Favourites du moment.

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So, here's some of the stuff I've been majorly feeling lately....all gathered on my vanity table. Now how did that happen? 

There are a couple repeats from my last favourites post. I'm still loving the Surya Brasil Sapien Women Body Moisturiser and accompanying shower gel (not pictured) - they just smell so nice! And the Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic has been a real saviour during hormonal breakouts lately. 

New is the Macadamia Oil Extract Hair Treatment I picked up (in the Euro shop - obvs). My only criticism of an otherwise solid product is that it doesn't have a dropper and trying to get the 4-5 drops only that they recommend for long hair is a pain. I usually end up washing a lot of excess off and wasting product. But I do notice my hair is extra silky when I use it!

For lips I've been switching out my regular Dr Bronner organic balm for one of the many Baby Lips I bought over Christmas. I felt I really should use them...and the Intense Care has been great. Again, it's the scent that's swaying me but I like the colour combo on the packaging a lot too! I'm a terrible sucker for cute packaging. My nails have been getting more attention than normal recently and I'm really liking the colour combo of Jessica's Starfish Glow - a bright pink shade - with Mavala's The Elle Orange - a reddish orange. People keep complimenting it stating they'd never put pink and red together normally but that it looks cool. Silly old fashion rules...pink and red can totes work when done right!

With jewellery I'm adoring these Cos earrings I got at the new store opening in Dublin a few weeks back. I haven't worn them much as they are kind of a pain to put on but I will crack them out for the next fancy thing  go to! And I've been wearing my Tatty Devine cat ring again lately. So cute.

I've been reading Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane - not as much as I'd like as I always find it difficult to commit to a book when researching but it's Neil Gaiman! And so far so good!

Lastly, I'm listening to plenty of Girls as I picked up their Broken Dreams Club in a charity shop for €1.50 and Sharon Van Etten's new stuff purely because it's AMAZING. I'll leave you with the new single. Enjoy x

PS. What have you guys been loving? I'd love to know!

Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist XIV

Happy Easter weekend, y'all! I just wanted to take a sec to appreciate that lots of super-cool stuff is going on with the blog at the moment and you guys are a major part of that happening! So, thank you. Thanks for helping me hit 60,000 pageviews and do lots of amazing things because of your pageviews! These are minor achievements to some but they are something I'm very proud of so cheers to us! Because bloggers are nothing without their readers.

Anyway, as a thanks, here's another post today and it's a playlist of some absolute tuneage! Enjoy. Major love xxx

Wide-Eyed and Playlist XI.

*NJOY xoxo

And because pancake Tuesday:

The formula of how to Haim.

Haim's new video for If I Could Change Your Mind is all over my facebook feed and tumblr. It's mostly because girl and womankind alike, journalists and average Josephines alike are squeeing and fangirling to the max. The band's rise, to coin a terrible cliché, has been meteoric. And while many fans are of male and other gender-identifying persuasions, it seems to me that it is the female fans who are most into them.

We're all girl-crushing hard and by three.

And I think I've cracked the formula - how they've managed to beguile us all like wonderful songstressy sirens. Here's a breakdown of why Haim are so perfect.

1. See, Haim manage to be many things at once while maintaining a appearance of being genuine. Now, I'm not questioning this genuineness - I'm as fangirly as the next gal - but pointing it out is important. 

2. Dat Hair is perfect. Srsly. We all want it.

3. Us nineties gals remember when Girl Power was the phrase of the moment and how into it we all were. I mean, celebrating being a girl? So good! The fact that Haim are an all-girl band of sisters - though they are many things other than that and are still musicians and a band rather than merely a "girl band" - adds to our general adoration of them.

4. They're so cool! They never seem to try too hard or as they're high-maintenance. They're cool girls in a band being awesome.

5. But they're also a little goofy. The new video being a case in point. The choreography, the referencing of 60s and 70s girl groups. It's not an artsy short film trying too hard, it's people having fun. And still managing to be cool.

6. They're relatable - they're not air-brushed ideals but beautiful, talented, real, full human beings.

7.  Connected is the fact that while they have an enviable sense of style it's never over-styled - they could easily be a particularly cool girl you know. They're flawless but not in the literal sense of the word, in the fangirly sense. 

