#make up obsession palette review

[sitp-recs]

Some Erised Recs…

I wanted to post this yesterday but fell asleep while reviewing my blurbs lol so here’s my first 2023 reclist! Just wanted to do a lil something to celebrate these authors and artists as I did not include any Erised fics on my 2022 reclist. Hope you enjoy before the reveals, don’t forget to give these some love. You can find more lovely recs here by @thehoneybeet and here by @epitomereally

Check all Erised 2022 works!

Fic:

🍺 everything you should say by @candybarrnerd (E, 7.4k) - lush rebound fuck buddies to something else, hot and tentative, love the uncomplicated matter-of-fact tone here, sexy and refreshing!

They're not friends. But when Draco offers help, Harry takes it.

🐺 Service Bell by @shiftylinguini (E, 8k) - est relationship but make it complicated, obsessed with this nuanced pining wolf!Draco with his sharp edges and soft heart

Draco is: a werewolf, living in a cabin in the woods, minding his own business, and never going to buy plaid because he's not that much of a fucking cliche (yet). He's also counting down the days until he sees Harry again.

🎤 Meddling, Menswear, and Magic by @writcraft (M, 19k) - I’m utterly besotted with their voices, the superb level of banter oh my god. I wanna live inside this fic’s dialogue and have it for breakfast thank

Draco Malfoy is working in a job he hates and avoiding the magical world entirely, but he really is fine. When a bequest from Severus Snape brings Draco back to a much-changed magical world, he must find his place within it and navigate his growing attraction to Harry Potter in the process.

🐍 In The Company Of Serpents by @corvuscrowned (E, 25k) - an instant fave, fabulous characterization, perfect slow burn, top notch ust and some of the hottest smut I’ve read lately, so satisfying yum 🔥

There’s something wrong with the serpents at the Greengrass Ophidiarium. Luckily, a certain Parselmouth just might be able to help.

⛷️ Historians by @oknowkiss (E, 30k) - fake dating goodness with holiday vibes, the right amount of angsty pining and a gorgeous Swiss background. Just what I needed to cheer me up on a snowy day

It’s the Dumbledore’s Army Reunion Holiday, and Harry’s found himself in hot water with his friends once again, after telling them he has a boyfriend he definitely does not have. In an attempt to fix things, he’s made it his colleague on Level Nine, Draco Malfoy’s problem too. Featuring a ski chalet in Switzerland, a pair of bunk beds, and an agreement that should’ve been simple, were it not for all the bloody feelings getting in the way.

🏉 All Things Go by @sorrybutblog (E, 32k) - an enchanting 8th year romance with strong Heartstopper vibes👨‍🍳💋 our boys are so wonderfully awkward and young and lovely, my heart is melting! And the scorching UST? Superb

Draco’s back at Hogwarts by court order. Harry’s back for no particular reason at all. Some things change, some stay the same. Neither expects to spend eighth-year living in close quarters, playing rugby (poorly), staying up late, sneaking around, and finally figuring it all out.

⏳Everything is Relative to You by @thehoneybeet (E, 43k) - really brilliant take on time travel/multiverse, inventive concept exploring star-crossed lovers dynamics. It’s about the yearning!!!

Potter was supposed to have lived. Draco is certain of this. That Potter would no longer walk the earth was tantamount to the sun moving west to east across the sky. If only he could have stopped this from happening, if he’d have known… It comes to him as ideas often did: too late.

Art:

🦉Birdwatching for Beginners by dustmouth (G) - so very warm and sweet, I love the cozy vibes, the soft flirting and the ultimate Wizarding fashion as per this artist’s usual

Draco does his best to sneak out early from Ginny and Luna's Christmas party, only to be cornered by a drunk Harry Potter.

🦄 Light in the Dark by @creeeee (G) - stunning art, romantic and evocative. I love the palette and detailed outfits, want those capes in my wardrobe right now

Draco and Harry find themselves encountering more than they anticipated while performing a divine blessing within the deep thicket of the Forbidden Forest.

👔 Routinely Yours (G) by @apriicat - the softest domestic bliss we deserve, gorgeous characters (long-haired Draco!), tender intimacy, lots of cozy cuddling and boyfriending stuff

Morning routines are the best with you.

❄️ Snapshot of Moments by @drarrydoodles (E) - stunning illustrations from daily life scenes, so rich in details and full of emotion. I love how each scene comes with a short description, and the nsfw one is!!!!! 😳🔥

A snapshot of moments in Harry and Draco's relationship.

🎹 The sound of your heart by @pato-roldnart (G) - a charming and moving musicians AU, great storytelling and the prettiest boys finding inspiration together 🎵

Harry is requested to perform a musical piece for a Great Serpent, it can’t be that hard, right? What he does not expect is having to work with an annoying, distracting, good-looking Draco Malfoy.

🛌 Two Wizards, One Bed by dustmouth (G) - soft, hilarious and adorable as usual, this made me giggle the whole night! Draco’s grumpy blushing face is my fave

Harry and Draco are trapped together in a safe house. Fiery discourse ensues (intercourse, more like...)

🪢 This time, tomorrow by @bluebutter-art (M) - talented, brilliant, incredible, amazing, show stopping, spectacular, never the same, totally unique etc etc when I tell you my heart missed a beat seeing this beauty, I’m!!!!!

Two souls, bound by fate, destined to meet again and again and again.

[beastabyss666]

Ok......So, the new HB episode is out, how unexpected for me. I apologize to my fellow readers for not reviewing the previous episode, but I was so tired and busy, having to deal with a lot of work. The cat must have got my tongue when I saw the dildo scene, I'm sorry. And what can I say......Actually, this episode is the best one in the 2 season at this moment. I mean, at least it wasn't that cringe and plot ruining as the other ones. ‼️TW‼️: Abuse, **cest

The animation looks pretty good in action scenes(and not so good in other, especially when some characters speak). The backgrounds look good, and I somewhat like the fact that the Sloth Ring is pink. Looks so sweet, bubblegum and cotton candy-like. But the floating pieces of ground are very cliche for a fantasy world. Also I think there were too many sound effects, when sometimes it feels like there's a lack of them. In principle, everything is as always. Stolas is a damsel in distress again, Moxxie and Millie are boring, Stella is evil(and extremely stupid for some reason), Blitzo is loud and annoying and spits cuss words every second because the authors think it's funny. Also Loona just...... didn't speak in this ep at all. No words. Don't know if it's good or not. The plotline of her going to doctor and being afraid of shots is pretty boring, tbh. I still have no idea why hellhounds are treated like some pets in this universe when they're competent and sensible beings. Also, I don't know if anyone told that or this is just me, but I absolutely hate the idea of putting fucking westerns in "Hell". I know Vivzie isn't so original and her universe is super bland and uninteresting, but shit, westerns just don't stick in the setting of Hell at all, it's not that vibe and it looks ridiculous. And that's not because I don't like westerns. Striker's song felt absolutely redundant, and Striker himself seems....unnatural? Seems like Vivzie made him that masculine bigot guy who's bigheaded and is obsessed with having a huge cock(because dicks are funny according to the writers). They have finally showed Andrealphus, Stella's brother, and there's nothing interesting about him to say. I'm just glad they didn't make him a stereotypical gay. Knowing Vivzie's "rep" and how feminine he looks, it would be predictable. As I've said before, he looks like a shameless Elsa ripoff, as his blue ice castle(covered with red fucking sky, god, these palette choices burn out my eyes). I've heard some controversial and suspicious stuff considering him and Stella(more precisely, someone says that originally they were going to have **cestuous relationship). Not sure if it's true, and I do hope that Vivzie won't go so far in making Stella an unredeemable villain.

I didn't see anything "weird" or vulgar in their conversation, it felt like puerility. I like to imagine that their relationship is like a niminy-piminy brother always cheering up and complimenting his little sis because he can. I've seen some cartoons with a similar character dynamic and a certain part of their fandoms found indecent connotation in this, and that's their problems in their depravity. And yeah, I know that my thoughts aren't true and they obviously have a manipulative relationship. Andre straight up insulted Stella and manipulated her, btw. If Viv really wanna do them having **cest – fine, another reason to quit watching this show. But something tells me that she won't dare to lose a bunch of fans and be yet again cancelled in social networks.

Summing up, this episode was pretty good by the standards of the season and bad by the standards of..... something qualitative I guess? Viv still hasn't learned how to separate drama from comedy, which makes it difficult, no, impossible to feel Stolas' sad shit. This character is one of my personal winners in the list of the most repulsive and annoying creatures and him always being sex-crazed about Blitzo pisses me off. How the hell are we supposed to take him seriously if all he wants is a dick? The rest of the time he whines about how unhappy he is and pretends to care about his daughter. Season 2 continues to look like terrible Wattpad fanfiction and it discourages from watching this series. It's not even fun to hate or criticize it anymore, it's just...... Ehh.

