Sparkles and Monochrome- Christmas Shopping

Hey everyone and welcome to today's blog post!

I was out looking at Christmas decorations when I noticed that there were a lot of darker colours and quirkier things adorning the shelves! I thought it would make a nice blog post so I hope that you enjoy looking at the pretty sparkly shiny things. I love Christmas! 

These black and white decorations are what prompted me to make the post because I was looking at them thinking... god they are so gawth! 

This beautiful decoration really caught my eye with its gorgeous colours and ornate design.  

I love this one, black and silver are a win in my book! 

Ok so this just screams Tim Burton, it seems a strange choice for Christmas but I'm ok with it!

Yeah I don't know what this is meant to be but it was 40 euro and it looks like a medieval weapon so I thought I'd give it a feature! It was heavy too. Very odd!

Cat cat cat! I like this one, it's soooo cute. Look at those faces!

The imagery isn't particularly gawth on this bag but I love it so I thought I'd share. There are a lot of animal themed decorations out this year!

I'll just leave this here... hehehe...  

Well that's it for this week, I really wanted to share the things that caught my gothically inclined eye with all of you! Do you like Christmas? Do you go for traditional decorations or do you goth things up a little bit? Maybe you hate Christmas with a fiery passion? Hahah let me know!

Rebecca.

Outfit Post-Bat Skirt

Hey everyone!

This is an outfit post from a little while ago before the weather here turned really bad. It's been windy rainy and miserable the last while, Winter has well and truly set in!

I am wearing a Hellbunny bat skirt, mesh tights, doc martens, cut out crop top from Boohoo.com and a plain cami underneath!

The skirt is so epic and swishy, I have shown it before on this blog in my birthday post, I wear it a lot. Lately I've been wearing leggings instead of tights for extra warmth.

I love this style of top with the cut out! I'm also wearing my usual lace gloves. 

I had a boring jacket on top so nothing worth getting a picture of! 

That's it for today's post! What have you guys been wearing now that it has been heading into Winter? Do you layer up leggings and longer tops up with lighter things or do you have a separate Winter collection? Let me know in the comments! 

I layer everything up and have a few Winter items. I don't like big bulky jumpers and I'm very picky about what looser flowy things I wear!

Until next time,
Rebecca 

October Favourites!

Hello there gorgeous people of the internet! 

Today I wanted to do an October favourites post as I had a few things that I was really into this past month! 

1) Blogging! I have LOVED blogging this past month, I have really enjoyed having an outlet for some of my hobbies and interests and I have loved talking to everyone too! The internet is just way more fun when you are part of the goth blogging community if you ask me! 

2) So like, lately I have been really feeling the whole over the knee boot trend. I got these in New Look for a very reasonable 50 euro and have been loving them. They go with quite a lot surprisingly enough and are quite comfortable once I have two pairs of socks on. They are a wide fit which I didn't realise until I wore them the first time. These were quite the bold new purchase for me as they are unlike a lot of my usual footwear but hey, a girl's gotta have variety right? 

I stole this from my Instagram.
 They look GREAT over jeans too for a colder weather look. 

3) Well I do love a good bargain and so I was delighted to spot this lipstick on sale in Boots in exactly the colour and finish I was looking for. It goes best over a lip liner in the same colour but it is somewhat transparent and shiny making it an easy one to wear during the day or in a rush. I love these lip crayons as they apply so nicely and don't take long. If I am in a rush I can pop on some Mascara, fill in my brows, pop some colour on my lips and look done up super fast. 

4) I had been neglecting my skin this summer and so I bought some of the Dr. Organic skincare line after hearing about how great it is. I have been really pleased with the results and have been especially loving the face wash, dead sea mask and rescue remedy eye roller! I intend to really keep up with a good skincare routine from now on! 

5) I really enjoyed using the Leo Bancroft hair mask pictured below, my bleached hair needs a lot of TLC pretty much all of the time and I get these sachets in Tesco for 1.30 and they really work. This product along with copious amounts of coconut oil have both really kept my hair looking vaguely decent which is nice! Then I have also been loving making my own purple shampoo by mixing some of the Directions Violet hair dye in with my shampoo and leaving it for a few minutes before rinsing. That really helped me get my hair a more white shade in October, I am currently more yellow toned after getting my roots done but a wash or two with that DIY shampoo should get me back to a cooler toned look. 

6) Cold weather has set in which means that I have been really enjoying wearing patterned tights with my skirts and shorts where possible. I also wear leggings underneath my skirts if it is really cold or jeans but if I can get away with it I like to dress up too. This is an entire bowl full of patterned tights! 

