Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and his years of pilgrimage.

This is why I love real books! 

This novel was a delight to behold, smaller than the average hardback novel, it has a striking yet simple jacket that opens to reveal the Tokyo subway map which along with the colours on the cover have a relevance to the story - very clever. 

As is the story. 

Appearing at first to be a simple tale about reconnecting, Murakami explores both friendship and betrayal in this beautifully written book. The simple and compact style of his prose really drew me in and turned the seemingly mundane into a page turner, at times I felt like I was in a dream, it's a relaxing yet compelling read. 

This isn't the first Murakami I've read and it won't be the last. It's an easy, quick read compared to some of his other books and a great introduction to his work. If you've not read anything by him why not give this a go? 

Highly recommended.

Conscious Box August 2014

Conscious Box is  a monthly subscription that features natural food, home and beauty products. There are three options to choose from: Classic, Vegan and Gluten Free and two sizes of box. The larger box called Plus, which I received is $19.95 a month whilst the smaller Taster box is $9.95.  Just like other subscription boxes the Conscious Box website allows you to buy full sized items of the products if you wish and they have a points/rewards system.

I recently had the chance to try the Plus box for free, I chose the 'Classic' version. Here's what I thought.

My first impression when I saw the box in our mailroom was that it was very small but when I picked it up it was surprisingly heavy. 

The theme for August's box was 'wanderlust' but apart from a couple of luggage tags I found what seemed to be a rather random selection of things unrelated to travel.

Here's what I found in my box:

.The two previously mentioned travel tags. These were made of card so I thought they were really quite pointless as they would be of no use if you checked baggage.

. A selection of coupons for  some of the boxes items and a code to download some recipes, neither of which I foresee myself using.

. A $15 gift card for Urban Remedy which is an online juice delivery service. The minimum order is $50.00 though so I won't be using the gift card. 

. Fresh Dog Dog Shampoo. I don't have a dog. I'm sure I could use this but would rather not!

. Orgain Healthy Kids Chocolate Nutritional Shake. I don't have kids either and whilst I could drink this I won't because whilst it is organic it looks to be quite processed. It does contain 8 grams of protein though so maybe my husband will use this as a pre workout drink.

 . UP4 Kids Cubes. This is a vanilla flavoured probiotic supplement. I'll probably take this myself just so as not to waste it.

. Nordic Naturals Vitamin C Gummies. There are just two pieces of this but again I'll eat them, just so they are not wasted.

. Zen Blend Ground Coffee (2oz) from the Organic Coffee Co. Well I love coffee so finally here's something that I will enjoy, lol.

. A small bag of Lovely Caramels (that's the brand name not a description BTW). I don't eat candy so this is a bit of a bust for me.

.Two pieces of Glee Gum. Likewise I don't chew gum, so another bust. 

. Bioderived Disposable Cutlery. A plastic knife, fork and spoon, you know, like the ones you get free by the door in Wholefoods! I'll throw this into my knife roll and use it for tasting when cooking but I'm pretty unimpressed with this item. 

. Natralia Anti Itch Cream (sample sachet). I'll throw this in my washbag when I go away. It's a cortisone free cream that utilises oatmeal and menthol to soothe skin.

. OWN Skin Health Serum, Eye Cream and Night Cream (sample pods). I can always use a skincare sample and OWN is a brand I've not tried before.

.Weleda Skin Food (sample sachet). I find some Weleda products smell a bit funky but I'll try it out for sure. 

. Somerset's Shaving Oil (sample sachet). I'll give this to Mr C&C and he may or may not give it a go.

Verdict:

I know that I shouldn't complain as it was a free box but I found this to be a very disappointing. There was nothing in here that excited me and whilst I will drink the coffee and use the beauty samples the rest of the box seriously underwhelms me. TBH I found the selection of products odd and the fact that I didn't have to answer a questionnaire about my preferences, as you do with beauty boxes, meant I received some products of no relevance to me. 

If I had paid $19.95 for this I would be pretty pissed off so... Sorry Conscious Box, I won't be subscribing or recommending you but thanks for the trial anyway.  

GWP Autumn 2014

Oh my word! Wednesday was like an extra Christmas for me as Barney's started their 'Love Yourself' GWP event and Space NK had their Fall Beauty Event. I spent the afternoon on the Upper East Side, took in both the events and shopped till I dropped! Here's a quick look at what I bought at two of my favourite stores and what I was gifted.

