The Wide-Eyed and Blind Best of 2013.

There is little rhyme or reason to this list, just a love for everything on it.

Best Fragrance: L'Occitane Cherry Blossom.

It's the girliest scent I've owned in easily a decade but, boy, is it beautiful. LOVE.

Best Beauty Product: L'oreal Manga Eyes - Purple

Not so practical or natural looking but oh-so adorable. The most fun product I've bought in a long time.

Best collection: Stella McCartney AW 2013-14. 

She never disappoints. Particularly I loved the masculine shapes and fabrics, clean lines and continuation of something understated in a year when even Ms Philo nodded her head at something other than minimalism.

Best Buy: My Isabel Marant x H&M pants. 

Hands down. They're so comfy and lovely. Technically they were a gift from my siblings but meh, technicalities.

Here they are behind the tank which was a close second for this category.

Best New TV Series: The Originals/Once Upon a Time in Wonderland/Reign.

So, I bitched out and chose three. It was too hard to pick just one winner! The Originals is up there because I'm such a TVD fan and the spin-off wonderfully didn't let me down. I also have a wee bit of a thing for Phoebe Tonkin. And I'm a sucker for tales of redemption so I'm holding out hope for Klaus - although, he'd better not become too tame...

Once Upon a Time in Wonderland surprised me. I love Alice's character so much and to see the whole Damsel in Distress thing turned on its head is awesome.

And, Reign. How could I forget Reign? The costumes, the love story, the soap opera notes.....it's just perfect.

Best Album: Night Time, My Time by Sky Ferreira

I was waiting on this album and it held up. First album in ages that has been both a fave and danceable - all good things.

PS They're just boobs, world, get over it.

Best Track: Lift me Up by Mree

Repeat much? So, so beautiful.

Best Movie: Much Ado About Nothing/Before Midnight.

Joss and a fantastic third installment - what's not to love?

Best Book: Dracula.

Yes, I finally got around to reading it. And I was finally old enough not to be too freaked out (much). Bonus points for my edition being a reproduction of the original. So much nicer than gaudy, modern editions.

Best Editorial: Arizona Muse for Vogue Russia by Tom Craig, June 2013

So effortless and lovely.

Best Model: Arizona Muse.

Runner-up for Best Hair and one of my favourite models for a while now. She's defo having a moment.

Best Dressed: Mary Queen of Scots.

She may be a stylised version of the past and a character in a tv show but DAMN.

Best Hair: Freja Beha Erichsen

Sigh. Everything I want in hair. I've been banned by many people in my life from cutting my hair though....

Tatty Devine Dublin Pop-up Visit.

I kind of love Tatty Devine jewellery and was pretty psyched to find out that they had opened a pop-up in BT2 on Grafton Street for the Christmas season. When I mentioned my desire to pop in and talk to people and take some photos, the brand was super-helpful and Aisling, who talked to me on the day, was so kind.

Aisling in action.

You can drop in during BT2's opening hours and get personalised bracelets or necklaces. Charms come in all shapes and you can start at one on a necklace, going up to fifteen on the bracelets. Initials or shapes with particular sentiments can be chosen. The process is pretty sweet and involved and I think is much nicer than passively buying some other gift with less thought put into it. Aisling tells me that the weirdest personalised request that they've gotten is for the word "my". Just my, not mine. And apparently it wasn't someone's name either...odd...

Two other super gift options are the cracker at twenty-five euro and the book at fifteen. The book shows how to make your own jewellery and is a gift that keeps on giving! The cracker is not only packaged adorably, it is also good value. The charm on the front is what hangs on a necklace which you construct upon opening. ALSO, it's a WORKING CHRISTMAS CRACKER. Awesome.

This was my last gift suggestion for this Christmas! Enjoy x

Gift Gah - Sleep Balm.

My troubled relationship with sleep makes this seem like a great present to me. I've tried a couple sleep balms before and I've heard this is a particularly good one. Also, I'm a sucker for cute packaging.

Gift Gah of the Moment - Thisworks by fitzpac featuring This Works beauty products

DIY - Cute Candle Jar.

Looking for something easy and sweet to make and give to loved ones? These painted jars male great homes for scented candles and tea lights and are super-easy to make. They can also be customised to the person you're giving it to. So, here I break it down.

1. Grab yourself some jars - any size or shape will do! Clean it out and the label off the outside. Dry.

2. Gather together your supplies. 

Acrylic paint (it dries quickly enough but slow enough to alter mistakes)

Paint brushes

Tissue

Scissors

Newspaper

Paper 

Tape

3.  Lay down your newspaper to avoid making a mess. Take some paper and cut out shapes if you want to stencil designs on.

4. Mix colours to your own desires.

5. Paint on your stencilled designs or paint free hand. If using stencils, tape one down at a time, cover the area with paint and allow to dry. Remove stencil and add more designs once dry. If you go over lines, use the tissue to clean them up.

6. If painting free hand, you can paint it all in one go.

7. Placing the hand inside the jar and painting allows you to pivot the jar to paint with greater ease.

8. Painting the top and bottom give the design greater depth. Do one at a time and allow to dry in between.

9. Once dry, place candles, sweets or a mixture of both inside. 

10. Light the candles and admire!

Music Gah: Shakey Graves.

Loving this! One of my best friends showed it to me yesterday and I have it on now as I pack to go home for Christmas. Perfect packing music.

Wide-Eyed and Blind Gift Guide VI - Stocking Fillerz - This time it's Personal.

And here's the final gift guide! The image above lllustrates a few items from the list but the full list is compiled on Luvocracy - which is basically the shoppable pinterest! Find my collection here and buy directly from it!

Gift Gah of the Moment - Too Faced I-Phone Palette.

Two gifts in one? So cute! Love me some clever packaging.

Gift Gah of the Moment - Too Faced by fitzpac featuring too faced cosmetics

Too faced cosmetic, €19

The Fine Line Between Dude and Douche (And how I crossed it)

So, I swear I looked like less of an ass on this day. But by the time I got home it was already dark and I hadn't shot an outfit post in so long that I went with it anyway. Ergo sunglasses at night. I'm not normally that guy - honestly. My hat, skirt and boots are Topshop, the sunglasses are from River Island bought in a sale for a euro and the coat and jumper are vintage and stolen from/given to me by my mother. Oh, and these Thermal tights are the best. Like, they'll survive a nuclear apocalypse with the roaches - I managed to rip open my leg without damaging them. 

Wide-Eyed and Blind Gift Guide V - Fashion

So, this is the penultimate gift guide for this Christmas season. I'll also be doing some DIYs over the next few days so keep an eye out for that!

These items are all pieces of clothing and accessories. Some are typically gendered and some are unisex but I tried to give a range of options and price points!

Wide-Eyed and Blind Gift Guide - Fashion by fitzpac featuring Topshop