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Meta
Category Archives: Reviews
Show and Tell: Wet n Wild “Rebel Rose” Collection and North Star Glitters
Makeup is a staple of goth fashion. It’s not by any means a requirement to be a goth, but it is very, very prevalent. (The Lady of the Manners doesn’t want to think about how many hours she spent practicing … Continue reading
Show and Tell: the Wet n Wild “Goth-o-Graphic” collection
Therefore when the Lady of the Manners heard that Wet n Wild cosmetics were releasing a limited edition goth-themed collection, she was VERY interested. Continue reading
Posted in General, Reviews, Show And Tell
8 Comments
Beware of Crimson Peak – Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab!
was that sound you heard?
—
If you’ve recently caught sight of me on my assorted social media accounts, then you’ve seen seen me shrieking and flailing in delight about Guillermo del Toro’s movie, Crimson Peak. It’s a darkly lush gothic romance, full of terror, ghosts, and every gothic romance trope that Guillermo del Toro could layer into it. To say that I loved this movie (and the novelization by Nancy Holder, and the art book Crimson Peak: The Art of Darkness) is to only faintly portray my enthusiasm for it.
When I learned that my beloved olfactory geniuses at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab and Black Phoenix Trading Post had created a line of perfume oils and atmosphere sprays, my flailing glee reached new levels. Continue reading
Show and Tell: Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab: An Evening With The Spirits
Snarklings, you do know about Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, yes? Just in case you don’t: they’re an independent perfume company that specializes in gothic, decadent, and romantic scents. I’ve been a fan of theirs for over a decade, and their ever-evolving concoctions are the reason I am never able to decide on a “signature” scent for myself; how could I choose just one? (Though I will admit, Blood Popsicle from the Only Lovers Left Alive collection is almost my perfect perfume.
The clever olfactory magicians at Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab very kindly sent me their collection of scents inspired by 19th century spiritualism and occultism. I’ve always been fascinated by the spiritualist movement and antique occultism, so the notion of exploring those things through the scented genius of BPAL’s vision — Oh! How I swooned! Continue reading
Posted in BPAL, Reviews, Show And Tell
1 Comment
Nocturnal House: Wicked As They Come and God Save The Queen
Hello Snarklings, and welcome back to the Nocturnal House! I know, I know, it’s been a long time between visits. But to make it up to you, I’m talking about two different vampire books! As Wicked As They Come by Delilah L. Dawson, and God Save The Queen by Kate Locke.
First, a disclaimer to get out of the way: both of these books were sent to me for review. But I would not be burbling about them here if I didn’t like them, and oh, I liked them very much. Continue reading
Posted in Book Reviews, Nocturnal House, Reviews
Tagged God Save The Queen, nocturnal house, steampunk, vampires, Wicked As They Come
23 Comments
Show and Tell: Frankenweenie!
Through a very nice bit of luck, I was at a sneak preview of Frankenweenie, the new stop-motion animated movie from Tim Burton. The very short version of the review is this: Frankenweenie is Tim Burton’s best work in years, perhaps since Big Fish. Go, go see it! Continue reading
The Doll House: Tonner Doll and Wilde Imagination!
Welcome to the Doll House, Snarklings! You see, the Lady of the Manners likes dolls. And doll houses, and miniatures, and fuzzy toy monsters. As it so happens, there are a lot of Goth or Goth-influenced dolls and other goodies out there! So the Doll House is where the Lady of the Manners is going to, well, talk about dolls, review various doll-related goodies, and encourage other gothy doll enthusiasts to comment!
For the first visit to the Doll House, the Lady of the Manners had the good fortune to be able to interview two well-known fabulous people in the world of collectible dolls: Robert Tonner from Tonner Doll, and Joe Petrollese from Wilde Imagination. Continue reading
Show And Tell: h. naoto Fashion Show at SakuraCon!
Hello Snarklings! This round of Show and Tell is less a review of items, and more burbling about an event! The fifteenth annual Sakura-Con was a few short weeks ago, and the Lady of the Manners was delighted to attend. Sakura-Con is an event that is focused on Japanese animation, comics, gaming, and cultural arts. Over the past few years, Gothic + Lolita fashion has become a larger presence at the event, including attendees dressed in their finest frills, and fashion shows from some well-known Japanese alternative fashion designers!
h. naoto is a brand the Lady of the Manners has admired ever since she first saw photos of their designs in an early volume of the Gothic + Lolita Bible. Their blend of slashed and deconstructed punk details and Gothic Victorian black lace and tulle was eye-catching, and looked like the garments were designed to be worn in (admittedly very fashionable) daily life, not just saved for special photo shoots. Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, General, review: clothing, Reviews, Show And Tell
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Show And Tell: Spin Doctor Clothing!
Guess what, Snarklings? It’s time for the long-promised review of Spin Doctor Clothing! Yes, really; the Lady of the Manners has been meaning to write up this review for over a year now, but agents of chaos kept thwarting that plan. Anyway! I first discovered Spin Doctor around a year and a half ago, when I was indulging in one of my periodic insomnia-fueled searches of “Gothic Victorian” on eBay. I kept finding items that were utterly charming, with the sort of dark Victorian-but-not-entirely-historically-accurate flair that I prefer in clothing; skirts, waistcoats, jackets, and blouses all made by a company I’d not yet run across. A few days later, after I’d caught up on my sleep, I decided to look at those items again and see if I still was charmed by them, or if it was another case of magpie-brain caused by sleep deprivation.
No, it wasn’t. The items from Spin Doctor were just as enticing as I had remembered. So enticing, in fact, I gave in to temptation and bought myself the “Harriet” waistcoat. Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, review: clothing, Reviews, Show And Tell
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Review: Heavy Red Clothing
Heavy Red, Snarklings! You do know of what the Lady of the Manners speaks, don’t you? Heavy Red, purveyors of all sorts of enticing darkware for elegantly spooky and fetchingly tattered gothlings of all genders. Continue reading
Posted in Being Fashionable, review: clothing, Reviews
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