[amphtaminedreams]

Relevant on the Runway in the Run Up to Fashion Week: F/W23 through to Pre-Fall 2024 & My Top 25 (Part 6)

-Susan Fang, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Tanya Taylor, top to bottom: pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024, RTW S/S24, pre-fall 2024-

-top to bottom: The Attico RTW F/W23, RTW S/S24, resort 2024, Theory RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Tia Adeola RTW F/W23, S/S24, Tokyo James RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Torey Burch RTW F/W23, resort 2024, S/S24, Tomo Koizumi RTW F/W23-

-top to bottom: Trussardi RTW F/W23, Vera Wang RTW S/S24-

-Ulla Johnson, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, resort 2024-

-Valentino, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2024, haute couture S/S23, pre-fall 2023, haute couture F/W23-

-Versace, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2023-

-Victoria Beckham, clockwise L-R: resort 2024, RTW F/W23, S/S24, pre-fall 2024, pre-fall 2023-

-L-R, top to bottom: Viktor & Rolf haute couture S/S23, F/W23, Vivetta RTW F/W23, pre-fall 2023, RTW S/S24-

-top to bottom: Viviano RTW F/W23, S/S24, We11done RTW S/S24-

-Vivienne Westwood, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-top to bottom: Wiederhoeft RTW F/W23, S/S24, Y/Project “ -

-Yohji Yamamoto, clockwise L-R: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Yuhan Wang, top to bottom: RTW F/W23, S/S24-

-Zimmerman, clockwise L-R: resort 2023, 2024, RTW S/S24, S/S23, F/W22-

-Zuhair Murad, top to bottom: haute couture S/S23, F/W23-

And that’s the lot! 

So to round it all up, here’s a quick recap of my standouts from the last year or so of collections, and what’s still on my mind to get me through this winter. 

It was hard to choose how many to limit myself to. A top 50? Too much, a whole post on its own. But a top 20? That’s not enough.

So signing off, in no particular order, here are my top 25 from F/W23 all the way up to S/S24, in time for the start of the FW24 collections we’ll be seeing over the next few weeks!

Schiaparelli EVERYTHING: Is it any surprise Schiaparelli is on the list? Alll the fashion girlies atm are obsessed with everything Schiaparelli does, and how could you not be? Daniel Roseberry’s designs are intricate, luxurious, dramatic, and consistently ahead of the game in terms of creativity. Nobody is doing it like him right now, and for that reason, his pieces are instantly recognisable.

-clockwise L-R: Schiaparelli RTW S/S24, haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Fendi haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Schiaparelli RTW F/W23-

2. Fendi Haute Couture F/W23 and S/S23: Fendi’s Haute Couture collections never disappoint me. Time and time again, Kim Jones offers us her elegant take on glitzy femininity, balancing glamour with soft, ethereal colour palettes, silhouettes and fabrics. This year, she’s given us the red carpet iteration of balletcore (which is an aesthetic I never saw coming or thought of but am obsessed with btw) and for that, I am forever thankful.

-clockwise L-R: Dilara Fındıkoğlu RTW F/W23, Ambush RTW S/S23, F/W23, S/S23, S/S24, Chopona Lowena RTW S/S24, Di Petsa RTW S/S24, Roberto Cavalli RTW S/S24, Yuhan Wang RTW F/W23, Moschino RTW F/W23, Rave Review RTW S/S24, Yuhan Wang RTW S/S24, Roberto Cavalli RTW F/W23, Di Petsa RTW F/W23,  Ermanno Scervino RTW S/S24-

3. Dilara Fındıkoğlu RTW F/W23: Dilara’s ethereal, post-apocalyptic take on grunge delivers everyyy, singleee time! As if I didn’t wish I had Bella Hadid’s life enough already (minus having Yolanda “have a couple of almonds and chew them really well” Hadid as a mother), she then stepped out in that DF custom set and my envy increased tenfold.

4. Ambush EVERYTHING: The way Yoon Ahn’s styles the garments she designs under her label Ambush is the end result I’m trying to achieve whenever I actually make an effort in putting together an outfit these days, as rare as that is atm. Yes, at it’s core, the brand embraces a street wear-friendly version of the grunge aesthetic (I know, I use the word grunge to death but my love for that way of dressing will never die! I lived one full year in the 90s and I’m going to milk being a 90s baby only in the very literal sense for all it’s worth!) But through that lens Yoon plays with a number of other trends, from techwear to the academia-influenced styling craze, and has all that fun incorporating elements from those avenues, whilst retaining the edge that underlies her vision of the brand. The level of flexibility she manages to display without compromising the Ambush blueprint is exactly what makes Yoon’s collections a reliable source of outfit inspiration for those of us who have a strong attachment to one particular style but like to take cues from whichever other aesthetic is dominating the trend cycle at that moment too.

5. Chopona Lowena RTW S/S24: Cutesy ‘90s inspired grunge? Bloody love it. Which reminds me that I should reiterate, NO you don't get a pound every time I say grunge. Not in this economy:(

6. Di Petsa RTW F/W23 & S/S24: I was lucky enough to see a Di Petsa piece in person at the Design Museum’s Alexander McQueen sponsored REBEL: 30 Years of London Fashion exhibition, and yes, it was as perfectly sculpted to the mannequin as her pieces are to the models who wear them on the runway IRL. Dimitra Petsa is a little bit of a genius I think. She’s so clearly fuelled by an appreciation of the divine feminine energy of women in the sense which we originally started using the term rather than the way we mostly use it now which is more often than not sardonically to justify our bedrotting days (which I’m totally on board with btw because performing femininity is fucking exhausting tehe), meaning her designs highlight the raw, stripped back power and beauty of the female body and everything it does without us even having to try. Di Petsa’s collections give the world a much needed reminder of the strength and grace of women whatever size or shape we are, and shows us that we don’t need to A). have some otherworldly power or B). Get a shit tonne of filler and plastic surgery to emulate the goddesses of both today’s and yesteryear’s standards.

7. Roberto Cavalli RTW F/W23 & S/S24: Fausto Puglisi treads carefully along the line separating bold and gaudy with his take on Cavalli but both the RTW collections were fucking phenomenal this year, taking it back to at a time when Coachella fashion was at the peak of cultural relevance, and what a TIME to be alive that was.

8. Yuhan Wang RTW F/W23 & S/S24: Take something bit granny chic, a bit little girlish, a couple of pieces from a motorcycle gang and throw it all together, and you get that signature Yuhan Wang look. To quote Liam Hess’ review for Vogue Runway of Yang’s RTW S/S24 collection: "Yuhan Wang’s vision of femininity may appear delicate on the surface, but it’s always undercut with something steelier and a little dangerous." Yah. He said it much better than I can. That's why he writes for Vogue and I talk to myself on here, lol.

9. Moschino RTW F/W23: Glitzy, opulent, old-Hollywood infused punk? Consider me obsessed.

10. Rave Review RTW S/S24: SoOoo glad to finally see a collection from the pioneers of chintzy grunge (I’m sorry but what other word can I use?!) on the runway. See, I make the distinction between Rave Review, Chopona Lowena and Yuhan Wang because Rave Review, in the best way possible, excel at a creating pre-loved feel to their collections. That isn’t to say it looks like the shit no one wants. It looks like the wardrobe of the coolest girl you know who can spend an afternoon browsing her local charity stores, the evening in front of her sewing machine, and by the morning can produce some up-cycled magic that you wish you had the talent to create yourself. I want to be that girl! I’m just a sewing machine and few decent charity shops in my local area short but trust and believe I’m working on it, lol!

11. Ermanno Scervino RTW S/S24: How very high-end LoveShackFancy of Ermanno Scervino to give us this Y2K style Bohemian dream and then refine it in line with the whole “stealth wealth/clean girl” minimalism craze that had such a chokehold over 2023 (and which I hope we leave behind, for the sake of its racist undertones if nothing else). Taken to either end of the spectrum, as in pink frilly floral overkill or an endless cycle of shapeless neutrals, I’m beginning to get a bit worn out with both but the meeting of the two here with the pops of colour in the embroidery was something magical, a beautiful partnership<3

-clockwise L-R: pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024, RTW S/S24-

12. David Koma EVERYTHING: Beyond slept on and idk why! This man was behind Mugler for several years, which is one of my alll time favourite brands, and I think it’s safe to say a staple for many. So where is the buzz about his solo offering? Idk. It is strange because I feel like his collections share a lot of the attributes (y2k feel, hyper-feminine, sex appeal, a bit of edge, overall bit of a Bratz doll vibe if ygm?) as Blumarine and everyone is head over heels for that? So yeah, I truly don’t know. Maybe it’s not luxury enough? I’ve never really cared about that. You don’t get much more luxury than a Hermes Birkin and yet I think they’re dull as dishwater and no one can convince me otherwise regardless of how much a status symbol they’ve become. Maybe it’s my youth, maybe I’d feel differently if I too was a real housewife of Beverly Hills but yeah, give me David Koma over Hermes any day.

