Rag and Bone Kent Lace Up Shoes.

I have been looking for a pair of sneaker-like-shoes for a while. You know, something so comfortable that it felt like a sneaker but a little more formal. A shoe that I could run around in at the weekends but that would also be smart enough to wear to lunch.

Finally after much deliberation I picked up these - Rag and Bone Kent Laces Ups. I went for a classic, the low top black leather version, and I am very pleased with them.

They look great with straight or skinny jeans and are extremely comfortable. 

The first time I wore them I walked a long way and they didn't hurt my feet at all - no blisters, nothing! - and they get better every time I wear them.

The leather is great quality and they are lined with a soft beige leather. 

There is a slight lift in the heel inside the shoe so they support your feet and feel comfortable for walking. 

The logos on these are very subtle and the laces are made of waxed cotton so not only do they look stylish they don't slip once tied.

They are quite a slim fitting shoe and I like the way that they are shaped at the front so they look more shoe like and less of a sneaker/bowling shoe.

Of course they aren't exactly cheap, $325.00 in fact, but they are sturdy and well made and I'm banking on them lasting me some time. The sizes run slightly small so do size up rather than down. You can find then at rag-bone.com

A quick round up of some similar shoes...

The two above are both from barneys.com and are by Common Projects. Achilles Low Top in black and silver leather costs $435.00 whilst the light blue perforated blue ones cost $444.00 (Absolutely not cheap but the perfect summer sneaker!)

Also from barneys.com are the Nike Tennis Classic Ultra navy leather sneakers. These are a relative bargain at $100.00 but there are limited sizes available at the present time.

Another reasonably priced shoe is the Irving in black suede. It is $125.00 from michaelkors.com

If grey suede rocks your world how about these two? The top ones are by French brand Zespa. They are $325.00 and you can find them at clubmonaco.com or a more budget friendly option can be found at adidas.com The Deconstructed Stan Smith comes in a variety of colors and costs $120.00.

There are plenty of smart sneaker options around and I can see myself indulging in a few more pairs of these versatile comfortable shoes! 

After You.

After You is the follow up to the hugely successful Me Before You and tells the story of what happens to Louisa after Will's death. 

With the legacy Will left her Louisa went traveling and bought a flat in London. Still reeling from his death, she is now living in her flat and has a dead end job at a London airport. 

The story opens with Lou falling from the roof of her building. Then follow several story lines that run concurrently... The accident reunites her with her estranged family and introduces two pivotal characters to the book: love interest Sam and Will's secret daughter, Lily. Meanwhile Lou goes to bereavement counseling, her Mother becomes a feminist and we catch up with the Traynor family from then first book. The book ends with Lou having to decide whether to stay with her new boyfriend or take her dream job in New York.

I really enjoyed Me Before You, it was one of those books that everybody seemed to love! There were mixed reviews for this follow up so it was with trepidation that I decided to read it. 

Did I like it? No, I'm afraid I found it to be very disappointing. 

The whole story was overblown, the characters all seemed like caricatures and Lou herself came across as being ditsy and annoying. In fact her character is now irritating whereas previously she was endearing... BTW how come she doesn't have any friends? Isn't that odd?

 There were side plots that seemed like padding as they were not relevant to the tale (her Mother becoming a feminist, Lou's bereavement counseling group meetings) and the comic devices were overused and felt rather awkward. 

The ending tied everything up just a little too neatly for my liking yet the book ended in such a way that there could well be a further adventures of Louisa to come... 

I usually enjoy JoJo Moyes's writing so this was a big let down for me. The writing wasn't bad but I found the characters and story to be very disappointing. 

Three High End Primers.

I used to think that I didn't like primers and perhaps I didn't because my early experiences of them were of ones that were largely silicone based. They felt as if they were sitting on the surface of my skin and felt uncomfortable, they clogged my pores and gave me zits and the wrong combo of products on top made them roll up into balls meaning that I had to clean my face and start all over again. 

Nowadays things are much more sophisticated and there are a whole host of primers out there that do a zillion jobs. While I've yet to find a cheaper primer that I love, I have three high end ones that I love to use depending on my skin's needs and the seasons.

The one that Lasts: 

Hourglass Veil Mineral Primer (30 ml $52.00)  

 This may well be my favorite Primer ever! Mineral based, it feels velvety and leaves my skin feeling silky smooth. It calms down any redness in my cheeks and keeps my t-zone in check. But what this does best is keeping everything in place. 

If you have skin that is oilier, an active T-zone or live in a hot or humid environment put some of this on (one pump is all you need) and you will be seriously amazed at how your make up lasts.

