Brumcast 155 'Where has the money gone?' was broadcast live on http://www.rhubarbradio.com on Monday 22nd March 8pm GMT. Featuring an exclusive new track from Health & Effiiciency, Live reeggae from Friendly Fire Band, chaos from The Destroyers, Ambient from The Pad Foundation and much more. All written and performed by artist from Birmingham and the UK Midlands. Download free and direct from the Brumcast archive here or stream the show from RhubarbRadio.com
Here's this show's playlist :-
1. Friendly Fire band & Fiery Friends - Pablo Rider - Miss The Bus (4:48)
2. Health & Efficiency - The Red Drapes from my Dream (7:03)
3. Benjamin Blower & The Army of the Broken Hearted -I See Trouble Round The Bend (2:29)
4. Josiah Gillespie - 70 x 7 (5:50)
5. Rase - Nothing To Lose (3:51)
6. Messenger Douglas - Carry (4:14)
7. The Arcadian Kicks - I Can't Sleep (4:05)
8. The Destroyers - Where has the money gone? (3:02)
9. The Pad Foundation - Stirling (3:47)
10. Silas Wood - En Orbita (4:04)
11. I Shot The Pilot - The Black Freighter (5:28)
Enjoy!
Little Chris
Brumcast is broadcast on Rhubarb Radio http://www.rhubarbradio.com Mondays 8-9pm GMT. Brumcast on Twitter http://twitter.com/brumcast
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This is the collection of the false eyelashes I brought home from Uni for Easter. So technically it's not my whole collection. And I'm going to buy more tomorrow!

The article in the Guardian yesterday might explain further as false lashes really have boomed in the past months. The article sights Tesco and Selfridges' sales percentage booms but it would be your standard high street chemist that will see the real sales.

The new lash trend has a few obvious roots, utilised by the prime culprits Girls Aloud, who have just released their own range of lashes. It is safe to say that the natural look is certainly not 'in'.Getting ready to go out now is a huge mission involving for a lot of people many steps in hair extensions, fake tan and a huge amount of slap. On the level of less hardcore beauty addicts, such as the likes of me, fake lashes provide a way to temporarily improve your appearance for one night only, with little pain, effort or expense and a back-out option if they are too tricky to apply. Makeup is far more advanced nowadays and as far as self esteem goes, the general rule is that more is better. 'Less is more' just does not apply. Gone are the simple blush and lippy; make-up nowadays profits in offering the secret benefits that can fix all the flaws created through medias, such as plumping gloss, bronzers and even vibrating mascaras.

Most girls like me can realise we are not so skilled in the makeup department- things need to be simple and self explanatory as I do not know how to blend a shadow or create killer cheekbones with a good brush and bit of blush. False lashes are the ultimate symbol of flirtation and wide-eyed beauty that anyone can achieve, and they do exactly what they say on the tin.

We all marvel at Cheryl Cole's beauty because it's like it came over night. It makes us realise that the right hair and makeup (and an invisible brace) can do a LOT and maybe, just maybe, we have the potential for that kind of transformation. As pointed out in the Guardian, Cheryl Cole has some fabulous lashes, and eye makeup in general. It helps too that falsies now come in more subtle versions and also some crafty varieties such as feathers and gems, rather than huge drag queen-worthy spears that could poke an innocent passer-by.

Here are my top tips for buying and applying fake eyelashes:

• Expensive glue, cheap lashes- If you buy a pair from anywhere cheaper than Selfridges, the glue will be simply rubbish. The main reason people attempt and fail at putting them on is because of the glue and not the technique, so if you're serious it's definitely worth splashing out on glue. MAC do a large tube called Duo for around £7. It lasts ages and you make your money back by being able to buy seriously cheap lashes. The 'Glam Lashes' above are from Erdington's Poundland! Seriously! The only cheap lash glue that once sufficed was in a set from H&M. They do subtle sets for only £3.

• Don't forget the rest of your makeup- If you put lashes on first, you won't be pleased with the result as they won't blend with your natural lashes. Apply a thin line of liquid liner and a decent amount of mascara first.

• Seek help where needed- If its just too tricky (or scary), generally if you buy a pair from a department store counter, they will apply them for you and show you how. Some even let you return and will reapply them for you each time. Shu Uemura will do this. Lashes can last for about three wears when you are careful with the glue (see below).