-clockwise L-R: Diesel resort 2024, pre-fall 2023, pre-fall 2024, RTW F/W23, S/S24-

13. Diesel EVERYTHING: Wow, Diesel must be the no.1 contender for fashion house comeback of the 2020s so far. And it’s what’s deserved for a name as cool as Diesel, I mean, it is so simple but so good!

As far as I’m concerned Diesel had been relegated to the leagues of the higher price mark section of the Next catalogue for the past decade and yet the past couple of fashion weeks their shows have arguably been amongst the most anticipated. I feel like I’ve said sexy biker grunge or some combination of these 3 words too many times in this post already but look, it’s kind of like the aspirational aesthetic of choice for me minus the sexy part and add in a girlier, more dainty strain of femininity instead bc I do not have the body nor the bone structure or the RHYTHM to have sex appeal. I was built with the body that’s giving little boy at its lowest possible weight and chubby baby at its highest so yay. The sexy thing isn't gonna happen for me, I’m at peace with that, lmao.

-clockwise L-R: Erdem pre-fall 2024, RTW S/S24, pre-fall 2023, RTW F/W23, resort 2024-

14. Erdem EVERYTHING: Genuine question here, would Erdem Moralioglu's work be fitting of what Gen Z mean when they talk about whimsy goth or am I way off-base? Honestlyyy, I’m so out of the loop when it comes to this phenomenon of coding everything and idk if I like it because tbh, it seems like it’s only accelerated the pace of fast fashion. Once TikTok has put a label on aesthetic, it starts getting manufactured cheaply en masse and within a matter of weeks, everyone is fatigued and moves right onto the next craze of X/Y/Z “core”. Like apparently mob wife core is a thing now? Kill me FR. When I hear that all I think of is Teresa Giudice flipping a table and calling Danielle Staub "prostitution whore".

Sorry, I'm getting wildly off-topic here, back to whimsy goth…I don’t know what the TikTok/Pinterest certified cues for that vibe are, but within my understanding of the word, it’d be something like this? Because romantic, gothic, elegant, and eurgh, I hate this term, but also like, badass. Essentially, Erdem's dark dramatic touches constitute what I think of as the gothic part and the former adjectives contribute the whimsical part. Anyways, yah, sorry I had to say the word badass. I’m now thinking I could’ve more accurately summarised my understanding of whimsy goth by saying steampunk Disney princess, lol. It pained me to type especially because we don’t really say ass in England, but badARSE sounds really awkward and yeah, let's just move on...

-clockwise L-R: Zimmerman resort 2023, RTW S/S23, F/W23, S/S24, resort 2024-

15. Zimmerman EVERYTHING: I feel like the two opposing sides of the coin representing my personal style are in such stark contrast to one another because yes, one the one hand, I will always be obsessed with that whole forbidden g-word ‘90s look but I also do adore the whole flower power vibe, and for me, Zimmerman does that perfectly. This is to say, essentially, it leans subtly enough in that direction that you can still imagine a Zimmerman dress looking gorgeous with a big, vintage oversized coat, clunky boots, and dark makeup if you get me? There is one particular FKA Twigs look I’m thinking of as I type this, iykyk. But yeah, I never don’t love a collection from them, hence the inclusion on this list!

16. Jacquemus RTW F/W23: Speaking of clunky boots…Can you IMAGINE one of the little white dresses from this collection with some black platform Doc Martens and a black velvet choker or corsage? Like to reference Courtney Love for what is probably the millionth time, this would be the dream outfit inspired by her, however much of a groupie that makes me sound.

On a side note, Jacquemus’ S/S24 collection only came out, like, last week which is why it wasn’t included in the post but I can’t lie…it is a hugeee step down from this. The disappointment echoes my feelings the new Gucci collection, only I guess I can hold onto the hope this is just a meh year for Jacquemus rather than the loss of another absolutely legendary creative spark. Yeah, Alessandro Michele I miss u xx

-top to bottom: Le Fame pre-fall 2023, RTW S/S24-

17. Le Fame EVERYTHING: I only found out about Le Fame, Miss Sohee, Sultry Virgin etc. through HF Twitter (yeah, X is never catching on) and I feel indignant that only a handful of those are on Vogue Runway. Look when it comes to my A-Zs, if I find anything I like in a collection, I will include it, even if it’s nothing groundbreaking in my eyes. Because range, you know? But amongst the standouts from a collection, the rest can be really fucking drab, and yet the brand makes the top of the Vogue feed regardless, purely based on reputation. Yet Le Fame gets tumbleweeds. Where is the justice for Shanghai Fashion Week? ALL the non-western centric fashion weeks for that matter. WHY has ShuShu/Tong only just got a place on the Vogue Runway archive? I mean, it’s bad all round but the erasure of Shanghai FW in particular bothers me because western fashion is so clearly influenced by East Asian fashion and atm it’s just like we capitalise on it without paying our dues (shocker).

-clockwise L-R: Rahul Mishra haute couture F/W23, S/S23, Giambattista Valli haute couture F/W23, S/S23-

18. Rahul Mishra Haute Couture S/S23 & F/W23: Whilst we're on the topic, thank god for HF Twitter for alerting me to yet another designer ignored until very recently by Western fashion critics. Don’t get me wrong, I like a bit of Elie Saab as much as the next girly girl but every collection lately has been more of the same, risk-free and repetitive. You look at Rahul Mishra, and instantly, you can see just how much work and passion goes into his designs. The end results are that these dresses are utterly ETHEREAL. I have been seeing more talk about RM lately and his collections have recently started being covered by Vogue. I hope this acknowledgment continues!

19. Giambattista Valli Haute Couture F/W23 & S/S23: The princessiest (yeah, that’s a word now) of princess dresses. OFC GV makes it on this list. For the sake of my inner child, if not anything else, who thought that a job in the fashion industry was actually achievable and that wearing a dress like this one day was within my reach. The little me who didn’t know what nepotism even meant, this is for you.

20. Selkie RTW S/S24: So I wouldn’t usually include Selkie in a fashion week post as maybe, for reasons stemming from my own prejudices, I assume anything I have ever been able to afford at any point in my life does not count as high fashion. But the Selkie show for this season, imo, truly epitomised what is supposed to be the whole point of fashion which is to translate our inner beauty to outer beauty on our own terms, in a way that makes us feel empowered and the most magnificent version of ourselves. Selkie speaks to the playful feminine spirit within me, and to see women of all sizes, ethnicities, ages, and abilities looking absolutely enchanting made me feel hopeful for a day when I don’t still feel like the only version of myself that is worthy of being “perceived” (lmao) is the one who still owned that beautiful, tiny Selkie dress, who has to punish and deprive their body to fit into it! Seeing this runway on Twitter gave me a degree of faith that this future where I feel confident and comfortable in my recovered body does exist. So yeah. I had to include it here:)

-top to bottom: Shushu/Tong RTW S/S24, F/W23-

21. Shushu/Tong RTW F/23 & S/S24: I hate to introduce new material at such a late stage but I was choosing my favourite looks from ShuShu/Tong’s S/S24 collection and just thought, I want more! So I did some Googling and managed to find the F/W23 collection too! And it’s just as stunning as S/S24. This is why it’s such a calamity that we don’t get more Shanghai FW coverage, I s2g.

-clockwise L-R: Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini RTW S/S24, Cult Gaia resort 2024, Dominnico RTW F/W23, Zuhair Murad haute couture F/W23-

22. Zuhair Murad Haute Couture F/W23: Okay so obvs the S/S23 couture collection was gorg and lush too buut holy shit, the gothic touches of F/W23 took things to another level for me!

23. Dominnico RTW F/W23: If Sam Levinson decides to have Maddy Perez go through a kawaii-influenced cyberpunk phase and then become a dominatrix in season 3 of Euphoria (and let’s be real, equally nonsensical things have happened on that show), this is what her character should be wearing in keeping with her personal style. Niche, I know. Just please, for the love of god, make her come of age first. I have no time for that man’s insistence on sexualising minors. Justice for Barbie Ferrera and Kat Hernandez, honestly.

24. Cult Gaia Resort 2024: Is it…mermaid core?

And lastly…

25. Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini RTW S/S24: He made layers SEXY.

Honourable mentions go to a few brands I plan to focus on anyway over my next couple of posts (another In the Front Row at…kinda post, and also little 2023 Pt.2 Recap) so I won’t go overboard yapping on about them here too, but to summarise a few points:

I was pleasantly surprised by Maria Grazia Chiurui’s work at Dior this past year? IDK if it’s just that my expectations of Dior based on the collections we’ve seen over the previous few years have set the bar really low, but almost all of it was super pretty. Maria has garnered a reputation for being all quantity and no quality, which is fair enough, however I truly think we saw both this year. So maybe this is all to say…Dior gets the Most Improved award?

