Great Goth Gift Guide~ Unisex Gifts

Do you have a friend or relative with an appreciation for the darker things? If your not clued up finding that perfect Christmas gift can be a total nightmare. So here i give some ideas and tips on finding the perfect gift for your alternative familiar. This will be my final blog post for the Great Goth Gift Guide due to Christmas approaching far to quickly, there are just not enough hours in the day to get everything ready. As the other two posts have been mainly targeted towards women i thought i would make this more of a non gender specific guide. This is a really tricky one for me, i live in a small village so goth guys are pretty much non existent but i will do my best.

1. Books~ Doesn't everyone love to get their teeth into a good book, 50 shades of gray is a big hit but we are more interested in 50 shades of blood and gore. This isn't true of everyone though, romantic tragedy's or classic novels are also favoured. Barnes and Noble have a collection of beautiful leather bound books perfect for your literacy lover. I own a copy of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and it is one of my favourites, every detail from the cover to the artwork is perfection making a beautiful addition to any book collection. I would recommend Dracula, Frankenstein, The Edgar Allan Poe Collection or Wuthering Heights for a great gift. Most of these books are available on Amazon but i have also seen some of them in Waterstones.

2. Candles~ They are relaxing, smell great and create a romantic eerie atmosphere, in the short if you don't like candles you probably have no soul. My all time favourite candles are black and opium scented, they are elegant, mysterious and make inexpensive gifts. Another sought after brand is the weeping rose candle, these are black and have a red wax center which drips like blood down the candle. I have found both of these on Ebay and amazon for low prices. For something a little more mysterious why not pick up a skull shaped candle, these are a little more expensive but look beautiful. Gothic candle holders paired with black tea lights or tapered candles would make a perfect gift.

3. Music~ O.K so buying music for Goths is a tricky business, there's a wide range of music listened to in the gothic subculture. Some like metal, while others are more inclined to classical or other genres, unless you know your recipients taste its best not to buy anything too specific.When looking for music i use a website called getmetal, they have a big list of new album releases including Gothic metal. If you still have no idea what to buy Itunes has an extensive library of all genre's of music. I personally prefer to use Spotify, a music streaming subscription which i can use on my PC and iPhone. By using spotify i can listen to any song without purchasing it individually. This would be more suited to someone who spends a lot of time online or has a smart phone. Itunes and Spotify gift cards are both attainable in most supermarket but you can also buy e-cards online.

4. Goth Boots~ Goth boots are one of our big fashion staple pieces, they go with jeans they go with dresses we love them! Before you go browsing for some bad ass boots you need to know that while they are built to last they don't come cheap so if your looking to save the pennies buy something else. Popular brands are New Rock and Demonia, i have owned both brands and would say from experience that New Rocks last longer but Demonia are better looking.

Luna's Top Tip: Is your Goth friend vegetarian?, they might appreciate some animal friendly boots from Madfish. Keep hold of your receipt just in case the fit isn't quite right

5. Food~ Everyone loves to eat, and you don't necessarily need to find some kind of goth foods, although Halloween sweets will probably go down well. What kind of foods does your recipient like? I am a big foodie and love to cook, one of my favourite gift ideas is food subscription services. These are boxes of food that are sent out weekly or monthly depending on the subscription. Some of my favourites are the cake club which sends you a delicious slice of cake a month and the curry club, a box of fresh spices that comes with a curry recipe card. If your friend isn't the cooking type perhaps you could get them a gift certificate to there favourite restaurant.

6. Jewellery~ There's plenty of unisex Gothic jewellery out there, Alchemy Gothic is the first brand that springs to mind. They sell a gorgeous collection of both masculine, feminine and unisex pieces featuring dragons, fairies, skulls and other characters. A wide range of pieces are available for any budget, perhaps a belt buckle for your goth guy or a nice pendant if that's more his thing. Alchemy Gothic also have some gorgeous rings for someone special

Luna's Top Tip: If buying rings always find out the recipients size, guessing is never going to work!

