Phresh Mentality has had a total revamp and is keeping it phresh at it’s very own .com! How exciting!

You can now find me at

WWW.PHRESH-MENTALITY.COM

Please please please update your links and tell a friend too!

See ya there!

Amber <3

That’s right, tell your auntie, your cousin and your mama too… Phresh Paints is open and we wanna paint you!

You’ve seen the designs on the blog, now you can get them for yourself! If you want nails adorned with fabulous custom designs that are guaranteed to turn heads then look no further! Email paintme@phreshpaints.com or join the FACEBOOK GROUP and get your bookings in NOW!

The service is mobile, so we come to you! Read on for more information…

♥ Prices range from £10-£25 depending on designs

♥ Discounted prices for group bookings

♥ £20 minimum on all bookings

♥ Shape, Bottom Coat & Top Coat included

I definitely recommend booking in groups. Not only is it cheaper, but it’s more fun! It’s always great to get together with your friends and have a girly night in while you’re pampered!

Great for Hen nights, birthday parties and a cool theme for kids parties too!

Spread the word and make sure you contact me to get your bookings in early!

Check out www.PhreshPaints.com and join the FACEBOOK GROUP to see photos for design ideas & pricing.

Of course, I’m talking about Disney!

My friend Jenny came to visit me last week and we happened to get a bit nostalgic and started to watch some old Disney movies, which being me, made me want to put some Mickey and Minnie loving on my nails. So voila, the result of an hour and a half poring over my nails with a paintbrush dipped in several colours of acrylic paint. I’m proud to say that Mickey & Minnie are all HAND PAINTED by myself – Jenny is witness to this!

Jen opted to pay homage to our favourite female mouse in a more subdued fashion. She had an impending interview to attend and didn’t want to look like a weirdo with Mickey Mouse on her nails… I guess it’s just me who doesn’t care when I go to interviews with every colour of the rainbow on the end of my fingers?

If you look closely, Minnie’s bow is adorning the pinkies! Adorable

I was working on Big Brother last week and I had to look after the contestants before the launch and prepare them for their time in the house. As there were over 80 finalists, we were all put into teams… Mine was the Yellow team. Unfortunately, being in team yellow also meant having to wear a bright yellow t-shirt at all times, so to make it more bearable of course my first thought was to add more bright yellow to my being… Smart, right?! LOL… Well if you can’t beat em, join em. My yellow smileys went down a treat and they made me cheerful every time I looked at them, which is always a bonus when you’re working 15 hour days!

Over the weekend I had the privilege of performing poetry at a wedding. The groom was a gentleman I’d been working with last year and after coming to one of my performances, he had asked me to write a poem for him and his Fianceé that could be read at their wedding. The only requirements from is side was that the poem had to contain the words ‘I Love You So Many’ as that’s what they say to each other. So, off I go to write this poem, which turns out to be entirely based around the phrase. It’s pretty cheesy but just the kinda thing couples in love, LOVE!

Turns out he and his Fianceé loved it so much that they both cried when they read it and asked me to perform it for them at the ceremony. Which brings us to today…

It was a lovely wedding, the poem went down a treat and to top it all off, @NappyNubianPoet (or Carol Ohemaa for those in the real, non-twitter world) was my date, so I had great company too! For those that are interested, here’s what I wore:

It’s a little 1950′s esque number from River Island. Of course, I couldn’t disappoint on the nail front. I decided to go matching, so here we have the cherries on mint green look:

Oh, and did I mention that Omar performed at the wedding too?! Yes, THE Omar. The *sings* ‘There’s nothing like thisss’ Omar! (Hence the title of this post)

Don’t worry, we didn’t let him get away without getting photographic evidence (click ‘em to see bigger)

Carol & Omar

Me & Omar

All in all, a great way to spend a Saturday & it was SO beautiful to see two people so in love and so happy, on such a special day, among their family and friends. It was wonderful to witness it and an honour to be a part of it.

I often worry about where my life is going. Even though I consider myself to be someone who has always had a direction and something to strive for, I’m big on achieving goals – so I worry.

I worry about where my life will end up, how successful I’ll be, where on earth I’ll be in 5, 10, or even a years time. However, a little while ago I realised something that appeased my worrying somewhat.

I’m sure you’ve all heard that saying that goes something along the lines of

“You have to know where you’ve been to know where you’re going”.

Well, I’ve realised it’s more a case of

“You have to know where you WANT to be in order to know where you’re going”.

I’ve always equated many things in life to driving, and another way I think about this particular theory is that life direction is a bit like a Sat Nav. Yeah, I said it – a Sat Nav. Don’t worry, I’m not talking crazy, I’m going somewhere with this…

As you know, with a Sat Nav, you type in the postcode of where you want to go and the device will guide you to your destination. Knowing where you want to be or what you want to do is a bit like having a postcode for your life. It creates focus, and having focus on our goals is what helps us achieve them. This can apply to most long term (and even short term) goals.

