Festival Must Haves

Another post for my festival series I've been doing recently to get everyone in the summery mood!

I've been browsing online to find some cool bits I can bring with me to Reading; just fun bits that probably aren't essential but I need them in my life

This one is definitely an essential for a British festival, who knows what the weather will be like, so this lightweight mac from Alice Takes A Trip is perfect. Love the pastel pink and giant storm cloud on the back

This festival kit from Topshop looks really good - I mainly need the compactable cup and ear buds. But it also comes with a whistle, tissues, hair chalk and a few other bits. Bit of a novelty, but you get your money's worth

If you've always wanted to try out colourful hair, festivals are great time to do it. These hair chalk highlights in Brazen from flashmob come with 3 amazing colours, and will distract from unwashed hair whilst you're away

Another essential, in my opinion, is this adorable Audiology portable phone charger from Urban Outfitters. They come in loads of colours and it's always better to be safe than sorry and purchase one of these before you go so you can stay in contact with your friends, and people back at home just in case. 

Another popular way to cover a bad hair day at a festival is to chuck on a flower garland, and i adore this one from Monki. Everyone can pull them off, and why not wear massive flowers on your head whilst you're in the mosh pit? Have fun with it right!?

One of my favourite things at Reading last year was the silent disco, and these 'Electric Kisses' lipsticks from Flashmob would have looked so good in the neon lights whilst my friends and I were dancing away. And there's a colour for every night.

And if you really wanted to push the boat out, you can wear these 'Superstar Nova' intensifying eyeliners as well (or rock eyes instead of lips). The colours of these are super pretty and will brighten up any tired eyes too! 

Lastly on my list of festival must haves, are these hair rings from Regal Rose. The feathers will give you a cool boho vibe, and you can wear these all the time, not just at festivals or in the sun. 

What are you're must haves this festival season? And what you excited to see or do this summer? Let me know! 

Love Nikki xxx

*photos are not mine

Festival Outfit Inspo

Can you tell I'm so f*cking excited for festival season! I am going to Reading again this year, yay yay! And festivals = summer, which also equals great outfit inspiration. Even if you're not attending any festivals this summer, you can still dress like you are. Here are a few simple outfit ideas - clothing from Motel Rocks and a few simple and interchangeable accessories from ASOS

Cecil Slip Dress in Opium Cream

Dr Martins 2976 Boot in Black Smooth

Warehouse Suede Drawstring Duffle Bag with Tassel

Trip Metal Round Mirror Sunglasses

If you're feeling brave, then this cream dress will be great for a hot day at a festival. The sunglasses and Dr Martins toughen it up a bit, and you can throw on a jumper or shirt if it gets a bit cooler in the evening

Motel Miki Strappy Bralet in Paint Daubs Red

Motel Zoe High Waisted Track Pants in Honeycombe Black Spandex

Vans Classic Black Slip On Trainers

Mi-Pac Bumbag in Perforated Black

At a festival you can sometimes find yourself to be sitting around a lot during the mornings and early afternoon, so these trousers will provide maximum comfiness. The bralet adds a pop of colour, and I find at festivals Vans are the best shoe to wear when you know later on you'll be running all about the place and dancing all night. The bumbag, maybe a bit controversial for some, is a staple for festivals; it can hold your essentials, you have your hands free, and you're not annoying anyone behind you in the crowd with a massive backpack. 

Deena Babydoll Dress in Garden Stripe Black and White

ASOS GONE Biker Wellies

Warehouse Suede Drawstring Duffel Bag with Tassel

Catarzi Stetson Hat with Contrast Band

I am obsessed with this dress and it's boho, hippie vibe. And the hat and duffle completes the outfit. I added the vibrant wellies just to add a bit of colour, and wellies are essential for a British festival!

Sheby Jumpsuit in Moss Green

Vans Classic Black Slip On Trainers

Fjallraven Kanken Mini Backpack

Trip Metal Round Mirror Sunglasses

This jumpsuit is so easy to wear, and again, on cold and rainy days you can just chuck anything over the top. The mini backpack is a great option if you plan on carrying around your essentials and some other bits too (like a blanket or a spare jumper), and as it's mini it wont be to much of an annoyance for others (I don't know if this is just me? But I don't get why people wear backpacks if they plan on being right in the crowd, am I the only one?)

