LUSH and other lush things

So I recently read and completed and thought about the book We are all Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Jane Fowler -which is an absolutely fantastic novel with a fantastic twist which also left me with a list of things to study further into - lots of psychology references and interesting incidences - so on my own terms I thoroughly recommend the book as it is both sad and beautiful and is written in such a special way - Fowler's writing (again in my own terms but also my mother's whom is the voice of reason to me the child-adult) is unique and perfect and natural and inspiring. Minor spoiler alert (?) as the story is centered around the use of animals in testings for the benefit of humans- food, cosmetic and scientific - which the one character is developed around and this particular character's account of the exploitation of animals has, for life, put me off ANY use of animals in our own race's gain, and also off eating mammals*.

I have never disagreed with PETA or self-proclaimed animal rights activists because I know the raising and treatment of animals has always been horrific and sadistic, and testing chemicals on animals is extremely revolting. I encourage you to read some horror literature on some of these testings (or not, if you visualize things really easily) but I am demanding that anyone that reads this BOYCOTTS any products and companies that dare to use their human superiority over other creatures and pour acidic chemicals into rabbits eyes (also come hug a tree with me).

Bu seriously, it ain't (gosh darn) that hard. In South Africa, my circle of friends (okay, honestly the wealthy elite that can afford ridiculously high priced shampoo) buy stuff from Woolworths. Woolworths' eggs are all free-range (although there was some suspicion a few years ago as to whether their products made with eggs used free ranged eggs - I'm not sure if this is true (sorry Woolies) but I'm also too lazy to look it up so decide for yourselves!), and all of their own brand cosmetics and bathroom thingys are all "beauty without cruelty" which is fantastic and I think their version of the "no-name brand" is pretty affordable.

A few really nice cosmetic companies that do not test their products and ingredients on animals (which is quite worrying as why do we have the chemicals in majority of our products are cousins to chemicals that burn hair off dogs and what not - what if there is an odd batch and you end up with no hair? You then deserve it, you selfish swine. Buy animal friendly stuff dammit) include Inglot and Elizabeth Arden and of course the  Body Shop which also use free-trade ingredients thus respecting and supporting the communities that supply the factories with raw materials. All bloody expensive companies for a broke  student (poor me, living in a house in the rich bit of Cape Town) but really really worth it as all are high quality and delicious.

But my current favorite "beauty against cruelty" cosmetics and bathroom things company is Lush. All of their stuff is handmade so that is where the testing is held - on real human hands (okay just had another thought - is a cat's skin the exact same as a humans? Does a cat work like a human? Is a cat a human? No. So if it works on a cat, how the hell do they know it's not going to burn a hole through our faces?). All of their stuff is also damn fresh - holy shit the smell when you walk in about a kilometers radius of a Lush shop is heavenly.
Listen to this and be persuaded by the magical world of friendly and happy cosmetics:

"We believe in making effective products from fresh, organic* fruit and vegetables, the finest essential oils and safe synthetics.We invent our own products and fragrances. We make them fresh by hand using little or no preservatives or packaging, using onlyvegetarian ingredients, and tell you when they were made.We believe in buying ingredients only from companies that do not commission tests on animals and in testing our products on humans.We believe in happy people making happy soap, putting our faces on our products and making our mums proud.We believe in long candlelit baths, sharing showers, massage, filling the world with perfume and in the right to make mistakes, loseeverything and start again.We believe our products are good value, that we should make a profit and that the customer is always right.* We also believe words like fresh and organic have honest meaning beyond marketing" (From the Lush Website)

                   

They want to make their mom's proud and want you to enjoy a delicious and caring bath time. Their stuff is pretty pricey depending on you budget and what you are buying (I bought a Figs and Leaves soap for a friend the other day and almost projectile vomited Exorcist-style onto the cashier's face when they announced that it would be R155 for a block of soap)(they tend to price per kilogram)(I also lied and said it was for my sister whom loved figs which is bullshit but I panicked and wanted to be cool in front of the cool staff and not someone who just buys their friend a nearly R200 gift). But it is so worth it as you feel like a fairy princess and know that your stuff is organic and good quality and animal friendly.Holy shit their stuff is also so much fun - seriously check out their website or a shop near you (flicks you the hand guns and a smile as the screen fades to black).

Hold on one more sec - Lush is seriously one of my favorite shops and you can get literally all cosmetic things there - from face masks to dry shampoo, from custom-made lipstick and mascara to play-dough soap, from fragrances to hand-moisturizer bar things. Some really great stuff is going on in Lush and I highly recommend you go check their stuff out as I have not yet been dissapointed and am hoarding most of my Lush stuff as to me it is too special to waste on an average bath(I love them so much *cries*) (also I have used up tons of their stuff  including shampoo and bathbombs which turn your bath water into a rainbow so don't hate on me k)(Gott in Himmel that took forever)(The End).

*I really wish I could go full vegetarian (while still eating animal whole-products from well treated and free range furry children) but alas my mood and mind need some kind of sustainable (animal) protein and I sadly have to eat chicken and fish so I don't murder my family. I really try my best to not eat mammals (I have always found the idea of eating a fucking baby lamb revolting, honestly I don't know how anyone - including my family - can stomach the concept. Anyway.) as in the book there is some reference to how cows, when in the slaughterhouse, change the color of their meat from fear. How true this is, I'm not sure, but it has put me off beef for eternity.

