Betty

I was born and raised in Istanbul, and these are the books that get the city right — not the postcard with the domes at sunset, but the streets people actually live on. I've sorted them by where they take place rather than by date or author, so you can read the Süleymaniye one while you're standing under it and the Çukurcuma one the morning you walk to the museum. Every book here has a good English translation and I've named the translator on each, because with Turkish literature the translator is the difference between a masterpiece and a slog — and where a book is genuinely hard to buy abroad, I've said so instead of pretending. Tell me which neighbourhood you're staying in and I'll tell you which one to take with you.

I have a whole drawer for this, and I've had it a long time — satin and lace at home on an ordinary evening, not saved for occasions. This list is the version of that drawer I'd build if I were starting from nothing today: fourteen pieces sorted by when you'd actually reach for them, from the satin you could wear on a Tuesday to the sequins you'd save for a date. I've said in the notes when something needs hand washing, runs short on sizes or is sold as a top on its own, because those are the things that decide whether a piece gets worn or stays in the packaging. Tell me what's in your good drawer — I'm always looking for the next one.

I've been quietly saving antique rings on Etsy for years and never quite acted on any of them, so this is that folder, finally sorted out. It turned out to be all one taste, which I only really noticed once I lined them up: small stones rather than big ones, milgrain edges, cluster and half-eternity settings, warm yellow gold wherever the budget allows. I've split them by what I could honestly justify spending rather than by era, because price is the thing that actually decides whether you buy a ring or just look at it. Tell me if you find something better than what's in here — I'm still looking, always.

Grand Bazaar energy, without the flight. I was born and grew up in Turkey, and the thing I love most about jewellery here is that nobody is trying to make it minimal — colour is the whole point, the gold is warm and properly yellow rather than pale, and a ring is allowed to be an event rather than an accessory. These are pieces from two Istanbul sellers whose shops I keep going back to, and I've sorted them by what they feel like to wear rather than by what they're made of. Tell me which one you'd pick — I already know which one I would.

I can tell you what everyone I love smells like. This is the whole shelf: the ones I reach for in summer, the heavier ones I switch to when it gets cold, the two my best friend wears that I've never quite been able to pull off myself, and my husband's — which double as my answer whenever someone asks what to buy a man as a gift. I've written what each one actually smells like instead of copying the note pyramid off the box, because that has never once helped me imagine a perfume. Tell me what you're wearing — I'm always looking for the next one!

We got Nespresso Pixie Dark Blue to our first home with my husband and have been quietly working through the catalogue ever since — trying a new sleeve is genuinely our hobby at this point. These are the ones that get re-ordered without discussion, the two autumn editions that landed this month, and the oat milk that makes the iced version work. One thing worth saying before you order anything: check whether you have an Original or a Vertuo machine, because the capsules aren't interchangeable and it's the mistake everyone makes once. Tell me what we should try next — I take requests.

I've never been able to do a full face and still look like myself, so at some point I stopped trying. This is the five-minute version I actually wear, in the order I put it on: one step for skin, one for coverage, concealer only where it's needed, one blush that does all the heavy lifting, and the only mascara I own. There are two fragrances at the end, because the clean girl thing is as much about how you smell as how you look — and both of these read as skin rather than perfume. I've said which ones are worth the money and which I'd happily rebuy from the pharmacy. Tell me what's in your five minutes!