That is it for today's blog post. What did you guys love during the month of October? Any particular outfits or make-up products? Maybe you picked up an old hobby or started reading a new book? Let me know in the comments!

Rebecca. 

Halloween Finale

Hello lovely reader and welcome to today's post! 

This is my final post of the Halloween season and I will be showing my last few purchases, a favourite outfit and some photos from a Halloween decoration scouting trip! The fact that this is my last Halloween post makes me a bit sad but also excited since it means that Christmas is coming and I LOVE Christmas! 

License Creative commons. Click for source

So recently I picked myself up this gorgeous rust coloured scarf as the colour (gasp-colour) is very very Autumny! I I had wanted something seasonal to add to my wardrobe and this was a perfect purchase at 6 euro! Photographed below is a favourite festive look of mine from a few weeks ago featuring a wet look skirt, ghost jumper, bat necklace plus the new scarf. We were going Halloween decoration shopping and so I put this look together.  

The make-up that day was an experiment as I don't usually work with these kinds of colours on the eyes but I kept it simple and did plenty of blending! It is a gold colour mixed with browns and liquid eye liner. I have worn this look a few times since and it I really  really like it.

We went to check out a local garden centre's Halloween display and although they had a few things,I didn't end up getting anything! They were selling scary trees though. Which was interesting. 

So dubious

Shaking hands with a gigantic spider. I actually hate hate hate spiders but this dude was sorta cute.

Sooooo the garden centre are way ahead of the game and have a massive Christmas display up already! As I said I DO love Christmas but I don't like seeing shops set up quite so early! 

I did not end up picking up very many additional decorations this year, I don't really have the space in my current living situation but I did this guy for 2 euro, I am a sucker for stripes.

I also picked up this bat keyring he lights up and makes weird noises! I love him. 

I had a really great Halloween season this year and I especially loved taking part in The Curious Professor Z's October edition Homework challenge. I will be out tomorrow so who knows what Halloween reductions will catch my eye, November the 1st is a good day to pick up some bargains! 

Will you be filling up your shopping basket with Halloween savings tomorrow or this week? Are you excited for Christmas too? 

Thank you so much for reading this post and I hope you enjoyed your Halloween this year! 

Rebecca. 

Top 5 Picks for Spooky (Not Scary) Halloween Viewing

Hey everyone,

Today's blog post was inspired by my last one on horror movie survival! I actually don't  like watching really scary horror movies that much as I am very very sensitive and get very affected by things like that. 28 Days Later gave me at least one nightmare a week for about 2 months afterwards and I slept with the light on for a few nights after Paranormal Activity. No really, I actually did haha! Considering the time of year I thought that I would make a post sharing my favourite picks for Halloween viewing that is atmospheric and covers sppokier themes without being completely terrifying! This is in no particular order, just as they came to me Enjoy.

1) Hocus Pocus! I love this movie so so much, admittedly Billy the zombie freaked the hell out of me when I was younger as did Binx getting run over by the bus but overall this movie is really just a lot of fun. It is set on Halloween making it the perfect choice for getting into the Halloween spirit.

2) The Nightmare Before Christmas. The great thing about this movie is that is can be watched at both Christmas and Halloween! 

3) Buffy The Vampire Slayer -Season 2 Episode 6 'Halloween'! This is the one where everyone gets turned into their Halloween costumes. I mean it is a creepy episode but it's not sleep with the lights on with a baseball bat under your pillow scary! There are so many great moments from this episode and I've watched it so many times but it never ceases to be a classic in my books.  

4) Beetlejuice. This is another choice that freaked me out when I was younger but find cute and entertaining now! 

5) Dracula Dead and Loving It. Oh wow, do I love this movie! This is a comedy take on Dracula and it is very entertaining. The theme certainly makes it Halloween viewing but not the terrifying kind! My favourite performance of the movie is from Peter McNiol as the raving lunatic Refield. This movie has a lot of really bad reviews but I have a soft spot for it! 

Well. thats my list! What about you? What are your favourite non scary Halloween friendly viewing choices? Would you add anything to my list?

My next post is a Halloween roundup coming on Saturday and after that I will go back to my usual two posts a week! This week was special with 3 but hey, it's Halloween! 

Thanks for reading,

Rebecca. 

My Essential Horror Movie Survival Guide

Hello everyone and welcome to today's blog post!

Recently the company Man Crates invited me to participate in their Essential Horror Movie Survival Guide blogging challenge. For the post I was asked to come up with 10 things that I would want to to have with me in order to survive a horror movie! As they are a company that focuses on creating unique gifts for men that all fit in a crate, I limited myself to these 10 choices.