Alessandro Michele’s final Gucci RTW collection was full of showstoppers and honestly, I don’t know how Sabato De Sarno is supposed to follow on from that. His Gucci S/S24 was nice enough and probably more in keeping with the brand's old school aesthetic but the character Alessandro brought to the brand is gone and I feel like a little part of me has died along with that. I don’t know what to feel because his version of the brand is the brand in my eyes, at this point, like he resuscitated it and nourished it and got people excited enough about it to reestablish Gucci's place at the precipice of high fashion, and yet seeing S/S24 I feel that artistic flair is gone. If I’m being optimistic, maybe De Sarno is just playing the long game and that, in going back to basics, his aim is to create a point of reference he can build upon over time to develop his own equally bold vision of luxury. Let’s say Sabato De Sarno gets the Person I Most Hope Will Improve award.

Finally, in the absence of Michele’s Gucci and on the back of another year of incredible collections, I think I can finally say…Rokh, you’re my new number one.

To conclude, though, that’s enough from me! I’ve already done way too much chatting shite for a photo post. If I start talking about anything else now, it’ll surely end up as some rant about the state of the world which will inevitably be coming soon, anyway, so for now all I have to say is 1. Free Palestine and 2. I hope anyone reading this is doing otherwise okay notwithstanding the horrific levels of injustice occurring, i.e the abhorrent displays of solidarity with a government perpetrating war crimes by many Western “democratic" leaders. Even when we knew they were awful before, seeing this situation play out is devastating. Be kind to yourself. All we can do some days is get by and that’s okay. To exist in a place where our lives are not constantly at threat is in itself a beautiful thing that everyone deserves, and I know most of us appreciate that and want that for everyone else too.

With that, I’ll say goodbye and will be posting again soon.

Lauren x

[lonerwolfjay]

The Little Mermaid: Premiere Screening

On May 8th, 2023, I attended the premiere screening of Disney’s The Little Mermaid: Live Action and I’m here to share some of my thoughts. Just to be clear, I’m not here to spare anyone’s feelings and I could care less about how you perceive what I am about to tell you. These are my thoughts and my opinions and if you don’t like what I have to say, then that’s on you.

First off, I’ve been seeing other reviews that have said that this film is perfect. I’m here to disagree. The film wasn’t perfect. It definitely had its flaws. More specifically, the bland color palette and some pacing issues. But overall, I would say the the film was indeed enjoyable.

I can’t say that I’m 100% sold on the animals, however, they do emote and have their own unique personalities which is much more than I can say about that sorry excuse of a remake that was The Lion King.

My least favorite performance in this film would have to be Javier Bardem who plays King Triton. In almost all of his scenes, he only has one facial expression (I don’t think I saw him not frown once) and it comes off as very one dimensional. However, I have to give him credit where it’s due, he plays the overbearing father figure very, very well. And there is a scene where he gets a bit choked up when talking about Ariel’s mother, however, that’s pretty much the only scene where his character conveys any kind of emotion, that and at the end when he’s saying good-bye to Ariel as she leaves with Prince Eric.

The acting in this film is pretty decent. Melissa McCarthy definitely surprised me. I wouldn’t be surprised if she starts to play more villainous roles after this film.

Halle Bailey doesn’t act in this film. In just about all of her scenes, more specifically the fun ones, her persona on screen comes off as very natural and you can tell she’s just being herself. However, in the more serious scenes, it’s pretty apparent that drama isn’t her forte and that she’s still very green. But even still, it is somewhat believable.

Jonah Hauer King and Halle Bailey do have chemistry. While the trailers haven’t done a good job at showing really anything, it is there.

The land scenes look pretty dull. I don’t get why Disney’s become so obsessed with making their live actions look so stale. The Peter Pan and Wendy film that released last month had this same problem. But the difference between that movie and this movie was that this movie actually managed to push out a pretty decent story. The heart of the original tale was there.

Awkwafina as Scuttle was surprisingly hilarious.

Giving Ariel’s sisters new identities and letting them represent the seven seas, I got to say, was a genius move.

Newcomer, Jessica Alexander, delivers a chilling performance of Ursula’s human counterpart, Vanessa and quite frankly looks like she stepped right out of the animated film. I only wish she got to stick around a little longer.

I remember seeing all these articles about song changes that would be in the film. If there were song changes, they had to have been very minor because I didn’t even notice them.

The underwater world could be its own movie, quite frankly. While at times, the CGI was quite off putting, the world building that went into this film was quite impressive and in my opinion, that puts it at a bit ahead of the 1989 film. A bit. Not a lot.

A lot of audience members were in tears listening to Halle Bailey sing the new Part of Your World Reprise. Halle executed this scene beautifully and though it nearly took the entire movie, it was at this point that I finally came around to accepting the race-swap of the character Ariel. Trust me, I didn’t want to like this movie. I didn’t. In fact, I went in with the full intention of hating it. But after seeing it in its full capacity, I can definitely say that I was surprised by what I saw. I had my doubts, but Disney pulled it off. However, that shouldn’t suggest that Disney needs to start race-swapping all of their already established characters now. Don’t get me wrong. Halle Bailey did deliver. She WAS Ariel. But if Disney wishes to keep their brand, they need to start creating new, fresh characters that people can relate to instead of being lazy and making the same stories over and over again.

All in all, the live action Little Mermaid was a decent film. As far as adaptations go, it’s definitely one of the better ones and I’d put this right there with the 2015 Cinderella movie, maybe even a little above because of the music score and the effects.

Halle Bailey and Melissa McCarthy saved this movie. Again, while I don’t necessarily support race swapping, I will say this. You can cast whoever you want as Ariel, but if she doesn’t that voice, then the whole movie is pointless. I applaud Rob Marshall for finding the Ariel that was in Halle Bailey. Her overall performance I would say was outstanding.

Based on how the film ended, there is a possibility that a sequel might get pitched.

Nonetheless, If this film hits a billion at the box office, we may be in for a big problem with Disney.

[they-them-that]

Reviewing and Ranking the Hatsune Miku x Pokemon Designs because I'm a procrastinator lol

(pictures from @hapuriainen)

Review:

Grass: It seems like they were going for the Sword and Shield look with the jersey motif and I think it's smart to blend that with cheerleading. That being said, I wish it was... grassier? It feels a bit like wasted potential as the look is too focused on the region over the type. I like the elements of the design though.

Fire: I love the idea with the stockings but that's about it tbh. Her hair is supposed to look like fire but it doesn't come off that way and her bangs are disjointed from her pigtails. The colours are too muted and I feel like not enough effort was made to make her blue hair blend in with the rest of her colour pallet. The idea is there but it ended up being pretty underwhelming imo.

Water: definitely the best of the starter types! I love every part of the design and it all blends together perfectly! I especially love the design of the swimsuit! Simultaneously sporty and dainty!

Flying: absolutely gorgeous and I can definitely see Articuno in her design! I love the light and silvery colour pallet so I'm a bit thrown off by that strong blue tone in the tie and glove. I think those should've been the same grey as her hair or maybe the hair ties (which I find a bit too dark but is alright).

Electric: a really cool and new idea that doesn't follow the expectation of a Hatsune Miku design! I really like the cartoony elements of her design but it does come across as a bit simplistic. The hat also feels too big and doesn't really look like she's wearing it? It also looks too feminine for the rest of her appearance imo.

Trainer: she blends right into the world of pokemon while still being Hatsune Miku! I especially love the signature trainer hat with headphones and the colours of her skirt being her actual colour palette. It's not too plain or overdone, it's just perfect!

Poison: Obsessed! It diverges from Miku's typical design expectations and creates a character that I'd actually love to see in pokemon! Her design is just so cool and exotic and the colours are so bright and fun. Those shoes are sickening!!

Ground: the concept of this design is a bit weak imo and the whole thing feels pretty flat. The clothes feel very basic that it comes across as a half-assed, generalized idea of a nomad. The shoes especially ruin the look for me..

Ice: really cool design (pun not intended)! I like the geometric shapes and the androgynous business attire. I'm not too sure how I feel about the green accents though (although the red on the bag makes it better but it's also weird that it's the only place with red so idk if that actually fixes it) and I wish the long pigtail bits weren't there and it was just the short hair. The pants could have more details too but overall, a really interesting design!

Normal: super cute, I especially love the glasses! It's a "normal" outfit which I assume was the intention so even though the saturated colours and simple outfit may keep it from being a favourite, I do think it's a strong design!