Bitch, I'm bout to blew up too

Can we just talk about Azealia Banks and the song 

(Yes I know it's not brand new, like I care). Is Azealia Banks the Tracey Emin of the music industry? Let me just make some sense of myself: so Tracey Emin is considered a feminist artist (and of course has been highly criticized and shamed) and I totally agree with this. Emin bases her artworks on seemingly personal and erotic subject matter. As in very graphic drawings,  a photograph of her enjoying a euphemistic "personal" moment (she is masturbating, the horror) in the bath and a tent with appliqued names of every single body she has slept with (note: this isn't entirely sexual - included are her grandmother and an aborted fetus which still adds to her message). Of course, her work totally goes against the dominant image and expectations of women in (an especially Western) society as she is highly expressive of her personal life (most women are considered "gross" and "unladylike" when discussing periods for instance, but Emin has used her real period blood-stained underwear in her piece "My Bed" - hello, my period shows me that I am FERTILE AS FUCK) and isn't a gentle, quiet female expectation from society. She acts like a man - despite the fact that in Western societies women have equal rights and freedoms to men so why can't we discuss our personally picked private life situation with the public? 

Furthermore, Emin is highly expressive of her sexual experiences which is so not like cool for women to do because I mean what a slut. Yet don't men (including male artists) do this constantly? Like everyday? Boasting about all the bints they've slept with, all the action they've got? Are women not allowed to seek pleasure and enjoy and have sex? We are not merely simulators for men - we are human beings (such a surprise I know) that feel and want pleasure too - did you know that the clitoris has no biological function except to feel pleasure? Like if religious people (note: not religion, figures constantly twist the belief to suit their own personal interests) say women shouldn't enjoy/have sex why the fuck is the clitoris there? I salute Emin on her courage in such a patriarchal society to present her sexual life and enjoyment of it and still be seen highly fabulous in majority of the public's eyes.

Linking this to the music industry, some anonymous soul (blessed be thy name) posted this on tumblr the other day which is kind of the inter textual basis of this post: 

"#YesAllWomen because Rihanna can make a song about enjoying sex and sing about the way she likes it, and it gets banned in 11 countries, while Robin Thicke can completely diminish the line of consent and objectify women in the process in a song and it is a ‘smash hit’ and gets to number one in multiple countries."

OMG I know how ridiculously true is that right. So finally I heard this song 212 by Azealia Banks (Ft. Lazy Jay) and I was like this girl is filthy, I love it. She again "acts" like a man in the music industry - literally how radio stations play songs from the rnb and hip hop genres which (majority okay) objectify women and glorify the seemingly "only usable" aspect of women - their bodies. Like you never hear guys singing about how dayum intellectual and selfless their bitch is. Look I'm not a complete pretentious shit, appearance is highly important - presentation and grooming are vital. Objectifying really isn't. Anyway Azealia Banks literally sings about how she is totally empowered and also by getting pleasured (instead of a man being in control of girls and getting pleasure from them). Again, she isn't considered "ladylike" with her vocabulary in the song - I repeat the song is filthy but it's totally about how women can fight the oppressive ideology and be powerful and sexual and dirty like men in the music industry as well as society. 

I am not for matriarchy, like the majestic Nelson Mandela (in relative senses) I am against domination from both sexes: I am fully for equality especially in expression between women and men, and I completely dig this song for this reason.

Lana Del Rey // Ultraviolence

First of all, this is going to be a huge challenge for a person who a) already has a tumblr (balance is the key to all things in life, I am hoping) and b) has a frustratingly stubborn (and particularly negative) outlook on things that require an effort. Alas, here I am, not giving a fuck and at least trying. So.

Well, to jump straight into it, let me begin with a list of things I absolutely adore temporarily and permanently (the differentiation between the two is my secret)(quite pointless I know but I'm trying to full up space okay).

1. Arctic Monkeys - FOREVER AND ALWAYS (if they headline Rocking the Daisies I will probably have a heart attack at Alex Turner's feet).

2. Plants - not just a freaky cat/animal lady, currently adorning my room is chorophyllic babies.

3. Alexa Chung - clothing goddess

4. Horror films - what a way to feel alive! Har har! Exams am I right!

5. Lana Del Rey

Wasn't that a lovely passage into the meaning in this post. I have been a good grasshopper and have listened to my English tutor at varsity. So Lana Del Rey. Recently I have been worshiping (literally religiously listening to a song at least ten times in a row) her earlier and mostly unreleased tracks - a few of the audios aided by her own hand-made "moving collages". No doubt (as can be judged via YouTube/internet - disclaimer: I am probably the most technologically handicapped adolescent in the 21st century - my statistics) my top six pre-publicity Lana (as in when she was still known as Lizzy Grant) are her "National Anthem Demo", "Put Me in a Movie" (huge Lolita influence - which has latched onto me as a very active viewer), "Lolita Demo", "She's Not Me (Ride or Die)", "Jealous Girl" and "Is It Wrong" (See Addendum A for these songs - I'm not joking, you will transgress perhaps to the sixties and be filled with pretty flowery sin)(Also not joking about the addendum part) .

To my absolute joy, and so worth the support and defense (literally school-yard fights. this is a joke. please) of Lana's music and character - for she really is a creation of a larger thought process questioning the American Dream - she is in the process of releasing her newest album "Ultraviolence" by slowly (almost painfully) releasing tracks. And to elevate my thoughts to the golden realm of thoughts, her newest tracks are so brilliant and unique yet so familiar and similar to the magical tracks I have been pining over the past couple of months. "Brooklyn Baby" is hauntingly beautiful and empowering for a woman - I am a femme fatale. Of course, there's also "West Coast", "Shades of Cool" and the album's namesake "Ultraviolence" . All of her work is art - the thought and effort into producing not only her music yet also this persona, this feeling of living fast to die young in such a tragic and beautiful manner is why I am in such awe of Lana and her work. Also, Lana's performances (especially her dancing) are on point.

Addendum A - The Lizzy Grant Era

National Anthem Demo

Put me in a Movie

Lolita Demo

She's Not Me (Ride or Die)

Jealous Girl

Is it Wrong