Heels... Heels... And More Heels!

Viewing Facebook event photo albums is the equivalent of reading a 'Vogue: The Streets' edition of the fashion magazine. The albums show what people consider as current dress up attire, what outfits are being outplayed, what the high street stores are stocking and which celebrities are influencing the fashion in your area/Facebook friend circles.

One thing is very clear in the most recent albums I have viewed: shoes are becoming important. If like me you've appreciated footwear since the beginning of time you may be happy to hear that the rest of the world has finally caught on to the importance of footwear but another thing I have noticed is that many women do not actually understand shoes.

I come from a line of thinking where footwear, both male and female, make the outfit. You could have the nicest dress on but a bad pair of shoes can annihilate all your efforts. Although I have noticed many females have started wearing replicas of  high end designer shoes and taking embarrassingly ankle twisting pictures to prove it, it is clear that although the shoe itself is to die for, the way in which it is being worn may cause the designer to go into early retirement! Poor Mr. Louboutin seems to be getting it the most thanks to the trend set by the Kardashian sisters who by the way, get it right ALL the time.

Is it by force!?

But for the rest of us who truly love and understand shoes, here are some of my faves from the S/S 2012 collections, enjoy!

      

 Gucci Ophelie
T-strap Sandal

                                     

                                   Yves Saint Laurent
                                   Ingenue

 

                   

  

Charlotte Olympia
Leaf Me Alone

Giuseppe Zanotti
Colour Block Sandals

Christian Louboutin
Bollywoody

Christian Louboutin
Asteroid

Giuseppe Zanotti
E26086 001

           

                   Walter Steiger
                Swirl Sandal

Walter Steiger
Prunelle

Christian Louboutin
Summerissima

 

Alexander McQueen

                                           

                                          Giuseppe Zanotti
                                  E20343 003

                              

Iris van Harpen X United Nude
Crystallization

                                   

                                           Iris van Herpen X United Nude
                                    Couture Fang

    

Gianmarco Lorenzi
054

Kony 2012

Last night the social networking world exploded with emotions, from rage to sadness. The reason? Kony 2012.

Unless you are devoid of internet you probably already know what I'm talking about but just in case you don't here is a video that explains it better that I ever could.

While watching this video (when did Youtube start allowing uploaders more than 10mins in video length?) I went through an emotional rollercoaster, I felt everything from rage to indignation to shame. I know we live in an imperfect world and politicians are arseholes mainly responsible for their own countries but to see that they've known about this disgusting creature known as Joseph Kony for 10 years and did nothing just feels so callous! 

But then I felt ashamed. I'm a prime culprit of applying the 'out of sight, out of mind' rule. Fair enough I didn't know about Kony but I am fully aware that many countries have tyrants that use child soldiers, what have I ever done about it? I sat there watching young people going out of their way to make a difference and I felt selfish and ungrateful for not doing more to help countries like Uganda and taking my living conditions for granted.

I'm not saying I'm going to become a freedom fighter but I am definitely going to try to start doing my bit for humanity beyond donating food and clothes. I'm going to start by raising awareness to help stop Kony. 

Here is the link to make donations: https://www.stayclassy.org/checkout/donation?eid=14711

This is  the Facebook page for Invisible Children, the organization that initiated the Kony 2012 project, please 'Like': https://www.facebook.com/invisiblechildren?ref=ts&sk=nf

This man has to be stopped! Although it may not solve the overall problem, it's a start.

#Kony2012

Photoshop Madness

The world of Twitter is truly an entertaining one and with its increasing popularity comes what I call 'Photoshop Madness'.

Twitter, although primarily a micro-blogging device, allows users to upload pictures using applications such as Lockers, YFrog and TwitPic. Most likely influenced by the appreciation males give to video vixens like Bria Myles, what has become very apparent, sometimes embarrassingly so, is the pressure some females feel to all look just like them. 

Baby got back!

Bria Myles

A lot of females have opted to follow in the steps of Buffy the Body and sign up to a gym. After a high protein diet and a few thousand crunches noticeable changes to the derrière have been reported. 

