Empties April 2015.

It's been a bit 'bookish' around here lately but once again 'empties time' has rolled around so here's a beauty post. This month the stars and planets in the empties galaxy were in perfect alignment... something landed up on the empty pile every day - twelve full sized products and twenty-two samples were finished!

I used up a lot of  full sized cleansing/cleaning products this month: two shower gels, a body scrub, a big pack of face wipes and four face cleansers.

This month I loved Sarah Chapman Skinesis Ultimate Cleanse and Clinique TTDO Balm, these two are both among my favorite facial cleansers/ balms - simply lovely products that feel pampering yet are really efficient.

I'm sad to have finished both Sunday Riley Good Genes and Sarah Chapman Skinesis Intense Hydrating Booster. This was a combination of serums that worked so well for me and kept my skin healthy and glow-y throughout the winter. (I used Good Genes at night and Sarah Chapman in the morning).

I was a little cautious of Goldfaden MD Dr's Scrub Advanced as it felt very abrasive when first applied. I'm generally not a fan of physical exfoliators but this left my skin feeling so beautifully soft and smooth that I was impressed.

Two more facial products that I loved were Radical Extreme Repair which was a fabulous moisturizer for morning or night - it sat really well under make up -  and Sisley Black Rose Cream Mask which is going straight onto my 'when I'm Rich fantasy shopping list'. The mask was so good, it felt cooling and soothing, it hydrated and plumped my face and smelled amazing. It's also ridiculously expensive although I did get four treatments out of a 10g sample tube so its not as extravagant  as it first appears.

At the other end of the price range C. Booth Honey Almond Body Butter is so good I repurchased it straight away! It's a thick rich cream but it absorbs really well and despite it's richness it's not at all greasy. It smells so delicious and leaves a light lingering scent on the skin.

Atkinson's 24 Old Bond Street EDT was right up my perfume street, warm and spicy yet not overpowering and it lasted well on me.

The only product I disliked this month was Glamglow Powermud DualCleanse. I'd heard so many good things about this and was excited to try it - the idea of a mask that turned into an oil cleanser was intriguing. However, it tingled a tad too much on my (not normally sensitive) skin and left it feeling tight and temporarily red.

April was a great month for products for me. I discovered some really rather wonderful new things, worked out an effective cold weather routine and finished up a whole heap of products!    

My Brilliant Friend.

Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend is the first book in her Neapolitan Novels series. It opens in the present day with Elena Greco learning of the disappearance of Lila Cerullo, her lifelong friend. Lila appears to have disappeared leaving no trace of herself or belongings so Elena starts to tell the story of Lila's life and their friendship.

This first book deals with their childhood and adolescent in a small working class community on the edge of Naples. It's a hard scrabble existence that's both violent and passionate and Elena Ferrante tells not only the story of the two girls but those of their neighbors. 

Both girls are intelligent and yearn to escape their upbringings by making their fortune in some way. This book ends with Lila's marriage at the age of sixteen.

Whilst it's a beautifully written book that evokes Naples in the 1950's wonderfully I found it to be a little slow going for my liking. I'd heard great things about the Neapolitan Novels and had planned on reading them all but I didn't enjoy this one enough to continue with the series. It's not that it's a bad book by any means, it's just not the type of book or style of story that appeals to me. Also, I didn't feel a connection to either of the characters that compels me to carry on reading to find out what happens to them eventually.

 I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this as it is one that I had really been looking forward to.

Tea and Antipathy.

Anita Miller's memoir Tea and Antipathy has to be one of the  strangest books that I have ever read. It was such a frustrating read for me that I almost gave up on it, the only reason I didn't was because it is one of those books that you can zap through. 

I saw it in the library and picked it up thinking of how much I had enjoyed Edna O'Brien's accounts of living in London in the '60's expecting this to be in the same vein... It wasn't.

The Millers are a well to do Chicago family. Whilst the husband is working in London he rents a house in Knightsbridge so that his wife and three sons can join him for the summer of 1965. 

Fifty years later Anita Miller publishes this memoir (Mrs Miller is now 89).

I was expecting an amusing read. Sure, it wouldn't be plain sailing for the family and I appreciate that the cultural differences and living conditions in England and America were much more different than they are today but this is just a really weird rant! Everyone who Anita Miller comes into contact with is horrible - they 'hate her' and in turn she despises them. The food and accommodations are awful, the TV is dreadful and there is 'nothing' to do. Even the smallest thing, such as somebody looking at her strangely will set Mrs Miller off and she harps on about each small incident for pages.  