 I like to put this on and wait a couple a minutes before applying tinted moisturizer or foundation, you can actually feel this gripping your base as you put it on - it seems to bond product to your skin but at the end of the day you can still cleanse it off easily.

  And it has SPF15 (I know you ideally need more than factor 15 but every little helps right?) My only issue with this is that sometimes the pump can become blocked causing the product to spurt out but other than that it's pretty much a perfect primer as far as I'm concerned!

The one that Plumps:

By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Primer (40ml $61.00) 

This is a lovely, lightly textured cream that feels cooling and refreshing on application. You need very little of this as it has great slip and whilst it doesn't make my make up last as long as Veil does, it does keep it in place for much longer than if I use nothing. This gives my skin a nice smooth surface onto which it is easy to apply make up and it makes my skin look plumper. 

I particularly like to use this in colder weather as I love the extra burst of hydration it gives. 

The tube makes it easy to travel with option - bonus!

The one that Covers:

Sunday Riley Effortless Breathable Tinted Primer (30ml $48.00)

Effortless is a tinted primer. It is very sheer yet it does a great job of evening out your complexion and skin tone. It isn't intended as a TM or a foundation but you could easily wear this alone on a good skin day and when used as a base it not only prolongs the life of your make up, it makes your skin look fresh and dewy. 

Effortless comes in a pump bottle that I have found you need to shake a little before use as it has a tendency to separate and can feel oily if you don't do so. Once shaken it sits very nicely on the skin and also feels moisturizing.

As with Veil, I like to put this on and wait a couple of minutes before applying make up to let it set off. My only real criticism with this one is the color range - just three shades are available...

You can find all of these at us.spacenk.com

  

The Making of Us.

Lydia, Dean and Robyn are half siblings with vastly different backgrounds but they have one thing in common - their Father. They have never met each other and none of them have met their Father. They are children of a sperm donor. 

When they do eventually meet up they find that they have much in common and bond strongly despite their superficial differences. Meanwhile, their donation Father lies dying in a hospice outside London. His dearest wish to is to meet the children he has created...
The story then leaps forward  (or should I say backwards) to Lydia's unhappy adolescence and then onward to the present day where we meet Dean and Robyn along with Maggie, the donor's girlfriend, who sets out to trace the children through a Donor Registry.

I can't help but feel that I jinxed myself saying how much I enjoyed the novels of Lisa Jewell when I read The Third Wife recently as I wasn't all that fond of this one. 

I thought that the story started off in a very promising way when we meet oldest child Lydia's Mother just as she starts to explore the possibility of pursuing a donor pregnancy and it dealt well with the sensitive issue of donor identity which I found to be thought provoking.

It isn't a bad book -  indeed the beginning and ending of it are very good indeed -  but I  failed to become absorbed in the story. Although the writing style was excellent the middle part of the book dragged for me. Usually I love the characters in Lisa Jewell's books but with the exception of Lydia, I didn't feel that the characters were fleshed out enough to connect with them. (I found Robyn and her storyline to be especially irritating.)

Overall it's not terrible, but for me it was something of a let down as I usually enjoy this author's books so much...

The Diver's Clothes Lie Empty.

A 'woman' (we never find out her real name) arrives in Morocco and as she is checking into her hotel her bag, containing her passport, money and documents, is stolen. Finding both the hotel staff and the local police force to be not only unhelpful, but suspicious of her she assumes the first of several new identities that she adopts over the course of the story.

I had not heard of this book or it's author, I picked it up on a whim and I am so happy that I did! 

It is a slim book - a little over two hundred pages - with a lot of dialogue so it is a quick read. The plot is intriguing, we know the woman is running away from some sort of problem/trouble but we don't find out what that is until the end of the book. 

I loved the way this book was written, characters weren't given names, rather they were referred to as 'the hotel manager', 'the famous actress' and so on and this all added to the sense of mystery as well as the sense of detachment the 'woman' had from herself.

It is a delightful book, there is an air of suspense to it as you wonder what will happen next and how will the 'woman' extricate herself from each episode. 

It is beautifully written and extremely well composed and captivating.  And just take a look at that cover - I love it, don't you?

I know it's early days but this is my 'book of the year' so far.

Recommended.

Space NK Spring Beauty Edit GWP February 2016.

I was away from NYC for Space NK's Spring Beauty Edit event, so thank goodness for online shopping, as when I returned from my trip I had the above bundle of goodies to open! (The event runs for one day only and the generous GWP worth $400.00 is free with purchases of $250.00 and above.)

