Monday 17 November 2014

Monday Madness: A Bit Of Something Different

Hello, its Daisy with a light and fun Monday Madness to hopefully expand your YouTube horizons. Now as an avid YouTube watcher I like fashion and beauty channels as much as the next person, they make up a vast amount of my subscriptions and they are incredibly addictive (sometimes worryingly so)! However, sometimes I really couldn't care less about whats in your bag, the latest Lush hall or how to get the perfect brown smokey eye and find myself really wanting a change of pace. That's where these lovely channels come in...

Here I have compiled a little list of YouTube channels that offer something a little different to the usual tidal wave of 'Kylie Jenner lip liner tutorial's and 'How I style knitwear' etc, etc, etc. Its great to expand your interests and try new things, and watching these bite-size videos can introduce you to a world of different topics in just a matter of minutes - whether you want a new skill or simply to learn about something new there's probably a video out there for you. So, next time you log onto everyone's favourite video sharing platform, think about getting some substance up in your face, instead of style!

1. Food Wishes - https://www.youtube.com/user/foodwishes

Food Wishes, presented by the wonderful and invisible Chef John, is a cookery channel with a huuuge repertoire of recipes and one of my absolute favorites! The dishes always look so delicious, even if it is sort of torturous watching a roast duck being prepared whilst I'm sat with a crappy cup-a-soup. Watching food go from ingredients to mouth watering dish in minutes is really satisfying and provides some really practically useful tips for making your own culinary skills that little bit better. Not only are the videos really thorough and easy to follow, they are also hilarious - if Chef John ever decides chef-ing isn't for him, I reckon he could make a semi-decent living on the stand up circuit. His weird one-liners along with his drool-worthy dishes really make these videos stand out from other similar channels. My personal favourite line has to be 'don't put too much honey in - we don't want this to taste like a hippy made it!'.  Here is the man himself making some cheesy, cheesy crakers.

         


2. Blogilates - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIJwWYOfsCfz6PjxbONYXSg

From cheese to exercise! Now, I'll say this outright: I am physically allergic to exercise - especially in a team or in public, which pretty much rules out most traditional methods of keepings oneself fit. This is where Blogilates comes in. With this collection of Pilates tutorials from instructor Cassey Ho I am free to sweat and groan it out in the comfort and privacy of my own bedroom floor. For a long time after I was set free of the weekly torture that is PE, I just didn't work out at all. After I while decided I really probably should at least attempt some level of physical activity, but I didn't want to shell out money for the gym, I'm crap at sport and I detest running, this is when I took up Blogilates. Its free, requires no equipment or initial skill OR other people - hurray! I won't lie, its not easy but Cassey's instruction and insanely positive attitude really pushes you along and I must say I feel all the better for it. I'm actually moderately good at it now and I really enjoy it (weird), I even have my own Yoga mat (get me) and am considering going to Pilates classes in the cold light of day, around other people - its a miracle! Cassey you have single-handedly made me like exercising and I love you. Whether you're a keen fitness fanatic already or a complete beginner like I was, I would massively recommend giving it a go. Here's a little taster...

         


3. Crash Course - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX6b17PVsYBQ0ip5gyeme-Q

Crash Course is the brainchild of YouTube extraordinaire's John and Hank Green and basically does what it says on the tin - provides crash courses in a variety of different topics including World History, Biology, Literature, Ecology, Chemistry, and Psychology. John takes the Humanities based topics, whilst Hank covers the sciences and together they manage to cover a massive range of individual subjects from 'The Great Gatsby' to 'How We Make Memories', 'The Ancient Egyptians' to 'Photosynthesis'. Whilst quick, the videos manage to pack in a lot of information and are clearly well researched, bringing in scholarly debates and raising important questions. At the same time they remain easy to understand whatever your level of prior knowledge on a given topic and won't have you reaching to rewind the video thinking 'What the shit are you talking about?'. They are really engaging and manage to get in some pretty interesting discussion given they are only around 15 minutes long! Here is Hank talking about the Psychology of sex - steamy! 

        


4. The What The Buck Show - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDIsPJjO0K5P00jG8JjlRg

If you like trashy celebrity gossip (and lets not lie, we all do a little bit) then What the Buck is the channel for you. Presented and written by gossip connoisseur Micheal Buckley, What the Buck takes the days celebrity news, be it big or small, and makes it hilarious. Now this isn't a Perez Hilton style 'lets poke fun at people and generally rip them to shreds because their famous' but rather a comic take on the ridiculousness that is the celebrity circus we are confronted with on a daily basis - especially the ridiculousness that is the inflated celebrity ego. Celebrity gossip is an almost unavoidable part of the society we live in and Buck does an amazing job of taking it and making it funny without being mean or disrespectful (remember famous people are people too) until its almost like a satire on celebrity gossip. He's also shows of some impressive dance moves. Here he is talking about the big news this week - Kim Kardashian's arse. 

          



5. Lisa Eldridge Vintage Series - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL820467D574C54128

Okay, Okay, I know I said this wasn't about fashion or beauty channels - I cheated a bit, BUT here I am focusing exclusively on make-up artist Lisa Eldridge's vintage beauty series which is within the bounds of 'something different'. The playlist includes lessons in make-up history, classic vintage recreations using modern products including Monroe and Hepburn and vintage inspired looks using rare vintage products. These videos are really set apart from other beauty videos, eschewing the usual tropes for something much more beautiful and creative, the history videos are especially interesting and detailed. Aside from this series Lisa's whole channel is different to other's in the same category. She is an established make-up artist rather than a YouTube famous 'beauty guru' who offers more subtle and varied videos to some in the latter category as well as focusing solely on beauty and make-up advice, without all the other stuff mentioned in the introduction getting in the way. This series is an insightful masterclass in retro make-up and her vintage collection is truly something to behold.


          


There we are! Hope you liked and will check some of them out, have a good Monday night!

Daisy.

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