Them Crooked Vultures

Hype is a powerful thing. It can make people like Susan Boyle become one of the best selling artists ever overnight and Cheryl Cole a superstar. It is a thing to be skeptical of as quality usually fails to follow. And there is much hype indeed behind Them Crooked Vultures. There’s just the issue of whether there’s the substance or not to address. Read more

High Voltage!

Electro God Numan takes Campus by Storm

It was a night that will live long in the memories of all that witnessed it. The pioneer of electronic music Gary Numan played to a packed-out Campus marking the eleventh show of his Pleasure Principle Tour 2009. Read more

Quite a Spectacle

Last week Keira Knightley was spotted wearing these black rimmed Geek-Goddess glasses, which finish her ensemble just nicely.

Putting on a pair of glasses, as if they were a pair of shoes, to finish off an outfit is a great idea, and having more than one pair to wear is an even better idea - it means you can create a multitude of outfits.

If you’re going to take a leaf from the Keira book, then here are the top five frames (in no order).

Want to work the ‘Geek Chic’ look quietly? Then try Red or Dead 35. The shape of the frame will be flattering on most faces; they come in either brown or black and are the pinnacleof today’s take on Geek eye wear. (£125 from Specsavers)

Not for the faint-hearted, but certainly for the enthusiast. Catrina, from Specsavers, are a well and truly vintage frame. These frames will work well with an eclectic charity shop look. (£75)

Delve further into the world of ‘ True Geek’ with these Kester frames. More splendid than gross, Uma Thurman works frames almost identical to these. (£25 from Specsavers)

Modern Style, from Oakley at Vision Express, are a happy medium between Outrageously Geek and New-age-Geek. They would work really well with any outfit both geek and none-geek. (£140)

You would be silly to turn these beauties down. A full plastic frame from Burberry at Vision Express. These little spectacles are a statement on the tip of a nose. They’re the ultimate “look at me looking at you” glasses. (£179)

There is no excuse now, try working glasses into your everyday outfits - it just adds another level of excitement, interchangeability and interest.

Lush: A Step Back In Time

To celebrate all things retro, Lush have relaunched many of their cult products under the bracket of ‘Retro Lush’. The customers have had a massive impact on the products that were included in the launch, through their online community ‘The Lush Forum’.

The new range includes products from the entire Lush spectrum, including their patented shampoo bars and massage bars. This collection also includes Lush Perfums, an area which the company tends to avoid, with the recent launch of sister company B Never Too Busy Too Be Beautiful which specialises in make-up and fragrance, following a similar ethical promise to Lush.

So here are my highlights:

• Playdoze Bubble Bar, £2.80 - A flourescent green bar that creates the most amazing bubbles in your bath, with soothing essentail oils to send you off to sleep.
• The Strokes Hair Mask, £8.10 - Rather expensive but gives the softest, smoothest hair ever. Named after the effect it has, you won’t be able to leave your hair alone.
• Sonic Death Monkey Shower Gel, £17.50/500g - Another pricey one, but the chocc0-mocca and lime flavoured shower gel leaves you feeling perky and smelling amazing. And as the bottle says: Dig that crazy gravy!
• Ginger Hand and Body Lotion, £11.95 - Named after film icon Ginger Rogers, this mixes floral scents with spice, to give that air of adventure, with the added benefit of making your skin super smooth.
• 17 Cherry Tree Lane Soap, £2.95 - Inspired by Mary Poppins, this jasmine, lemon and cherry blossom soap leaves skin feeling soft and moisturised, with a striking floral scent.

These products are only available for a limited time, from www.lush.co.uk and in a special edition gift box filled with a selection of the retro products, available in most stores.

The Last Ten Years In Music

The last ten years in music have been an exciting first ten years of the new century. Read more

Wunderbar festival -Haircuts By Children

Last week gave the brave, trusting and possibly foolish volunteers the chance to take part in the project Haircuts By Children in the Saks salon in Newcastle’s city centre. Read more

Arctic Monkeys - Newcastle Metro Radio Arena

It’s taken about five years. Even though it’s felt about a lifetime, I’ve been waiting for this gig. Read more

This week’s must hear music

To celebrate the launch of Detour, each week we are going to bring you equally fresh new music to get your lugs ’round. This week we bring you an eclectic mix of hip-hop, indie, rock’n'roll and techno for you audio pleasure. Read more

Skin care for men

Guys your skin care regime should extend beyond soap and water.

 There are so many amazing brands and products which take no time to use and benefit your skin almost immediately.

Cleanse, exfoliate, tone and moisturise.

 Replace generic soap with a cleanser specific to your skin type.

 Clinique has a variety of solid and liquid cleansers for greasy to normal skin. A solid bar will be easier to use as it will just take place of your old soap and can be used without difficulty in the shower.

 This bit is probably going to sound a bit strange, especially if you’re new to the world of skincare.

 Exfoliation removes dead skin cells more effectively than, well, not exfoliating. Clarins for Men, Active Face Scrub, promises to deep clean and resurface your skin “super-quick” .

 Lack of dead skin cells on your face means your skin will look and feel brigher.

 If you thought exfoliating was a bit strange, then toning is going to appear more-so.

 Boots Botanics has a selection of toners which are made up of plant extracts and authenticated by the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew. Toners are specific to skin types - from sensitive to oily - so get which ever suits you.

 Toning gets rid of the dead skin cells that are left behind after cleansing - it makes your skin feel tingly and really clean.

 Moisturise is the most important part; you should do it daily to restore essential oils and moisture which your skin loses throughout the day.

 Again, this is specific to skin type, so go for one which suits your skin most.

 Lancome for Men has created a gel moisturiser, Hydrix, which will add moisture to your face as soon as you use it - amazing after a night out because that’s when your skin loses a lot of moisture.

 It is vital to the health and longevity of your skin to do all of this at least once a day - apart from exfoliating, which you should only do once a week.

 Having a good skin care regime is essential; it is the difference between healthy and young looking skin - which will last well into your future. And dull lifeless skin which will make you look older much faster than you ought to.

  If you’re not sure what skin type you are or what products will be most beneficial to your skin, make time to visit a skin care counter to get exactly what you need.

Biffy Clyro - Only Revolutions

This isn’t ‘Humbug.’ This isn’t ‘West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum.’ This isn’t ‘Resistance.’ This is the only album which you truly need this year. Not the way you need that you need that bar of chocolate of the pint after a long day but the way you need to eat and drink to live. This is ‘Only Revolutions.’ Read more

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