Ark Online

Friends! I have found us the new online shopping destination which will surpass all your expectations my dears. In a panic to find a dress which had sold out of my size on good old ASOS, I Googled the brand, Motel and found some sites.

Navy Skull Lace Dress
Motel from ARK
Was: £59.99
Now: £30

 Ark Online stood out to me because it had a UK address and a banner showing the variety of brands they sell. With all the discounts flashing on my laptop screen, I thought it was all too good to be true, they had the dress in my size with an extra 50% off! YES! In a haste I was all too eager to place an order, but I took the time to read some reviews and customer feedback-which I advise you all to do when shopping online. The reviews were all good, with most customers receiving a lot of help when something went wrong. I was set to receive my delivery from them 4 days later, but a whole week after this date I still hadn't received my much sought after dress :( They have a tracking number which you can put into Royal Mail so I used this service and was literally baffled due to it being 3am and reading that the order had apparently been delivered to my address days ago???? ROYAL MAIL SAY WHA?!  

I called the customer helpline yesterday morning and let a lovely customer services assistant named Iona know about my predicament and she helped me so much. She took down my name and order number and within a few hours I received an email and text informing me that my dress would be sent out again and I would receive it the next day as part of their next day delivery service, she even refunded me the delivery charge from my original order! Now, I work as a sales advisor, so I know exactly how it feels when something that isn't your fault goes absolutely wrong and she handled it with ease and expertise. I STRONGLY recommend this site to ER'BODY! Tell yo mama, and yo sistah, and even ya daddy because this site has something for everyone, and seriously if something does go wrong, you're in very safe hands. So as you can imagine I was very excited to get home from work and try on my new dress, but unfortunately my mother and brother aren't as efficient as Ark Online and didn't answer the FRICKEN door! So they gave it to my lovely neighbours. If all this isn't enough to persuade you to try 'em out then how about these perky perks...

-20% off Jackets & Coats 

-Womens Sale from £5!

-Next Day Delivery on all orders over £40 (In time for Christmas!!)

Have you had any experience with top of the range customer service recently? Drop a comment and share the love xxx 

Radio 1 Live Lounge In Da Mix !

Alright mate 'Vas Happenin?! I have news for you! And it's of course 1D related - crowd cheer. Trolling Youtube has literally become my job away from my real job and I found some tres cool One Direction covers over at the super sweet Live Lounge with the Super Duper Fly and Fluffy Ferne Cotton! I'm guessing she loves the boys just as much as the rest of us as her guests just keep it coming with the covers. Have a listen and see what you think.
Click the captions on the picture for a link to the song/video

Matty & The Boys Cover What Makes You Beautiful  Here 

Thought The 1975 gang were the only ones to cover the hit single? Girls come on, you got it wrong, to prove it right Rita put it in a so-o-ong! (see what I did there?)

Rita Ora Covers What Makes You Beautiful 

Ooooh competition! Girl vs Boys, who made you feel more beautiful? 

Rudimental Cover Story Of My Life (& Monster)

It's obvious One Direction's music just lends itself to this kind of underground, electronica, reggae vibe, fellow British artists cant help but infuse loud trumpets, keys and saxophones! - I played a bit of sax, got my grade 2 in 6 months, think Rudimental would take me on? Even the boys cant help but create a reggae remix to their own track! Awww ain't that sweet xx 

One Direction Last First Kiss Reggae Cover 

The boys new album also consists of some great folk/pop tunes and it suits them well, this next cover reflects that element and style, its Gabrielle Alplin's take on the more recent hit single 'Best Song Ever', what do you think?

Gabrielle Alplin Covers Best Song Ever 

Ahh what's that I hear? More rhythmic drums, reggae, it lives in all of us... like I said, just cant help it.

So there you have it, all the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge One Direction Covers, a huge effort but sorry guys, the originals still have my heart. Have you heard any other covers worth mentioning? And no don't mention those pre-pubescent vampire boys who cover every other One Direction song out. 

