Latest news with #Angelique
BBC News
20-04-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
The Essex mother who sold Malala painting for £51k
Alexandra Johnson was already grieving her mother's death when Covid-19 hit the UK in a former city trader, she had no formal art qualifications, but she nonetheless decided to manage the boredom and channel her grief by painting in her mother-of-three has gone on to sell her works - painted exclusively with a palette knife and spatula - for five-figure this month, her portrait of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai sold for £51,200 at the prestigious Bonhams auction house."I always go for powerful women, not for [their] jobs and career, just for their inner strength," said Johnson, who lives in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex. Johnson left her job as a trader in 2002 to become a full-time became a full-time carer for her own mother in 2017 after her cancer diagnosis, and Janet died in February 53-year-old recalled how "we were really bored" when the first lockdown was imposed and she was still "fresh in grief"."I don't think I'd spent five hours painting [at that point] but during lockdown the pace of life had become a lot slower," she told the BBC."I wanted to see how good I could be."Her "amazing" mother served as an "inspiration" for those early had already sacrificed her own health by giving a kidney to one of her brothers when she was 60 years old. The painter said she was forever in awe of how women supported other women in times of crisis, and she described how her work paid "homage" to their "strength and grace".She says her paintings explore memory, femininity and resilience."I pull from my experiences. It's personal, it's my feelings on a canvas, my favourite pieces are anything that are of my mum."I found it so therapeutic."I only do women, and I've had some really low points in my life and the women in my life just pushed me through."We come from a big family of powerful women."Women wear many hats and spin many plates, she explained: "We take on so much." Breakthrough Johnson - who works under the name Zara Muse - sold her first painting "Angelique" in 2023 for £22,500. Shape of Stillness went for £47,500 in painting of Malala was was put up for sale at Bonham's after it was put forward by one of her loyal now 27, was 15 when she was shot in the head by the Taliban on the way home from school."Malala represents strength and bravery — the kind of woman I want to celebrate through my work." Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
The Guardian
01-04-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I feel as though I've been in chains': the bittersweet life of lovers rock legend Mari' Pierre
In December 1978, Marie Pierre was at No 1 in the UK reggae chart with the lovers rock classic Walk Away, a beautiful tearstained lament on a troubled relationship. Her 1979 debut album Love Affair, powered by another enduring scene song in Choose Me, remained one of Trojan's best-selling albums well into the 1980s; Pierre, with her crystalline multi-octave voice, seemed destined to follow her contemporary, Silly Games singer Janet Kay, into mainstream pop-reggae success. But in the 46 years since, Pierre has never released another album. A career that promised so much has – despite TV work and successful backing singing gigs with Robert Plant, Donna Summer and Chaka Khan – been one of frustration and thwarted ambition. Misfortune, mistrust and mistreatment, personal and professional, have sidelined her. 'I feel as though I've been in chains,' she says on a video call. 'I've been anchored for no good reason.' Pierre (born Marilyn, and now spelling her name Mari') grew up in Clapham in south London, one of six siblings. Her parents had moved from Guyana in the 1950s, where her 'quite strict but lovingly strict' father had been a well-known musician and tap dancer under the stage name Little George. Pierre's career started without his knowledge: 'He felt I was still of a tender age and knew what the music industry might expose me to.' When she was 14, her boyfriend Syd – her soon-to-be husband, whom she had met on the bus in a game of truth or dare – came to pick her up for a date. He was impressed when he heard her singing in the bath. 'I didn't realise he was in the house,' Pierre laughs. 'Once we went out, he said: 'I've got to introduce you to my sister's boyfriend, because he has a band, and they rehearse in a basement.' The sister's boyfriend was Dennis Bovell, still at school himself but starting the road to his illustrious career as a reggae and dub pioneer with his first band, Matumbi. Bovell became an important figure in Pierre's life: a musical teacher who 'was like a big brother'. 