Hope you like my 4 simple festival outfit ideas, hopefully this give you guys some inspiration and is getting you excited for summer!

Let me know what you're planning on wearing this summer & what festivals you're going to! 

Nikki xx

*photos are not mine

Festivals 2015

Festival season has begun across the pond, but I really think British do it best. Here's a summary of the biggest and best music festivals to help you guys decide where to go camp this year!

Reading and Leeds

             This is the one for me. I went last year & I can honestly say it was the best 5 days of my life. The music is so diverse, I think anyone with any taste can go and still have an amazing time. This years headliners are Metallica, Mumford & Sons, The Libertines. With music from BMTH, Alt-J, Royal Blood, Kendrick Lamar and Bastille also playing the main stage. Babymetal will also be playing their first ever UK festival; who I think will put on an interesting show. 

             The NME stage also looks amazing to me; LimpBizkit, Swim Deep, Twin Atlantic, Wolf Alice, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Deadmau5, Years & Years, are a few of the people playing. With a closing set from Knife Party. The Dance Stage, The Pit, Festival Republic Stage and the 1xtra Stage all have some great musicians on the line up, and are great for hearing new music and bands you may not originally think to listen to. 

            I'm biased, but RandL is definitely one of the front running festivals in Britain at the moment. 

Download

              'The UK's premier Rock festival' pretty much sums it up. It is hardcore and is what festivals are truly about. With 4 stages, Slipknot, Muse and Kiss are headlining this year. Other big names include Motley Crue, A Day To Remember, Rise Against, Marilyn Manson, Fightstar, Enter Shikari and Dragonforce (who even my own mother enjoys listening to). 

               It's definitely aimed at a certain taste, so you know you can make friends easily, as you know everyone there appreciates good quality rock music. 

Latitude

              Held in my home county, this was the first festival I went to and I'm glad it was! It's a lot more chill, with a big focus on people of any age going, including children, with family camping. It's also got so much more than just music; it has poetry, comedy, loads of artsy bits to see and do. Because of where it is held it has such a cool, indie vibe - there a raves in the woods each night, a cool lake stage, and pink sheep grazing between the camp site and arena area. There's a couple of similar name playing as R&L's; and also Noel Gallaghers High Flying Birds, Manic Street Preachers, The Vaccines, La Roux and loads more. Personally I really recommend Latitude for first timers (and everyone else) cause it's such a hippy relaxed vibe.

Glastonbury

              The Kim K of festivals, everyone has heard of this one and the controversy it causes. It lives up to it's reputation every time, with incredible (and slightly unexpected) names. From Lionel Richie to Foo Fighters to Kanye West; it's kind of random. But a festival everyone should attend once in their life, or so I think. There's not too much to say about Glastonbury really because it is so huge that I don't really need to tell you anything about it. This is one for the cool kids though.

Boardmasters

               Held in Cornwall, it is the 'home of surfing and music'. Raleigh Ritchie, Bastille, Duke Demont, Rudimental and Seasick Steve are but a few playing over the weekend. Different to the rest, there's surfing during the day and music in the night, which sounds amazing to me. And if you're in such a beautiful place such as Cornwall you really can't not have a great time. They also hold after parties in Newquay until the sun comes up to keep you going all day long. This is one I've been wanting to go to for a long time!

These are a few of what Britain has to offer, but Festival Calender has a massive list of what else is going on over the next few months! Book your tickets soon guys, otherwise you might regret it!

Nikki xx

Midweek

Music//Long Live The Struggle - The Kings Blues

Released in 2012, but oh well. I'm really enjoying this album at the moment. It's such a mix. Cant Bring Me Down feat. Jason Butler (of Letlive) has been on my iPod for ages, but I'd never really listened to The Kings Blues properly; boy have I been missing out. Also very late to the party, as The Kings Blues split up in April 2012. Wikipedia describe their sound as a ska and folk fusion, influenced by pop-rock; which doesn't sound like it would work, but I think this album has a song for everyone. 

