Empties November 2014

After last months bumper crop empties were a bit thin on the ground this month. Still I did manage to finish off more than I was expecting to!

Good Stuff:

No surprises here as I give shout outs to Chantecaille Just Skin, Bumble +Bumble Surf Shampoo and Sunday Riley Artemis, all of which would be on my desert island product list. 

I'm also a big fan of Neutrogena's Oil Free Acne Wash. I like it as a morning cleanser, and have been mixing it with a dab of Caudalie Deep Cleansing Exfoliator, I find it cleans and preps my skin without stripping it. 

A new addition to that list would be the Rodial Stem Cell Hand Cream. I loved this, it's very much a deluxe hand cream, soothing yet not greasy and I was impressed by the packaging which was both glam and practical. 

OK Stuff.

There was nothing I really hated this month but there are a few things that wouldn't make it onto my shopping list!
 I found the Verso Day Cream made my face feel a bit too greasy and shiny and whilst I did like the effects of the NIA24 Rapid Exfoliating Serum (this sample lasted a long, long time - another plus) it had a weird funky smell to it that I disliked.
The Clinique Chubby Stick (Curviest Caramel), had been in my lipstick pot for a while and I made a concentrated effort to finish it up this month. I have to say that it just didn't wow me - I found it hard to get good coverage and although it felt quite moisturizing it didn't last very long on me. I think it's just one of those products that I don't get along with as I know a lot of people who love 'em. I like the concept of them but the product underwhelmed me.

I was also underwhelmed by the Noble Isle Bath and Shower Gel. The scent of this one 'Fireside' was a lovely warm, spicy, winter scent but I was disappointed that something that's kind of pricey still had so much bad stuff in it and even though it contained sulphates it produced a really feeble lather so it just didn't feel that luxe.

Finally Mio Boob Tube+... it's a perfectly lovely rich body cream with a light citrus scent but I hate the name and the marketing of this. If it had been branded as a body cream I would have liked it but the whole idea of a 'boob lifting cream' is just really off putting...

Kate Spade Socks.

There are certain things about winter and the cold weather that I really love. Not only does it make me feel energized, there are so many things that are cozy and comforting - soups and stews, mugs of steaming hot drinks and sweaters, scarves and socks to keep you warm. 

I like to stock up on socks before it gets too cold each year. Previously I've been a bit of a classicist when it comes to socks sticking with white sport socks and black or grey ones to wear with boots. However just as a bright pedicure in winter gives you a bit of a lift I decided to jolly it up in the sock department, so when I went to Century21 (where I always buy my socks for some reason) I was beyond thrilled to find a range of colourful Kate Spade socks on sale. 

The two sports socks are thick with cushioning on the sole making them warm and comfortable. The long black and grey ones are particularly festive as they are shot through with silver lurex...real party socks! As for the others, well you can't go wrong with a splash of polka dot or animal print in my book but my favourites are the black and white stripes with a neon pink 'Ohlala'. Warm,cosy and whimsical, what more do you want from your socks?

Dancing By Myself.

There are a lot of good music biographies out at the moment it seems. This one had great reviews and I have to say it's an excellent book, interesting and well written. 

In it Billy describes his childhood, the early days of punk,  his move to America (first NYC then LA) and his career as hugely successful singer and musician. 

Amid the tales of rock n roll excess and debauchery we are given a real insight into how music is made and marketed as he describes how he writes songs and the inspiration behind them.

It's a lively and entertaining read told by a born story teller. It's also a very honest book, intelligently written. It doesn't gloss over the bad and he shows a humble side of himself which is admirable.

I think this is a great book about Billy and a great book about rock and roll. 

Recommended.

  

How to Build a Girl.

I suspect that Caitlin Moran is a bit of a 'Marmite Person' - you either love her or hate her and there's not much middle ground... Well, I have to admit that I love her and thoroughly enjoyed her first novel 'How to Build a Girl' which tells the story of Johanna Morrigan, the eldest daughter of a close knit working class family from Wolverhampton who reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde and leaves school to become a successful rock journalist. Although there's  a disclaimer at the beginning of the book stressing that this is a work of pure fiction it obviously shadows Caitlin Moran's own life. Indeed if you have read her previous book 'How to be a Woman' you will recognise a lot of the material here but don't let that put you off. It's well written and it made me laugh out loud more than once. Johanna/Dolly is brilliantly portrayed as a feisty yet vulnerable girl whose situations and dilemmas force her to rethink her ideals and grow...

I can't wait for the further adventures of Dolly.

Recommended.

Sephora Season Set.

I do pretty much all of my Sephora shopping on line to take best advantage of their samples and the free weekly gifts offered to VIB customers. Towards the end of the year they offer their samples of the season sets - preselected samples in a make up bag. This year there were 3 sets, I opted for the Pampered Party Prep set.

