Hello! I hope you had the most amazing Christmas ever and you have loads of plans for New Year's. Even if you don't, sit home in a bubble bath with some hot cocoa and watch Brooklyn 99 - does it get any better? Anyway, I thought I'd round up some of my favourite posts of this year. I've been kind of rubbish in terms of blogging, but blogmas has really made me fall back in love with it, and I'm super excited and bursting with new content ideas! By the way, the posts aren't in chronological order for the sake of the collages looking nice - shall we take a look... (read that with Jim Carey's voice as Count Olaf)

The Best Books Of 2016

Let's just imagine Of Mice and Men and The Kite Runner are in there, because I can't find them. I will say that I've never cried so much at a book than I did at the Kite Runner.

I am a big reader. I read so much, I always have and I probably always will, because I really love it. I've read a lot of new things this year, so this is a real mix of genres, themes, fiction and non-fiction etc... I hope you enjoy this and maybe get some super last minute present ideas!

The Grotto Lives On

If you're wondering which grotto I'm referring to, it's the almost disgustingly Christmassy one that is my room - see last year's post. For anyone who's even vaguely interested, I'm sharing my insanely festive room and where some of the things in it are from!

Christmas Pamper Routine

Things I Love Right Now

The What's Underneath Project

'Style is not the clothes you wear. Style is not a facade, it's knowing who you are, it is comfort in your skin, it's what's underneath.'

a new style aesthetic

My style is constantly changing, along with all the other girls my age. The films we watch, people we spend our time with, food we eat, places we go can all affect what we wear, along with our personality. It can be hard to find your own personal style aesthetic, or the 'vibe' you're going for and trying to put across. To be honest, I don't feel like I'm in a good place with my personal style, so this post is for me to try and see things more clearly, and hopefully to give you some inspoooo.

For me, I love taking inspiration from films (Eve in god help the girl!! ( and Cassie too because Hannah Murray is the coolest)). Again, you can be influenced so much by tv and the media. I also really like to look at instagram accounts. @70sbabes is always the way to go.

Right now, the aesthetic I'm going for is kind of street, kind of girly, but effortless. I'm not sure what you'd call it, but think bobs, bubblegum, hoop earrings and denim. Blame online shopping. The unisex dressing section on the urban outfitters website has me swooning - all those jackets and I want want want.

Here is a quick list of things I've been loving...

Shopping wise, I've had my eye on two pieces from, the best, Asos (scroll down to have a peep). One being, shocker, actually practical. It's a cosy black denim jacket.. and I've been needing one for a while! Super casual with a borg collar, it's the perfect staple piece for that awkward stage between winter and spring. The next one is something I wouldn't normally wear, but I think I could just about pull off wearing casually. A beautiful playsuit with sheer detailing and embroidery. It's from a brand called Fallen Star, and I've never owned anything from them before so I'm really intrigued by it.

SHOP: 1//2

In other news, I've just come back from Marrakech - post on that soon - with a tummy bug and a heart full of luurve for that beautiful city. In one day when I'm sitting in a freezing cold classroom listening to how Austro-Hungarian imperialism was a catalyst in World War One, I know how much I'm going to miss wandering around the Medina and lounging about in the sun.

( you can follow my tumblr here if you liked the photos in this post )

november favourites

Yes, yes I know. It's November and I'm already using Christmas products and I already have a Christmas background, but what can you do. I've always been one of those people who think 'Christmas doesn't start until December 1st, but now, after watching all the YouTube videos and the reading all the blogposts, I'm thinking, 'Christmas starts NOW'.

Lush Santa's Belly shower jelly 

My favourite scent, possibly ever, from Lush is So White, but of course the beautiful bath bomb is only released at Christmas. I popped into the King's Road Lush and asked if they had any in stock and they said no, but then they showed me this little miracle. A cherry red, sparkly shower jelly with the exact same scent. Life complete. I've always loved Lush shower jellies, especially Whoosh which my sister loves too, so I've affectionately added this to the collection. The scent - apples. Super fresh, uplifting, and I love everything about it.