Buffy the Body's Bootynomics workout

A few females however, have decided that they want the gain without the pain and as a result have started using  image enhancement programmes such as Photoshop to... modify... their pictures.

Seriously!?

The convenience of having an app such as Instagram on mobiles has resulted in people selling dreams on the go.

                                                       

You'd think that someone trying to sell the public a dream would at least a) be able to Photoshop properly, improving the chances of the dream being successfully sold 

               

                   The sofa and table are moving for
                her hips yh (-__-)

                   

and b) delete all evidence of the original picture so that no one is tempted to expose you *side eye*

                 

                 The dream

The reality

I'm not sure what kind of world we are in these days but being bootylicious is not by force!

At least hide the original shot so you don't get found out no?

Can you imagine!? (-__-)

Photoshop has also been used to make drastic changes to body size/shape and skin tone. Although retouching has been done my magazines and photographers for years, they didn't make the changes to their subject's original appearance quite so drastic.

                                         

Don't be fooled, males also seem under pressure to impress the public and they too have gone to... extreme... measures to achieve the dream.

Is this what Jesus died for?

Is it that deep?

People need to stop living in a virtual world and start accepting themselves as they are. If you are not happy with the way you look or the life you live just work hard at making a change, Photoshopping your images will not make your life outside of the world wide web any better.

Other than the new trade of selling dreams, Twitter is indeed a fun place to be so follow me @notrude_honest!

Why Did I Get Married?

The world has been buzzing with the news that basketballer Kobe Bryant's divorce from Vanessa Bryan cost him an estimated $150 million.

Many people felt this was an unfair settlement and some, like sissy rapper Drake, made their opinion known.  Within his verse on Rick Ross' 'Stay Schemin' track Drake states "Kobe about to lose a hundred fifty M's, Kobe my n***a I hated it had to be him. B***h you wasn't with me shooting in the gym". On the other hand, many females flooded Twitter with indignation stating that although Vanessa wasn't with Kobe 'shooting in the gym', she was at home holding down the fort, cooking his meals, washing his clothes and looking after his children.

                

                    B***h you wasn't with me shooting in the gym

That's coz I was at home cooking, cleaning
& looking after yo kids!

Outrageous divorce settlements are more or less the norm in the world of celebrities but as per usual the question is: Is the person who doesn't directly earn the money entitled to leave the marriage with half (sometimes more!) of what their spouse has earned?

The financial losses associated with divorce have caused people to opt for prenuptial agreements but many people feel that a pre-nup is a sign that the person requesting it doesn't believe the marriage will last or that there is a financial motive to the nuptials. Personally I don't have anything against pre-nups, I feel they are exactly the same as a marriage certificate. 

Before ya'll begin to stone me let me explain. As a Christian I believe marriage between a man and a woman is sacred, there are many passages in the Bible to support this, however, nowhere in the Bible is a marriage certificate mentioned. A marriage certificate is a proof of matrimony and is only really needed in order to divide assets in case of divorce or death of a spouse. So how does this differ from a pre-nup which also is only valid at the point of divorce? The way I see it, if you have a problem with pre-nups you should also be against marriage certificates as they are both legal documents providing some kind of financial guarantee at the point of divorce.

I've heard many people argue that they want to get married because it is the will of God and my response to them is always the same - get married in your religious establishment but don't sign a marriage certificate! I can only speak for the Bible but I have never heard of any religious book stating the need for a marriage certificate therefore, if you are getting married for religious reasons and the security of leaving the marriage with money being married in the eyes of the law isn't your concern, you should happily avoid signing any contracts. No? I didn't think so! *side eye*

It's not what it looks like honey, we were just planking!

Now, you've signed your life away to a spouse and what you hoped was going to last till death did you part only lasted till the cheating swine your partner got their breath back from their adulterous session, do they owe you half of what they own?

My personal opinion on this matter varies from day to day. Contrary to common belief, in cases where 'marital unfaithfulness' has occured, the Bible does teach that divorce is possible although not advisable.

Matthew 19:9 - I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery. 