Ghost: it is a really cool design but to me, it doesn't give me "Pokemon". It feels like it's just a Hatsune Miku design that is ghosty and not enough innovation was put into actually merging the Pokemon aesthetics into this. Even as a stand alone Hatsune Miku design, there isn't actually a lot to it.

Bug: So precious! I love the simplicity and creativity put into this design. It's just perfect, head to toe!

Steel: love it! Every part of its execution is well done and I love the soft colours! It's simultaneously a cool and sweet design that I can just keep staring at!

Fairy: it's definitely cute and I like the idea of making her this gyaru school girl. It would've been cool to see something more extravagant for a fairy type look but it's still nice.

Rock: I love the princess design, she looks like she can be a gym leader or elite four member! It's so beautiful and the look is still great even without the dress and frills. I wouldn't understand how Miku can move with those things on her knees though lol. I also think the blue legging should've been black or have that blue present elsewhere in her outfit.

Dragon: I love a lot about the look but there are parts that also make it a bit disappointing. The shirt and pants in particular really wash out this look for me, they're so plain and bright (I hate that she's wearing a collared shirt). I feel like this should've gone all the way with its extravagance and medieval vibes, especially since it was the final revealed design and it's with a legendary Pokemon.

Dark: a stunning design that I didn't expect to be paired with Obstagoon! I love the slick shapes and the big fluffy hat and umbrella to contrast it (also the umbrella being a microphone is so clever)! The choker and shoulder straps make the look too modern but it's still overall really pleasant.

Fighting: Love the design and I'm obsessed with the colour palette! She looks so cool and I love the way sirfetch'd's leek was taken advantage of. My only nitpick is the shoes being a bit out of place from what's overall a slick design.

Ranking (lowest to highest):

18. Ground

17. Ghost

16. Dragon

15. Fire

14. Grass

13. Electric

12. Fairy

11. Flying

10. Ice

9. Rock

8. Fighting

7. Normal

6. Dark

5. Steel

4. Water

3. Bug

2. Poison

1. Trainer

[alelelesimz]

splatoon 3: side order ~ ale's 2024 game reviews II

oooooh guess who finished side order (like, actually 100%)! me baby! and yes i've technically been playing splatoon 3 since 2022 and this is for games i finish this year BUT side order is a totally different game mode so it counts :p also it's my review i make the rules

spoilers ahead! although if you've paid any attention online there's no huge spoilers going on.

i finished the tower on my 4th run i think, i'm not that good at this game okay. but i did finish it on the day it released! i got a bit sad because i thought it was too short but then i realized you're supposed to replay this a bunch of times and the story keeps going! so it ended up lasting a couple weeks for me. it could've been faster if it wasn't bc i needed to finish my catalog before the season ended, but hey that's better i think!

i like that the game forces you to do a run with each weapon, cause otherwise i would've done only the shooter and MAYBE the roller. but it was fun! i hate chargers and splatlings, but once you learn how to use the chips and get a bunch of hacks, it becomes easier even with weapons you suck at. also i love overpowering Pearl, it's fun.

the game itself is absolutely gorgeous. i found myself staring at the ink before starting almost every level. i'm a sucker for glittery pastel ink are u kidding me!!!! the design of all the characters outside KILLS me like what the hell they're all SO adorable i want one of those jellies in real life. also cypher's design rules.

the world is so pretty too, i love all the backgrounds in the levels (and that they reused animal crossing fish ugh!!!!), the outside of the building, THE LOBBY????? i can't start a run without running around with the cool lights and music!

i LOVEEEE that we got so much Acht! i was already obsessed with them before the dlc, like their design and persona was such a cool concept for me, and now we get to hang out with them and learn about them before getting sanitized omg i love it so much. also we love an enby in a nintendo game

i also love Pearl and Marina so much, fight me all you want but they're truly the superior idols of splatoon. i love that nintendo let them be so incredibly fucking gay in this game. yeah yeah it's not said out loud but i've never seen two characters more in love than those two bitches. good for them

oh and i fucking love Smollusk wtf. why is it so adorable????????? specially at the end aaaaa him and small fry are my sons

the only things i didn't like about the dlc are that they kinda teased something going on with agent 4 but then there's nothing about them? we have a palette and the clone thing looks like them and then there are a couple mentions here and there but that's it? i would've preferred if they don't mention them at all instead of this. i also would have liked a little cut scene once you finish all the weapons. i was a bit disappointed once i finished eight's palette you're just done with it and well. that's all! smollusk is now friendly and nothing more :/

aaaanyways i really enjoyed myself with this dlc! i'd say i enjoyed it more than return of the mammalians which i still haven't 100%. i've seen people say octo expansion was better but idc cause i never played it! so side order gets 4.5/5⭐️ from me :D love u splatoon

[ashcadence]

More of, Ash reviews random shows/movies! Today's edition, Hazbin Hotel!

!!SPOILERS!!

(Disclaimer 1, Make sure you look up the trigger warnings for the series.)

(Disclaimer 2, I didn't know there was controversy surrounding the creator when I watched it. I'm not in the independent animation YouTube scene which is where the original pilot episode is, but I've decided to not let that affect my enjoyment of the series. If it will affect your enjoyment that's okay! Everyone has different opinions about separating the art from the artist.)

With that out of the way onto the review!

If you like adult shows, and musicals, then you'll like this show. I personally do like both so I LOVED it! I mean, with that cast alone the music was going to be amazing. There are arguably some of the best voices from Broadway in the cast!

The music is the thing that really stuck out to me me. Almost every single song was a banger. I've had the song More than Anything on repeat since the episode came out. The singing was top tier for the entirety of the show, and I could write an entire essay on just that.

I also loved the characters! I thought they were all really fun and unique. They felt very fleshed out and all had very distinct personalities. With a cast of characters that large, sometimes that's hard to do.

It was very fun to look at. The character designs were creative, and the animation was extremely smooth. Also I'm a sucker for things with bright colors. It's impressive they set a show in hell, and gave it such a bright color palette.

For me, I really enjoyed the humor, but that's incredibly subjective. Some of the jokes were a uncalled for and insensitive, but for all of the edgy jokes, they did make a tasteful asexual joke and I was happy about that.

Speaking of that, it has a canonical aro/ace character which is a bonus point for me! Also Alastor canonically being around/ace, but not knowing what that means is hysterical to me, and also me for most of my life.

My only complaint is it felt rushed. Six months takes place between the eight episodes, and off screen the characters are developing bonds with each other, but you as the audience don't really get to see that. I think the only one we did see was with Angel and Husk. Then later with Charlie and Lucifer. But it's clear all of these characters have developed bonds with each other, we just rarely see that happen and are just told it's happened. I think it could have benefitted from "filler" episodes that would serve the purpose of cementing the relationships between characters.

Overall I really enjoyed the series and I've already rewatched it...multiple times... Listen, I'm a sucker for musicals and it's probably my inner theater kid who never got to do theater. Also it's basically My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic for adults and I was obsessed with My Little Pony in my early teen years. So it was a given I was going to enjoy Hazbin Hotel.

[dustedmagazine]

Listed: M. Sage

Colorado musician, artist and educator Matthew Sage produces a unique form of ambient music, one that focuses on personal experience rather than obscure intellectual objectives or new age mysticism. Through both his own sounds and those he curates via his Cached Media imprint his goal is to unearth the beauty within the seemingly mundane. With Paradise Crick, his latest and most fully formed release, he casts his gaze on the great outdoors, envisaging a camping excursion. In his review, Bryon Hayes found that the record was “his most visceral work, as he ornaments his typically ambient palette with an assortment of palpable shapes, colors, and textures.” In addition to making music, Sage also enjoys seeking it out, often from non-traditional sources. For this edition of Listed, he runs down some of the more interesting records that he picked up on recent thrift store diving excursions.

10 recent thrift store finds in no particular order — I hit the flea markets and thrift stores once or twice a month and get weird CDs and cassettes. I like buying stuff that I would otherwise listen to on streaming… or never listen to from these local companies. We have CD players in our vehicles and I listen to CDs a lot driving. Cassettes mainly happen in my office when I am writing or drawing. So… a lot of what I look for is sort of “functional music” that I can do stuff to. I also snag up favorites from bands I love… I found 3 Wilco CDs at one shop last week!

Anyway, here are some recent favs.

Bonnie “Prince” Billy — Master and Everyone

Found in Longmont at the thrift store with the curated CD selection. Long time BPB fan, and I especially like how subdued this one is. Maybe not my all-time fav Oldham out there, but it’s great and the CD is in great shape.

The New American Orchestra — Blade Runner Soundtrack

Found at one of the flea markets in Fort Collins. Maybe the one with the lavender? This is an orchestral adaptation of the original Vangelis score, and it is about as smooth jazz as it gets. Incredible sweeping melodies. This version of “Blade Runner Blues” feels like something hiding on “In a Silent Way.” Ambient jazz for sure.