Nākd bars

I snack a lot, that's a given. It's hard to find things to eat in-between meals that are healthy but don't taste like cardboard. When the lovely Fran from Total Media contacted me and asked me if I'd like to try these out, I was a little hesitant. For me, there's a stigma surrounding 'health' bars, meaning that they don't taste too good. Still, I accepted. A box of about 25 arrived at my door, and as soon as I saw that there were coffee flavoured ones, I was sold. These. Taste. Insane. The ginger bread one especially, it's so fitting for the season! Thank you Fran for these, they're delicious!!

Lush The Sun perfume

Ironic, seeing as I live in England so never even see the sun, so perhaps the wrong timing to be realising what a lovely perfume this is. This literally smells of oranges. I don't have anything else to say. Beautiful.

 Origins GinZing Energy Boosting-Moisturiser

Very late to the parade on this one. It seems like every blogger and their cat have this moisturiser, and I hear so many good things about it. Aside from it smelling identical to chocolate oranges, an obvious bonus, it's actually a miraculous product. I have very oily skin, and for a long time I followed the false rumour that you shouldn't use moisturiser if you have this skin type. Of course, you shouldn't do that. If you have oily skin and don't use moisturiser, your skin will only produce more oil. This is a great product to stop me getting too shiny thorough the day, and keep my skin all lovely and soft.

Yankee Candle in Christmas Cookie

We've all heard of this one. The queen of christmas candles. Christmas cookie. It smells so lovely, basically just Christmas in a jar, and it's an essential for this time of year!

albums i really like

brothers the black keys

contra vampire weekend

is your love by enough? lianne la havas

ibeyi ibeyi

sun giant fleet foxes

days are gone haim

i had the blues but i shook them loose bombay bicycle club

world peace is none of your business morrissey

is this it the strokes

come of age the vaccines

puzzle biffy clyro

the sound of the smiths the smiths

long way down tom odell

wanted on voyage george ezra

colour it in the maccabees

angles the strokes

whatever people say i am, that's what i'm not arctic monkeys

vampire weekend vampire weekend

in love peace

an awesome wave alt j

sometimes i sit and think, and sometimes i just sit courtney barnett

thunder, lightning, strike the go! team

volume 3 she & him

funeral arcade fire

keep the car running arcade fire

dungarees

dun·ga·rees

ˌdəNGɡəˈrēz/

noun

1. 1. 

   blue jeans or overalls.

2. 

NORTH AMERICAN

blue denim.

You might be a bit bored of this topic based on my previous post. I don't mind if it's a dress, shorts, patterned, or the good ol full length jeans, I love dungarees in any form. I am now proud to say ( just kidding ( kidding again )) I own two pairs. With a street style 'vibe' to them, I always feel so cutesy wearing them. Cutesy in a 'I want to look like I put no effort into my look, but that look takes a lot of effort' kinda way.

Dr Martens 1461 Classic Flats

These have been constantly on my mind since I first saw them after obsessing over the american asos. I've found them on amazon for a bit cheaper, and they've taken pride place as the tab on my laptop that will never be closed. BUT, there's no way I can afford to spend £60 on a pair of shoes ( don't start going on at me about my vagabonds, I saved for 4 months and got payed £20 for a blog design and £30 for something on iPlayer ). 

I've mentally made a list of pros to try to make myself love them more/less - still trying to figure it out. I tried them on in office a few weeks ago and they are the PERFECT fit, despite being insanely uncomfortable ( aren't all docs though? ). I've worn some in before - only took 2 weeks and 3 pairs of socks all worn at one time. So so practical, they go with everything because of the shape and colour, and I could probably get away with wearing these as school shoes. The list is endless.