• Make sure they fit- Lashes will come too long for most people, so hold the base so that the lashes are upside down (with your fingers near your eyebrows) and compare the fake lash tips to the tips of your own natural lashes. Which end to cut depends on the lashes. If they are much shorter at one end and much longer at the other, you may want to keep the length and cut from the shorter end, or cut from the longer end for a more natural look. If the base is thick, try not to leave a sharp, square edge- round it off.

• Application: don't go glue crazy- With glue it seems true that more glue will mean a stronger fit, but this isn't the best way. Take a cotton bud or hair grip, squeeze some glue onto a tissue or the back of your hand, and dab a thin line along the base of the lashes only, making sure the ends are definitely covered. If you glue straight from the tube or run the lashes through a blob, the lashes will stick to your own and they will stick in the wrong place or make a mess of your eye makeup. You do only need a thin line.

• Application: patience!- The instructions always advise you to wait for about 30 seconds until the glue dries a little and gets tacky, but I'm always too impatient and never wait, then they just don't stick! Move your arm up and down as though you were urging nail polish to dry or blow on the glue gently (while holding the lashes from the tips of course). Wait!!! Now place the lashes into the centre of your lash line, looking at the end with the longer lashes to make sure it lines up with the end of your eye's outside corner (so not to have long lashes that stop a few millimetres from the end of your natural lash line!). Hold the tip of the false lashes, pushing them into the centre of your natural lash line, for about ten seconds. Let go and push the outer end onto your lash line, and then the inner end. Use two hands to hold the tips of the end lashes, pushing them into the corners for a few seconds. Now open your eye. If you're not happy, only THEN fiddle with them, as they are nearly set and won't come totally off as soon as you touch them. You can squeeze the false lashes and your own lashes with your fingers like a lash sandwich if you don't think they are close enough to your natural lash line. Or you can take a mascara brush and push your own lashes backwards so the false ones stand up and have a more obvious effect. If you need more glue, take the hair pin or cotton bud and place a blob in the loose place, holding the lash tips and pushing them into the place. The glue will dry clear remember!

Check youtube for more tutorials, but the practice helps! Peeling off the lashes is easy and painless but they can irritate eyes a bit. For a night out though they feel great, and you can take the free, cheap glue in your bag for a touch up. Only do this when totally neccessary though, as an eye glued shut is so not a good look on a drunk girl. But then again, neither is a set of lashes hanging off!

The most important part of fashion is communication. There may be no trends if there are no 'fashionistas' telling us what is cool, what is not, and what is in-store. So it's a little bemusing to pick up the hefty February magazines and find that there are apparently no trends for Spring/Summer 09. Where are they all?

There are many things wrong with this statement. For one, each designer sent a collection down the runway back in October which contained a menagerie of crazy styles, textures and fabric manipulations. I always wonder that fashion trends are simply the grouping together of commonalities among collections- and so I'm sure if I was a designer that had spent months developing innovative designs, only to hear that the next guy has used and abused fringing or embellishment too, I'd be a little peeved. But isn't it a bit pointless to include a 'trends' supplement (I'm looking at you Vogue and Elle) full of trends after declaring there are none?

If the blatant 'this is the season of no trends' statement was an ambitious forecast, then the advice can be taken with a pinch of salt. The recession can't go unnoticed across the fashion capitals and designers are under pressure to produce wears that people are willing to spend a substantial amount on for a reason. It's suggested to go for quality and buy classic items to wear for more seasons to come. There were no major signs that fashion houses muted creations this time, but the folding designers and cancelled after-show parties mean purses have been tightened. The advice we should abide by is not to splash out on disposable trends that will be undesirable next season, but it feels like editors are looking through dull specs instead of rosy ones and predicting the market rather than the trends. Fashion now is ever more reminiscent of the 80's, as dressing is getting more powerful and clean, but this does not mean it needs to stand still right now.