'She was like family – very close and very dear to me,' says Bovell. 'And she's always been a very powerful singer.' Pierre would sneak into Bovell's all-boys school in disguise to lay down tracks in the school studio, including her first key song Cry, released under the name Angelique. 'He got me a hat and a jacket and some trousers,' she says. 'Nobody knew that I was a girl. He did say to me: 'Don't open your mouth!' We had a good rapport. He got me and I got him. He stretched me: I couldn't sing like that before him. He protected me, and I felt secure around him.' Pierre was gaining confidence. After a spell rehearsing with Billy Ocean above a bingo hall in Dalston, east London ('Billy used to see me home and stay for dinner – he loved my mum's cooking') she joined three-piece vocal group Super Pack, who played American army bases in the UK with the Stylistics and Fontella Bass and spent two years performing in Switzerland. By the time she returned home, she had married Syd: 'We were best friends, young sweethearts.' But all wasn't well. Pierre wrote Walk Away after a fight: Syd had stormed out, leaving her at home with their baby, and she was watching a Bette Davis film. 'And she said something that just resonated with me: 'You were the cause of all of my tears but you never wiped one of them away.'' She scribbled down the lyric, came up with a melody and took it to Bovell, who in turn took Pierre to Trojan Records. 'I envisioned it as a soul song. But Dennis converted it to lovers rock.' Bovell was helping pioneer the lovers rock sound, a gentler, more romantic take on British reggae. Love Affair, now enjoying a new reissue for the first time in 30 years, is still considered one of the genre's high points; Pierre co-wrote several songs to go with Bovell's tracks and lush production. 'A great record', says Bovell. As the title suggests, many songs are not about romance but infidelity: Syd had had an affair. 'They're all based on true stories,' Pierre says. '[The affair] was damaging, because she was my best friend. I'm no longer sorry. It's all wisdom. If you don't live it, you'll never know it.' Did Syd ever hear the songs? 'Oh, he knew, yeah. There was the big guilt trip. But once bitten, twice shy.' Even before the album's release, issues mounted. Pierre says she was not properly credited by Bovell for some tracks on Love Affair; Bovell says that isn't true. Pierre says she was also refused permission to release material she had recorded at about the same time: 'Everyone was earning theirs, but I was sitting on the sideline faithfully waiting.' Bovell counters: 'If they weren't released, it was because they weren't ready.' What is clear is that parts of the lovers rock scene itself didn't treat Pierre well: lacking support and taken advantage of, she has been ripped off by promotors over the years. 'At one point she said: why am I doing this?' says Bovell. And with Bovell's eclectic career taking off as he worked with a host of artists such as the Pop Group and the Slits, it left Pierre somewhat lost without her mentor. 'I just felt that I couldn't work with anybody else but him,' she says. 'Because I trusted him implicitly.' 'We kind of grew apart,' Bovell says, admitting that even though he took Pierre to play shows in the US and Japan, he became too busy to record with her. 'She didn't particularly want to work with other producers. And I couldn't just work with her alone – I had to go and get my career.' The situation knocked not so much Pierre's confidence, but her trust in the industry. 'I haven't really had any faith in anybody else since,' she says. That goes for romantic relationships, too. She calls Syd: 'My first love, and my last. I've been out and dated. But wisdom has taught me I don't want the extra baggage.' After some failed collaborations, Pierre took to backing singing and TV work in the 1980s, including singing the theme tune to Channel 4's popular sitcom Desmond's. She also performed gigs as Damaged Daughters, a three-piece that included the 80s soul singer Princess. There were frequent gigs as in-house singer on The Terry Wogan Show and Channel 4's Club X, where she sang with Donna Summer, Chaka Khan and Randy Crawford. Most notably, she sang on Robert Plant's 1988 album Now and Zen. She didn't know who Plant was when she got the call, but did such a good job that Plant sent her a platinum disc as a thank you. 