Most days I feel like splitting assets down the middle is the fair thing to do and that its part of the risk you take when getting married. On other days I think it depends on how you came into the marriage, after all, all the two become one stuff is from a religious angle not a legal one. I think that whoever keeps the kids for the majority of the time should get the house and they should also get enough money to maintain the life to which they have been accustomed to. I do feel its somewhat unfair that someone who is broke not financially successful upon entering the marriage leaves it a millionaire, I mean come on, even if Vanessa had been working throughout her marriage would she have made $150M? Very unlikely.

My usual standpoint on break ups is, since I didn't set the terms to ya'll getting together, I cannot comment on the terms of your break up. Would I personally ask for or agree to a pre-nup? I'm 70/30 on 'no' for now but who knows!

Live, love and laugh people, that's what life is all about!

Let's Talk About Sex

I don't know if it's the age that I'm at now or if it's just the way the world has developed but I find that group conversations somehow inadvertently turn to discussions on relationships and sex. What never seizes to amaze me is how people in their mid 20's still know so little about sex and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI)! That may explain why the statistics for unplanned pregnancies and STIs are so high in the United Kingdom.

A particular situation was brought to my attention and I had a sense of deja vu since I'd heard exactly the same scenario before. This girl I know had been experiencing some vaginal symptoms and had gone to get tested. She was told she had thrush and was given treatment to clear it up. The part that shocked me was that she was unaware that the majority of thrush cases were not sexually transmitted (women can get thrush spontaneously) and as a result was suspecting her boyfriend of having infected her! The part of the story that truly baffled me was that, even though she suspected him of cheating on her, she did not plan to confront him about it because she feared it would make her look bad! (This did make me wonder if maybe she too had been getting some action outside of the relationship...*side eye*) The fact that she was making a whole parade of a simple thrush infection left me in a confused state, I didn't know whether to laugh at her stupidity or cry at the fact that she genuinely knew nothing about the risks of having sex and possible STIs.

Another scenario is the one in which a guy from my uni tested positive for chlamydia and accused his girlfriend of cheating. The girl swore she had never cheated and that she also didn't have any symptoms. I knew the girl was very much in love with him (in fact she was obsessed!) and I couldn't see her cheating on him so I asked her to contact her ex and find out if he too tested positive. Sure enough, her ex was positive and she had indeed not cheated. If you don't get regular check-ups and do not present with any symptoms you could be walking around with a STI for years without knowing it. Not only does this sometimes result in irrepairable consequences (chlamydia leads to infertility in women), but you also bring problems and distrust to your new relationship. 

Personally I had a great sex education. From the age of 8 to 16 I was educated on sex every year from different perspectives: scientific (egg and sperm), factual (videos and information leaflets) and social (peer pressure and laws around sex). Needless to say I'm pretty clued up on the ins and outs of sex. Also, the teacher that taught me in secondary school was very blunt and one thing she drilled into our heads was "If you can't talk to your partner about sex, don't do it. If the tool looks funny, don't utilize it." They are pretty basic principles but you'd be surprised at the amount of times I've had conversations with girls that have sex but never discuss it with their partner and the guys that have said the coochie smelled funny but they went ahead with it anyway. The number of guys that do not know that chlamydia can be caught from the back of a girl's throat is just ridiculous! Even more shocking is the number of times you hear "OMG we didn't use protection! I really hope we don't get pregnant!". I've never heard a person hope they don't catch HIV.

I've always said that of the consequences of sex, pregnancy is the best one. There is a general assumption that HIV isn't real and that gonorrhoea and chlamydia are easily treated with antibiotics. What people don't seem to understand is that the number of HIV cases in the UK have more than doubled in the past ten years and that chlamydia and gonorrhoea bacteria can become resistant to the antibiotics if the individual is treated too many times. Also, there are some STIs which are much harder to treat like genital warts, and some that you have to deal with for life, like herpes.

People who are sexually active need to make it their business to know all the possible infections that could be contracted while having sex and getting regular check ups should become the norm. I would go as far as to say that when entering a new relationship both parties should get tested to ensure the relationship starts on a clean slate (and a timeline of infection can be determined! None of those "My ex infected me before you and I got together" lies! *side eye*).

