Ellen And The Escapades

Ellen And The Escapades









Foundation: Ellen has pale-olive skin so some tinted moisturiser works well and keeps the look very natural

Eye Shadow Colour: Rustic browns, chocolates and rich darks to create the perfect folk-pop look

Blush: Try a mineral enhanced bronzer to sweep over the cheeks, followed by a rosy blush in the centre of the apples.

Leeds-based Ellen And The Escapades are a 5-piece band of folk-infused pop with a pinch of indie, fronted by singer/songwriter Ellen Smith. Beneath the plaid shirts and hippy headbands, Smith is one seriously talented Yorkshire lady, whose march to success has so far been an unstoppable one.

Having recently got back from their tour of Switzerland, Ellen And The Escapades also performed on the BBC Introducing Stage at this summer’s Reading and Leeds Festival, and have supported the likes of Fanfarlow, Mike Sanchez (the dude who supported Led Zeppelin), Sky Larkin, Tigers That Talked and Howard Elliot Payne, to name but a few.

Smith is an English KT Tunstall, only better. The gritty acoustic guitar and rich harmonica make for a listen that is as raw as a knee scuffed on the first day of school. Her husky voice stretches effortlessly across an impressive vocal-range; the music created from these humble instruments is one magic carpet ride from start to finish.

The band, who met at Leeds College of Music, have different influences such as The Beatles, Mumford And Sons, Carole King and Bob Dylan, yet collectively they make perfect folk-pop that is utterly absorbing; full-bodied music that overwhelms the senses and the soul.

Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Jenkins

Sacred Arias

Foundation: Award-winning Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins has redefined Classical crossover, and is pioneering a new type of Opera superstar.

Eye Shadow Colour: Think classic colours; navy and peach, very old-Hollywood.

Lipstick Rating:

Tips: Apply plenty of blush for a rosy Hollywood-starlet glow.

Try Bourjois Rose.

This album gives us further evidence this lady is as passionate as she is a perfectionist.
I dare to ask the question, how much more amazingly talented and beautiful can Jenkins get?
A truly captivating album, she managed to cast a bewitching spell leaving me in a serene trance whilst listening.

The arrangements are subtle enough to showcase Jenkins’ hauntingly beautiful vocals, stretching effortlessly across six octaves.

For this album, Katherine used memories and experiences from her childhood in the valleys of Wales, which inspired her highly anticipated sixth album. It includes arias, popular songs - some sung in Italian - as well as classical crossover music and traditional hymns.

Highlights on the album include Pie Jesu, Ave Maria, and a cover of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah – although it owes more to Jeff Buckley’s version. Yet, I find it hard to pick out favourites in an album so spectacular.

Sacred Arias will be Jenkins' final album with Universal, when she’ll join the Warner Music Group in a bid to break into the American market.
Even if you’re not a fan of opera or classical music, if this album doesn’t impress you I don’t know what will.

Lily Allen

Lily Allen

It's Not Me, It's You




Foundation: Maybelline DreamMatte Mousse


Eye Shadow Colour: A blend of natural and fresh base palettes with lots of black kohl eyeliner!


Lipstick Rating:








Tips: be fashion-forward like Lily and wear jade coloured nail polish from Chanel. Ebay sells them at a fraction of the cost.



Its easy to forget what it was that made Lily Allen a household name. The past few years she’s graced the pages of every newspaper and glossy magazine around the country, her willingness to put it all out there has made her a favourite target of the paparazzi, but has living her life through a lens made her more guarded second time round? In short, no.

It’s been two years since Allen last gave us any musical offerings and in that time she’s experienced more than say, what your average thirty year old goes through. It’s still hard to believe she’s only 24.

It’s Not Me, It’s You sees her grow as an artist, delving into taboo areas such as drugs, politics, celebrity culture and the very bitter ‘He Wasn't There’, a song about growing up with a famous father and feeling lonely with no one to talk to; perhaps this will inspire Keith Allen take a good hard look at himself, and ask if it was all worth it?

Everyone’s At It is song set to a synth-heavy soundtrack The Killers would be well within their rights to sue over, and that’s not the only familiar track; ‘Who’d Have Known’ is a borrowed melody stolen from Take That’s ‘Shine’, although this time, it was consented!

This record is full of social commentary and witty observations; only Lily Allen could get away with writing a song about premature ejaculation and turn it into a heartfelt track, it’s part of her charm; she's gobby and glamourous in equal measure!

The record is a melting pot of Kate Nash, Remi Nicole, Katy Perry and Gwen Stefani-esque tracks.
The Fear dived straight into the number one stop on in February, followed by It's Not Fair and 22, my only hope is that Go Back To The Start, a letter to her sister asking for forgiveness, is the next single to be released.
The most noticeable thing about this album is just how incredibly honest it is. It differs from her previous album, Alright, Now; less frantic but just as exciting.
In these songs Allen isn’t just a young woman, she’s every woman.

Little Boots

Welcome to Lipstick and Lyrics!

By Rosie Marsh

A site dedicated to the fabulous ladies in music today!

Behind every great song is a great woman...

Little Boots

Hands

Foundation: Little Boots’ first offering of sleek synth beats and tongue-in-cheek lyrics is catchy and memorable, without trying to be ‘serious’ and ‘different’.

Eye Shadow Colour: Beneath those luscious false lashes lies a deep palette of golds and rich browns.

Lipstick Rating:

Tips: Use vaseline or false eyelash glue around and under the eye, which acts like a glue, then lightly dab on glitter.

Unlike her other female counterparts, such as Florence and her pretentious-art-school Machine, Little Boots, aka Victoria Hesketh, isn’t innovative, nor is she creating a new ‘sound’, but as a self confessed pop/chart music lover, she isn’t trying to either.

This is a lady who wants to get people tapping their fingers on the wheel in a traffic jam, singing in the shower and partying in nightclubs to good old-fashioned pop music.

Stand out songs on the album Hands are Ghost, a Ringo Starr-esque rhythm and simple walking bassline, Symmetry, which builds up to the chorus in the same way as Remedy, and is a record The Human League would be well within their rights to sue over, incidentally, Phil Oakley features on the record!

The hype surrounding Little Boots is without doubt justified, and she is fast becoming the nation’s sweetheart. The end few tracks on this album are not the usual riff-raff pointless stocking-fillers, which makes a refreshing change.

Tune Into My Heart is 80’s inspired and echoes that of Starship and Fleetwood Mac, a very sincere record, whilst Hearts Collide sounds like it belongs on Kylie’s Fever album.

Meddle has the appealing empty-auditorium sound of a Fame rehersal-session final, and proves that this tiny package of music talent is far from your average ivory-tickler.

Little Boots is fast becoming the one lady in pop you should always be able to rely on to make life taste a little bit more like sprinkled sugar on top.

Myself and Little Boots at Leeds Festival 2009!