'It's proudly hanging on my wall. And I felt more humbled and well received getting that from Robert Plant because all the years I've been in the business, I haven't received that recognition from my own.' By the time she finished a 12-year run fronting Supremes tribute act the SOS Band, she was disillusioned again, and her only shows over the last decade have been lovers rock reunion nights. 'But it's not what I really want to do. I could be doing that and earning, but why? Unless I've got new material?' Pierre has a positive disposition – 'I don't get consumed with bad feelings or malice' – but everything has clearly taken a toll. 'I felt those knocks,' she says. 'I feel that happiness or joy is only for a moment, because you don't know who's waiting around the corner to steal that from you.' She also suffers from arthritis, and is going through an emotionally painful, costly, lengthy probate dispute with some family members. 'It's affecting my creativity. I'm not finding the joy in life.' But it might not be too late. Days later, Pierre rings me to say our interview 'just made me think, well, let's do this'. She contacted Bovell; not only did they 'have a heart to heart', he sent her some tracks, old and new, to work on with a view to releasing an EP. 'Because we're like a family, we can start as we desire,' Bovell says. 'I've invited her to do her lyrical magic, because she does come with some really good lyrics.' Pierre also got in touch with some old connections: they are planning to go into the studio in the spring. 'All I had to do was contact certain people, and, boy, were they ready to go.' She sounds so happy. 'So, it's not the end of Mari' Pierre,' she says. 'I'm back on the horse and willing to ride!' The reissue of Love Affair is out now on Cherry Red
Yahoo
17-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
9 Best Lip Combos Spotted on Celebs, From Kylie Jenner to Hailey Bieber
All products featured on Teen Vogue are independently selected by Teen Vogue editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, Condé Nast may earn an affiliate commission. Aeon Like peanut butter and jelly, some lip liners, glosses, balms, and lipsticks feel like they were made to go together. Finding the best lip combos, however, isn't always that simple. It's a process of searching for the right shades, proportions, and blending that works together and makes you feel your best. There are many ways to find a good pairing — whether that's trial and error, looking for shades based on your undertones, or simply letting someone else do the work for you. Many celebs and their professional makeup artists have already found some of the best lip combos out there. While you can reference stars who have similar skin tones and facial features as you, some shades just feel like they're universally flattering. (MAC Cork, we're looking at you!) Below, we've gathered some of the best lip combos and colors spotted on celebs. Let this be your cheat sheet for finding your new go-to lip combo. Known for her lip kits, it's no shock that Kylie Jenner is well-versed in the art of the lip combo. One of her most unforgettable concoctions has to be her shower lip combo. What better time to experiment with makeup than before a shower? The beauty brand founder shared that she used her own lip liner in the shade 'Comes Naturally' and topped it off with a glossy balm. $18.00, Kylie Cosmetics $19.00, Kylie Cosmetics With her own Rhode lip peptide glosses and now lip shapers, Hailey Bieber has plenty of lip combo options. But one of her lip combos as of late involves a blush instead. She told Vogue that she's been using the Rhode pocket blush in the shade piggy over a smudged layer of the lip shaper in the shade twiggy. $24.00, Rhode $24.00, rhode The live-action remake of The Little Mermaid made mermaidcore a trend in the summer of 2023, and of course, it expanded to makeup. In the film, Halle Bailey wore a stunning yet subtle warm-toned pink blended into a deep, rich brown. Lucky for us, makeup artist Kat Ali revealed every single product she used on Bailey, including the stunning lip combo we were all itching to know while watching. As it turned out, the liner was the fan-favorite shade 'Cork' from MAC, and the lipstick was the celeb-favorite Chanel lipstick in 174 'Angelique.' While the Chanel lipstick shade has been discontinued, Hourglass has a close alternative in the shade 'I'm Addicted.' $25.00, Nordstrom $39.00, Sephora Going to the Cowboy Carter tour? Why not use a lip combo approved by Queen Bey herself? Makeup artist Rokael Lizama shared that it was the 'Alignment' Lip Shader, 'Lucero' Lip Oil, and 