FAIIINT

Coral

Style

Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT wearing Catarzi wide brim fedora hat, Topshop cropped suede jacket, Reiss Coral overlay shift dress, Kurt Geiger Saturn boots. All black everything dark street style outfit. Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT wearing Topshop cropped suede jacket, Bloody Mary Metal Lovehunters Arrow silver necklace. All black everything outfit details. FAIIINT Kurt Geiger black suede 'Saturn' lace up boots. Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT wearing Topshop cropped suede jacket, Reiss Coral overlay textured shift dress. All black everything dark street style outfit details.

Catarzi Fedora / Topshop Cropped Suede Jacket / Reiss ‘Coral’ Shift Dress * /
Bloody Mary Metal ‘Lovehunters Arrow’ Necklace / Kurt Geiger ‘Saturn’ Boots / Bracher Emden Bag

I’m such a fan of Reiss, but like with most of the other high end high street brands, the only time I ever pick anything up is during the sales. I can never really justify it otherwise, but when the sales finally do come around I tend to go a little nuts! I came across this dress whilst browsing through Love The Sales, a site that gathers all of the best sale pieces from your favourite brands and stores in one place, making them easily searchable all at once. It’s a little addictive, and just a bit dangerous for your bank account.

Clearly there was no way I was ever going to be able to resist the beautiful black on black texture and layered detailing of this shift dress. The coral patterned heavy lace is such an interesting fabric, it’s woven with subtle metallic yarns which softly twinkle in the light and it gives a really nice graphic look. I’m always going on about mixing textures to keep all black interesting and I just love pieces which already do this for me by incorporating different fabrics and details into the one piece. It makes it so easy to simply throw on a jacket and still have a visually interesting outfit, or really pile on extra textures for something a bit more complex.

Winter Walks

Life, Style

Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT with husky dog Nico wearing OASAP pom pom beanie, The North Face Evolution TriClimate 3 in 1 jacket, H&M asymmetric jumper, Hunter wellington boots, Topshop faux fur handwarmers. All black everything dark style winter dog walking outfit. Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT with husky dog Nico wearing OASAP pom pom beanie, The North Face Evolution TriClimate 3 in 1 jacket, H&M asymmetric jumper, Hunter wellington boots, Topshop faux fur handwarmers. All black everything dark style winter dog walking outfit. FAIIINT Siberian Husky dog Nico. FAIIINT Siberian Husky dog Nico, standing up and playing. Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT with husky dog Nico wearing OASAP pom pom beanie, The North Face Evolution TriClimate 3 in 1 jacket. Dog kissing licking face. Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT wearing The North Face Evolution TriClimate 3 in 1 HyVent jacket. All black everything dark style winter dog walking outfit details. Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT with husky dog Nico wearing OASAP pom pom beanie, The North Face Evolution TriClimate 3 in 1 jacket, H&M asymmetric jumper, Hunter wellington boots, Topshop faux fur handwarmers. All black everything dark style winter dog walking outfit. Fashion blogger Stephanie of FAIIINT with husky dog Nico wearing OASAP pom pom beanie, The North Face Evolution TriClimate 3 in 1 jacket. Outfit details.

OASAP Beanie / The North Face Evolution TriClimate 3 in 1 Jacket * / H&M Jumper /
ASOS Dress / Topshop Faux Fur Handwarmers / Hunter Wellington Boots *

It’s finally drawing to the end of winter, the days are getting longer and the chill in the air is slowly disappearing, which means me and Nico can at last get in some proper daylight walks again. I always enjoy when it first starts to get dark early and we can walk around the eerily quiet streets and by the park looking at the stars, but as winter drags on, walking in the pitch black, unless it’s a weekend, quickly gets a little depressing. Especially when all you want to do is curl up inside and hide from the cold.

I’m not quite sure how I managed to survive the last few freezing months of dog walks without this The North Face jacket from Blacks. It’s one of those things that I never really knew I needed, but now I have it, I don’t know how I ever did without it. I can’t bear the thought of ever going back to piling on jumpers under my old coat and battling with an umbrella to keep myself warm and dry – and usually still ending up freezing and soggy regardless! Those are the kinds of things that really take the enjoyment out of going for a walk, and when you have a high energy dog who needs his walk no matter what the weather is doing, it’s pretty important that you enjoy going. I think Nico can kind of sense when I’m in a mood and don’t really want to be outside too, we definitely both have a nicer time when I’m not cold, wet and annoyed!

With an innovative 3 in 1 design, the jacket has a fleece inner which cleverly zips in to the outer shell, meaning they can be worn together for added warmth on cold days or worn individually too. The Polartec fleece is deceptively lightweight for something that is this good at retaining body heat, it’s kept me so toasty when I’m all zipped up that I haven’t even bothered to put a jumper underneath it recently. It’s a highly functional jacket and the HyVent outer shell has lots of nice built in features, like underarm ventilation, a storable hood and a double layer storm flap, making it a pretty unbeatable wet weather companion and super versatile too. I feel like it’s got me covered, whatever this unpredictable British weather (or Nico ‘look how muddy I am, lets hug!’) throws at me.

Nocturna

Covet, Life

FAIIINT Nocturna 'Salem' candle and Arcana Rose Water Mist. Dark homewear decor still life with deer skull.FAIIINT Nocturna 'Salem' candle.FAIIINT Nocturna 'Salem' candle and Arcana Rose Water Mist. Dark homewear decor still life with deer skull.

Nocturna ‘Salem’ candle and Arcana Rose Water mist

I’m slowly working my way through buying each piece on my indie designer and jewellery wishlists, and last month I finally got my hands on one of Nocturna‘s candles. I have been meaning to try them out for the longest time, the names and scents really intrigued me and of course they look absolutely beautiful in their black glass holders too.

All of Nocturna’s candles are hand poured in Australia, they are made from only the finest cruelty free ingredients and are vegan friendly. Crafted from an eco friendly coconut and soy wax blend, which is harvested from sustainable sources they are free of additives and dyes making them clean burning and safe for both humans and the earth.

I was torn between which to get first, but I finally settled on ‘Salem‘ after Sam told me it was her personal favourite. It’s an oriental scent made up of frankincense, myrrh, balsam, patchouli and sandalwood, the fragrance is beautifully delicate and not overpowering like some candles can be. It sounds like a weird thing to say, but it really reminds me of the way Nico’s fur smells. I mean that in the best way possible too as it’s one of my most favourite scents, I’m always burying my head in his fur! Huskies do not have a typical ‘doggy’ odour and smell kind of like puppies do, it’s this lovely outdoorsy, warm, sweetly powdery smell and it’s so comforting. That’s the perfect way to describe this scent too, comforting. I’ve been burning it whilst curled up on the sofa at night reading or laying down listening to soft music, it’s incredibly relaxing. My favourite thing though is the wooden wick, which makes a gentle crackling noise as the flame flickers and gives off a subtle smokey fragrance, like a log fire. None of my other candles quite measure up now.

I also couldn’t resist adding the newly released Arcana Rose Water mist to my order, I love a nice toner and I was completely drawn in by the beautiful black violet glass bottle too. Made from double distilled and 100% pure certified organic Rose Otto water sourced from the sacred ‘Valley of Roses’, the fragrance is absolutely intoxicating and it has become the perfect final step in my nightly cleansing routine. I like to use this routine as a way to wind down ready for sleep, using balms and relaxing essential oils to massage the skin. I’ve been misting this over my cleansed face to lock in moisture, it’s super hydrating and refreshing on the skin and the fragrance is wonderfully calming before climbing into bed.