Someone tell me if I should get them ( £60!!!!! ), or tell me if you've seen any cheaper lookalikes!

now playing: take me out franz ferdianand/grace kelly mika/no more mr nice guy alice cooper

yes, I'm bringing that back

three

- sorry for the grainy photo, my camera ran out of battery just as I was about to take this, so I used my phone. I wanted to do a June favourites post, but I didn't want it to be too long. So here's a short but sweet post about three things I've been loving lately!

avec danielle - The afternoon when I first came across Danielle's blog, I just sat scrolling and reading all her posts for hours. I wish I was exaggerating. All her pictures are of the best quality, with really striking colours and angles. The content and originality of each post is so incredible. I could go on for ages, but, like I said, I need to keep this post short! But go and check out Danielle's blog, you won't regret it!

once upon a time - This show. THIS SHOW. You all know how obsessed with Netflix I am, and when I finished 90210, I thought 'hey, I've seen this floating around, I'll give it a go..?'. It's not like anything I usually watch. Then again, my tv interests range from horror to reality show. It's set in a little town in Maine called Storybooke, where fairytale characters are banished after an evil queen casts a curse to wipe their memories. I know how trashy that sounds, but watch a few episodes, and I swear you'll get hooked. It's filmed in such a clever way, alternating between reality and fairytales! I'm now onto season 4, going strong.

depop - I know this is pretty well known already, but if you don't know, depop is an app where you can easily buy and sell unwanted items. It's exactly like instagram, except you post pictures of things you want to sell. I've been really getting into it lately. Plus, a lot of famous bloggers, youtubers and people who are instagram famous sell on it. If you're a 'child of the internet', you'll know my excitement.

favourite candles of all time

Yankee Candle 'White Gardenia'

You know when you walk into a garden centre, a flower shop if possibly your grandma's living room? This smells like that - super fresh and floral, it is identical to, how did you guess, white gardenia.

Bath and Body Works 'Sparkling Limeade'

I don't know if any of you will have tried the super green smoothie from Wagamama, but you should definitely try it. If they were to make a candle of it, I have no doubt that this would be it. So incredibly summery and fresh, it's got subtle hints of apple with lime, and doesn't smell like cheap lemonade like the name might lead you to think.

Abode 'Relaxing'

Abode is a little shop in the lanes of Brighton. I'm not sure why this is called relaxing because it's actually very citrusy and fresh ( let's count how many times I've said fresh in this post.. ). The only thing I don't like about this candle is the size - flippin tiiiinyyy.

Jo Malone 'Green Tomato Leaf'

This smells like summer. I don't know how else to explain it. It's so fresh and reminds me of greenhouses strangely? The best thing about this is that the smell stays in the room even when the candle isn't lit, and it's peeeeerfeect despite the high price.

Lazy Oaf SS15

With every new collection Lazy Oaf bring out, I find myself crying at: a) how expensive everything is, b) how much I want everything. Their SS15 one is flawless, all of it. Inspired by old school arcade games - mainly for the men's collection - it's overflowing with slogans and graphic prints. Geometrical patterns, surreal shapes - do they just know me? I love the super shirt and cloud sweatshirt in the summer collection, and the work of art shirt in the spring collection. The cloud sweatshirt. I need it. Urgent.

10 things I love about you

Bit late, as Valentine's Day was yesterday. But I hope you all had an okay day. Even if it ended up like mine - watching horror films at 7pm with scaredy cat friends ( aimee ) and eating sushi. This post will be featuring 10 things I love, and I hope you enjoy it!

(This post is part of a little blogger series I'm taking part in called the "secret blogger project 2015" run by teen bloggers Emily , Rebekka and Charlotte. About 30 of us will be writing twice a week on selected little lifestyle topics and you can also go onto the twitter and Instagram hash tag "#secretbp2015" to have a little chat and view everyone's posts. If you would like to join or know more (we'd love to have you included!)  Instagram dm @theperks0fbeingemily or if you don't have Instagram, send a quick email to  rebekkarosebeautyxo@gmail.com!)

1. Lovely little shops 

2. Cacti ( any plants really )

3. My deluded friends

4. Being an idiot with my deluded friends

5. Sickeningly sweet food

6. Dressing up

7. Vintage shops

8. Delicious smelling candles

9. Dancing. Not professionally, just with my friends to 'What Would You Do'

10. Making things

mustard

1/2/3/4/5

Yesterday I was scrolling through my blog and I realised I hadn't done a current obsession merged with a wish list sort of post in yonks. Winter is finally starting to rear it's ugly head - right now, I'm still stuck with all my summer clothes and keep thinking 'hey maybe it'll be sunny today' and come home with an icicle hanging off my nose.