Chet Baker — Let’s Get Lost

Another one from the Longmont spot. Been obsessed with Chet Baker for a while now in that when I don’t know what I want to listen to, I just throw on any Chet’s greatest hits album and feel content. I love the arrangement on “My Ideal” with the toy piano and Chet’s voice and trumpet.

John Coltrane — The Gentle Side of John Coltrane

Also from the Longmont spot. I, of course, love wailing Coltrane. But I also think his sweet songs are some of his best. “After the Rain” is especially informing some of the arrangement choices I’ve been making on some new Fuubutsushi songs.

Shanghai Film Symphony Orchestra — An Dun (Calming the Emotions)

I buy a lot of random CDs like this, and I can’t remember where exactly this one came from. But yeah, foreign/new age/private press, etc. weird CDs… and most of the time they aren’t great… but this one is very good. When I find something like this that I like I google it later. When I did that with this CD, I found it on YouTube and this is my favorite comment about it: “Whenever I play this on a construction site, at first the guys complain. Then later they thank me for playing it. Saying they've never felt better.” My toddler seems to enjoy it in the car… I do too.

Claude Debussy — Images pour Orchestre. Preludes: La Fille aux Cheveaux de Lin

70 minutes of Debussy from Longmont ARC. Lots of solo piano from Peter Schmalfuss. I like that these recordings feel soft. Sometimes classical piano feels really hard, lots of attack, almost like microscopic. These recordings are more spacious. Chris from Fuubutsushi swears by Ravel, but I am team-Debussy.

Georgia Kelly — Seapeace: Music for Harp

Can’t remember where but found this in Colorado in a stash of pretty heady new age tapes. Later found out it’s a cult classic. It is a self-released one — the album was later reissued on other formats by new age labels — so I love knowing Ms. Kelly herself released this copy into the world and it has since ended up in my possession. The whole thing is on YouTube!

English Meadow: Environments — Environments 1, 4, 12: Slow Ocean, English Meadow, Intonation

I have all the Environments titles on LP and have since started collecting cassettes when I see them in the wild. These 3 are specifically my favorite Environments, so finding them all in one go felt like a thrifting triumph. I feel like English Meadow specifically sounds nice on cassette.

[oasis-nadrama]

‘The Cerulean Motley Crew’, by Cerulean Snake - All aboard, mateys!

Review by Oasis Nadrama, 04/12/2023 (up to page 255)

[Drawing by CeruleanSnake] When they were a young troll, Chever always wanted to become a pirate... but ended up at the opposite end of life, as a prison guard, when the hard rules of the Alternian Empire took their toll on their dreams of liberty. One day, in the orbital penitentiary, they are tasked with welcoming a particularly dangerous prisoner, and this encounter will uncover the secrets to their past, future and present life. Can the call of the sea be heard amongst the stars?

[Drawing by CeruleanSnake] The large fictional universe engendered by Homestuck opens on many worlds, eras and sapient species, and opens even more doors for inventive storytellers. But rare are the fanworks to make full use of this potential, and in this area as in many others, the stunning fan aventure The Cerulean Motley Crew excels. It proposes a rarely explored political context, the period of the Summoner who challenged imperial tyranny, and an even rarer genre in this general setting: PIRATES! Chever, our nonbinary protagonist, improvized buccaneer and self-proclaimed pirate captain, organically assemble a colorful crew along their quest, and the cast is, again, one of this adventure's strengths. Flintlock, an uncontrollable anarchist, fights against slavery and general political power with reckless abandon (not to mention a certain thirst for gratuitous bloodbath). Rat escaped a futureless life in a nightmarish complex and is now along for the ride, despite her general consternation towards the chaotic, childish and sex-obsessed nature of her two comrades The efficient yet comical trio will cross the path of many more memorable figures, some of them friends, some of them neutral, some of them enemies, all of them enjoyable, up to and including the apparent main antagonist, as despicable as they go, all united in a dynamic, fluid, rhythmic dance, events intertwined for maximum impact, drama and suspense but never forgetting to remain entertaining. The structure and pacing are flawless, the tone perfectly mastered, the lore absorbing, the dialogues lively... What's not to love here?

[Drawing by CeruleanSnake] The drawings are on par with the writing: intense, refreshing color palettes are a feast for sore eyes. Character designs are extremely distinct with various morphologies and clothing styles; the different body types really shine in both action scenes and dynamic dialogues. There may be some errors in proportions or simplistic environments, but these little flaws pale in comparison to the overall visual quality. Perspectives are good and dynamic, action poses effective... But the really exceptional thing is the faces: they are all different, flexible, and incredibly expressive! The author makes good use of the media with gorgeous animated backgrounds which adapt to the various scenes: at dusk, the waves of the decor will meet darkened sand bathed in the red light of the alien sunset; by midnight, the foliage on the shore will be lightened only by the shining firmament. This work on the interface does wonder for the general immersion. Other uses of the form include short panel animations and ondulating, shaking, distorted lines in the conversation. CeruleanSnake's maestria culminates in the insult-off minigame. This stunning moment of interactivity, frontal homage to Monkey Island, is funny, balanced, brimming with details! It represents full days of work by the artist and it shows.

[Drawing by CeruleanSnake] The Cerulean Motley Crew is a work of love and a beautiful story, full of life and surprises. Looking forward to the next episodes of this big adventure!

[wahlpaper]

Belle of the Ball Review

Belle of the Ball by Mari Costa

CW: Cheating, Toxic Relationship, Struggles with Grades, College Acceptance Stress, Vomit, Underage Drinking, Accidental Underage Drinking, Classism, Social Anxiety, Gossiping, Manipulation, Cursing, Break-Up

5/5

It'd been too long since I had sat down and gotten lost in a good graphic novel, so thank you Belle of the Ball for breaking that fast. Mari Costa whisked me away to her world for a few hours and I couldn't be happier! This book was dedicated to the gay kids who were obsessed with High School Musical in middle school, a category I'm proudly a part of. I was promised relationship drama, school sports, and kids that don't realize how rich they are. All were delivered with so much more in store!

Belle of the Ball is the story of three high school queer girls with very messy love lives. Chloe and Regina have been dating on and off for several years, but they are the "It Couple" as far as the cheer squad is concerned. Hawkins is the school mascot and secretly a huge nerd, and while she prefers to stay under the radar, she asks Regina out to the Fall dance. Regina tells her that Chloe and her are currently dating, but befriends her instead. Will love be able to bloom in this stressful high school environment? Will it matter that Hawkins and Chloe have a forgotten history?

Reviewing graphic novels gives me the chance to talk about visual arts and put both my Art History Minor and my Graphic Design Certificate to use. An unfortunate feature of thick graphic novels is that you're going to miss the middles of some great 2-page spreads. I can tell that Costa knows this because she follows these up with insert shots and montages that better explore the scene. The whole book is done in a pink gradient color palette, which is very pretty and was potentially chosen to reflect the themes of femininity in Belle of the Ball. Overall, the art style is cute, playful, and pairs nicely with the story it's being used to tell.

Belle of the Ball is beautifully diverse, truly living up to its dedication and taking it further than a DCOM would dare to go, even now. I mentioned that a main theme of the book is femininity, but please keep in mind that there are many different ways to be feminine. Chloe sees herself as both the princess and the knight, Regina loves dresses and makeup and proving that women can do it all, Hawkins longs to be the brave little princess she once was. This graphic novel is queer, body positive, racially diverse, super feminist, and even Jewish! All very worth the wrist and finger pain I have from holding the novel!

If you enjoy stories of love finding its way in unexpected places and queer nerds who could use a day to relax, Mari Costa's Belle of the Ball should absolutely be on your TBR list. This book can make you laugh, sigh, and hold your breath in anticipation. Reading this will be soul cleansing!

[existentialmagazine]

Review: Plant Dad and Art Grad collaborate for shining indie-pop tune ‘That’s Right’, a groovy but vulnerable summer anthem

With names that slip off the tongue like Art Grad and Plant Dad, it’s no surprise these smooth-talking, groove-making musicians would come together for a collaboration that’s equally as easy on the ears. Between their Ohio-native and Baltimore-based sounds, the pair know how to make art with a song that’s utterly timeless, bringing out the best of what they both create separately and pouring it wholeheartedly into something for both their listeners to fall in love with - or fall in love to, while it plays.

From the start of ‘That’s Right’, the eclectic funky ambience is hard to ignore, dancing between scattered drum beats and pops, distorted synth notes and the duo’s united spoken-sung vocals, an instantly fluid sound with lyrics that are so chant-along that you wouldn’t dare not to join. This instant chorus is a daring but obvious choice, pulling you in with the ‘that’s right’ lyrical hooks and low-key but warm sound, the perfect kind of anthem for a low-energy day with the potential to pick you up, get you dancing and turn the rain into sunshine. The words are just as playful and carefree, humorously poking fun at self-perception with an attitude that’s infectious, making anyone feel like their confidence is through the roof.