'Refined' Velvet Creme Lipstick from the namesake Rokael Beauty. $10.00, rokael beauty $24.00, rokael beauty $26.00, rokael beauty This lip combo is gold-winning. Since the summer 2024 Olympics, Suni Lee's lip combo has gone viral a number of times. And for good reason! Her go-to's, Make Up For Ever's 'Anywhere Caffeine' lip liner and Olehenrikson's 'Citrus Sunshine' peptide lip treatment, are visually stunning. Plus, the lip treatment is said to make your lips feel super soft. $24.00, Sephora $22.00, Ulta This lip combo is Oscar-winning. For her esteemed portrayal of Ani in Anora, Mikey Madison wore Makeup by Mario shades 'Almond' and 'Toasty,' according to makeup artist Annie Johnson. $26.00, Sephora $26.00, Makeup by Mario A dutiful brand ambassador, Emma Chamberlain told Teen Vogue that she opts for Lancôme's Le Lip liner in the shade 387 and always gets very sweet compliments for it. Even though you can't get that lip liner anymore, Lancôme has a similar lip pencil: the Idôle Lip Shaper Pencil in color 36. Chamberlain also shared her love for the timeless fan-favorite Juicy Tube, much like Olivia Rodrigo. $25.00, Nordstrom $25.00, Sephora On the Eras tour, Sabrina Carpenter blessed us with a backstage GRWM and revealed her lip combo. It turned out to be the TikTok-viral NYX Fat Oil Lip Drip in the shades 'Follow Back' and 'Scrollin'' along with an NYX Slim Lip Pencil, a fan-favorite across generations. $9.00, Ulta $9.00, Ulta $5.00, Ulta Rosalía is another NYX lip liner fan. After we desperately begged her to share her lip combo on the internet for a little bit, she posted a tutorial, and it turns out that she opts for the affordable lip liner in the shade 'Cold Brew.' She tops it with Byredo's 'Earth Dust' for her signature look. She tops it all off with Benefit Cosmetics' Benetint Liquid Lip Blush & Cheek Tint and a Kylie Skin's lip oil. $5.00, ULTA Beauty $60.00, Neiman Marcus Hannah Bahng and rom&nd gave us a whole makeup collection that includes two lippies. Bahng actually told Teen Vogue how to combine the two products for a long-lasting and hydrating lip combo that's also super chic. Apply her Glasting Melting Balm first and layer Juicy Lasting Tint over it, applying it to the center of the lip first and blending out. $14.00, YesStyle $14.00, Yes Style Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Want more style stories from Teen Vogue? Check these out: Where Did All The Tween Fashion Go? All the Beauty Products We Spotted at the 2024 Olympics 9 Sunscreens Teen Vogue Editors Swear By for Year-Round Protection From Rose Water to Eyeliner, An Ode to Middle Eastern & North African Beauty
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Azusa Kishimoto passed away from cancer
10 Mar - It was revealed that Azusa Kishimoto has recently passed away. The news was shared by her management label, Oscar Promotion, saying that the model-host had died on 24 February due to cancer at the age of 39. The company stated, "The wake and funeral have already been held. We ask that all members of the press please be considerate of the family's deep grief and refrain from interviewing anyone involved." "We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all those involved, and we take this opportunity to inform you of her passing. We would like for you to join us in praying for the peace of her soul." Azusa made her debut in 2000 as a part of the trio, "Angelique". After the group disbanded, she was active as a reporter for "Zoom In!! Super" and "Zoom In!! Saturday" and other shows. The TV personality was also a mother of three children with her non-showbiz husband. (Photo Source: Azusa IG, Big Globe)
Asia Times
27-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Asia Times
Chinese dating simulator Love and Deepspace now has period tracker
24/7 companionship. Spend time with him whenever you want. This is the promise made by Love and Deepspace, a mobile romance game by the Chinese company Papergames. Some think video games are all guns and cars, but romance games or 'dating simulators' are immensely popular, especially among young women. Love and Deepspace reached 50 million users across more than 170 countries and regions in January. Despite their popularity, dating sims, as they are known for short, usually fly under the radar in discussions about games. Meanwhile, a recent major update for Love and Deepspace has furrowed some brows by introducing an unusual new feature: a period tracker. Dating sims offer a fantasy of romantic, intimate companionship. Otome games (from the word 'maiden' in Japanese) are a sub-genre of dating