1) Comfortable shoes that you can RUN in. This applies to any kind of horror movie really, whether you are outrunning a swarm of genetically modified bees, an agile bunch of zombies or a crazed knife wielding maniac then we want shoes that are up to the task.

2) A small hand mirror that you can use to look around corners.

3) Protein bars. These will provide some good nutrition, provide your body with protein to keep your tissues healthy and keeping protein high will of course help you to heal faster from any injuries. Plus you get to keep your gains brah. Maybe you can take a leaf out of Brock Lesner's book and just get your killer in a headlock, flex your bicep and knock em out that way.

4)Swiss army knife. Multi-functional, compact and sharp, the swiss army knife is a must for any horror movie survival pack.

5) First Aid Kit.

6) Water purifier.

7)  Mini flame thrower- If its one thing we learned from Ripley its that flame throwers are very very useful for killing the thing that is trying to kill you! This one is mini so that it is easier to transport when you need to move fast and so that it fits in the crate. Winning.

9) Night Vision goggles.  Perfect for those situations where the power gets cut by the axe murderer or zombie movies where you have to move around at night! They also serve as protection if you are fighting zombies and want to keep any fluids from getting into your eyes.

9) Trench Tool. This is a collapsible spade with different attachments,usually some combination of spade and pickaxe. This will help you through many situations, it can be used as a weapon, to shovel your way out of snow, it can be used as a stake when building shelter or to hack your way through a door if you need to escape!

10) Kettle + Teabags. Look, a lovely cup of tea fixes a lot of problems in life. That cup of tea could be the pick me up you need in order to hatch a cunning escape plan!

Click for Image Source. It could be the day of the Zombie Apocalypse
Sit yourself down and have a lovely cup of tea.
You'll be the better for it. 

Well those are my 10 things! Hope you enjoyed the post and let me know what things you would want with you in order to survive a horror movie. Did I leave anything really obvious out?

Thanks for reading,
Rebecca.

The Outfit That Broke The Rules

Hey there and welcome to today's blog post.

The title of this post comes from the fact that I broke some fashion 'rules' with my outfit at the weekend.

1)If you are going to wear something that is drawing attention to one feature, then you should not draw attention to anything else.  Woops! High waisted shorts also accentuate a smaller waist along with obviously showing a bit of leg. The scandal of it all!

2)You should only do a strong lip OR a strong eye. I did both. And a generous contour. Come at me bro.

3)It's not a rule but I believe it was Coco Chanel who avised that a woman should remove one accessory before leaving the house. I added one in the form of my lace gloves.

Necklace-Claires Accessries
Top-Boohoo.com
Lace cami underneath-Penneys
Shorts-New Look
Tights-Penneys
Wedge Boots- New Look 

Love this necklace. 

Very happy with how the makeup came out. I went so long without doing makeup that I get worried I'll have forgotten how to! I've also been growing out my eyebrows and I am so pleased with the results. Apparently it takes a full 6 months to properly grow them back out, I think I'm two months in by now so it will be interesting to see where they end up. 

I based the whole thing around combining these tights and shorts, I had a feeling that they would play off each other nicely.

What do you think of fashion rules? Are they made to be followed or made to broken? I think it depends on the situation really.

Until next time, thanks for reading and I hope you are having a lovely day!
Rebecca,

Mythology Corner:The Hungry Man and The Hungry Grass

Hello lovelies! 

It has been a woefully long time since I did a mythology post and a recent conversation with a fellow blogger Chris reminded me of a story I once heard about a kind of famine spirit.

Before we begin I just want to put out a disclaimer that I write these posts for fun and because I have an interest in the subject! Nothing here can be said to be 100% accurate or anything. If you read anything on my blog and are interested in it I'd highly recommend doing some research of your own too as I am by no means an authority on this stuff. Having written a Masters Thesis I do know how to do proper research and such but these posts are tidbits of information gleaned from the interwebs and perhaps my own knowledge from stories growing up. 

Ok so onto the juicy details! Now there are different spins on both of these concepts so I will outline the ones I came across.

An Fear Gorta means Man of Hunger/Man of Famine. Fear is man and Gorta is famine. According to W.B. Yeats An Fear Gorta roamed the earth during famine times and would beg from passers by. Those who were generous would receive good luck but those too selfish to put their hands in their pockets would be interminably cursed with perpetual and insatiable hunger. He would supposedly disguise himself by dressing up as a tramp, roaming the streets and countryside seeking charity. 