Mustard is one of my favourite colours for autumn, and one I wish I had more of. I love how it looks with everything, especially monochrome. It would look lovleyyy with a deep purple as well.

now playing: what else

things that deserve more attention

Collection 'No Clumps'  Mascara

If there's one makeup product I couldn't live without, it's mascara. It widens your eyes, and I feel ridiculous without even a smidgen of it on, as my eyelashes are quite light, which is why I'm always adding new ones to my collection.

I picked this up in superdrug last month for around £3, which is amazing. After taking a look at the brush in store, I knew I was onto a winner. It had no clumps that I had to scrape off on the end, like 'They're Real' or 'Big Eyes'. When I applied it, my lashes were so defined, long, yet not too spidery, which is desperately rare these days.

This is definitely something I'm going to be repurchasing. I really want to try out some other collection mascaras to see how they compare to this one.

A Monster Calls - Patrick Ness

I. Love. This. Book. I've always been a fan of Patrick Ness. So is my mum, who is possibly the biggest bookworm ever known to man. When she raved about this to me, I thought I'd give it a read. The idea for A Monster Calls came from the writer Siobhan Dowd, who was unable to finish the book due to a terminal illness.

It's based around a 13 year old boy called Connor O'Malley, who's parents are divorced. He lives with his mum who has cancer, and his dad is living in America with his new wife and baby. He deals with terrible bullies every day, and has to take care of himself. Every night, a tree monster appears outside Connor's window, and tells him a series of stories, that relate to events in his own life. The monster wants something from Connor, and he won't tell him what it is, but he won't be left alone until the monster gets it.

This book will leave you in awe.

Get it.

Love it.

Thank me later.

Haim

These girls don't need more attention, they are in fact very well-known, but I needed to mention them as I have been loving their music lately.

I'm not usually a fan of girl-bands, but Haim is definitely an exception. Not only is there music incredible, but they have such a unique sound. Oh, they're also incredible style icons, and I would pay big money for their level of clothing and all-rounded coolness ( can you hear the 9 year old in my voice? ).

now playing: haim if i could change your mind

bowler hats

I am completely loving bowler hats at the moment. I wish I was cool enough to wear one. It's such a versatile item. They smarten up and add a little to every outfit. I like. With winter coming up, I'd love to get my hands on one - a nice alternative to a beanie. I love how they're being worn with a girly outfit. Floral dresses, a pink duo, a bowler hat can spin it in a totally different direction. They're sophisticated but edgy. Come to meeeeee.

now playing: i gave you all mumford and sons/valerie the zutons

embellished sunglasses

If I'm honest, I think this is taking florals to a whole new, over the top level. No, I'm not saying I don't love embellished sunglasses, but who came up with them? I'm still hanging on to the end of summer, and I'm thinking maybe if I order the lovely ones from Missguided I'll get some ( even if it's not very much ) use out of them? Descisions. However, I'm still broke from ordering too much off topshop when they were having that 75% off sale ( post here ). They are the ULTIMATE, sophisticated yet edgy summer accessory. I know I would never get away with wearing them walking around town or casually, but maybe next time I go on holiday? - which will be April next year. Ha. I might just stick to reblogging pictures of them on tumblr.

now playing: I LOVE THE BLACK KEYS

frankie magazine

Warning - this post is going to contain a lot of 'wowza' and 'the world's most amazing magazine'. But that's only necessary because IT IS.

Frankie is a monthly Australian magazine. It's not one of those super serious fashion magazines, but rather a more crafty, arty little book. It also features music, snazzy photography, fashion and once there was a tutorial for a diy apple pinata. It has independent clothing brands in there too, so it's my dream. If Etsy was paper, this would be it. I probably buy this more than company, which is really saying something.

If you know any other arty fashion magazines, let me know.

now playing: are we one crystal fighters/istanbul morrissey/kiss with a fist florence and the machine