Someone once told me (It was probably my ever-wise Mama) that you don’t always have to know HOW you’re going to get there, as long as you know where, or indeed WHAT, ‘there’ is – you’ll reach it. ‘There’, in this case, is your dream career, or your ideal weight, or knowing how to play the guitar well; anything you want to achieve really.

So basically, a postcode = knowing where you want to be.

The other thing with Sat Nav’s is that we need a building number in order to reach the exact location we want. Well, as with life, we don’t always know that building number, or the specific place we want to end up. However, a postcode gets us to the area we need to be in and although we may need to knock on a few doors, we will find the right one sooner or later.

It’s when you don’t know the building number and you’re knocking on all of those doors that knowing your postcode comes in really handy. At least you know that the one you want is among the next 10 rather than the next 1000 and if you make a wrong turn or reach a dead end, you will keep being redirected towards your destination.

If you don’t know that postcode, or at least where you want to be, you could spend all of your time knocking on the millions of doors that you THINK could be the right one, when in reality, you’re not even close. That map you’ve got isn’t any good if you don’t know where you’re going.

It may sound too good to be true, but this really is foolproof. So many books, teachings, life coaches, you name it – tell us that we should visualise what we want, focus on it and put in the work in order to be prepared for when the opportunity arises. The only catch is that, just like you have to put petrol into a car for it to go anywhere, you have to put your ENERGY into reaching your goals. As long as you put in the work, you will find yourself reaching your destinations. After all, a parked car will remain just that – parked. But a car with petrol in the tank, a running engine and a foot on the accelerator will move. Add to that a driver who knows where they want to go, then that car will be steered in the right direction until it reaches it’s destination.

I realise my mind works a bit (ok a lot) differently from the rest of the world, but this is how I see it.  Knowing all of this has really helped me, so I hope, in some lovely yet strange way that it might help you, too.

From the classical music that hits your ears on the intro, to the sickeningly insightful and observant lyrics and the gentle piano that signs the album off; DoubleThink, the latest offering from UK Hip Hop artist Akala, is not what you’d expect.

This is Akala’s third album and he’s come a long way from where he started on the underground scene back in 2004. He’s always been a highly lyrical rapper, with complex rhymes about widespread issues that would label him as a ‘conscious’ artist. A label that, on some levels, has been both a blessing and a curse for him, as conscious Hip Hop is effectively an oxymoron within mainstream music.

This comes to light somewhat in Akala’s inspirations for Double Think. He quotes George Orwell’s ‘1984’, Aldous Huxley’s ‘Brave New World’ and Yevgeny Zamyatin’s ‘We’ as stimulus for their dystopian qualities. These are all things that will no doubt require a quick session of Googling for most people, whereas his musical influences for the musical and hip hop element of the album were from Wu Tang Clan, Public Enemy, Depeche Mode and Radiohead. Even his muses are juxtaposed, perhaps intentionally.

His intelligence is put on display for all to see in this highly evolved piece of work. For me, it became more about what he was saying rather than the music, however the musical element of the album is no less captivating than the words. There is an eclectic mix of genres throughout, with Rock and Metal guitar riffs played out on tracks like ‘Faceless People’ and ‘What Is Real’, Dubstep, Punk, Classical and of course some plain old Hip Hop. The beats are ones to bob your head to and the entire album is a very easy listen.

The subject matter on a lot of the tracks is painfully poignant, for example ‘Yours and My Children’ talks about the children being killed all over the world being just the same as children of our own. He also explores many of his own emotions that no doubt listeners can empathise with. ‘Psycho’ displays this perfectly, as he angrily rants that Sometimes I just wanna fight / and I don’t give a s*** what’s right but on the other hand, some days he just wants to love the world. A feeling that many of us can relate to I’m sure.

As a lover of Spoken Word, ‘I Don’t Need’ is a track that stood out to me. The interesting subject of what women think men want and what men really want is explored;

‘I don’t need for you to be an independent woman / and I don’t wanna be an independent man /
If we can get along and laugh, talk, have sex, dream / laugh, talk and still like each other /
Then maybe, just maybe, we can depend on each other.’

‘Find No Enemy’ focuses on race and identity and ‘God’ takes on queries about faith and higher power, backed by stimulating electro sounds.

So many topics are covered and questions are raised on this 18-track LP. At first thought it may seem long but once you start listening, it’s almost not enough time for Akala to explain himself. His lyrical prowess and honesty make this body of work enthralling. The album is an all rounder, and with it I think Akala has proven that ‘conscious’ artists’ works can have just as much musical clout, if not more, than the mainstream players. It’s just a shame that his efforts haven’t been as widely received in the past as perhaps they should have been.

It’s my hope that DoubleThink is a breakthrough for Akala as younger generations could learn a lot from listening to this kind of music – and his fanfare is long overdue.

