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November and December Favourites

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I missed posting about my November favourites at the start of this month and seeing as though it’s almost the end of the year I thought I would combine my November and December favourites. I’m planning on doing a ‘2016 Favourites’ early next year, so this is a good opportunity to consolidate all my very recent faves before casting my mind back over 2016 as a whole. 

In this favourites post I’ve got a little bit of everything! I’ve got some beauty bits, the two dresses that have totally stolen my heart, the books I was obsessed with and the show I binged on (more than once!).

Beauty

This is a new (to me) product, and I am totally loving it. It’s called 3CE Barbapapa Cushion Blush (in the shade ‘pink’) and it’s a K-Beauty (Korean Beauty) product. It’s a little cushion compact of blush and although I was initially a bit sceptical about it (and the ‘gimmick’ factor), I actually completely love it. The colour is so pretty and is a great pink for me, and the product starts out light but is buildable really quickly. It’s perfect for that light flush of colour that you want from a blush. If you want to check out more Korean products, Sephora has a whole K-Beauty page!  

The Lorac Pro Palette is the eyeshadow palette I’ve been reaching for most often lately. It’s not a new purchase (I actually got it for Christmas last year) but it can often get a little forgotten in my ever growing collection of eyeshadows. The shades I’ve been using most over the past month or so are Taupe, Mauve, Espresso and Pewter. I love using Mauve as an all over wash of colour (the slight purple contrasts my green eyes so well) with a touch of Taupe or Espresso in the corner depending on how I’m feeling. This palette is a great mix of matte and shimmer shades and it’s really versatile in the colours you get in it – although I have to admit I’m still working up the courage to use Garnet. 

One of the biggest constants in my makeup right now is bright lipstick. I am just having an absolute ‘bright lipstick moment’, and in particular red lipstick. My preference is almost always for a matte formula because I’m not a fan of massively glossy lips (especially not at work) and matte formulas are just so beautifully long-lasting. They can be quite drying so I make sure I slather on the lip balm at home, but the formulas are getting so much better all the time. They are far superior to matte lipsticks from even 5 years ago! My absolute favourites right now are Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in the shade 03 Hot Pepper and 05 Ole Flamingo, Yves Saint Laurent Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in 10 Rouge Filtre, By Terry Rouge Expert Click Stick in 17 My Red and Revlon Ultra HD Matte Lip Colour in Love.

Wearing

I originally bought this Sacha Drake dress as an option to wear to my brother’s wedding and although I found something more ‘wedding-y’ afterwards, I kept this dress to wear for work and other functions. It’s so beautiful, I love everything about this dress. The colours are perfect for me and the cut and fabric of the dress are just gorgeous. It’s super flattering and requires no ironing (hooray!) which makes it a total winner in my book.  

I’ve been hunting for some emerald green clothes, because it’s one of my favourite colours, when I came across this shirt dress from Marcs. I instantly fell in love with the flowy fabric, the asymmetrical hemline and the gorgeous hibiscus print. I love the colours and the cute little polka dot details in the flowers. It’s a really versatile dress and I think it will get a lot of wear over summer. 

While I was at Peter Alexander picking up some Christmas presents (I get new PA pjs for my brother every year for Christmas!) I spied these adorable paisley frill edge pyjama shorts and they somehow made their way into my shopping bag for me! I love the super cute pattern and they are so light and comfortable. Perfect for me, considering I basically jump into my pjs the minute I get home from work!  

Watching

If you haven’t watched The Crown (on Netflix) yet, go do it now. Seriously. It was so good. I’m a sucker for the royals but even if you aren’t I am positive you will like this series. It is supposedly the most expensive tv series ever made and a lot of that money clearly went to the sets and costumes because it looks and feels so authentic. If you’ve been living under a rock, it follows Queen Elizabeth II from her early twenties (it starts just before she marries Prince Phillip) and the first series ends in her thirties during a period of turmoil in her marriage and in the government of England. The intention is for the series to run for six seasons, one for each decade of the Queen’s rule, taking us up to the present day. I absolutely loved this series (and have re-watched it twice already) and I cannot wait until the next season! 

Reading

Speaking of The Crown, it inspired me to jump back into my love of ‘royal history’ and start reading Queen Elizabeth: The Queen Mother by William ShawcrossI had previously read about a third of this before abandoning it and I’m currently about two thirds of the way through. It’s a really interesting look at the Queen Mother’s life and I love reading about the royals. If you have any suggestions for good biographies of any of the royals, let me know!

I read Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake on a recommendation from a friend and I devoured it in one day. It was sooo good. It’s a YA novel and is fantasy, but not too out there. In each generation the queen gives birth to triplet girls, each of them equal heirs and queens and they each have a unique ‘gift’ (controlling the elements, surviving poison, or controlling living things/nature). They are separated as children and raised to control their gift, and once they turn 16 they each have one year to kill their two sisters to become the sole queen of the island. It’s so thrilling, I just loved it the more I read it. I will warn you (because I didn’t really pay attention to this before I started) that it only just came out (in September) and the second book in the series will not come out for another year. And it’s the kind of book that as soon as you finish you want to move onto the next one. But hopefully the next one will be worth the wait! 

I had avoided When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi for some time because I heard it was quite heart rending. And it was, but so worth it. The writing is incredible and really makes you think about things. In case you’re not familiar with it, the book was written by Paul during the last year of his life. He was a neurosurgeon, about to finish his residency, when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. His perspective shift from doctor to patient is fascinating and he has some beautiful insights into the meaning of life, and how to face death. He studied literature before turning to medicine so his writing just has an amazing depth and philosophical bent to it which I really enjoyed. He died before finishing the book, so the epilogue is written by his wife Lucy (her description of the last days of Paul’s life was heartbreaking). I’d definitely recommend reading this book, just be prepared for the heartbreaking bits.  


So that’s what’s been on my favourites list for the last little while, what’s on yours?

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The post November and December Favourites appeared first on Life at Number Five.


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