Following runway is my passion and I saw an abundance of aspects to tweak and add, pushing your style into a new year and developing the high street in what might be a stale few years for retail. Stores may play safe and produce clothes they know will sell and not end up in the bargain bin, but it's ever clearer by forefront retailers like Topshop that there is a huge demand for experimental fashions. The point is, many of us know we can't afford to impulse and consume all the fast fashion Primark can offer, but that does not mean designers didn't work their hardest to bring some amazing shows full of delights to sample and indeed start new trends. Statement pieces are an investment, but magazines still go on to feature loads of trends- they shouldn't be afraid to push the boat out and encourage a colourful, inventive season without suggesting apprehension or spending guilt.

prada.bmpThe Spring/Summer '09 shows have just ended and the four most fashionable cities can lay their heels to rest. The moment that keeps popping into my mind? The Prada show. This shouldn't be unusual considering the amount of FW08 inspired lace all over the high street but it's not exactly the clothes that I think of; it's the shoes. Sky high sling-back platforms with little net socks and animalistic, tribal prints. But this isn't shoe lust, this is shoe fear! When I day dream of what I'll be (i.e. aspiring to be) wearing this Spring during a dull lecture, my mind goes straight to the poor models at Prada, wobbling and teetering down the runway. Poor Yulia Kharlaponova and Katie Fogarty dropped like flies, causing the elite front row watchers to offer out their arms for help up, while even catwalk pros like Jessica Stam dangerously tripped. In the final walk, one model wobbled out of the line and turned straight the other way to backstage.

In the excellent Style video, many editors ponder how the shoes crossed the line of wearability and Miuccia Prada herself has been quoted as saying the shoes were too high and will come down for sale on the the shop floor to a manageable height. If you find photo after photo of catwalk looks a bit daunting or boring to look through, a great tip is to watch the Style.com videos, as even minutes after the show, editors are breaking down themes and finding words to capture the collection. I particularly like the backstage bits of the hair and makeup processes!

If a fall makes you chuckle, you might like this infamous collection of models taking a trip down the runway, in more ways than one! To me, it is as painful to watch as I'm sure it is painful to fall infront of hundreds of onlookers, not to mention if walking in the first place is your career. An awkward, bow-legged walk is beautiful in an alien-like way- in the end flats just wouldn't cut it.

Images from Grazia

A new season can be a bit scary at the start, as fashion is almost like a race. By the time you get a new look sorted, it's Christmas sales time and suddenly there's bikinis in store again. The prospect of buying a whole new wardrobe is pressure on your bank balance as well as your shoulders. It's quite enjoyable to browse around empty shops but the credit crunch can't be ignored when faced with fresh rails of items you need to own. To face facts, for 90% of winter days you will have a coat to cover an outfit when going out. Here are a few versatile ideas to bring yours up to date, trying not to sound like a tacky make-over show...!

Belts
Don't buy a new coat, just put a belt round last year's! Last winter I did this as I loved my coat too much to buy a new one, but the swing shape didn't really work. I strapped a belt round the middle and it was like a new coat! This season a belt can also be worn with blouses, around the top of high waisted skirts, and around dresses for night time. Make sure it is around your waist and no low slung on hips, and invest in a black studded or embellished one. The Topshop one hits two boxes (see below...).

Fendi FW08, style.com. ASOS studded belt, Warehouse double studded belt, Topshop lace belt.

This is the most recent advert from America's biggest clothing manufacturer, American Apparel. Makes you take a second glance, right?

With stores in London, Glasgow, Brighton, Bristol and Liverpool, it's only a matter of time until we see one opening on our doorstep and it could quite possibly change how our city dresses. American Apparel isn't just a run of the mill store, it's created a whole new fashion following. The too-cool brand is the home of hipsters, born in LA and now significant across the globe, it has a vibe and persona that you can't get in the desperate to please high street stores. Take a look around the online store, which gets 1.5 million hits a month, to see what I mean.

The stand out features are that it manufactures all its garments in LA, thus eliminating sweat shops in international maufacture. Employees also get free health care, lunches, bus passes and on-site masseurs. AA participate in immigration reform rallies, reduced their power costs by 20% with solar panels on the factory roof, and supported the Hurricane Katrina effort with 80,000 t-shirts, to give a few random examples. The list could go on.