I purchased Sunday Riley Good Genes which is a staple in my night time routine, Sarah Chapman Skinesis Eye Recovery which is one of my very favorite eye creams, and Sarah Chapman Skinesis Dynamic Defense,  a daytime moisturizer with SPF 15. I am excited to try the Dynamic Defense as I have been very impressed with everything that I have tried from Sarah Chapman.

As usual with Space NK GWPs this was a bag of generously sized samples (and a full sized Lipstick Queen Liquid Lipstick) with the emphasis on skin care items. This is a great selection of products although there are quite a few repeat products from previous bags - nine out of twenty five. However they are all things that I will use apart from MIO Workout Wonder Muscle Gel which I have passed onto Mr C&C and a Kevyn Aucoin Eye Pencil that is in a color that I can't wear, so it is still an awesome gift.

I am happy that there aren't any tanning products in this bag as I never use those and I am thrilled with the votive sized Diptyque candle in 'Amber' that I received.

As ever I am very pleased with this generous GWP. I use these events to stock up on skincare products that I use and look forward to participating in the next one in September.   

Blue Mercury Valentine GWP 2016.

 

Between them SpaceNK and Sephora have most of my skin care and make up needs covered but there are a few brands and items I like to use that neither carry so I will occasionally make a Cult Beauty or Blue Mercury order especially if it coincides with a pretty good gift bag promo.

Blue Mercury recently had a very nice Valentine's GWP offer available if you spent $100.00 online.

 Now it's been a while since I had a beauty splurge so I did succumb and treat myself to a couple of products that I haven't used for a while and a couple of new things that I fancied trying out...

I adore Darphin Aromatic Cleansing Balm and used to get it from SpaceNK until they stopped stocking it for some reason. It is a really lovely emulsifying balm that nourishes as it cleanses and smells out of this world amazing. Dauphin describe it as being 'opulent' and I think that just about sums it up!

I'm halfway through a huge bottle of Pixi Glow Tonic and it is very good but I do prefer REN Clarimatte Clarifying Toner. It's a bit of a tricky one to find in the US  (I have bought it online directly from REN but it is often out of stock) and I usually bring it back from the UK so I was delighted to see Blue Mercury now carry it.

I'm always on the look out for the perfect eye make up remover -  I love Chantecaille Rose Eye Make Up Remover but it is so expensive and I like Kiehl's Supremely Gentle Eye Make Up Remover a lot but I do like to swap around my products a bit so I am looking forward to trying Dermalogica Soothing Eye Make Up Remover. It is oil free which I prefer as well as alcohol free, it also contains silk amino acids to strengthen eye lashes.

I am intrigued by Supergroup Setting Mist with Rosemary SPF50, a spray on sunscreen that also  sets make up and controls oil and so I added a 1oz mini handbag sized spray to my purchases to try out. Fingers crossed it works as it sounds like exactly the kind of multi tasking product that I need.

And then there's the gift bag! Thirteen generously sized samples some of which are essentially mini sizes that are perfect for travel.

For cleansing there is Dermalogica Pre Cleanse Oil (1 oz) with  Dermalogica Special Cleansing Gel (1.7oz) and Clinique TTDO Eye Make Up Remover (1oz).

For skincare there is a tube of M-61 Supersmooth E Dermabrasion Scrub and Mask, 10ml of Caudalie Resveratrol Serum, 4ml of Darphin Essential Oil Elixir (which is a gorgeous facial oil),  Laura Mercier Flawless Skin Moisturizer (5g), a tube of Fresh Sugar Advance Therapy Lip Serum and a tiny sample of Trish McEvoy Eye Serum.

There are two lip items: Trish McEvoy Lip Gloss in the shade 'Sexy Nude' (nice product, hideous name!) and a Clinique Chubby Stick in 'Super Strawberry' which will be a great color for summer.

Finally there is a tube of Laura Mercier Fresh Fig Body Butter (1 oz) and a 2oz bottle of Fekkai Technician Colour Care Shampoo

And there's more! Three standard order samples of Dermalogica Total Eye Care, Revive Intensite Volumising Serum and Oribe Gold Lust Shampoo and Conditioner.

I'm very pleased with this GWP. It is an extremely generous amount of samples given the relatively low minimum purchase required.

Although these have all been snapped up why not sign up for Blue Mercury mailings at bluemercury.com so you can keep a lookout for the next one?

Rahua Shampoo and Conditioner.

