The Noteworthy Edit #6: when I die, bury me with my waistcoats

My week in links - let’s go!

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Summer has been so different for me than it usually is. It’s always been my favourite time of year, simply because of the weather. I love waking up early to the sun streaming in through my window - I usually feel more productive. I’m up and at ‘em. It makes me want to be up and about and bounding through my day.

I’ve been more cerebral this time of year. Much more in my own head, in a prison of my own making, to be honest. I’ve found the quiet of my summer resembling most of my winters where I tend to isolate myself, slipping in to the comfort of my cocoon.

But I’m coming out of that headspace now, even though I can look ahead and see the days of summer dwindling away, I’m looking forward to the change. As usual, when I feel stuck it’s exactly what I need to jolt me awake again.

The best thing I can do is “yes, and” my way out of it. Action, doing, more outside…nothing is happening inside. I’m very comfortable inside. I think it’s because I’m an only child. I’m comfortable willing things to happen to me without actually doing anything, so we’re stopping that now.

Here’s to the closeout of summer and all the gorgeous possibilities it holds.

📖 READING:

I’ve been reading a lot lately, which has made me so happy! I definitely go through phases, especially if I pick up something that’s difficult to get through or I’m stressed out and all I can really bring myself to do is rewatch a series.

I finished The List by Yomi Adegoke and really enjoyed it, such an interesting and unique plot that really made me think. The book follows a bright, high-profile journalist Ola Olajide who is engaged to her fiancé Michael, a successful presenter in his own right. His name is then released online in a list by an anonymous source alleging abuse, and the story begins one month out until their wedding day with Ola having to decide what she wants to do and where to go from there. I was hooked!

Shortly after, I finished Talking At Night by Clare Daverly, which of course, the BookTok girls got me into. I’ve not actually read Normal People, but I can understand the comparisons having watched the series. Also my favourite film is Before Sunrise, which tells you everything you need to know about me. 

My favourite trope is very simple: two people meet, talk all night, and fall in love. It’s first love, it’s yearning, it’s pain, it’s tenderness. It was tough to get through in parts, lots of frustrating lack of communication, but very realistic in that way as well. I finished it in a day, I was just so hopeful for those two!

🎧 LISTENING: 

When this newsletter goes out I will be going to see boygenius at Gunnersbury Park in the afternoon, so their album will have been on repeat. 

New Hozier dropped on Friday and I have been a total mess since. Give me heartbreak and a Dante’s Inferno allegory any day of the week.

🎥 WATCHING:

I need the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike to be over now. It’s so frustrating and unbelievable that the writers have been on strike now for over 100 days. 

There has been some absolutely phenomenal TV of late, including the latest season of The Bear, which I’ve now watched multiple times over. The writing on that show is really impeccable, I’ve found something that’s up there with Succession for me.

I loved the new season of Heartstopper. I am truly back in my teenage feels lately with a lot of these programmes, like The Summer I Turned Pretty. The anguish of first love is truly an emotion separate to anything else! Same with Red, White and Royal Blue…YA fiction being adapted into TV and film is really having its moment and I am loving it.

I also watched Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which utterly broke my heart. It’s a franchise that means a lot to me personally, so I knew the ending would hold a lot of meaning for me, but oh my god, I don’t think I’ve ever been so moved by a superhero movie in such a way before.

👗: WEARING:

I feel myself going through a bit of a style evolution at the moment - I still want fun and vibrancy but I’m craving simplicity. I feel a bit of a fatigue as well, documenting my outfits online. The exhaustion of everything having to be a “fit”, feeling overly curated…I haven’t even been doing OOTD as long as a lot of other people on Instagram and I’m finding it kinda tough, so I can’t even imagine how they manage!

I think being in said rut means I’m using Vinted a lot more now, being able to find pieces I wasn’t able to get when they first dropped or even finding things I hadn’t thought about in years. I need to film a TikTok of all the things I’ve scored on Vinted over the last few months!

Buyer’s remorse is so real y’all, but also that feeling when you don’t buy something when you first see it and you never see it again? That’s the real tragedy. I found this incredible Rixo leopard trench coat that I had wanted last season or maybe even the season before and couldn’t justify it but am thrilled to have gotten it secondhand. I love how they’ve styled it with this pop of red, and I think that’s going to be my look for autumn when it gets cooler! 

I’ve said this multiple times on my Instagram, but I am firmly in my waistcoat era. It’s a sickness, I cannot be stopped. I have to actively stop myself from purchasing another waistcoat but this denim patchwork vest from Aligne has given me pause.

Jackets and coats are where I feel like I can be the most fun and playful when it starts getting colder - for me, the jacket is the whole look! I’m always looking for something a little different with texture or shape, colour. This denim trench from Dala is sensational, with the olive green lining that you can layer with or wear on its own!

If you’re ever looking for links to what I’m wearing I’ve finally created an LTK account where you can shop my outfits I’m sharing over on Instagram, so please do follow me over there!

Now, despite the UK not having a real summer this year…what we lack in sunshine, we make up for in cloud cover and humidity. I’ve basically been a sweaty mess every time I set foot outside, especially when I’m having to get the tube.

Enter One Size setting spray. I usually have a fair few events to go to each week, and my makeup application is not perfect by any means. Despite my 35 years on this Earth, I still feel like a makeup novice a lot of the time. There are no techniques, there’s no contouring, no carving…I’m just like, foundation, blush, mascara, lip, let’s go. BUT! This setting spray is the gospel truth in terms of not budging. 

I heard that Beyoncé has been using this for her Renaissance tour makeup and I understand why. I will do a layer of this and a powder over my foundation (usually the IT Cosmetics CC cream - my base of choice on the daily!) and it stays all day through sweat and let’s face it, the eventual rain.

About me: I'm Nicole, the writer of The Noteworthy. I’m also a content creator and the co-host of the award-winning Mixed Up podcast. Having been chronically online since the age of 13, you can also find me on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and Pinterest. I’m working on my first book, The Half Of It, which you can pre-order here.