Favourites of 2013: Music, Film & TV

Now that it is officially 2014, I reflected on 2013 in the world of film, music and TV shows and shared my favourites with you.

Films

1) I'm a huge Avenger fan (although I only just watched all of the films throughout 2013 for the first time) but I went to see Iron Man 3 with my friend in May and thought it was absolutely brilliant and the best Iron Man film yet! Of course Robert Downey Junior is hilarious, but I loved how he had a softer, darker side to him. This film would not have been as successful as it was, had it not been for the humour that Ben Kingsley brought to his role.

2) Although this was released only a month or two ago, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire was probably my favourite film of 2013. It was so emotional (I cried and then I laughed and then I cried some more) and I personally believe that it was way better than the first film. Jennifer Lawrence is a wonderful actress and her fellow cast mates were also brilliant.

3) I watched Thor: The Dark World the day that it came out as I was so excited to see Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston! I had high hopes for this film and I was definitely not disappointed. Again, this film was an emotional roller coaster (Tom Hiddleston, you deserve an Oscar for your hilarious/heartbreaking acting) but the storyline had a very interesting concept that I really enjoyed. The only downside of this film was that it was over way too quickly (even though it's nearly 2 hours long - time flies when you're having fun).

I also liked:

We're The Millers - World War Z - The Great Gatsby - Now You See Me - Olympus Has Fallen

Albums 

1) MSMR have quickly become one of my favourite groups and Secondhand Rapture is wonderful. I heard "Salty Sweet" and "This isn't Control" in Pretty Little Liars a little while ago and fell in love with Lizzy Plapinger's voice and the catchy tunes of their songs. The lyrics are passionate and honest, for example "We fear rejection, prize attention, crave affection, Dream, dream, dream of perfection" to demonstrate the pressures of modern day society. My favourite tracks are Hurricane, Fantasy, Think Of You and Ash Tree Lane.

2) I first heard Sweater Weather in 2012 and soon realised just how talented The Neighbourhood truly were. They released their first album, I Love You early last year and it swiftly climbed the charts in the US. They basically combine dark, hypnotic hip-hop and indie beats with catchy lyrics and clear vocals to create a unique and distinct musical style. My favourite tracks are Afraid, Sweater Weather, Female Robbery and Let It Go.

3) I'll admit, I wasn't exactly the hugest fan of Arctic Monkeys before AM; I liked to listen to them but I would never consider myself to be a dedicated fan. AM is without a doubt their most successful album of their career. NME describe the album being about "sex, lust, frustration and isolation" and its clear Arctic Monkeys aimed to create an album without specifying a genre. The beats are dark and intimidating, yet excitingly thrilling to listen to. My favourite tracks are Knee Socks, Fireside, Snap Out Of It and Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High?

I also liked:

The 1975 by The 1975 - Bad Blood by Bastille - Holy Fire by Foals - Long Way Down by Tom Odell

Songs

1) I heard Of the Night by Bastille at the start of 2013 and soon became obsessed with it. It's one of those songs that make you just want to stand up and dance to. It immediately puts me in a good mood. Bastille, that was one amazing cover you did.

2) My Number is such a catchy song. I first heard it when I was watching MTV Rocks and this tune came on. I literally listened to this song more than a hundred times last year (it's the most listened to song on my iPhone) and I don't think it's possible to get bored of it. The chorus is brilliant and again, it makes you want to dance. Foals definitely stepped up their game last year.

3) Carry Me by Bombay Bicycle Club is a drum-heavy, electronic and bouncy song that you have to listen to on full volume to get the full effects. It's such a busy and intense song with sounds that shouldn't go together very well but sound absolutely brilliant. "You carry, you carry, you carry, you carry me" chants Jack Steadman. I want to go to an indie themed party with this blasting all night long. It's that good.

I also liked:

Full Circle by Half Moon Run - Why'd You Only Call Me When You're High? by Arctic Monkeys - Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke - Get Lucky by Daft Punk

TV shows
I absoloutely love watching TV shows, but I'm the kind of person that doesn't tend to start watching TV shows as soon as they're advertised on the TV. I seem to wait a little bit until I'm sure I'm ready to become addicted to the show. I love Arrow, The Vampire Diaries, Glee, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, Pretty Little Liars, Teen Wolf and Made In Chelsea. Admittedly, I've only begun to watch two TV shows that premiered in 2013.