Whilst Rahua isn't the most expensive haircare range available it certainly isn't cheap and I try to stockpile samples of it whenever I can get my hands on them... So I was delighted when I received full sized bottles of shampoo and conditioner in my Christmas stocking this year. Not only is Rahua

something that I would most certainly call a luxury product it is a joy to use and it is extremely effective. It leaves my fine processed (colored) hair feeling very soft and silky yet still manageable.

The principle ingredient in Rahua is the oil of the rahua nut which is sustainably grown and harvested in the Amazonian rain forest by indigenous women. The molecules in rahua nut oil are smaller than in most other oils so they can penetrate into the hair shaft to bond and repair it which leads to stronger hair. They are also of benefit to the scalp which also promotes healthy hair.

Rahua products are organic and cruelty free. They are sulphate free so are kind to color treated hair as they cleanse it without stripping or damaging. They are also paraben and gluten free and vegan. 

The shampoo uses coconut oil and shea butter to gently cleanse the hair and contains quinoa extracts that capture and hold moisture in hair.

The conditioner, which can also be used as a leave in styling product to tame frizzy hair and hold it in place, contains moisturizing aloe and green tea extracts that help protect hair.

Both have a distinctive, delicious nutty fragrance that is a little woody thanks to the use of Palo Santo oil, an oil that is  extracted from tree bark and is much used in aromatherapy. 

As the shampoo is sulphate free it doesn't lather freely so you do need to work it into your hair and scalp a little. You don't need to use a lot of shampoo, you just need to spend a little time working with it. 

Similarly with the conditioner, you don't need a lot but it does work best if you leave it on for the recommended three minutes.

Both products rinse out easily leaving no product build up so my hair feels not only clean but fuller, extremely soft yet still sleek and manageable .Rahua is definitely one of my very favorite shampoo and conditioner combinations!

You can find Rahua at us.spacenk.com cultbeauty.co.uk or buy it directly from rahua.com

The shampoo is $32.00/27GBP for 275ml and the conditioner is $34.00/28GBP. 

Product Love - Tata Harper Purifying Cleanser.

In January I focused on some of my favorite cheaper  products. 

This month my picks are somewhat more luxurious - case in point - Tata Harper Purifying Cleanser. I love good cleansers and I definitely have a soft spot for an indulgent high end cleanser but this may well be my favorite cleanser of all time! It's not often that I keep a back up of a product but this one, yep, I have a spare...

This gentle creamy gel is soap free. Fruit enzymes, broccoli extracts, ginger, aloe, natural sugars and glycerin are just some of the natural ingredients that it contains. While it's not cheap by any means ($58/ 45GBP for 125ml.) one pump of this is all you need so a bottle will last you for some time.

It does an excellent job of dissolving make up but it's far too good a product to use for make up removal. Instead use it directly on your skin in the mornings or as a second cleanse at night. The fruit enzymes gently exfoliate leaving your skin brighter and more radiant (dare I say that it 'gives you glow'?). It cleans skin superbly and is especially effective on oilier or combination skin as it balances without stripping or making skin feel tight or dry. 

And then there's the scent...  This cleanser has such a fresh, delicious, vibrant fragrance. Zesty and zippy it reminds me of lemongrass with a sweeter edge: it is awakening in the morning and uplifting at night.

And finally that bottle! It has a pump that works efficiently (hoorah!) and is a chunky solid piece of frosted glass - not for travel at all - but with its floral crown decor it makes a handsome addition to any bathroom shelf.

You can find Tata Harper Purifying Cleanser at cultbeauty.co.uk or us.spacenk.com

Career of Evil.

Career of Evil is the latest book in the Cormoran Strike series and opens when private detective Cormoran Strike's assistant Robin opens a box containing not the wedding favors she was expecting but a severed leg. Strike immediately suspects three men from his past: his stepfather and two men who he crossed in his previous military career.

The first book in this series was very good, the second better, and this one was even more so!

I found it less formulated than the previous two and the grisly tale was captivating - I could not wait to find out which of the suspects was the dangerous psychopath. 

The plot was intriguing and the narrative was laid out in such a way that I found I read on favoring different suspects at different stages of the tale. The ending and final reveal were very clever as well as somewhat surprising - this complexly woven tale tied together very nicely in a way that made perfect sense.

As in the other two books the writing is a pleasure to read and flows extraordinarily well and as before the attention to everyday detail is finely tuned. And there is still the whole will they/won't they thing going on with Cormoran and Robin...

I loved this book and am eagerly awaiting the next installment. This could be read by itself but I think that it make sense to read the previous books if you have not already done so (if you read this one first I believe you will like it so much that you will go back and read the others anyway!)

Recommended.