Nikki xx 

PVRIS

Album fave time! This week (well, basically since it was released), I have been listening to PVRIS debut album, White Noise. 

Pronounced paris, this 3 piece rock band from Massachusetts caught my eye when I saw the video for St Patrick on Kerrang. I just thought they looked really cool, dressed in all black, and Lyndsey Gunnulfsen (hope I've spelt that right) voice is really cool. Really cool is how I would describe them basically, I aspire to be like them. 

Because of their genre, female lead and having only 3 members I'm sure many people would liken them to Paramore; but I'd say they are a lot more edgier than Paramore. They have a slightly hardcore sound. 

My Google Play recommends bands such as Issues, Hands Like Houses and Slaves, so if you're fans of them you may enjoy this album as well. I would suggest PVRIS to anyone who enjoys alternative, electronic rock.

To get a feel for them I'd suggest 'My House', 'Let Them In' and 'St Patrick'; pretty sure these are my 3 favourite songs on the album. But that changes frequently.

Let me know what you think of these guys, and any recommendations for me.

Nikki

**Photos are not mine

Single Sunday

Something new I want to try to do is a weekly single/album/band, or anything music related I guess, that I'm just really enjoying that week. So to start this off is one of my FAVOURITE bands. who leaked the first single off their upcoming album today, excited much?!

TSSF - Nerve

I had to have these guys as my first 'Single Sunday' as there one of the few bands I can listen to on loop without getting bored. I've been dying to hear some new stuff from them, and the single 'Nerve' is just faultless. It's got the classic TSSF sound that I enjoy, great lyrics that I'm sure a lot of people will relate to and a great vibe. As a first single it sets a good standard for their self-titled third album (which you can pre-order online and will be released 19th May)

If you're unfamiliar with The Story So Far I would recommend giving them a listen; different to a lot of the current music on the radio etc. And I would guess you'd describe the genre as pop punk, skater punk? If you want something new to listen to, that's emotional and a little bit angry TSSF is the band for you. 

Thoughts on 'Nerve'?

What music are you enjoying at the moment?

Lots of love, Nikki

The Brit Awards 2015

The brits has come and gone for another year, and I was surprisingly pleased. Ant and Dec did a good job stepping into James Cordons shoes, and all the nominees were such high standard it was hard to tell who would win. I really enjoyed Taylor Swifts opening performance, Kanye was on point and Kim K looked amazing. 

The first award was British Male Solo Artist, and Ed Sheeran really deserved to win. He's such an amazing talent and really shows the standard of British music at the moment (he also grew up in the same area as me, woo!) Ed also won the Mastercard British album award, which is amazing as the other nominees such as Sam Smith and Alt-J were tough competition. I think everyone in Britain is so proud of how far Ed Sheeran has come!

Another British male who did well last night was Sam Smith. I am so happy he won 2 awards (Global Success and British Breakthrough). He writes amazing songs, has such a powerful voice and I was lucky enough to see him live a few years ago when he had only released his collabs with Disclosure and Naughty Boy. 

More males who are great live and won their first Brit award was Royal Blood, who won Best British Group! I was really rooting for these boys as they play the kind of music I love and are different to the rest of the nominees last night; except for maybe Foo Fighters who were awarded Best International Group - this made the 15 year old me so exstatic. Things are looking great for Royal Blood at the moment.

There were only two female winners last night; Taylor Swift won International Female Solo Artist, and Paloma Faith won British Female Solo Artist. First Brit wins for both these girls and they've both worked so hard to deserve all their success. Paloma was definitely the most grateful winner of last night, which has made me like her even more.

Other winners included Pharell, Mark Ronson and unsurprisingly One Direction. The winners this year, like most years really deserved their awards as they showcase how talented musicians and people in the industry are at the moment.

Let me know who you thought should have won and what performances you loved last night.

Lots of love, Nikki