November Favourites

It's now well into December but I still wanted to do a "favourites" post for November. It's something I've done sporadically so far and without connection to particular months. While I think categorising things by set time periods is a bit redundant (don't get me started on using centuries as umbrella terms for styles or cultural movements), I also think it's a useful way of organising the posts and encouraging me to make them more coherent and regular.

The underlining note to my blog is echoed in the format of these favourites. Rather than exploring things merely related to fashion or beauty (not that there's anything wrong with those sorts of favourites), I group all the cultural, creative and design things that I've been vibing in one place because, to me, they all feed into each other. The music I'm listening to can affect how I dress or the book I'm reading will decide how I do my hair. It's all connected and to separate them seems unnatural.


Chanel Coco Rouge Shine in Bohéme

I blog about make-up and beauty but I don't wear make-up every day or anything near it. This may seem odd but make-up is something I like to wear but don't feel obliged to use. However, if I feel like I should, or want to, dress up for something yet can't be arsed to do the whole routine, I'll fill in my eyebrows, do a wee bit of concealing and pop on some lip colour. This lipstick has become my go-to. It's not matte so it doesn't catch on dry patches and goes on smoothly. It's hydrating. It's a gorgeous shade and doesn't look like you're trying too hard. But it still adds a bit of polish to your look. It's not at all high-maintenance - Basically it's everything I could ask for from a lipstick.


Akatsuki no Yona

Finding a new anime is a bit of a miracle. So many are filled with unbearable clichés or unlikeable female characters. When I find a good one that happens to also be a grand, sweeping adventure, filled with amazing art, funny, historical, with a great female lead, scored well...I am overjoyed. This anime recounts the adventures of Princess Yona after her father is killed, a childhood friend and love betrays her and her country is thrown into upheaval. Yona has to deal with the real world and difficulties for the first time which is a relateable parallel for anyone in their twenties. Plus, it's funny as hell. And the opening and closing themes are great.

Keaton Henson

Keaton Henson has been the soundtrack to my November. Especially his latest instrumental album. There's something old world about the talented bastard that's both frustratingly idealised and wonderfully romantic. I love the subjects that he gravitates towards, his expression as an artist all around and his voice. Plus, his latest EP came out on my birthday. That has to be fate, right?

Keats

Another Englishman with a similar name. Another love of late. I'm a sucker for the Romantics yet, for some reason, Keats was new to me. But thank God! What a discovery, a revelation. There's something so beyond and of his time about his work. It's the ideals of that era with form more modern, titillation and flirtation not in keeping with his peers. A particular favourite du moment:

 

Alexander Wang x H&M

You all know how excited I was for the collection and now I have it in my hands, I wear it on the reg. Most often I wear my cropped black pants but the iconic Wang jumper has a rather special place in my heart. It hangs in my room where it's almost a piece of art.

Paul Costelloe Living for Dunnes Stores Candle in Fig and Vanilla

This is my absolute favourite smell at the moment. I'm feeling all things Romantic and the past at the moment so candle-light is an absolute necessity and this candle is the perfect one. From the simple design to the smell to the packaging, everything about it is great. And, at twelve quid, it's much more affordable than most luxury scented candles without compromise on the quality.

Christmas

Christmas is my favourite time of year and I've been going crazy for it. I've been doing so for the last month and a bit. November is when I stock up on stocking fillers for my family, begin to hoard decorations and start planning meetings with friends. Now the countdown is on and I can't wait.

Heatons Coat

This coat featured in a post recently and I'm so in love with it! It breaks up the almost entirely black outfits I wear on the daily and it's so sweet without being twee. It's also one of those pieces that people stop you to compliment - which is always nice.

Winter

I have a whole photo post about winter coming soon but suffice to say that I love winter. I love the freshness of the cold air, I love warm drinks and cosy clothes and huddling by fires with loved ones. I love layering outfits. I love the light (when there is any). I love the look of bare trees against setting suns.

So, what have you been loving?

Gift Guide 2014 - Books

I love books.

