ALBUM REVIEW: "Halcyon" by Ellie Goulding

http://cdn.idolator.com

I’ve been a fan of hers ever since her first album came out which I thought was absolutely incredible with songs like “Guns And Horses”, “Starry Eyed” and “Every Time You Go”. Looking forward to her concert on April 25^th, here’s a review of what I think about Ellie Goulding’s second outing!

The first song “Don’t Say A Word” seems like an intro song to me as it lacks a chorus. It doesn’t really stay in mind. “My Blood” is already the highlight of the album – what an extraordinary track you just can’t get it out of your head. “Anything Could Happen” might be the most popular song, I hear it in commercials and TV-shows ALL the time! Its mood is quite catchy. “Only You” is certainly not my favorite, as I think it comes across quite annoying, though it improves with time. The title track “Halcyon” is what I expect from an Ellie Goulding album; breathtaking. “Figure 8” is the last highlight, a dub-step sounding song that completely manages to get your body shakin’.

“Joy”, “Explosions” and “Hanging On” have nice melodies, but you forget about them easily. “Atlantis” is cool, having an unusual edge to it, the last one “Dead In The Water” is pleasant to listen to. I’m not incredibly impressed by Ellie Goulding’s second one, as the first one was so path-breaking. She certainly stayed true to her style and tries out new things in terms of sound and voice-mixing and still, all songs are nice to listen to, but “Halcyon” in general is less groovy and lacks a chartbuster like “Lights”! Can’t wait for the concert though and, hey, it’s still Ellie Goulding!

 

OUTFIT DU JOUR: [22.03]

The Viennese Belvedere garden is stealing the show on these pictures! Veronika and I are enjoying our Easter holidays; right now, she's off to beautiful Zürich (safe travels!) while I'm stuck here writing my diploma thesis in order to finish my last semester in Vienna. Next semester I'll be off to England where it's hopefully not gonna be as frosty for such a long time-span.

This will quite surely be our last winter outfit we post, i hope you like it even though my color scheme is normally a bit lighter, as you know. It was terribly cold when we shot this and it still is, with April knocking at our doors. By my birthday it had better be warm, that's my one demand.
All you have NICE Easter Holidays or Spring Break or whatever it may be! ;)

Jacket: Zara

Pants: Zara

Shoes: Topman

Sweater: Review / Peek&Cloppenburg

Bag: Asos

MOVIE REVIEW: "Silver Linings Playbook"

http://www.boxofficemojo.com/

I know, by now the movie’s name is just “Silver Linings” but I went for the original name, that came before all this Acadamy Award craze surrounding the film that I thought was completely inappropriate. I saw this a while ago and thought it was a nice movie with witty scenes. However, then I got to know it was nominated for 8 Academy Awards and was happy I saw it without expectations.

Nominated for the BIG 5 as well as EVERY acting category, one must expect a brilliant, surprising, fantastic event. But what’s left is a film as simple as can be that is saved by its charm. The contents dealing with psychological disorders is quite funny especially as everyone in the film seems to have one. The dance competition in the end is quite nice. Jennifer Lawrence’s acting is superb and she was given an Academy Award win (congrats!). But what is left? 

Apart from the Best Directing category (!) where it replaced films like Argo or Les Miserables, it was also acknowledged in the Screenplay category as well as the Editing category. I’m asking myself what was so special about the editing of this film. Also, the nominees for Bradley Cooper and Jackie Weaver seemed out-of-the-world to me. Something there went wrong. Apart from that: GOOD movie. Fun. Some nice scenes. Enough for 3 stars. :)

 

 

PHOTO POST: hair care

Today more of a beauty & product related post as I often get asked about my hair care routine. While being on a pretty much constant search for THE perfect shampoo or THE perfect hair oil & always listening to suggestions from friends, I have been sticking to these three essential products for a long time already.

The first two, a shampoo and a hair oil, are from the "orofluido" series. I've discovered them by chance through a friend (who's site you can check out here if you're interested :) hairandcosmetic.de) and have pretty much instantly fallen in love with them!! These have become my trustworthy companions ever since for leaving my hair shiny & feeling soft! :) I'm already on my second bottle of the hair oil & am amazed that it actually lasted for more than half a year, justifying it being a bit pricey, which I was surprised about at first.

The third product - a "redken" hairstyling spray - comes into action when I decide to do something different once in a while. Usually I stick to quickly blowdrying my hair, leaving them naturally straight for everyday looks. This little helper comes in handy when I decide to invest a bit more time into some curls or waves, like you see them on the photos here. Not sure if these sprays really make a difference or not, but at least they take off some guilt from torturing my hair from time to time :D