First up the purchases:

I've had my eye on the Sephora Pro Angle Blush Brush #49 for a while so now was a good time to indulge. I have to say it's a great brush, super soft bristles and a long handle that's weighted just right. It's a dream to use and I'm already eyeing up the rest of the range. 

I was so impressed with the Murad Active Radiance Serum that I used last month I was keen to try more Murad products. I picked up The Gift of Murad, a boxed set of Murad minis, with a foaming pomegranate cleanser, a small gycolic peel, an eye cream and a moisturiser. With the exception of the cleanser, the products are really just sample sizes but they will come in handy for travel. I've only tried the cleanser and eye cream so far and I'm pretty pleased with them. 

The three regular samples I chose were Glamglow Powermud Dualcleanse, Shiseido Ibuki Moisturiser and Pharrell Wiliams Girl EDT. I love the Girl EDT - it's a gorgeous warm spicy woody scent with floral overtones. It's a unisex scent that's quite masculine so the name is a little inappropriate but its exactly the kind of scent that I like - very unusual. I was surprised how much I like this as it gets a lot of bad reviews online.

Now the Pampered Party Prep Bag... First off I have to say that the bag itself isn't great (in fact mine went straight in the charity shop bag) which is a pity as Sephora normally have great free bags. I'm pretty pleased with the samples though (with the exception of the last two they are all deluxe sizes).

. Benefit Stay Flawless 15 Hour Primer - looks intriguing, a primer in a stick form. 

. Cover FX Calming Primer

. Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Face Polish

. Glamglow Powermud Treatment - I've been keen to try Glamglow for a while.

. Fresh Seaberry Face Oil - this is a lovely light oil that absorbs well.

. Living Proof Satin Hair Serum

. Nude Omega Cleansing Jelly 

. Lancome Advanced Genifique Serum

                                                    

 There are two other sets available  'A Bright Night Out' and 'Flawless Refresh'. Why not take a look at sephora.com and see if any of them take your fancy... You could buy some holiday gifts and get a little treat for yourself at the same time!

The Rosie Project.

Graeme Simsion's The Rosie Project is a light hearted love story. It's had rave reviews and a followup, The Rosie Effect has recently been published. 

The book tells the story of Don Tillman, an autistic genetics professor who sets out to find a wife ('The Wife Project') by means of a questionnaire... Then along comes Rosie who, although unsuitable according to the parameters of the questionnaire, may just be 'the one'.

It's well written and well structured, a quick easy read that I found mildly amusing. I liked it, but can't say that I loved it. 

If I see The Rosie Effect in the library I will read it but won't go out of my way to find it. Overall, it didn't live up to the expectations I had but it's not a bad book if you want something light to keep you amused for a few hours on a beach or a trip.

Ten Things I always buy in the UK.

Now I know that these days you can buy most things anywhere but there are some things that almost always seem to make it into my suitcase to bring back from England. I don't tend to buy clothing or large items as they are so much cheaper to buy here in the US. I always pick up some English magazines and I love buying books in England. The other things are small consumables such as these:

1. Teabags - I know, I know, you can get teabags everywhere but the imported English ones here are really pretty expensive. The ones above are Tetley (English Tetley, not American Tetley which is just not the same at all) but I also really love PG Tips and Yorkshire.

2. Cadbury's Fruit and Nut. All the Cadbury chocolate bars are delish but Fruit and Nut is my favourite.  Whilst they aren't always made in England (this one was made in Ireland) the ones sold in England are the ones to get. The US versions made by Hersheys taste, quite frankly, like vomit.

3. Some sort of chocolaty biscuit/ bar. Not as sweet as US chocs and biscuits these are just what you need with a cup of tea! This time I brought home Jacob's Clubs (I like the fruit ones best), but Tunnock's Wafers are great and so are Mcvitie's Digestive Slices.

4. Bovril. I love Marmite but I love Bovril even more and it's sometimes difficult to find here. On toast, lots of it, with butter...heaven.

5. Branston Small Chunk Pickle. It's really rare to get the 'small chunk' version here and you never get it in the plastic squeezy jars. This is just the best Branston for your sandwiches (the chunks in the regular are too large and rip the bread and I'm not a fan of the texture of them).

6. Maldon Sea Salt. So much cheaper in England. We have this on the table. It's so flavoursome that you end up using much less of it than normal table salt.

7. Berocca. I saw an ad for these on TV just the other day so it looks like you can finally get them here. I don't take these everyday but find that they really pep you up if you are feeling a little under the weather, hungover or less than 100 % in any way.

8. Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer. Not only is it cheap as chips it's a really good concealer. #2 Cool Medium is the perfect colour for me, it's easy to apply, lasts well and doesn't crease or go crepe-y on me.