I'm just totally confused as to why, if, that summer was so awful Mrs Miller needs to dredge it all up and focus on it. It's all very odd and results in a bizarre book that I really can't recommend in any way, shape or form.

The Husband's Secret.

Yet another Australian book - I seem to have read a few of them recently for some unknown reason!

In The Husband's Secret, Cecilia lives the perfect prosperous suburban lifestyle with a successful career, happy marriage and adorable children until one day she discovers a letter written by her husband to be opened only upon his death.

Cecilia doesn't mean to open the letter but she does and what she discovers will set her reeling...

The first half of the book is all about 'setting the scene' and the lead up to the discovery of the letter. Then we find out what the letter says and the second half of the book deals with Cecilia and her dilemma. Should she reveal what her husband writes in the letter or does she stand by him for the sake of their family and home life?

It's told as quite a straight forward tale and there are a couple of back stories that it intertwines with but you can also view the book on a deeper level. Redemption, loyalty, forgiveness, betrayal, judgement - there are lots of themes to ponder upon here if you wish.

One thing that I found odd about it was that it seemed fairly dated in terms of the lifestyles that the characters were leading.

It did have a very clever and unusual epilogue that I liked a lot.

 I enjoyed this and I would read other books by Lianne Moriaty but I didn't enjoy it enough to rush out and grab them straight away. It's a good beach read kind of book but nothing astounding for me. 

The Girl on the Train.

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins has to have been the book with the most buzz about it so far this year. I'm always a wee bit cautious when it comes to things that have been so heavily promoted - be they books, films or products -  as they so often fail to meet expectations. Not so in this case, I greatly enjoyed this cleverly constructed novel.

Rachel is failing to come to terms with her life after a messy divorce. She is a total mess and worse she's a messy drunk. Unemployed, she bizarrely rides her old commuter train into London daily as it passes through her old neighborhood where she regularly sees a young couple in their garden. Rachel becomes slightly obsessed with this couple, imagining them to have the perfect lifestyle that she herself has lost. One day the young woman from the couple disappears. Rachel knows that she knows something about it but can't recall it due to her drinking and police discredit her as an unreliable witness.

Can Rachel work out what happened without endangering herself? 

There are twist and turns and a few red herrings to distract you but even if yo work out what's happening the story is so fast paced and well written that it will keep you enthralled until the end. 

Filled with darkness and suspense I highly recommend it.

Walmart Beauty Box Spring 2015.

My Spring Beauty Box from Walmart arrived  at the end of March. 

These cheap and cheerful boxes ship seasonally (four a year) and cost just five dollars each. That's right - five dollars! -  for the price of a Starbucks coffee you get a little present in the post of samples, full sized products and money off coupons. (In actual fact the box and its contents are free and the five dollars is the charge of the shipping). Sure, the items in the boxes are drugstore rather than high end but I think these little boxes are fantastic value for money and they always contain things that I will use.

The big ticket item in this season's box was Rimmel Lash Accelerator Mascara. This full sized product contains 'procapil' that allegedly promotes eyelash growth. I'll get back to you on that!

There are deluxe samples of Dove Go Fresh Body Wash which smells deliciously of mandarins, Neutrogena Healthy Skin Booster Face Cleanser which promises to lather and cleanse without drying and Schwarzkopf (that name always makes me laugh) Essence Ultime Shampoo and Conditioner.All of these are good travel sized items and I will use them all. 

There's a sample of Lady Gaga Fame EDT. Sachet samples of Nivea In Shower Body Lotion, Garnier Ultra Lift Sleeping Cream and Maybelline Fit Me Foundation. I'm keen to try all of these. I'm not sure how effective a rinse off body lotion can be, I've yet to try a sleeping mask type of cream and I am constantly surprised by how good Maybelline products tend to be. 

There's also fourteen dollars worth of coupons in the box and you can use them anywhere, not just in Walmart.

Once again I'm happy with my Walmart Beauty Box and look forward to getting the next one!

Glossy box March 2015.

So though I only get the occasional Glosyybox they mistakenly shipped me one this month.

Now TBH it's not something that I would have sprung for myself but having said that it's a pretty darned good selection of products.
There's a generous 250ml bottle of Nexxus Colour Assure Shampoo. I've liked everything I've ever tried from Nexxus and I have colored hair so this is great for me - I can never have too many shampoos (lol!) and this one smells great.