–Amber Yeshpaul

DoubleThink and the single ‘XXL’ are both out now via Illastate.

www.akalamusic.com

See original post on SoulCulture.co.uk

2010 marks the return of the singer/songwriter with the unmistakeable deep baritone voice, full of soul and nostalgia. In a class of his own amongst his soul singing peers, it’s Jaheim!

With his impressive first release Ghetto Love back in 2001, he conjured comparisons to greats like Luther Vandross and Teddy Pendergrass. It’s this mature sound in a youthful package that makes Jaheim the old soul voice for the new generation, so his latest effort and fifth album Another Round is a welcome return. After a three year break since Makings of a Man in 2007, it seems Jaheim is continuing in the vein of the refined gentleman we began to see then, and it’s definitely working for him.

Another Round was released in the States on the 9th of February 2010 and debuted at number three on the Billboard 200. The album opens with the lead single “Ain’t Leaving Without You,” a ‘70s/’80s funk influenced track that immediately has your head bobbing and groove going. Not surprising, as the song samples Fat Larry’s Band’s “Act Like You Know” and the hook from De La Soul’s “Ring Ring Ring.”

It all goes together to make a fantastic track that’s infectious. The remix, which features Jadakiss, closes the album and rounds the record off nicely. This is the only track that has a feature on it and I must say that it’s nice to hear an album being carried mainly by the artist, instead of 70% of the songs on the record having guest spots.

The second single and second track from the album is “Finding My Way Back.” It’s a nice follow up to “Ain’t Leaving” as it’s another easy listening, soulful number that lends nicely to the ‘grown man’ theme of the whole album. The story of a guy trying to find his way back to his woman’s heart holds the romantic maturity needed to fit in with the whole package.

“Woah” is another sincere love song that has a familiar and current sound to it. It’s got a gentle yet catchy melody that will be great for the radio come summer time. It’s one of those ones you want to be singing whilst in love on a sunny day. This love song theme continues throughout with varying tempos, meaning that this album is definitely one for the romantics at heart. “Impossible” takes us back to Percy Sledge’s “When a Man Loves A Woman”, allowing Jaheim to do what he does best – old school with a modern day twist.

The title track is rather unexpected amidst an album full of smooth & sultry beats, with little occurrence of synthesised sounds. Although it’s inoffensive, it’s nothing special, and something I might have expected from one of his earlier albums. Even the subject matter of the song doesn’t seem to fit in with the plethora of tender love songs we’ve been hearing up to this point.

As we get to the tail end of the album, the sound mellows out again and we are returned to soulful bliss. “II Pink Lines” is an interesting take on a ‘daddy song’, we get a sprinkling of pain and anguish with on “Otha Half” and just for good measure, some sexy and alluring lyrics on “Closer.”

The penultimate track, “In My Hands” is extremely Luther-esque, with Jaheim’s tone sounding almost like a reincarnation of the late Mr. Vandross. This is in no way a bad thing and the song really showcases why Jaheim is in a class of his own amongst the men of soul at the moment.

This affinity to dated crooners could perhaps be one of the reasons why he seemingly hasn’t achieved as much mainstream success as other modern soul singers like Anthony Hamilton or Raheem DeVaughn, however , I think Another Round is a great achievement for Jaheim. It flows well, is an easy listen and has that great balance of meaningful lyrics coupled with nicely produced beats and melodies.

This album is one for the soul lovers, love lovers and the plain old romantics.

- Amber Yeshpaul

Jaheim’s latest album Another Round is out now on Atlantic Records.

www.jaheimmusic.com

See original post on SoulCulture.co.uk

As you can see from the looks of THIS post, my second attempt at floral roses has proven much more sucessful! I did them on my friend Lauren first (adove) and I loved them so much that I had to have them myself too (below).

I picked up some acrylic paints at a craft shop recently as I’d heard they were much more effective and user friendly for nail art than polish. It’s true – I used a paint brush and lilac paint for the detail on the roses and it made them look much more realistic.

The base on the one above is Mint Candy Apple by Essie and the one below is a mint green colour by H&M. The base purple of the roses is Bright Purple by Barry M and the lilac & black are basic acrylic paints that you can get from most craft shops. I recommend picking some up!

Lilac is so hot right now! It’s everywhere and is definitely the colour of the moment, along with minty greens. I decided to put the two together with this little leopard number. You know I love a bit of lep and it’s so easy to do when you’re in a rush and want something funky on your nails!

I LOVE this H&M mint green colour. It pops more than Essie’s Mint Candy Apple, while still being that lovely shade of mint green (even though it looks more turquoise here). The lilac I used is Spontaneous by China Glaze. It’s a also got a bit more pop to it than other lilac colours, like Essie’s Lilacism.

I used the same lilac for this simple design on my mum. She likes something a bit more toned down but still with that sparkle factor to make her nails look different from the norm. I liked this one:

The smooth, shiny-ness is courtesy of Seche Vite!