1) The Originals is a spin off from The Vampire Diaries. It's focused on the Mikaelson siblings, also known as the original vampires; Klaus (Joseph Morgan), the most hated and feared of the Originals, Elijah (Daniel Gillies), the most reasonable, peaceful and caring vampire and Rebekah (Claire Holt) who wishes to be normal but behaves cruelly and violently. Hayley (Phoebe Tonkin) is pregnant with Klaus' child and Klaus now focuses on taking down his protege, Marcel (Charles Michael Davis) who is in charge of New Orleans. The show has a good soundtrack and storyline which is entertaining to watch.

2) The Carrie Diaries is an American teen drama show which is a prequel to Sex and the City. The show focuses on Carrie Bradshaw (AnnaSophia Robb) during her junior year of high school in 1984. She explores life in New York whilst interning at famous fashion magazine, Interview, juggling love, friendship and achieving her dream of becoming a writer. The clothes and soundtrack is incredible due to it being based in the 80s (I would give anything to have grown up in the 80s). Austin Butler stars as Sebastian Kydd, Carrie's love interest (I have a huge crush on Sebastian ngl) and Freema Agyeman plays Larissa Loughlin who brings colourful energy and humour to the show. 

I hope you enjoyed reading my 2013 favourites as much as I enjoyed writing it although it took me ages to write.  Let me know what your favourite songs, film and TV shows of 2013 have been in the comments!

Sophie x

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imPress Nail Review

imPRESS Nails- Ex On The Beach

As it is summer i thought i would treat myself to some fake nails. I came across this product called imPRESS, which is basically a really affordable set of  fake nails. I got them from Boots but as i am aware they are available from Superdrug as well. These are my second set, the first set i bought were for prom, you can find them here.

I really loved this colour, online they actually look a lot darker but in person they are a lovely shade of pink, but not too pink. They are super easy to apply, you literally just peel off the plastic on the back and stick them on your nail, simple as that. I love the feel of them. I bought the short length as i find really long nails hard to handle, however these aren't too short, or too long, they are just right. I also love how natural they look, not just on the nail but how they feel, it feels like there is nothing stuck on. 

The way they are presented in the packaging is adorable, and i really like how original this is. 

Disadvantages-

The only thing i disliked was once you had applied the nails on one hand, peeling the plastic off the nails for the other hand was pretty tricky and quite fiddly, but do-able. Apart from that i love them.

Olivia x
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Current Music Obsessions

I decided to do a post about the music that I'm currently obsessed with because I just read Lauren's blog post here about her monthly music favourites which has inspired me to do one. Truthfully, I've wanted to do a music post for a while now, but I'm never really sure what to write about the songs I like because I usually end up saying something like "I like this song because it's good/amazing/great". So I've tried to expand on these lame sentences and produce something a lot more detailed and interesting for you to read.

Ben Howard - Call Me Maybe

I first heard this cover about half an hour ago after reading a tweet about how amazing it was. I can't believe I've only just heard it! I never believed it would be possible for me to like this song - let alone become obsessed over it within half an hour - but Ben Howard is a talented man and definitely makes this song work. The best bit by far is from 03:03 - 03:43. The tempo increases, as does the volume, power and emotion...I could listen to those 40 seconds again and again and again!

Theme Park - Two Hours (Crossey Mix)

We all need that song to motivate and cheer us up every now and then, and for me, this song is it. To be honest, it just makes me want to stand up and dance to it! The tune is happy, catchy and fun. Who wouldn't want to listen to it?! I would just like to thank Spotify for letting me discover this wonderful song.

Angus and Julia Stone - Draw Your Swords

Now for something a little more slow and touching. This song is honestly so powerful. I love how Angus not only sings the lyrics, but feels the lyrics too. He pours his heart and soul into his singing and it literally gives me goosebumps. This song is haunting, spine tingling and brutally beautiful. I mean, the lyrics are just out of this world. It's very rare that you can find a song that captivates your entire attention for more than 6 minutes, but this one does it for me...every single time.

Imagine Dragons - Round and Round

I love Imagine Dragons. They're another band that produce positive beats and tunes that I obsess over. The meaning of the song is brilliant and the lyrics have an awesome moral to them. "You don't have to make it right, Just hold your head up high". How awesome is that message? Great song.

Lana Del Ray - National Anthem

Lana Del Ray is a lyrical genius, agreed? My sister gave me the 'Born To Die - The Paradise Edition' for Christmas and I can't stop listening to it! I couldn't decide which song of hers to post on here, but National Anthem is the song that first got me into Lana so I thought this only made sense to talk about it. I think this song has such an amazing meaning to it about modern day society and money being 'the anthem of success'. It's a controversial subject, but I recommend you to read other people's beliefs about the songs meaning here if you're interested and/or want further details.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Let me know if you liked it and would like to see more music posts sometime!