sims that are catered to women. They offer a suite of boyfriends to choose from – each attentive, caring and, of course, incredibly handsome. Ideal in every way except for their being fictional. Love and Deepspace is a science-fiction otome game that stands out with its unusual blend of combat, magic, dating and gacha (meaning random rewards) microtransactions – which are controversial for their parallels to gambling. Its latest update introduced a Remind Me feature, where players can ask their virtual boyfriends to remind them of daily tasks and special events, as well as their upcoming period. Players input information about their menstrual cycle and the game then generates its own predictive calendar and notifications. The player's in-game boyfriend will offer to pick up some sanitary products or even reach towards the screen and provide an imaginary abdomen massage. The millions of users drawn to a fantasy about considerate men says a lot about the frustrations women have with modern dating and dating apps. Women are conscious of the conservative gender roles within otome games, but at the same time find pleasure in their focus on the female gaze and ability to explore their sexual desire privately. In China, where otome games are especially popular, censorship of explicit content for women has intensified. These games are able to convey sexually suggestive themes that are subtle enough to elude censorship. 'Feel his deepening breath, rising heartbeat, and the trickle of sweat. He's working out together with you!' Love and Deepspace/X Otome games have been around for three decades. Angelique, a game made by an all-women team in 1994, is considered to be the first. It helped set the stage for other boyfriend fantasy media for women as seen in the rising popularity of 'boyfriend ASMR' on audio and video platforms today. These are designed to directly address the listener in both sensual and everyday scenarios. Video games have changed a lot since then – especially as mobile devices have evolved to be more intimate, accompanying us everywhere. Love and Deepspace is introducing more features including 'Quality Time', which rewards players for working or studying with the game open. The rewards come in the form of an animated man sighing and whispering into the player's headphones. Love and Deepspace's period reminders mirror existing period tracker apps, though they do not incorporate the usual fertility date predictions or ability to log symptoms and sexual activity. That's probably a good thing. Period tracker apps have faced scrutiny for mishandling users' data. Popular period tracker app Flo has faced a lawsuit in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Canada for sharing personal data to third-party tech firms, including Facebook and Google, which use the data for targeted advertising. Meanwhile, the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the United States has threatened many people's bodily autonomy and made them concerned about the legal risks of sharing personal biological information. Love and Deepspace's privacy policy states any menstruation data is only used for the prediction and reminder features, and that it will not be shared with any third parties without the player's consent. The banning of the Chinese-owned platform TikTok in the US was driven by fears of foreign influence and data privacy. Yet our privacy may not be safer with a US company than a Chinese one. US-owned companies have been just as liable to sell sensitive information to third parties, such as location data to abortion clinics and gay clubs. Australia's Privacy Act does not just apply to Australian companies. Papergames could be sanctioned if it breaches its privacy policy. That said, it is unlikely many users will be familiar with the policy or read future changes made to it. It is best to always practice caution when entering any kind of personal information in platforms, apps or video games. Period tracking is not a core component in the game. But this new feature signals a potential shift towards more mobile games integrating popular app functions, such as health data. Instead of a casual time-filler, mobile games like Love and Deepspace are competing for players' attention over other apps – which is concerning given its controversial gacha random rewards. It's also possible the game's designers are picking up on a widespread desire for men to care more about their partner's periods. Stephanie Harkin is a lecturer on games at the School of Design, RMIT University. This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.