I hope my little guide has helped you with your tricky Christmas recipients, Once again i want to thank all of you for reading my ramblings. My next post may be after Christmas so i take this time to wish you all a happy holiday (full of doom and gloom of course), See you in the New Year

Luna X

Image links books:http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/236x/8f/6d/c7/8f6dc7e083f2fbe59866621529c43990.jpg candle:http://www.mensfashionmagazine.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/memento-mori-wax-skull-candle.jpg bass:http://stylefavor.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Bass-Guitar-Wallpaper.jpg
boots:http://www.sinistersoles.com/v/vspfiles/templates/Sinister3/images/Right-2.gif bracelet: http://blackriverrock.co.uk/store/images/brr/alchemygothic/bracelets/A78.jpg food: http://gothiccakes.daenerys.co.uk/files/2012/04/Black-rose-cupcakes.jpg

Great Goth Gift Giving Guide~ Cosmetics

Do you have a friend or relative who with an appreciation for the darker things? If your not clued up finding that perfect Christmas gift can be a total nightmare. So here i give some ideas and tips on finding the perfect gift for your alternative familiar. Goth's are usually very creative, this doesn't mean that we are all artistically talented but is reflected in little things like the way that we dress or do our makeup. Today i will be focusing on Cosmetics. Before you go spending mad it's important to take notice of what your recipient is going to like. Do they wear dark or bright colours, are they really going to wear that blue lipstick and are they more interested in quality or quantity. Makeup is a great gift for your gothic girl, or guy, here are 5 of my favourite alternative cosmetic brands.

1. Sugarpill~ Sugarpill are a californian cruelty free cosmetics company founded by punk fashion designer Shrinkle. Shrinkle has created a line of highly pigmented brightly coloured pressed and powdered eye shadows that really are to die for. The packaging is embellished with graffiti symbols and bright colours, reflecting the alternative nature of the product. These aren't always easy to get hold of in the uk and can be a little pricey but if you can get it your on to a winner, especially if staying power is important to them. If your girl likes a shimmery goth eye i would recommend the cold chemistry palette which features four stunning shimmering shades. The pallet costs around £25.00 and can be found on cocktailcosmetics

2.Illamasqua~ These guys seriously know there stuff when it comes to making cosmetics so any illamasqua product would be perfect for a real makeup obsessive like myself. They have the most incredible nail varnish formula, highly pigmented chip resistant in shimmers and sparkles. At £14.50 a polish these are seriously pricey but are sure to impress a girl who is more interested in high quality makeup. They sell just about every makeup item you could possibly need, one of my favourite products is the Intense lip gloss. Intense lip gloss is a highly pigmented lip product that comes in unusual shades of black, purple and even silver. For a more luxurious present why not give the gift of makeup brushes, good quality brushes really do make all the difference and beauty obsessives will really appreciate this. Illamasqua also support the Sophie Lancaster foundation and sell wristbands raising awareness of prejudice and discrimination of alternative subcultures. All Illamasqua products are cruelty free including their cosmetics brushes which are cruelty free.

3. Barry M~ Needing some small last minute gifts? Budget cosmetics brand Barry M are really easy to get hold of, being available in the high street chain
Superdrug. They make over 100 different nail varnishes from plain blacks to textured and magnetic ones. These are available from as little as £2.99 but there are often various offers in store. These products are all very good quality and long lasting considering the price. I would also recommend gifting some of Barry M's dazzle dust, these are small pots of glitter and matte powdered eye shadows that come in just about every colour you could imagine. These also make really great stocking fillers. Barry M are another British cruelty free makeup company.





4. Stargazer~ These guys are pretty much the company that got me into makeup as a teenager, if you go into any alternative/ goth shop i guarantee you will find some. Stargazer like Barry M make brightly coloured low cost makeup, my favourite things as a teenager were the mascaras and eyeliners (i still have a red mascara in my collection). These would make a really good gift for teenagers or anyone just getting into makeup, they also make cheap stocking fillers. A product i use everyday is the Stargazer cake eyeliner, this is a pressed liner which creates a liquid liner once water is added. I love this product but it does take some practice with a good quality liner brush. I would suggest gifting the black but there are other colours to choose from, the violet is a lovely shade. Stargazer's pressed white face powder is another favourite of goths who prefer paler skin. Most of the products cost under £4.00 and are not tested on animals, however some of the cosmetics may contain products derived from animals.



5. Topshop~ Ok so this isn't really the first company that springs to mind when i think dark and mysterious but you would be surprised, Topshop has a dark side too. I recently splurged on a couple of products, the first being the nebula eyeshadow trio (£12.00). The packaging is black and rubbery and its contents are incredible, black, silver and gold shimmery shadows that are such great quality and perfect for that person in a hurry to get places. Topshop have a new collection of products collectively known as The Damned that would make great alternative gifts. One of the more interesting products they have is velvet lips (available for £10.00) which is a highly pigmented matte cream available in red, purple and black. Topshop also have a good selection of nail varnishes in desirable shades and finishes. My top 5 shades are; Cloak and Dagger, Plume, Blitz, Velvet Underground and Daredevil, all available for £6.00