This lighthearted energy only continues into the only verse, picked up by bright synth keys before settling into gentle keyboard notes, relaxed beats and a softer, sung vocal delivery, a smooth and charismatic performance that’s more relaxing than the opening’s desire to mindlessly groove. That more ease-filled atmosphere brings out an intimacy in it too, the gentleness of the sound allowing for lyrical vulnerabilities as the protagonist seems to overthink newfound feelings: ‘you promised you’d miss me, but you’re gonna treat me differently.’ With this potential lack of reciprocation their words spiral without any answer back, looping a constant train of thought while too afraid to speak up and know for sure.

As one final vibrant high sees things out, Plant Dad and Art Grad reflect as they sing ‘can’t believe I waited for you’, the colourful palette of sound matching this newfound revelation and new shift for their life moving forward. It’s hard not to be obsessed with such a short but sweet little tune, perfect for your summer playlists and new memories, just keep listening for yourself here.

Written by: Tatiana Whybrow

Photo Credits: Ceci Clark

// This coverage was supported and created via Musosoup, #SustainableCurator.

[flutteragency]

Fluttering into Action: A Step-By-Step Guide to Installing and Configuring Flutter SDK on macOS

Flutter has attained immense popularity in the software industry. Big tech corporations are investing large sums of money to hire a Flutter developers team. As a result, the developer community has become obsessed with mastering the skills necessary to harness the full potential of the platform. However, software developers face a steep learning curve when they select Flutter app development. This comprehensive guide will teach you how to install and configure Flutter on macOS and efficiently migrate your project onto the platform. Let’s go ahead and understand the installation process of Flutter on macOS.

Step-By-Step Guide For Flutter Installation On MacOS

Before you initiate the installation process, you must make sure that your current hardware and system fulfill the minimum requirement of Flutter.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Operating Systems: macOS (64-bit), version 10.14 (Mojave) or higher.

Disk Space: 2.8 GB (excluding space for IDE/tools).

Tools: Git for macOS or Xcode.

DOWNLOAD FLUTTER SDK

Now that you have verified that your hardware and system meet the basic requirements for the installation, you can proceed to the first step of the process.

Start by downloading the installation bundle from here — Flutter SDK for macOS.

The newest version of Flutter 3.16.3 for macOS was released on the stable channel on 12/06/2023.

If you are using the Apple Silicon processor, download the latest version from here — flutter_macos_arm64_3.13.7-stable.zip

Extract The Zip File

Extract the downloaded Zip file to a folder of your choice.

cd ~/development

$ unzip ~/Downloads/flutter_macos_3.13.7-stable.zip

Append Flutter Tool to your assigned path

export PATH="$PATH:`pwd`/flutter/bin"

To verify if the PATH is already set correctly, you must run the program once.

Using this command is vital because the installer appends the Flutter repository as the default PATH. This prevents Flutter from working in another terminal directory. Once you are done with this step, you can deploy Flutter commands successfully.

Run Flutter Doctor

If any dependencies are missing, Flutter won’t work. Most firms hire Flutter developers team after getting stuck on this step. However, you can use the following command to check for the missing dependencies-

This useful command runs a full diagnostic on the system environment and generates a full report on its findings. The report is supplied at the terminal window, and it tells the developer if he needs to download or update an existing dependency. You cannot skip over this step even if you downloaded Flutter through the Dart SDK. There might be some other software missing or additional tasks you need to perform to get the platform up and running.

For example, you may face the “Android license status unknown” message in case the sdkmanager shell script crashes in the $android_sdk/tools/bin directory.

Review PATH Environment Variable

A skilled Flutter developer from Flutter Agency will always validate that your system’s PATH environment variable incorporates the path to Android SDK’s bin directory. Look for this output –

export PATH=$PATH:/path/to/android-sdk/tools/bin

Install Flutter Plugin

IntelliJ, Android Studio, and VS Code each have their unique editor plugin. For our guide, we shall use the VS Code or Visual Studio Code.

Run VS Code.

Press Command+Shift+B buttons to activate View>Command Palette.

Type ‘install’ on the command palette, and when the ‘Extensions: Install Extension’ comes up on the screen, click on it.

Type ‘flutter’ on the search field and then click on the ‘Flutter’ option in the list.

Click on the Install button.

Reload VS Studio by clicking on the ‘Reload’ button.

Android Studio

Flutter Doctor often reports on two common issues associated with Android Studio. If you see ‘Flutter plugin not installed’ or ‘Dart plugin not installed’ flashing on the Flutter Doctor console, follow these steps to rectify the error –

Launch Android Studio

Click on ‘Preferences’, and from the drop-down, select ‘Plugins’.

Click on ‘Browse Repositories’, and then select the Flutter plugin and click ‘Install’.

Click on the ‘Yes’ button when prompted to start the Dart plugin installation process.

After the installation, a dialogue box will appear with the restart option. Click on the “Restart’ option.

Verify Your Setup

You must run Flutter Doctor again to validate your setup thus far. Most software development companies need to hire flutter developers team because they skip over this step and face issues in the later stages of the app development.

iOS Setup

To start this process, you must first download and configure Xcode. These are the steps involved –

Install Xcode

Download Xcode from the 9.0 version onwards from the Mac App Store to create Flutter applications for iOS.

Configure Xcode using sudo xcode-select –switch /Applications/Xcode.app/Contents/Developer command.

Use the command line to sign the Xcode license agreement by clicking on the ‘Agree’ button.

Configure The iOS Simulator

You need to test out your Flutter app on your iOS simulator first. Follow these steps — Use the open -a Simulator command to launch the simulator on your Mac.

Click on the Hardware option and then Device to check if your simulator is using a 64-bit device.

Select the Scale Menu on the Window option to set the app’s dimensions.

Launch A New Project In VS Code

Utilize the Flutter starter app template to initiate a new project.

Press Cmd+Shift+P.

Click on Flutter: New Project and then select ‘Enter’.

Set a Project name and location.

Execution and Debugging

When you run a Flutter project on VS Code for the first time, the status bar will show Flutter-specific entries. You might also see the ‘No Devices’ error message. We will share a secret tip to overcome this error that only a skilled Flutter developer from the Flutter agency knows.

Click on ‘No Devices’.

On the command palette, click on iOS Simulator.

Press F5 or click on the Debug menu on the IDE window to start debugging.

CONCLUSION

Now, you are ready to take advantage of Flutter, which has been instrumental in the success of other companies. Alternatively, you can also hire a Flutter developers team to take care of this massive undertaking.

Content Source: Complete Tutorial For Flutter Installation Guide on macOS

[eazy-group]

James Charles Tries the Newest ELF Cosmetics X Chipotle’s Burrito Inspired Makeup [Review]

New Post has been published on https://eazybeauty.net/james-charles-tries-the-newest-elf-cosmetics-x-chipotles-burrito-inspired-makeup-review/

James Charles Tries the Newest ELF Cosmetics X Chipotle’s Burrito Inspired Makeup [Review]

(Photo : ELF Website)

James Charles gets honest as he reveals his thoughts about the newest collaboration with E.L.F. Cosmetics and Chipotle.

The beauty guru recently announced on his social media that he did a makeup review with the brand’s burrito-inspired collection.

A self-confessed Chipotle fan himself, the YouTuber shared that he hasn’t done makeup reviews for such a long time; hence, he vowed to give the viewers his honest opinion about E.L.F.’s latest collaboration.

“CHIPOTLE Launched A MAKEUP Line!? I’m a little bias because I love a burrito bowl, but… HONEST REVIEW is now LIVE on my channel!” James Charles’ Twitter reads.

RETWEET to be the next video’s sister shoutout!!

CHIPOTLE Launched A MAKEUP Line!? 🤯 I’m a little bias because I love a burrito bowl but… HONEST REVIEW is now LIVE on my channel! https://t.co/ywPao8dPsV pic.twitter.com/ysp67TgBvz

— James Charles (@jamescharles) March 9, 2021

  READ MORE: Beauty Guru James Charles Reveals Reason Behind Controversial Bald Head

James Charles Makeup Review: E.L.F. Cosmetics X Chipotle

The 21-year-old internet celebrity shared that he was thrilled with the newest team-up of E.L.F. since he was a diehard fan of the Mexican food chain.

Moreover, he blurted out his obsession and mentioned that he had a phase where he used to eat Chipotle about four to five times a week.

Extra Guac Sponge Set, $10

(Photo : ElF Website)

James Charles started off his makeup review by blending his foundation using E.L.F. and Chipotle’s guac avocado sponge.

