Happy weekend! This post is a lil' different and is essentially me waxing lyrical on some of my favourite places to find clothes. The novelty of having a Zara about 15-20 minutes drive away is yet to wear off. Annoyingly, a lot of what I wanted to talk about is nightmarish to find online so I might generalise a bit. Apologies in advance. If in doubt, go peruse the shops in question. Anyway, fashion and fashion-y bits incoming...

Zara: Oh Zara, how I love thee. Ever since I discovered it in Melbourne six or so years back I have been smitten. Gorgeous pieces, fabulous tailoring, colours and on-trend without being too gimmicky. Zara is my go-to for blouses, basics and things that you won't really find elsewhere. For my birthday I was given some money and nabbed the dream skirt, it has pockets people, a shirt dress with dramatic sleeve detailing, I love me some sleeve drama and this oversized navy cardigan above. It has tortoiseshell style buttons and is so cosy. I literally feel like I'm walking in a blanket when I have this on. In a good way. This is why I'm not a fashion copywriter...

H&M: H&M can be a bit hit and miss sometimes, I'm not going to lie. If you're willing to tolerate the crowds and never ending racks, it can be a rewarding experience. I go here for basics like skirts and lightweight cardis but also blouses and tops. More recently I grabbed a burnt orange lace blouse with a slightly ruffled collar. It's not overly dramatic, period-actress looking, thank goodness but I love it. The stripes you see above are from a shirt I grabbed not too long ago, with flared sleeves. All about the shirts right now.

Alexa Chung: After watching Alexa's SS17 live stream in the early hours of the morning here in Auckland, I knew I wanted all many of the things. These star loafers are still calling out to me. Love Rays, her non-first date ready tee is in my wardrobe now. It mightn't quite be teeshirt weather yet but I have been wearing this underneath knits (see above) with skirts and tights+boots. I love it.

Pinch & Fold: The lovely folk at Pinch & Fold reached out to me recently and offered me some jewellery, which of course I couldn't turn down. I love their celestial themed pieces, in particular this* necklace, a star choker* (which I have a suspicion was part of the sale) and these earrings. Everything came beautifully packaged too, in a mini mason jar which I actually kept to stop these dainty pieces getting tangled/lost. 

Trade Aid: This is my go-to for ethically produced and sourced pieces from around the world. Whether it be their mugs, chocolate or their jewelry. Seriously their earrings are underrated and I love 'em. These were actually a gift from Emma and they've fast become my favourites to wear on an almost daily basis. Although they do have a tendency to get caught on my swipe-card's lanyard for work but that's redundant. They're a beaut. I've not linked their online store because the selection online is limited so I'd encourage you to head in to have a browse. 

-What are your fashion staples at the moment?

*I was sent these necklaces for review but all love of celestial motifs and dainty jewels are my own. 

It's that time of the month again and I've got quite the favourites lineup here. There could have easily been about five or six more things included but I managed to edit it down to the true staples. Okay the music inclusion may be cheating a bit as I only acquired it five days ago but it deserves a mention. As well as music there's a book I'm recommending to everyone, some beauty+body bits and even a fashion item...

H&M Bag-New Zealand, Auckland specifically acquired its first H&M store at the beginning of this month, as well as Zara. Finally. This was one of my buys as I wanted a smaller bag to take out and about that wasn't a tote. It's nothing fancy, just a black bag with gold zip detailing and some tassels. I love it though and it fits all the essentials; my wallet, keys, phone and a little makeup bag I carry around. 

Lush Sugar Plum Fairy Lip Scrub-The kings and queens of Christmas body+pamper gifts, Lush in other words, dropped their Christmas releases into stores at the beginning of this month and they are not disappointing. More on that some other time. Today though I have to mention this new lip scrub. It smells like The Comforter and jelly lollies. Delicious in other words. Aside from its scent blessing properties, it also does a good jobs of restoring my Winter damaged, read; dry, cracked and gross lips to tip-top condition. 

Joanne x Lady Gaga-It's possibly cheating a bit to include this as it was only released last week but I'm justifying it because I know it's just as likely to have been in November's favourites too. I have to confess, I wasn't a fan of ARTPOP, not in its entirety at least. This album however is like Gaga's revival. She's collaborated with producer Mark Ronson on many of the tracks, Ronson is famous for working with the late, great Amy Winehouse among other artists. It's a match made in music heaven basically. I'd say it has some country influences in the mix and also pop+rock vibes throughout. Oh and there's a track with Florence Welch and Lady Gaga which my eighteen year old self would have been crying tears of excitement over. Heck, my twenty-something self loves it. My favourite tracks right now are; John Wayne, Million Reasons, Hey Girl, Joanne and Grigio Girls. It's all fantastic though. Give it a listen.