People don't buy their products for ethical reasons though, it's simply not cool to wear a t-shirt emblasoned with 'I'm eco-friendly' or the like. The items they sell speak for themselves. On first glance, it's just plain clothes. There is nothing patterned, everything has a simply explained design and comes in at least ten colours. The strength is on the materials and cuts; there are around eigthy different styles of short sleeved t-shirts alone! They dont have fancy ruffles or cut outs, they're simply 'fine jersey' or '1/2 sleeves U-neck' or 'unisex tri-blend.' It's the way you wear them, they're slouchy and casual, just effortless. Have you ever tried to search out the perfect white t-shirt, no fancy buttons or rouching, just soft cotton and simply cut? Also they have each item in every colour imaginable, and each comes with online reviews, with so many that they're almost like forums.

Almost the opposite of their stylish basics, they have an extrovertly sexual image to go along with clothes you could find in a very dark sex shop. This is what sends the company into hipster stratosphere. The founder and CEO, Dov Charney, has been accused in five sexual harrassment cases; one is still pending. This isn't surprising when you take a look at the company designed and marketed adverts, and product photographs. Girls around 19 are scantilly clad, legs spread, in poses that are not only pornographic, but raise the brand's awareness and likeability further! Buyers want their clothes to be rebellious with a bit of risk and naughtiness, especially the young adult and teen market who shop there. AA are known for their shiny lamé swim suits and second-skin dresses, which I can say with experience should be worn with caution around any drunken males. The adverts hit headlines in 2007 when a New York billboard was graffitied with 'Gee, I wonder why women get raped.'

I'm hoping in a year or so we can walk into a Birmingham store and stock up on expensive basics or slutty shorts.You can look at the advertising as simply selling sex along wih every other company and give them credit for not air brushing and using models of all sizes, or you could see a seedy company. Just wait until you try on a Unisex sheer jersey shirt, it's totally worth a tenner!

You've probably seen the adverts for Britain's Missing Top Model and if you haven't seen the first episode, check it out on the IPlayer. It's of course a rip off of America's Next Top Model but with the BBC twist- being politically correct to the point of craziness. The show is very similar in the way that girls battle it out each week in challenges to do with posing or interviews and then have a photo shoot with a set (usually warped) theme. At the end of the week there is a judging with some apparently important people in the fashion world and one potential model is eliminated, continuing until the last girl emerges as the winner.

We already have Britain's NTM on LivingTV, so the BBC have come up with the enlightening prospect of having eight girls with disabilities compete, hence the 'missing' model, a pun on some of the girls with missing limbs.

The show is a great platform to raise awareness for people with disabilities and as one girl put it, "I want to show people that wow, you can be disabled and pretty!" This same girl started crying at dinner, asking 'Why did this happen to us?' concerning their disabilities and another comforted her by saying, 'We all think that,' until one put plainly, 'I don't. I don't give a f*****g s**t.'

'I don't know if the public are ready for disabled models' seems to be a theme throughout the show. And there's a constant doubt whether they could ever achieve magazine covers like the model above or her success on major runways... Oh wait, the model above is Brenda Costa and she's been deaf her whole life. The Brazilian beauty is a face of Loreal and is now pregnant with her first child. Did she have any problems breaking into and being successful in the industry? Doesn't seem like it! Funny how there's two deaf girls in the competition. Also in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model a partially blind girl sailed to the top three.

It annoyed me throughout they show that it seemed such an original opportunity and that the world needs to be shown that girls with disabilities are beautiful too- don't they realise they're already in the media?! Even people who are in the fashion industry question whether they can 'make it' as a model because the business is so tough. Argh! One of the judges asks 'Do you think having a deaf model would make a difference to the industry?" Funny that there already is a deaf super model and you didn't even notice!

A judge comes out with 'I think it's really important that the disability is obvious in some way. I don't think there is any point in having a disabled model that no one knows is disabled.' Frankly that's quite shocking. Are they not entitled to a career as a model, plain and simple? Do you have to be a 'model with a disability' rather than a 'model' forever?

The thing is, the fashion industry is always looking for controversy, something different, something headline-seeking. If a model will sell clothes, then she will sell clothes, shes hired. Who's to say that if a girl in a wheelchair went to a casting with an exquisite face and and another girl just strolled in with an exquisite face, she would have the upper hand? I know face models, I know hand models. I've seen fashion shows for wheelchair users.