Funnily enough, I wasn't a massive reader until I was around eight and then it was like a switch flipped in my head. Progressively, I began to read more and more. And when I hit my teens and decided I no longer liked being sociable or exercise, I spent my summers reading indoors - I still blame this period of my life for the fact that I no longer tan very well.

During college, my desire to read dipped and spiked at different times. Studying Arts is called "reading" for a degree and it involves plenty of just that. On days I had power-read tens of books, I had no desire to look at any more writing when I got home. During the long holidays, I devoured literature once more.

Christmas, however is a consistent reading-heavy time in my life. I love getting a pile of new books and reading after dinner while the rest of my family snooze in front of the fire. I love loosing myself to new stories. I love the smell of books. I love finding them places on my shelf.

It's kind of an epic love story, really.

And, though perhaps everyone doesn't have quite the same intense relationship with books, I do think they make rather good gifts. So, here are my ten picks for books this Christmas. There's a range of sorts - art books, fiction, fashion books, novelty books, cook books, music books and non-fiction, And the real beauty here is that these would suit as gifts for a wide variety of people.

Beginning at the top left-hand corner, this book is a collection of interconnected short stories by multi-award winning Japanese writer, Yoko Ogawa. I randomly picked it up in a shop knowing nothing of her or her work but, though we're told not to, sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover. It was scary and disturbing at times yet eerily beautiful and often quite touching. At times, ideas or descriptions made me so uncomfortable or affected me so much, I thought I'd put the book down and never finish it. But I kept being drawn back to it and utterly devoured it in hours in the end. It's also a good intro to her work and short stories are lovely to read on commutes or if you're too busy and tired to take on a giant tome.

Next along the top is a collection of John Keats' letters and poems to Fanny Brawne. I kind of hate movie covers but this collection is dedicated to his writing related specifically to and for Brawne (which is quite hard to find) and that's what I wanted. I'm crazy about Keats at the moment and I'm obsessed with their love story. This would be quite a good gift for a poetry lover, aspiring writer or a partner who is particularly romantic. Maybe I'm a complete loser but the idea of sharing poetry with a love is majorly dreamy.

The envelope-shaped book is an activity book where you write letters to your future self and this is the kind of present the sentimentalist in your life would love. Maybe buy it and add a letter of your own to their future self?

For the music-lover, David Byrne's How Music Works. I've been meaning to get my hands on this for a while and only hear great things about it. Maybe a future present to myself? Plus, I'mma want anything that man is attached to.

Wild Irish Women is another book I'm sticking on this list purely because I want it but it's also another multi-tasking gift - it'd suit for history buffs, feminists and Irish-things enthusiasts.

On the bottom row, we begin with Men In This Town. I follow the tumblr blog this comes from and it's great. These sorts of books are great coffee-table books and the fact that it's menswear means it might interest fashion loving women in your life or your friend trying to grow up his style or your dad who's decided to try new things.

Cake is another of my great loves and who wouldn't appreciate the The Cake Cafe Bake Book? The recipes are made super-easy to follow, it looks gorgeous (like a piece of art in its own right), it's from an Irish brand and it allows you to enjoy The Cake Cafe's cakes no matter where in the world you are.

Know a massive Buffy fan who has yet to discover Season 8? Yes, there are new seasons of BtVS but not on tv. The show has been continued for several years now in comic-book form. As graphic novels can be pricey, this is better value than buying smaller bundles of issues and is a great way to get someone's teeth (heh) into the continuation of the Scooby Gang's adventures.

I wanted to have an art book in here and what could be better than one tied to an ongoing exhibition? Especially a really interesting one. Lines of Vision at the National Gallery of Ireland is a collaboration between Irish writers and the gallery wherein the writers have each chosen a work to respond to. The book gathers together reproductions of the works alongside the words. An idea might be to buy an art and literature-lover the book and arrange to bring it along to the gallery for the full experience. The combination of gift and outing makes for a really thoughtful present.

Lastly, we have a book I'm getting (and can't wait to read!) from my siblings. Neil Gaiman and Chris Riddell's The Sleeper and The Spindle combines two great minds to produce something wonderfully beautiful. Great for Gaiman or art fans alike.

So, what do you make of my selections? Would you be happy to receive them as gifts?