It has been a big month. I travelled from Greece to London and home again, I celebrated my 30th birthday and I made some new friends who make me feel really good. And of course, I made plenty of new discoveries and had a handful of unusual experiences, too…

These were some of the highlights of my month, categorised and alphabetised!

Activities
The most interesting and unusual thing I did this month was dabble in kundalini yoga. I recently started hanging out with Gabrielle Bernstein, who inspires me beyond measure and is the spiritual guru of choice for a whole new generation of babes. She also teaches kundalini yoga, so when I told her that I wanted to give it a shot, she encouraged me to attend one of Gurmukh’s classes at Golden Bridge.

I had absolutely no idea what to expect, and sat beside Gabby as Gurmukh lead us through two and a half hours of kriyā, pranayama and meditation, trying not to let my eyes bug out of my head too much. I have never experienced anything like it, and when I walked out of the room, I didn’t know what to think. In fact, I didn’t really know what to make of it until I saw kundalini in a more practical, real-life setting.

Gabby has been incorporating elements of kundalini yoga into her speaking for the past year, and last week, I saw her speak for the first time at Middle Church. Her talk was beautiful, and sitting in a room, chanting, breathing and singing with 200 complete strangers was a wonderful experience. I had Ek Ong Kar Sat Gur Prasad in my head for days, and sang it all the time.

I didn’t know what to make of my first kundalini class, but the way Gabby incorporated some of the practices into her event inspired me beyond belief… And I can’t wait to learn more.

Beauty
My current beauty obsessions include Bite High Pigment Pencil in Grapevine (goes on easily, with great colour payoff and immense moisturising qualities) and Benefit They’re Real! mascara (will give you epic lashes in seconds).

I’ve also added Lancôme DreamTone Ultimate Dark Spot Corrector to my nighttime routine. I picked up a sample of DreamTone a couple of weeks ago, hoping that I would find something that could reduce hyperpigmentation, sun damage (uh oh) and acne scars. The reviews were excellent, so I decided to give it a shot. Note: I always, always, always get a sample before committing to buying a product, because you never know how it’s going to work with your skin… But I am so glad I tried this one out. It’s glorious. My complexion is looking better and better every day. I recommend it if you’re looking to solve similar problems!

Listen
One of my favourite things to do on a quiet night in is browse iTunes for the latest releases, stumble upon new artists and download mixtapes. As a result, I have discovered so much great music lately and I HAVE to let you know all about it.

In my professional (remember, in my imagination I am a superstar DJ) opinion, I would recommend instantly purchasing The Weeknd’s Kiss Land, We Are Twin’s self-titled EP, Say Lou Lou’s Julian EP, Lucius’ self-titled EP, Lorde’s Pure Heroine and The Love Club EP, Kendrick Lamar’s Section 80, The Julie Ruin’s Run Fast, Ginny Blackmore’s Bones single, FKA twigs’ EP2, Fat Freddy’s Drop Blackbird, Earl Sweatshirt’s Doris, Drake’s Nothing Was The Same, Bonobo’s The North Borders, Bibio’s Silver Wilkinson, Banks’ London EP, and AlunaGeorge’s Body Music.

I would love to hear what you think of any of these releases! Holler at me, DJ Darling (haha!) on Facebook.

Manicure
I’m keeping it simple this month with a black gel manicure. The plot twist? I had my nails shaped into little points, and pink glitter added to the tip of my ring finger so that it looks like a heart.

I love the effect, and once I get a bit more length in my nails, will prrrrrrobably do little hearts on the tip of every single finger. Because, go big or go home.

Also, if you’re in NYC, I’ve started going to Oh My Nails! on East 7th Street for all my gel needs. Some of my favourite technicians from Sakura left and started Oh My Nails!, and it’s very purple (and more comfortable than Sakura).

Nest
I was spoiled by Poppin who sent me the Pink Complete Outfit, a killer collection of pink accessories for my desk. I opened the box to discover trays, a picture frame, a pen holder, white pens, a sellotape holder, an organiser and an eraser, a notebook, a ruler, a stapler… I mean, I am kitted out forever. Big ups, Poppin!

The do-over of Darling HQ (my office) is coming along more slowly than I’d like because I have been so slammed with other work, but I have a list and I am very slowly working through it. Next step? Wallpaper!

Read
Amazon’s massive network of second-hand book sellers is one of the best things about the internet, if you ask me. You can buy pretty much any book you want for a couple of books, which makes it oh so easy to build up an amazing library.

It’s a blessing and a curse, though, because I have always had a problem with reading more than one book at a time (and sometimes forgetting to finish them, oops). Either way, here are some books I’m working on right now, and loving…

Goddess Signs: Which One Are You?; May Cause Miracles: A 40-Day Guidebook of Subtle Shifts for Radical Change and Unlimited Happiness; Red Hot and Holy: A Heretic’s Love Story; The Goddess Guide: Exploring the Attributes and Correspondences of the Divine Feminine; Holy Book of Women’s Mysteries; Goddesses in Everywoman: Powerful Archetypes in Women’s Lives; Magical Fashionista: Dress for the Life You Want.

Yes, there are definitely some themes here. I am learning a lot!

Spritz
While Shauna and I were aimlessly wandering the halls of Heathrow, an eager perfume spritzer cornered us near the Tom Ford section. We sniffed a few options, but both fell in love with Tobacco Vanille. The price-tag, though — clocking in at a whopping $290 — put us off.

When I got home, I finally ran out of Lush’s 25:43, which I adore, but also belongs strictly in the camp of “summertime scents”. So I browsed Amazon to see if I could find a better price on Tobacco Vanille. It was still hovering around the $290 mark… And then I noticed some enterprising person selling little samples of the fragrance for $12. SOLD!

This is the sample I purchased, and I am obsessed and I cannot stop wearing it. I would bathe in the stuff if I could. Tom Ford, please sponsor my entire life. I love you.

Watch
Last night, Mike and I watched Masters of Sex (a great article about it here), which was excellent! I actually yelled, “You can’t just end it there!” when the credits rolled. So, needless to say, I’m looking forward to the next episode. (Lizzy Caplan is also totally babeing in this series. 1950’s fox suits her.)

Beyond that, I have been watching New Girl, Australia’s Next Top Model (once Dajana left, I was pretty much over it), and this awful show called Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making The Team. It is hypnotic. I have never seen bigger hair, whiter teeth or as many tears!

Phew! I can’t believe it’s already October…

Much love,