9. No7 Men Soothing Post Shave Recovery Balm. I always end up with a fistful of those 'five pounds off a No7 item' tokens and Mr C&C is a fan of this. With the tokens this is just 3 pounds a tube (which is actually cheaper than chips!).

10. Fenjel Classic Cream Body Wash. You can't buy this Swiss brand here at all as far as I know. The smell of it is just amazing - the best smelling bath product ever in my book. I'd use this constantly if I could.

It's a varied bunch of stuff isn't it? But it's all stuff that I love that reinforces my British identity and makes me who I am in some small way! 

Autobiography - Morrissey

(I had to lose the dust cover from this as I found the photo of Morrissey on it a bit creepy...)

I'm not a Smiths fan and know next to nothing about Morrissey's solo career but I do love music and by extension biographies of musicians so this is why this made it onto my reading pile.

I have to say that whilst I'm never going to 'get' the Smiths, or Morrissey I thought it was a pretty good read.

For the most part it's a well written book but I do wish it had been edited into chapters. 

The beginning of the book deals with Morrissey's childhood and adolescence and this was by far the best part of the book for me. He wrote realistically about England and it's grimness in the 1970's. 

Then comes fame with the Smith's and his solo career (I didn't realise the extent of his success), a long drawn out court case and, finally, snapshots of 'life on the road'  that lifted the end of the book for me. 

He comes across as a much better person than I expected...although of course you are always going to present yourself in the best way... And he's definitely extreamly dedicated to his causes, especially animal rights. He also places a lot more importance on money than I would have expected him to. And he manages to write a book about himself without giving away too much of his personal life (although I did read the US version which I believe is quite heavily edited compared to the UK version).

Overall, the beginning and end were good whilst the middle was a little drawn out for me, but, I have to say, it's a pretty good read if you are a music and/or Morrissey fan.

OOPS!

After September's beauty splurges I did say that I wasn't going to buy any more beauty products for a while but then... 

Well, you know how it is... sometimes there are bargains that are just too good to refuse...

I popped into TJ Maxx for a browse (silly idea, right?) and was nearly out the door when I spotted some rather familiar purple packaging... Rodial Stem Cell Super Food Cleanser, one of my favourite cleansers and just $9.99 instead of $40.00! The Day Cream was just $14.99 so one of those went in my basket (I've tried it before and liked it) and in for a penny, in for a pound, I picked up the Facial Oil at $12.99, and the Hand Cream at $9.99.

I'd not tried either of these before and I've yet to try out the oil but I've made a start on the hand cream and it is rather lovely - non greasy with the same slightly rosy scent as the cleanser.

Then Space NK had their 'Discover20' promotion which I think runs twice a year, and is always worth taking advantage of. Any online order over $75.00 qualifies for $20.00 off and shipping is free which makes it the perfect opportunity to either discover new products or stock up on old faves. 

I'm currently using Sarah Chapman's Skineses Eye Recovery, which I'm loving  BTW. It does a fabulous job of moisturizing my under eye area but it comes in one of those annoying pumps where you can't tell how much is left.

 I'd recently tried a sample of Goldfaden MD Bright Eyes and really enjoyed it so I ordered a full sized one, because heaven forbid, I suddenly run out of eye cream! 

I also picked up a mini Diptyque Candle in Jasmine because you can never have enough Diptyque Candles IMO.

Space NK always throw in samples when you shop on line and I received a R+Co Shampoo, Conditioner and  Hair Cream, an Eve Lom TLC Cream and a Natura Bisse Essential Shock Gel Cream. 

Oh, and the best part was that I had $40.00 worth of ndulge points to redeem which brought the total price down to just $29.95 inc tax. AND this purchase earned me another $10.00 worth of ndulge points for a future purchase. 

All of the above for under $80.00 and $10.00 in hand... A fine example of girly maths if ever I saw one!

All Fall Down

I tend to think of Jennifer Weiner in the same light as Jane Green, best selling women's author, a book a year, easy to read escapism, someone whose latest I will always pick up from the library for some light entertainment. So of course the newest offering from Jennifer went into my book bag and sadly I have to admit that it really wasn't an enjoyable read for me. I almost gave up and struggled to finish it.

'All Fall Down' tells the story of Allison Weiss who lives a comfortable lifestyle in a suburb of Philadelphia with her husband and daughter. Allison finds herself overwhelmed and quickly descends into serious prescription drug addiction, goes to rehab and restarts her life.

I found the story to be unrealistic and the principle character and her daughter were both so spoilt and annoying as to be unlikeable. There wasn't that much of a storyline and there were some parts that TBH were totally unbelievable.  Also the ending seemed rather contrived and 'up in the air'

Overall, I just don't think that it gave an authentic portrayal of what is a very serious problem that deserves to be written about in a much less superficial way.

I really hope Jennifer Weiner's next book gets back on track because this one was really not for me.