People these days are just too quick to discuss how freaky they get in the bedroom but have issues keeping themselves safe. Is sex really worth playing Russian roulette with your health?

If you have been affected by the contents of this post you can contact NHS Direct for free sexual health advice on 0845 4746  http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/Sexualhealthtopics/Pages/Sexual-health-hub.aspx

Wish Upon A Star...

Have you ever wanted something soooooo bad but it continually seems out of your reach? I'm having one of those times now, where something I want is so close, yet so far.

I'm not a quitter by nature and I hate giving up on things, be it an activity, a person or just the pursuit of those killer heels I just can't find in my size. Many people may see this as a great quality but recently I've had to stop and think "Is it quitting if the thing you want was never meant for you?". 

Beyonce's 'Best Thing I Never Had' re-enforces this notion, at the time you are ready to do whatever it takes to have the object of your obsession - "I wanted you bad" - but on hind sight you realize that it wasn't even worth the hassle - "You turned out to be the best thing I never had". The problem is, society teaches us from a very young age that anything worth having is worth fighting for and that giving up is for the weak. 

I believe in hope and I think it shapes the way we live our lives, people who fight for things do so in the hope that eventually it will work out. What I have also learned growing up though, is that 'letting go' and 'giving up' is not the same thing. It takes a very strong person to let go of something they were determined to get,even stronger than the person who insists on fighting to obtain it. 

So how do you know when to fight and when to let go? Honestly I don't know, I just wish upon a star and hope I get what I want! LOL!

Girl Crush

I'm one of those females that when faced with a beautiful woman will go up to her and tell her so. Sometimes I get a weird look like 

<<< "I hope this girl is not hitting on me, I'm not a lesbian!"

Other times I approach girls that know how pretty they are. >>>

<<< A few times I got the "I didn't know I was that cute!" look but more often than not it's just shock "Omg, she's not hating on me!" >>>

I really appreciate beauty and I have no problem letting someone know that I think they look good or that I like their outfit. I have a girl crush on quite a few celebrities, nothing sexual but if I had to be reincarnated (I don't believe in reincarnation by the way!) I wouldn't mind looking like them.

Kelly Rowland

As you all probably already know from my previous post, I think Ms. Rowland puts the 'b' in beautiful.

Eva Longoria

People are forever telling me I'm blind on this one but I don't care, Eva is a hot spice! 

             

Nia Long

Age is this woman's best friend! Even at 40 years of age Nia is still one of the most beautiful and sexy women in the business!

                       

Gabrielle Union

We can't discuss beauty without mentioning Gabby, she's all kinds of gorgeous!

                  

Kristin Kreuk

This pretty young lady graced our screens as Lana Lang in the 'Superman' based TV series 'Smallville' and was later the face of 'Neutrogena'. Her exotic looks are just captivating.

                          

Jada Pinkett

I just love Mrs. Smith and I'm glad that since I have to share Will, it's with someone as gorgeous as her.

             

Eva Marcille 

Previously known as Eva Pigford, this America's Next Top Model winner looks amazing no matter what crazy hair colour she chooses to go with.

                                  

Christina Milian

I've always thought this little lady was pretty, I dunno what Dream was thinking by letting her go.

  

Lisa Raye McCoy

This woman has an amazing body and a gorgeous face to match. Can u believe she's 45 years old!?

 

Stacey Dash

Stacey is another woman who's made age her best friend. I don't mind ageing if I can keep my youthful looks like she did!

         

Bre Scullark


Another America's Next Top Model contestant (I love the show!) who's beauty stayed with me after the show was over. Her graceful demeanour and stunning features made for an instant crush! And she has gorgeous hair!

           

I bet you're all shocked that Rihanna wasn't on my list! I'm probably the only female on the planet that doesn't have a girl crush on  her lol! But yeah, here's my top 11 (couldn't quite narrow it down to 10 lol) girl crushes. I have a few more but you'd be scrolling down for hours, it was hard enough picking only two pictures for each crush!  


Ladies do you have a girl crush? If so, who is she?