hair and she completely supported me, believing that I should stand up for my views and I signed a disclaimer to say this dependent on the results of my test.

I mean in this day and age, are they really unable to produce a vaccination that is animal friendly? Do they really have to use animal by products/animal kidneys or the blood of calves!!! People often frown upon our heavy metal culture and throw ridiculous statements into the mix such as “oh do you worship the devil then and sacrifice goats to Satan whilst dancing around naked?” – perhaps it’s the drug company’s that they should turn to instead of those who are trying to lead a lifestyle that involves being good, kind-hearted people and protecting animals and nature!

Hellbent on saving the animals!

– Pants

 

 

Festivals, Music, News

Fanciful Frontwoman

July 11, 2013

It’s been about seven years since I last fronted a band, and now circumstances call me to centre stage again. Now this is only planned as a temporary measure – we recently decided it was in the best interests of the band to move forwards without our ex-frontman and as we search the metalsphere for a new set of iron lungs I am taking over vocal duties.

 

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Knee-slide-alicious! © Stagedive Photography

 

For those not in the know – singing is actually my first “instrument”. I’m a vocal coach and singing teacher by profession so taking on the vocals themselves won’t be too taxing. Hell – I wrote the lyrics and vocal melodies to most of the songs too so that’s handy. It’s the physical part that is drawing the nerves.

 

©.Stagedive Photography

©.Stagedive Photography

For the past four years in Dakesis I have stood behind two behemoth keyboards for 90% of the time, and though it will be wonderful to have the freedom of the stage again, I wonder if I have the stage presence and physical stamina to lead the band through an hour of high energy power metal.

Starting this week I’ve been training my ass off (literally) with my lovely boyfriend, I’d love to drop some weight as well obviously, but my main objective is to be able to tear around the stage and give the people a good show for their money! Vocal practice twice a day including a warm up and general technique followed by song rehearsal is something I’m really enjoying and of course practice with the band too.

Our first gig* as a four piece is only a matter of weeks away, and two of those weeks Amie and I will be at Wacken and Bloodstock festivals so time is really of the essence!

Once we’ve got the music down I only have one more concern…what the bloody hell am I going to wear!

Totally hellbent for being front and centre 

– Gem

 

* Upcoming Dakesis dates with me on lead vocals!

16-18 Aug – Sunkfest
12th September – The RoadHouse, Birmingham
19th October – The Library, Leeds 
29th Nov – 1st Dec – Valkyrian Festival, Hull 

 

 

News

Hail and Kill!

May 16, 2013

Hail and kill welcome to Hellbent for Lipstick!

HBFL was founded by us, Pants and Gem, best friends who share a passion for heavy metal, fabulous make-up and a cruelty free lifestyle.

Our lives stem around the metal community, playing and attending gigs and festivals and also getting to know likeminded people. We play in a Prog-Power metal band called Dakesis that you should definitely check out!

We are passionate about image but sometimes struggle to maintain this when make-up brands and fashion change their lines to suit current mainstream trends. We believe black eyeliner and red lipstick should -always- be in fashion.

This is our very own little corner of the internet, where we will share with you hints, tips and reviews, thoughts on the metal scene and community and open the door on our own heavy metal lifestyle and fashion.

So, browse, share and enjoy! If there is something you would really -Love- us to blog about, get in touch!

– Totally Hellbent for Lipstick

Gem and Pants x

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