Clearly, I've spent my time wisely. Not thinking about the meaning of life or how to end climate-change but about why we all love Haim...hrm. What d'y'all think? Am I a million miles off or spot on?

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.

A Mree bit of an obsession.

Yes, I'm a wee bit obsessed with this song, artist and video. The visuals and the music are just SO PRETTY. Ugh, on repeat, much?

The Seventh Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist.

Eclectic as ever - my playlist mantra. Have some soooongs for Saturday night. Woop.

The Sixth Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist.

I've been interested in bands with female voices for a while now. Growing up, all of my favourite bands were male-driven and though I wish it weren't necessary to single out women (it shouldn't be necessary) - sometimes it is needed in order to avoid the marginalisation of female artists. In the genres of music that I like most, men rule by and large in terms of acclaim, earnings and numbers. So, sometimes I can't help but say, "I want a little alt-country but I want it delivered by girls."

My excitement for the new KARA album is in Full Bloom!

I'm majorly excited for the sound and look of KARA's upcoming album "Full Bloom". So much amazingness in one preview! I mean, the androgynous suiting? DYING. And the Dolce (actually Dolce or no? I can't find any info online!) looks? Perfect. The contrast between friggin' princess attire and white dresses and sharp suits makes for an interesting look for the album. The wardrobe and its more cohesive nature seem to match the snippets of the sounds we've been getting. KARA have always been great but these songs seem to up the ante. It's all very sharp, put together and on point.

Girls, you're looking and sounding hot.

Also: can you say SPARKLY?

And a song from the album!

Bonjour, Au Revoir Simone.

From the architecture perving, to the on-point styling, to the vignettes of the accessories, to the enviable bangs, to the adorableness/fierceness of the ladies in question, to the music (obviously) - Au Revoir Simone's new music video, Somebody Who, is perfection. The cinematography with its sweeping shots up stairs and through rooms, the symmetrical organisation of the band in stark, empty rooms and the clean, simplicity of it all is an aesthetic I really dig. And the coordinating outfits? Amazing.

Welcome back, gals.

Icon - Françoise Hardy

Françoise Hardy embodies so many of the things that I have come to desire for my own personal style.Her hair! Oh, that hair. It deserves and ode; perfectly undone French-girl hair avec enviable fringe.The make-up, when present, is uber-natural and understated - a cateye flick of mascara here or a flash of lipstick there. And then the clothes - androgyny, simplicity, cutesyness, ease and a touch of rock and roll. 

The sixties aren't really my thang but I heart Ms Hardy so much - I'll be deriving lots of inspiration from her for the foreseeable future.

And, y'know, tuneage.

PS She's still looking pretty damn gorgeous and chic (see below)

The Third Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist.

Okay, so this is mostly comprised of stuff I'm digging at the moment which also happens to make me feel that warm-season-is-coming feeling. As a result, it's largely up-beat and fun but there's an undertone of sappiness because I'm sappy and also in a really good boy-place at the moment, it's strange how you can fall in love with a person again and again. I know, vomit...anyway, enjoy! 

PS Florrie and Gwen are so perfect in these videos. 

Hope Sandoval - Dream pop / Sartorial dream

Of Mazzy Star fame, she's very talented, stylish and a beaut to boot. The nineties photography is lovely and the girl just can't seem to take a bad photo. Her wardrobe choices are pretty relevant all over again, this coming season.

last.fm

last.fm

last.fm

last.fm

hopesandoval.com

Widowspeak for Vogue.com

In their countdown of new love songs in prep for Valentine's Day (yick), vogue.com had Widowspeak record a special rendition of their song, "Thick as Thieves". Love the collab.

The Second Wide-Eyed and Blind Playlist.

New year, new playlist.

Miss A

I love a good Idol group. They're packaged so well. Miss A are one of my current favourites. They're so cute (and hot)! There's a great versatility in how they dress/are dressed - ranging from adorable to quite risqué. And their videos are awesome. Love me some highly choreographed dance numbers.
This post is also a shout-out to Matthew who encouraged me to give Korea some bloggin' as well as Japan. And I'm glad I did.

last.fm

last.fm

last.fm

last.fm

AQ Entertainment

last.fm

Sky Ferreira

More obsessing over musicians. I'm such a sucker for style + good music + cute girls.

Haim.

An obsession du moment. So talented and stylish.