If Lily Cole had her arm missing would she be as successful? I guess these are the questions the programme raises. Would we look at this picture in a magazine and want to buy a product? This month sees an all black model issue of Vogue Italia. Could there be a time when there will be an all persons with disabilities issue?

I fear for the future of charity shops. Bric-a-brac has turned into colour coded, unworn New Look cast offs and tacky bags. Now it seems the likes of Oxfam can be selective in their goods and only put the newest, more 'modern' items on the shelves. A friend who volunteered told me they would never put anything with a hint of wear on the shop floor. I can see how they want to set standards and maybe give a fresher, less old-fashioned feel to charity shopping, but that takes all the fun away!

As an eBay seller who sources most 'vintage' items from charity shops, it's worrying when all you get is stretchy polyester and natty t-shirts. I want the curtain Laura Ashley dresses and Bally court shoes! My faith is not lost though as Birmingham has some truly fabulous high streets. I am biased to say Erdington is truly exceptional, often with twelve shops open and nearly all crammed with prom dresses and bright leather clutches. Favourites are Barnardo's (the all 99p sale that lasted forever was a dream) and The Salvation Army that has some classic 80's stock. Wylde Green and Harborne deem slightly higher prices but there are the odd gems, such as The Settlement Shop in both Wylde Green and Sutton. I also head to Bearwood, Kingstanding and a few near the New Oscott Tesco.

Vintage has never been hotter and you can either pay £40 for a dress in a vintage boutique or a little less in places like the Yellow Vintage Store, which have most likely come in bundles from Eastern Europe. I enjoy shopping in these places but there's nothing like discovering a treasure for pittance, not to mention you can make money too. I found a Louis Vuitton wallet that I sold for nearly £100 on eBay once and I've made well over a thousand by now just selling vintage since I was sixteen. Hopefully this summer will surface lots of treasures; it's just so hard to sell them on!

Hi! I'm Selina, writer of Flying Saucer, a blog about my slight fashion obsession. I went up to Manchester Uni this year but do love my home town and spend way too much money on train fare back to New Street! I'm super happy to join the Birmingham Post blogging team and inject more fashionable thoughts into the universe...

Right now in the fashion world, this could be one of the best and worst times in the calender. On one hand, the Autumn Winter 08/09 shows have just been revealed and fashion editors will be busy whipping up trend reports and shoots, while chain stores will be stroking their chins, eyeing up the goodies. It seems crazy that there are thousands of people out there straining over whether gloves will be leather or fur this winter, coats will be bell or cocoon, and how we can channel Rodarte's Japanese slasher film-inspired collection into our woolly jumpers. It's barely even Spring, let alone Winter!

But the mags and rags need to scour whatever the designers have created and clump details together to create trends. Buyers, marketers and design teams will mass produce copies that are as identical as they legally can be to it's original inspiration for the high street. Due to key bloggers with connections, we know that these products for Winter have already been fondled by the industry who will advertise them in their magazines come Autumn as the new 'must haves'. Then five months down the line, that's where I come in, handing over the cold hard cash at the counter!

After looking at over a thousand catwalk images, you realise that each piece in a high street store has originated from the runway, and that's why this time of year lacks a fashion front. It may be busy behind the scenes, but it's all in advance, and if you follow fashion closely you find the season seems over before it's even begun. By now the magazines have reported on the Spring trends and shops have sent out their most coveted styles. From here on is a waste land of mid-season sales and beach wear. Autumn/Winter shows only need to cover September to December but the rest of the year is dictated by Spring/Summer shows and things get a little boring around about now.

That's where we come in. Magazines are generated on profit but us fashion bloggers can jump from season to season, delve into our own inspirations and try something brand new. I may have bored you already! The confused, adventurous side is reserved for my own blog but here I hope to provide some gossip, trend tips and observations for any level of fashion interest, with special Birmingham top tips thrown in. Have you used the 360 degree camera mirror in the new New Look store where Beatties was yet? I can't wait to try it next weekend!

Welcome to Selina Jervis, student and creator of the fashion blog Flying Saucer - the newest additon to The Birmingham Post's Lifestyle Blog.