Cowshed Grubby Cow Hand Wash.

Luxurious hand washes are something of a special treat for me, most of the time I'm happy to use whatever I pick up at the drugstore - usually SoftSoap or Mrs Myers. Don't get me wrong I would love to have something fancy by my sink all the time but it's not often that there is. However, after having tried some face products by Cowshed I indulged myself and picked up a bottle of their Grubby Cow Hand Wash. 

The formula of this is very nice indeed, it is sulphate free so although it doesn't produce a ton of frothy bubbles it is gentle and non drying. My hands actually feel somewhat softened when I use this and they don't get as dry or itchy as they usually do which is a real bonus now that the cold weather is finally here.

The packaging is also very stylish. I love the black and white floral print, the simple graphics and the pump that works well dispensing just the right amount of product.

But the best thing about this is the scent! Cowshed describe it as 'zesty' - which it certainly is. Containing sweet orange oil and peppermint oil (which on paper doesn't sound like a match made in heaven) it smells divine! Vibrantly uplifting and refreshing, it smells fresh and clean but not in that rather generic soapy/ fabric softener way. The peppermint tempers the orange and stops it from being yet another citrus product and turns it into something special.

Great for the kitchen or bathroom, along with hand lotion this would make a lovely gift. 

Available at www.cowshed.com Grubby Cow Hand Wash costs $22.00 for 10.14 oz. Cow Slip Hand Lotion costs $25.00 for 10.14 oz or you can buy the two together in a set with a sink side caddy for $37.50.

Empties January 2016.

I have been very busy and whilst that always seems to make the time fly by I am a little dazed at how quickly January has passed by! During January I made great inroads into my stash of samples and although I only finished eight full sized products I used up thirty four samples. (And some of them were really more like minis than samples).

Dial NutriSkin Lotion was a whopper of a bottle, it was good and did everything it promised to but was a very basic body lotion. I don't use them often but when I do I'm always impressed by Clear products. Total Care Conditioner was very good, really thick, it could almost double as a mask. I liked the scent of Bath and Body Works Warm Vanilla Sugar Shower Gel immensely, it was not too sweet and very appropriate for cooler weather. 

I have used many samples of Oribe Supershine Cream and loved it but for some reason when I bought the full sized version I bought Supershine Light. It worked just as well but the lighter formula meant that I used much more of it and sped through the tube. I adore this hair product but when I buy it again will get the regular one as it will last me longer and this isn't a cheap product. Crabtree and Evelyn Handcreams are some of my favorites and I usually carry a mini one in my bag. This was the first time I had used the Rosewater one and it smells amazing! It has a delicate rose scent that's clean and it is my new favorite of the range. 

 I really did not like the Weleda Skin Food sample I used. It was much too thick and greasy with an odd 'health food shop' type of fragrance. I also didn't like By Terry Mascara Terrybly. It was a wet formula that I found to be very clumpy and cloying. It contained fibers that flaked off as the day went on - I was very disappointed by this. 

I had been excited to finally try out Alpha H Liquid Gold but I didn't find it to be rave worthy - it was OK but there are plenty of other glycolic toners that I prefer - I like the other Alpha H products that I have tried so this was a let down for me.

The pot of Oribe Masque for Beautiful Colour was a very, very, lovely hair mask. It smelt divine and was very rich so I didn't need to use lots of it. Moroccan Oil Body Souffle was a very effective body cream but I associate the scent so much with haircare that I thought it was odd to use on my body!

Skincare wise, of course, I loved Sunday Rileys Good Genes, it is one of my all time favorite skin care items and I use it almost every day. I also enjoyed  Darphin Intral Serum. I was very impressed by Vichy Neovadiol Magistral Elixir (what a name!), a face oil formulated for older skins. It is a dry oil that smells wonderful.  I used this after flying and it replenished my skin overnight leaving it plumped and soft the next day. I also like Kat Burki Vitamin C Intensive Face Cream very much. In spite of the name it is very gentle and comfortable. I'm very impressed by this range and have liked everything that I have tried from it so far.

My favorite product of the month has to be Peter Thomas Roth Pumpkin Enzyme Mask. It smells like a delicious pastry and while there's some serious tingle going on when you use it yet didn't harm my skin. When I rinsed it off I could see a huge difference, my skin looked radiant, very clear and brightened. I followed it with Peter Thomas Roth Cucumber Gel Mask which cooled everything down and gave a good dose of hydration. I will certainly repurchase the pumpkin mask and am keen to try more masks from PTR. I am so happy to have found this product and to have made a huge dent in my stash of samples!