Korres Santorini Vine Showergel-Whilst I was away housesitting earlier in the month this came with me and it's become my new favourite showergel. Move aside, The Comforter. It's kinda tropical, kinda fruity but not overpowering. It's a bit lighter than something like the shower creams from Lush but I like that about it, it's more suited to the Summer months. I'll definitely be investing in the full sized soon. I like it that much. 

Bobbi Brown Retouching Wand*-The unexpected favourite, without a doubt is this product. It has not left my bag(s) at all this month. The shade Light is perfect for me and doesn't contrast wildly with any other base product I might use. It's super easy to blend, with either a brush or fingers and is great for on the go touchups. It's going to get a lot of use come Summertime when makeup just seems to evaporate. 

Where Am I Now? by Mara Wilson-If the fact this book has made its way into another blog post this month isn't stressing just how much I love it, I don't know what will. Perhaps the fact I read it twice this month further reiterates it. It's beautifully written and is the kind of book I can imagine myself returning to again and again. There's something special about it that I cannot quite articulate in words. Just go read it and let me know what you think about it.

Aesop Rejuvenate Intensive Body Balm-Super hydrating, super luxurious, super lush and vanilla+sandalwood-y. That sentence summarises this balm really. I lovelovelove it and will pray that Aesop never discontinue it. If you want to read less condensed ramblings about it, head here. 

How is it the end of May!? It feels like literally last week I was falling out of bed in a slightly jet-lagged stupor in Sydney. It was time to start thinking about what I've loved in May and for the first time in a while it was quite an easy choice. So what made the cut this month? Read on..

Colourpop Eyeshadows in La La and Sequin-In case my frequent raving didn't get it across, I'm a bit obsessed with these eyeshadows. Cream eyeshadows in general are my favourite to be honest. These two colours from Colourpop are really stunning. Sequin, the coppery bronze is my favourite but La La, the rose gold is a close second. If you're yet to try Colourpop I highly recommend you start with their eyeshadows.

Real Techniques #200 Oval Shadow Brush*-Let's all take a moment to marvel at my flawless dirty brush. In seriousness, this brush is a thing of beauty. It reminds me a lot of the Mac #217, just denser and larger. It's perfect for both packing on colour and blending shadows out really easily. One thing that annoys me about this brush is they don't stand up like the other RT brushes do, although it redeems itself because they're designed to not roll off tables, benches etc. 

Bourjois Healthy Balance Powder in Vanille-This powder is fabulous. It's matte but not overly so. As a result you aren't left with a cakey, obviously powdered looking complexion. I love that it's in a secure compact with an accessible mirror too. It makes it perfect for on the go touchups as well. 

The Heir by Kiera Cass-I can't remember if I've mentioned The Selection series on my blog before but I am obsessed with this series. The fourth book follows the life of Eadlyn Schreave, aka 'the heir' as she gets ready to face her own selection. Inevitably, some drama ensues. While this story didn't follow America as closely it was still really good. Eadlyn is quite different to America so it didn't feel too similar reading her story. It received four out of five stars on GoodReads from me because I liked it that much. Here's hoping a follow-up isn't too far away.

West Elm Heart Bud Vase-This was one of my Sydney purchases and I'm so happy I picked this one up. The vase is covered in teensy little gold foil-leaf hearts. It's just so beautiful and I'm looking forward to putting flowers in this come Springtime. 

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Celebrated-There's just something about Tarte's blushers which make them so irresistible. It could be the gorgeous packaging or intricate designs. In reality, I think it's the fact all the colours are so wearable and also ridiculously long-wearing. Seriously, these blushers stick around. I'm obsessed and now own four of them. Yep, I have a problem...

Karen Walker Wreath Ring-This was one of my purchases with a voucher I won from BeautyDirectory last month. The wreath ring has been on my wishlist for the longest time and I could finally justify getting it. I really love Karen Walker's jewellery, in particular the rings and I tend to wear them a lot more than any other jewellery these days. The design of this one is a bit fancier than the simpler bands she does but I love it.

Bumble & Bumble Pret A Powder-I described this as a hair saver last week and it really is. If you're like me and find hair washing a bit too tedious you'll like this one. Part dry-shampoo, part style extender*, this helps to disguise oily roots and lifeless, second day hair. It's so lightweight and doesn't leave you with an annoying whitecast as well. Wins all round.

*What does that even mean? Cryptic hair product lingo...

-Have an utterly awesome weekend everybody! I'm not gonna lie, this week's been a bit on the not-so-awesome side and at times it's left me feeling a little bit blue. Thankfully it's a long weekend so I can recharge the batteries. I'll be listening to Florence's new cd (out today!) on repeat, having a bit of a DVD watching sesh and I'm going to a lil' movie screening with Hannah. x