A/W Essentials

Hello Comrades!
My apologies for not writing sooner, I've been quite busy at work and ashamed to say I haven't really taken advantage of London like I said I would. I, however, have taken it upon myself to live vicariously through the cast of Made In Chelsea. (it really isn't that posh you know, I did a journalism course there and if they let me in... well) While they play recklessly in the Royal Borough, handbags in the arm crease, heels so high-sorry Jessie they're still having a wicked time- I lay sloth-style in my bed equipped with an electric heater and 4od on my Smart TV-sounds cosy I know, I know. Anyhow, that along with the cold has inspired me in the fashion sense and my style has once again transitioned...operation Chelsea Girl is now underway...

Asos Textured Block Coat
Was £90
Now £67.50

And here to support the cause...ASOS is having a SALE! YES! 30% off Big Chill Winter Essentials and this my dears is most definitely essential! I need a coat like this in my life, it's androgynous, chic and most of all WARM! (at least it looks like it is) I cant stand a coat that ruins an outfit, this coat can literally go over all the knits and jumpers I strongly advise you to be wearing this winter without making you look like you've overeaten due to the cold; the colours are dark and would contrast well with some softer palettes and the leather bits add that badboy edge we're all looking for, the cold makes us vulnerable but we can brave it like the Russians and look great doing it! I'm loving the deep pockets as I myself am a pocket hoarder I'm forever filling them up with receipts, tickets and sweet wrappers-I'm not gonna lie. And last but not least, the obvious USP the price chop, bargain!

Zara Leather Riding Boot
Was £119
Now Still fucking £119

Moving on to these beauties...Zara have a hold of my heart with these babies. These boots were not just made for walking no! These Riding Boots encrypted with classic gold details and buckles were made to run the world, riding buses, trains and horses alike to explore the universe... too far? Okay well, you don't understand just how long I've peened for a pair of AFFORDABLE riding boots that won't make me look like an absolute joke. 100% cow leather and 100% MINE when payday arrives. Now Zara aren't really in aid of supporting the cause and do not currently have a sale-unless they kept it completely quiet and I have no clue about, so these boots are still a little pricey...

Inspired by MiC's very own style God Proudlock, these cool dangly above the knuckle rings resemble his dainty little cross earring that he undoubtedly cannot part with, unless he's modelling other style pieces on his style blog. I think this will be a cute little accent piece to the A/W collection with some pale coloured nails to finish off the look. Awww 

Regal Rose Above Knuckle Rings
Was £8
Now £6

LoveSounds- Justin Beiber

I was supposed to wait a week before my new LoveSounds post but I've literally just been hit by a wave of the Beiber Fever and I cant keep quiet about this for a whole week! Scrolling on Twitter as you do, I stumbled across an article on Complex magazine about The Beibs and his struggle with the paps. I skim read the rest thinking it was gonna be another bash about his circulated hooker pics when I saw the words 'Heartbreaker', 'Recovery' and 'Hold Tight' embedded amongst the names of R&B princes Trey Songz and Craig David. That's right you read correctly, Justin samples the UK's very own CRAIG DAVID it's fully remastered and it sounds excellent. The tracks are definitely a breath of fresh, soulful air and to be honest i've been waiting for Justin to drop the whole 'Thug Nation' facade and just be himself and it really does show. He sounds so comfortable and in his zone and dont you find that sometimes all an artist needs is a break from the album releases and a chance to make music they truly want to make and then they drop something HOT! Lest we forget Justin Beiber was mentored by one of R&B's finest, Usher Raymond and he's definitely embracing it now.

Justin's got his own sort of 'LoveSounds' thing going on, he posts new singles every week under the title of 'Music Mondays' on Youtube with cute little emoticons that sum up the vibe of the song. This post is hot on the tracks of his latest edition to the 'Music Mondays' clan  'All Bad' which dropped today-exactly 14 hours ago to be precise. The tunes are very love sick sounding which is perfect because finally he's making real songs from his experiences and obviously we can all pretend to swoon because of how relatable it is. I think we should all be pleased that Justin's going through such a rough phase and still has good music to show for it. I feel asif he's being honest now and if that means he has to shake off the 12 year old fans that bottle and boo him on stage and adopt a more mature (or kinda mature) fan-following then so be it. 