All of the other products are from companies that are new to me.

Skincare wise there are two sample pots of Orogold 24K Multi Vitamin Day Moisturiser which contains both vitamins and gold. It looks and feels light but on application I realized that it was quite rich although it did absorb well. A full sized 1.7oz pot of this costs an astounding $178.00 so I'm happy to try this at no cost!

The three make up products that I received are all by British brands and are all full sized. There's a So Susan Concealer Quad - four shades of concealer in a palette that you could use for concealing or contouring. It's formulated from Marula oil and you can blend them to get a perfect match - clever huh?

POP Kajal Pen is a soft eyeliner in the shade 'Inky Purple' which is great shade of aubergine that I think will work with my hazel/green eyes and it has one of those *smudgy sponge things* on it also.

Finally there's a BellaPierre Cheek and Lip Stain in the shade 'Pink' - how did they come up with that name! It's a mineral based stain that I will most likely use on my lips unless its very blendable as it looks to be quite bright and pigmented.

Also this month there is a coupon code for www.caseable.com which is a site that makes customised covers for phones, iPads, laptops, ereaders etc. It's a mystery code for an amount between five and a hundred dollars. I'm sure most people got a five dollar code but I will check it out and if I have a decent amount I will get something... You never know right?

Overall I think that this is a pretty good box. I will definitely use the shampoo and moisturisers and will play around with the make up items. I like that there are three full sized items and the value contained in this box is amazing - $69.00 without the pricey Orogold samples and Caseable code. I think that Glossybox has to be one of the better subscription box services and even though I wouldn't subscribe full time I will  certainly continue to check them out from time to time.

Hello from the Gillespies.

Imagine if, for once, someone sent out a 'round robin' Christmas letter that told things as they really are. This is the rather interesting premise behind Hello from the Gillespies.

Angela Gillespie lives on an outback farm in Australia and her life is a source of frustration to her... Her three elder daughters have returned home after failing to get ahead by themselves. Her young son has a variety of problems/oddities. Her husband is beset by debt and finds solace in obsessively researching his ancestry. Meanwhile Angela finds comfort in a daydream fantasy life she has concocted for herself.

After a freak accident Angela is 'lost' to her family. But this could just be the catalyst they all need to put their lives back on course and come together once more.

Hello from the Gillespies clocks in at 600 odd pages but it's a quick read as it contains a lot of dialogue and a lot of the story is pretty insubstantial. I didn't dislike it, but it didn't enthrall me. It was a slow moving story - I felt that it could have been better edited and that the story could have been told in a shorter format. I also didn't find the characters in the story to be ones that I could connect with - the children were simply annoying, Angela herself was a little silly and her husband, Nick, was so dull and flat.

I thought at one point that the book was an old one as the family only had one computer between the six of them but it is only a year or so old... isn't it odd that nobody had a laptop? Not even the daughter who worked in media? There were quite a few discrepancies of this sort in it that irritated me.

Overall the book was just okay, I am surprised by how many positive reviews it had. 

Empties March 2015.

It's really a bit of a shocker that it's already April, so without further ado lets take peek at March's empties...

 I finished up twelve full sized products but just six samples in March. There's a lot of products here that are repeat empties so I've obvs got a whole lotta love for a lot of this month's products - Chantecaille Just Skin, Nars Pro Prime for eye make up, hand creams from Kiehl's and Crabtree and Evelyn and a smattering of Caudalie products. 

It's with a heavy heart that I'm binning a Sue Devitt Eye Intensifier in the shade 'Bangalore'. This has been one of my favourite ever eye liners, the formula was great and the colour - a bronze tinged with khaki was immensely flattering. It applied like a dream and lasted all day and now it's discontinued...

The only thing that I disliked this month was the Malin + Goetz Lip Moisturiser. It reminds me of old school gloopy lip gloss and just seemed to sit on top of my lips not sinking in or doing anything. And although the packaging looks really cool it just has a regular flat ended nozzle so you have to put product on a finger then apply to lips so it's pretty messy.

The surprise hit of the month was the Dial 7 Day Moisturizing Lotion with greek yoghurt and honey. It did a really good job of moisturizing without being sticky and smelled gorgeous, a warm sugary smell that wasn't too sweet or overbearing and it was less than two dollars! Dial are definitely one of the best drugstore body care brands as far as I'm concerned and I'll be picking up more of this, it will be lovely to use in the summer. (Which will be here much sooner than you think, the rate that this year is flying by...)