Click for image source

Another concept I have heard of is Féar Gortach which means Hungry Grass(which is such an Irish concept, it's hilarious to me!) Ok so here Féar means grass and Gortach means hungry. This is a patch of grass which causes those who walked on it to suffer from eternal unending hunger. According to some this grass was planted by fairies, and still others say that Hungry Grass grows wherever someone died a violent death or from hunger. Some others say that Hungry Grass grows on the grave of a Fear Gorta who cursed the grass above his final resting place. Sound lad eh? 

Click for Image Source

Apparently Irish peasents used to sprinkle the grass with leftover crumbs to protect themselves from the Hungry Grass as it showed generosity, a means of appeasement. This kind of practice may still go on even today, I read one Irish blog in which the author spoke about leaving bread and water out as offerings when visiting famine villages.

Some of the older generation might even say 'The Fear Gortach is on me' as a way of saying they are very hungry although I've never heard that one said myself.

Pretty cool stuff, eh?

Here are links to all of the previous posts I have written:

The Banshee

An Dearg-Due (vampire story)
The Dullahan (headless horseman fairy type deal)
Explaining my blog title. It has changed from The Phantom Cat's Otherworld to the Phantom Cat Lifestyle but this post still has some fun info in it! 

Abhartach (vampire story)

Hope you enjoyed this post, let me know what you think!
Thanks for reading.
Rebecca. 

A Trip To The Pumpkin Patch

Hey there and welcome to today's post!

Recently I took a trip to a pumpkin patch and got some nice photos. It was the perfect Autmnal day out!


This is a little display house that was set up for the season, how amazing is this?

So this is the pumpkin patch! In a weird way I was expecting it to look like something from a movie, as though I would emerge from a clearing into a beautiful scene of perfectly orange and perfectly formed pumpkins hanging out looking spooky. What I did get was an assortment of pumpkins in their varying stages of life or death (i.e firm or squishy) in a big mucky field!  Still very cool to see and felt very Autumny! The colours were beautiful and it was pretty cool to see an entire field of pumpkins like that. 

The paths were littered with conquers. I love seeing these things!

Some of the trees were these gorgeous deep reddish shades. 

Not sure what this dude is but he posed for a picture, who am I to say no? Such skill. Very model. Much indeterminate species. 

Spooky picture with an interplay between shadows and light with leaves in the foreground? Check!

A grand bit of Irish countryside for you there now. 

In keeping with the theme of the day I took some browns and golds and did my make-up in the colours of the season! 

I also filmed a short little video of what I was wearing! My outfit isn't particularly special but I like making these styles of video. 

Hope you enjoyed today's post!
Rebecca

What I Love About This Time of Year- Homework Assignment

Hello there gorgeous reader and welcome to today's extra special blog post!

The Curious Professor Z set her readers the lovely homework assignment of creating a post discussing what we love about this time of year. I think this is a great idea and a lovely way of spreading the Autumn spirit around, I love this time of year and I cant wait to read everyone's posts! 

So without further ado I shall begin my list!

I love the clothing and accessory options available during the Halloween season! I got these bat and cat earrings along with this scarf recently and I just love them. They make me so happy.

I love the buying of the things. The many things. The many unnecessary things ;) 

This is the time of year for me to be suddenly very creative which is great! The perspective is off in the pumpkin picture but I thought these sketches were very appropriate. There is something in this time of year that sparks my imagination, I don't really know if it will last. Winter gets a bit dreary and draining but I will try!

Everything looks extra pretty and epic around this time of year, the forests and woods are glowing in rustic autumn shades. Here in Ireland it's not super cold yet either, rather it's fresh and crisp which is one of my favourite things about this time of year. Crisp days that are sunny and just scream October is here!!

Labelled for Reuse. Click for source

Touring Halloween displays and decorations is of course something that I love doing! Possibly repeat visits to the best places. Maybe. 

Very dubious about this tree. Saying hello to a spider. As you do.

What would October be without reruns of classic spooky films and tv shows? Well it would be the odd month out mostly considering that I watch this stuff year round BUT it makes for extra special viewing around this time of year. 

I also love watching YouTube videos where people show what they have been buying, wearing, their costume ideas and their home decor. My blogger dashboard fills up with posts from everyone sharing their Halloween goodies and it just makes me so happy to see.

Those are all the main points that I wanted to share, I think the unifying theme here is really just that this time of year makes me feel extra happy and to see so many others who feel the same way is amazing. When you don't really know many alternative or gothy types in real life it can feel a bit weird being the only one you know who is this excited about October and Halloween but a trip online reminds you that plenty of other people are equally as excited

Thank you so much for reading, I am off to read all of your amazing posts now!

Rebecca,