Ladies and Gentleman I give you...THE NEW BEIBS! 

Kill It! 

'LoveSounds'-The 1975

Hey everyone! This is the first post in the 'LoveSounds' edition! I spend quite alot of time trolling various apps including Soundcloud, Itunes Store and Youtube to find new artists and bands that I think are suuuper cool and literally obsess about them until I find a new track or album and it all starts again. 

A new obsession of mine is Boybands...

I've never been a Boyband kind of girl but recently I've found myself crushing on every member of British/Irish Boyband One Direction, and Harry Styles' new best mate Matt Healy! Although the bands are alike in the sense that they're both British and as rough around the edges as Harrys bassy voice and Zayn's graffiti obsession they are almost opposites. The difference with The 1975 is there's no hiding, we all know the REAL lyrics to 'One Thing' are

'So get out, get out, get out of my head and fall into my BED instead' 

even if they wont admit that's the direction they were really heading! 

As a teenage girl (19 still counts right?) this music is reaching out, it encourages you to be the leather jacket, doc martens, daisy chain wearing groupie while also bashing you for being a 17 year old Lolita in 'Girls'.

On first listen the initial 8 bars of the hit track is reminiscent of the 'Clueless' soundtrack from the 90's and even the video is a slight throwback, if you've seen the video then you know it's amazing and chuckle worthy at the expense of their unrecognisable sound, a cross between electronica/dance/pop and alternative rock, so basically they're Indie right... right? 

'Sex' is the self confessed guide to the conflicted young adult male, "she's got a boyfriend anyway" he wails but that doesn't stop young Matthew Healey, the frontman of the band from Manchester, taking care of her. There's something about the hard hitting drums and playful chorus's that have you repeating the tracks 10 times before you move on to softer sounds like 'Robbers'; or is it the sound of a husky teenage angsty voice on full volume? (Well what do you think!?) They're painfully honest and thats the best bit, I dont know about you girls but thats all I ever want, be honest take the lead! and that's what they've done by getting a top spot on the iTunes store homepage and of course A NO1 ALBUM IN THE UK CHARTS! AND A SOLD OUT TOUR!- Which I have tickets for, jealous? 

This is the best part about scouting new talent, being there when the drama unfolds, in the intimate concert spaces which are soon replaced by soundchecks that you never know about and can never get to when they get bigger. It's like a new relationship, its the buterflies and the chase! The excitement of every new release, tour dates, twitter updates and of course the broodingly drool worthy shirtless pics on tumblr!

I simply couldn't get enough listening to the samples on iTunes and liked all the tracks on Soundcloud but even that couldn't satisfy me I must buy the album! Seeing as the boys are situated 2hrs from my home town London, being a groupie may be a conceivable idea, great we'll see when they hit the O2 Academy Brixton on Jan 9th as part of their debuted UK tour and we'll take it from there! Care to join?

Welcome

Hi Everyone & Welcome To My Blog!

My name is Regina and with that comes many connotations, the Latin meaning being 'Queen' and the American-High School symbol of  'Queen B(itch)'-Regina George.

Basically Me On An Arrogant Day

 I however, fit gracefully somewhere in the middle of the spectrum. I am both sheepishly subtle and charmingly boisterous at times and I cant wait to reflect that in my writing. If you're into scouting new talent, both musically and the literal sense ;) then you'll love my 'LoveSounds' posts about new artists on the scene and reviews on the books I've read and had a rather intellectual natter about at Book Club whilst munching on some good old Tyrells Sweet Chilli & Red Pepper crisps. As a Gap Year Student in London, the world has genuinely become my oyster, it's a shame about that 16+ Oyster card expiring though R.I.P free travel :( I still feel as though I owe it to the Dream Biggers out there who would kill (not literally) to live in the cosmopolitan hub that is London and take full advantage so I hope you'll stick around and see how great I can make my Gap Year! xx