While gently beating his face with the sponge, he shared that it is softer than the usual blending sponge but preferred a more dense beauty tool.

He then followed up with a concealer and set it with a Laura Mercier translucent powder.

Chipotle Eyeshadow Palette, $16

(Photo : ELF Website)

After contouring his face, the beauty guru tested out Chipotle Eyeshadow Palette.

This limited-edition product comes in 12-piece eyeshadow shades that are inspired by Chipotle ingredients.

The 21-year-old makeup artist started off by applying the pinto beans shade, which has a medium brown tone and applied it along his crease for creating bold eye makeup.

He then mixed it up with a hot salsa which has a hint of a brown and orange tone. Blending the colors using a Morphe brush, James Charles added black beans shade, which features a deep brown tone.

Capping off his burrito-inspired makeup, which he described as the orange, mild salsa eye, he applied pinto beans shade along his lower lashline to create a smokey eye makeup effect.

Moving on to the next eye, he used a green eyeshadow in the shade of lettuce. As for his transition, he used guac, featuring a shimming shade of lime green.

For a pop of color, he then used a shade of gold called corn salsa at the middle part to brighten up the eye makeup. Finishing off the look, he popped on some eyelashes and mascara for his burrito-inspired makeup.

Make It Hot Lip Gloss, $8

However, let’s not forget the lips. James Charles used E.L.F.’s Make It Hot Lip Gloss that has a hint of red-hot color with a high-shine finish.

Moreover, this limited-edition gloss has a lip-plumping effect, making your lips fuller ala, Kylie Jenner.

Aside from the plumping effect, it also has a moisturizing and hydrating formula that will leave the lips feeling soft and nourished.

READ MORE: Top 3 Effortless Makeup Trends as Seen on Beauty Influencers

See Now: 100 Most Beautiful Women In The World

TagsJames Charles, elf cosmetics, Makeup Review

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BEAUTY IDEAS

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[maryelizaglam]

Makeup on my mind…

I want to talk about trends but I also just want to talk about my “makeup thoughts” … products that maybe aren’t the newest hot thing but should be

Gucci lip is my fave

Charlotte pillow talk is pretending to be one size fits all

What is the point of pink powder??

How do I feel about cream blush

Is beaming highlight old news or in again

“Bare” beauty trends- hailey Bieber, Kim k, skin care, rare beauty

What is your makeup mood? I feel like there are so many different expressions of beauty and the artistry or identity that goes into makeup, there are great products out there that turn into a viral sensation, but truly everyone has their own unique vibe and I love seeing it all come together. What makeup products make up your vibe or makeup identity the best?

Indie brands I’m obsessed with: highlighters in the cool packaging and the odens eye

Auric beauty

Transfer proof lip, transfer heat budge proof makeup water proof

I don’t like silicone primers

Can’t find a noncomedogenic sunscreen, help

Patrick Ta blushes don’t hype me up

Bobbi brown primer over hyped?

Drunk elephant overhyped?

Skin care favorites

I feel like makeup is all about feeling and sensation

Eyeshadow palettes that didn’t impress me

Rainbow by too faced, naked (I miss the old naked), lady gaga eye shadow, urban decay shadows, Clinique

Drug store blush???

Dior blush, overhyped or just right?

UK makeup trends….

Do lashes make you look prettier, or older?

Cutest brand ever: beauty bakerie, too faced, and baddie b lashes, Kylie, Huda, color pop, kaja, and

Marc jacobs coconut line was everything

Mac fix plus, overhyped? Urban decay… testing overhyped setting sprays and popular makeup gripping primers

Hyped skin care that’s worth it vs not worth it, essence, elemis, fresh toner, Michellar water, beauty makeup removers

Nikki tutorials glitters

Are Mac eyeshadows overhyped?

Orange packaging makeup, good or bad

Target beauty products I hate

Testing Revolution

Testing KKW testing Arianna beauty

KKW fragrance reviews

Jackie sims candles, jeffreee star, Jaclyn hill, influencer makeup James Charles, Tati, Nikki’s tutorials, beauty bay, mmmitchell,

Fave bath products: Kylie, tea tree oil

Fave candles with candle warmer

Are we steaming our bed sheets

Staying inspired with beauty and slow TLC and cleanse

The best brow products vs overhyped

[linuxgamenews]

Murtop has its own challenges to test Linux players

Murtop fast-paced arcade game launches onto Linux, Mac, and Windows PC. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of developer hiulit, this game has become a sensational hit. Available on both Steam and itch with 100% Positive reviews. Imagine stepping back in time to the 1980s, where arcade games ruled the gaming world. Murtop is an exciting and action-packed arcade game that launches you straight into that era. It combines the best elements of classic games like Dig Dug and Bomberman. In Murtop, you play as a character named Murti, and your mission is to save the world from an invasion of moles that are obsessed with eating carrots. How do you save the world? Well, with your unique ability to drop bombs! The game launches you into 256 different stages, and each stage in Murtop has its own challenges. But here's the catch: you have a limited amount of time to complete each stage. It's a race against the clock! And if you're skilled enough to make it through all the stages, there's a special "kill screen" waiting for you at the end. Can you reach it? But wait, there's even more! Every 5 stages, you'll encounter a bonus stage that gives you a chance to earn extra points. And if you're really good, there's a secret bonus stage hidden somewhere in the game. Keep your eyes peeled for it!

Murtop - Trailer

To make your gaming experience even more thrilling, Murtop features five fast-paced chiptune tracks that provide the background music while you play. These tracks add to the retro atmosphere and get your adrenaline pumping. If you're the competitive type, you'll dig the local high scores leaderboard. You can see how your scores stack up against other players in your area. Can you reach the top spot and become the ultimate Murtop champion on Linux? The Murtop fast-paced arcade design is all about playing on arcade cabinet machines, just like the classic games of the past. It also has a vertical screen with beautiful bezels that fill the empty space around the game. The graphics use a 16-color palette, giving them a nostalgic look. And if you want to enhance that old-school feel, you can enable the CRT filter, due to simulates the appearance of a cathode ray tube monitor. Just like the old arcade machines, Murtop also has an attract mode. When you are not playing the game on Linux, it will showcase gameplay footage and attract potential players with its exciting action and explosions. And if you're feeling really adventurous, you can even rotate the screen to play in TATE mode, just as the game was originally meant to be played.

But what is it like to play?

Murtop really is an old-school fast-paced arcade game for Linux. Its all about getting the highest score and becoming the ultimate champion. You start with nine credits, which each give you three lives. You can earn credits by inserting coins. In the game, you control a cute rabbit character named Murti. Linux players will move around on a grid and dig up the ground as they go. You also have to be smart and use bombs and rocks strategically to defeat the different types of enemies: the Chaser, the Thrower, and the Pesky. You also have to be quick because each stage only lasts for one minute. Every five stages, you get a bonus stage where you can collect carrots and avoid falling rocks. The game can be really frustrating at times, but it's also a lot of fun and a good challenge. The graphics, sound effects, and music is really good, which makes it worth playing in short bursts of gameplay. In Murtop fast-paced arcade, you'll experience lots and lots of explosions as you strategically drop bombs to defeat the carrot-hungry moles and save the world. Get ready for an adrenaline-fueled arcade adventure that will transport you back to the golden age of gaming! Available on both Steam and itch. Priced at $3.99 USD / £3.43 / 3,99€, including the 25% launch discount. Feel free to try the Demo first.

Murtop by hiulit

[belladoesmakeup]

Hey guys,

We all know I am a massive fan of Huda Beauty eyeshadows, especially the 9 pan palettes. They are always really pigmented palettes with gorgeous colour stories. Looking at my collection I always lean towards the bright or pinky toned palettes but I wanted to add something more darker to my collection. Today we are chatting about the Huda Wild Obsessions Eyeshadow Palette - Jaguar .

I have seen this palette so many times walking through Boots or Selfridges but at the time I didn't really wear these colours. However recently I have been enjoying a more smokey vibe and compared to my collection this palette is the most unique. This palette has the perfect balance of soft glam shades all the way to deep smokey eyes. The Jaguar palette features the most beautiful monochromatic purples, a sparkly grey, a speckled bronze & a holy grail black, all the shades you need for a glam look. Like other Huda Beauty palettes you get a mix of mattes, metallics and a new multi-reflective shade.

I adore this palette and honestly slightly mad at myself it took me this long to pick up. When it comes to luxury palettes I would say Huda Beauty palettes are the best value for money since you get 9 shades for £27.00 instead of 4 for £43.00. She has a whole range of colours so I'm pretty confident everyone can find a palette that suits them. Since I'm quiet fair this palette would look quite intense on me but now we've hit the autumnal season I am loving the smokey vibe.

If you want to see a tutorial with this palette let me know in the replies and I have linked the palette above if you want to check it out yourself.

Lots of love

Bella x x