First stop was Barney's where I restocked on Chantecaille Just Skin, picked up Mr C&C'S Kiehl's shopping list and after many, many samples finally picked up a full size of Sunday Riley Good Genes.

Barney's always has fabulous step-up gifts and generous SA's... This year's Chantecaille gift was a silver pouch with samples and from Kiehl's I received two full sized products from the Ultra Facial range, the toner and the cleanser.

I have to say that this season's bag was excellent. Full sized products were Rituals Foaming Shower Gel, aka the best shower gel in the world  (at least that's what it's known as in my bathroom), a Kevin Aucoin eyeliner and a Make eye shadow. 

I don't think that there is anything in this bag that I don't like or won't use and there's a great balance of make up, skincare and perfume/ bodycare. There's even a mini candle from Tizania Terenzi. And although there are no haircare products this year,  those are the samples that I probably get the least excited about.

...

Over at Space NK  my Sunday Riley obsession continued and I picked up the Artemis Facial Oil which suits my skin so well and does a great job of balancing it and two products from Sarah Chapman's Skinesis range - the Ultimate Cleanse and the Intense Hydrating Booster.

This years gift bag was huge, check it out!

Excepting the full sized Rahua Hair Wax all the products were samples -  although I hesitate to call them that as they are very generously sized samples. Skincare heavy I am overjoyed with this bag - it has so many things that I am looking forward to trying out - again, there's nothing that I won't use in here!

Although the Space NK event was for one day only, the Barney's event is still on today and tomorrow. If you need to buy any beauty products now's the time to do so! No excuses, even if you can't visit a Barney's store in person you can still participate in the Love Yourself event at barneys.com 

Go on, you know you want to!

Magazine Subscriptions.

I love magazines. In fact one of my favourite indulgences is a lazy morning with coffee and a stack of the latest mags to flick through. 

When I lived in France English and American magazines were so flippin' expensive that they really were a luxurious treat. Once I was living in America I was quick to subscibe to a number of weekly and monthly glossys - it's a seriously cheap way to get your mag fix!  Now, there have been a few that have come and gone but these are my constant subscriptions that are continuously renewed year to year:

• Vogue Surely this has to be the ultimate magazine? In addition to the sumptuous photography there are some amazing features. From politics to art to science Vogue covers a lot of ground in an educated, unfluffy way. This month there's fiction by Ian McEwan and I always enjoy the medical and food articles.
• Allure Have you seen the contents of the majority of my posts? 'Nuff said as to why this one is in the pile! With in depth analysis of beauty trends and launches, it's an enabler that's for sure.
• Vanity Fair I love the long articles in VF. It has great writers and wonderful photography.
• Bon Appetit I'm always on the lookout for new food news and ideas. BA isn't the most 'cheffy' of publications out there but it has a bright modern feel to it and a smattering of travel/restaurant articles and recommendations.
• US For my weekly fix of pop culture/ celebrity gossip. It's not as scurilous as the other weekly tabloid mags. Pure escapism!
• New York Magazine Now bi-monthly New York mag keeps me up to speed with what's happening in NYC and features interesting articles of relevance to the city.
• Time Out New York Because I'm old school and sometimes it's easier to browse cinema and other listings in a hard format rather than online. Having this in my mail box each week means that I go through it and don't miss out on shows, exhibitions etc.

Do you subscribe to any publications?

Empties August 2014

The final tally for August's empties wasn't bad at all, but frustratingly, there were quite a few things on the shelf with just a smidgen left... 

Of what I did finish there were a few old faves - Maybelline Babylips, Nivea Body Lotion, Nars Pro Prime and a Chantecaille Lip Gloss in Cocoa.

No new discoveries that I really loved this month, although I did like Clinique's new formulation Dramatically Different Moisturiser+ for nighttime. Natura Bisse Comfort Gel was a good hot weather moisturiser for me during day time and Evan Healy's Lavender Facial Tonic was great -  cooling and calming - once I got over the funky health shop product smell that came with it.

The Alterna CC Cream was a good leave in conditioning product that kept frizz at bay and smelt wonderful. In other hair news (!) Garnier Fructis Triple Nutrition Conditioner had an agreeably summery, fruity scent of pineapple and was thick enough and rich enough to do double duty as a hair mask without weighing down my hair.

The most disappointing product for me this month was the Tatcha Ageless Revitalizing Eye Cream. It really didn't appear to do anything for my eye area and left my under eye area looking and feeling dehydrated.

Okay, I'm off to finish up those smidgins to make room for September's purchases!