Sandwiches of New York: #13

What is it? Mortadella Sandwich.

Where is it from? Depanneur, 242 Wythe Avenue, (btwn N3rd and N4th) Williamsburg,                                                    Brooklyn. depanneur.com

How much is it? $10.00 (plus tax)

What's in it? Mortadella, Tallegio, cornichons and Dijon mustard on grilled baguette.

Depanneur is a very nice corner shop/bodega. It sells a whole variety of upmarket condiments, cookies, crackers, cheeses and charcuterie - it's the sort of store that you wouldn't do a weekly shop at but if you wanted the fixings of a super fancy picnic you would be in the right place. It also has a wide selection of 'hipster type' items such as pickles, bitters and granola, much of which is made by local artisanal producers as well as a small selection of homeware and books.

It's a fairly spacious store with rustic decor, a few counter seats in one corner facing out the window and small bistro style tables and chairs outside along the front and side of the store. It's in the middle of Williamsburg but it is off the main drag so during the week the area is not too busy - there were plenty of tables to choose from outside when I went on a recent Tuesday lunchtime. If you don't want to eat there you can walk a couple of blocks to the waterfront which has great views of the city or you could go the whole hog and buy things to take for a picnic in McCarren Park which isn't too far away. 

Inside the shop serve yourself to drinks from the fridges, they have lots of cool (in both senses of the word) sodas, waters and beers, take what you want to the counter where you can order your sandwich and pay. The sandwich menu is on the wall above the till and there's also a tempting array of baked goods such as cookies, breakfast pastries and quiches next to the till.

I waited about five minutes for my sandwich (there were  a few people in front of me) and I passed the time looking around the store until my name was called. I found the service to be fairly efficient and the assistants were friendly but Depanneur does get very mixed reviews about it's service and wait times on social media so maybe I just struck lucky...

And the sandwich? OMG this was a very good sandwich indeed! I already love all the ingredients in it so putting them together in a baguette is pretty much a guaranteed hit as far as I was concerned. All of the ingredients were of exceptional quality and the sandwich was well put together so that I had a little of everything in each bite.  The cheese was tangy, the mustard was sharp and the vinegary cornichons balanced the richness of the mortadella. Finally, the bread was crisp and chewy - hoorah for a proper baguette!  - and it was more warmed than toasted so it wasn't at all dry. 

This was pretty much my idea of a perfect sandwich. It was $10.00 but that seems to be the going rate these days for a quality sandwich, and while I could have eaten more because it was that good, in reality it was a good size.

I can see I will be returning to Depanneur to try more of their sandwiches before too long. Not only is the food excellent I also appreciate that it's in an area of Williamsburg that's a little away from the hustle and bustle of Bedford Avenue but at the same time not too far away from the center of things!  

Things that Happened Before the Earthquake.

Things that Happened Before the Earthquake tells the tale of Eugenia, a fifteen year old from Rome, who moves to L.A. with her bohemian family in 1992. While her father, a film director, tries to make his name with a kitsch horror movie Eugenia struggles to adjust to her new lifestyle as she also searches for her own identity. The longer Eugenia stays in L.A. the less Italian she feels, but she and her oddball family never quite find their L.A. groove even though they form deep and intense connections with a variety of other L.A. transplants and misfits. Spanning the time from the L.A. riots to the L.A. earthquake the author paints a realistic picture of California at that time and the story is packed with plenty of pop culture references that add even more authenticity. 

The characters in the book are highly believable and the prose is beautifully written: there are bold and shocking passages, humorous ones and ones of great poignancy. What is missing is a plot as such so the story never quite meshed together for me as it read more as a series of separate events and adventures. 

I did enjoy the book and there were some magical passages within it but it was a slow read for me, and while I loved Eugenia and her family there was something missing from the tale that I couldn't quite put my finger on... The book didn't disappoint me but it didn't quite live up to my expectations.

 Finally, I must mention the cover art. I love this cover - it's so full of energy and emotion and it's very L.A. I don't do 'Covers of the Year', but if I did, it would be this one!

The Party.

To the outside world it seems that Jeff and Kim Sanders have an ideal marriage, complete with perfect children, a beautiful home and a very comfortable lifestyle. When their daughter Hannah celebrates her sixteenth birthday by inviting a few friends around for a quiet sleepover nobody foresees it ending in a tragedy, the consequences of which will lead to the crumbling of the family's perfect facade as truths are revealed and loyalties tested.

For some reason I picked this up thinking that it was a spine tingling thriller rather than a tale of domestic drama. However, I didn't mind as I found The Party to be fast paced and well written and it reminded me very much of books by Lianne Moriaty in both it's style and content. 

The Party is a fast read that is easy to follow and I found it was quite amusing. The characters are all pretty unlikeable, but they were well crafted with all of their worst traits exaggerated so they almost seem like caricatures of certain types of people. 

This was an enjoyable, quick non demanding book that I found to be highly entertaining - the perfect thing if you need something that is fairly light but still absorbing and entertaining.

Recommended.

I Actually Wore This - Clothes We Can't Believe We Bought.

I Actually Wore This is a fun coffee table book published by Rizzoli. In it eighty people are photographed wearing their most regrettable wardrobe purchase and next to their photo is an anecdote about that particular piece of clothing told by the wearer.

The book is beautifully produced: the pictures are page sized and well shot, and the accompanying stories are all humorously recounted. There's a similar vein of humor in all the stories so it's quite obvious that they have all been 'polished up' by writer Tom Coleman but the book doesn't lose any of it's charm for that. It's a simple idea but a clever one and the anecdotes offer a tantalising glimpse into the lives of the people featured. The people interviewed are all ages, but they mostly come from L.A. or New York with the exception of a few New Englanders. There's a smattering of celebrities featured but most of the subjects work in creative fields or in something related to fashion.

It's a very funny book, especially suitable as a gift for anyone who has an interest in fashion and an offbeat sense of humor. 

It's a lovely coffee table type of book to pick up and flick through at random but I found myself so intrigued by it that I read it straight through from cover to cover. 

Recommended. 

Ulta GWP: 'Spice' Giftbag.

I know, I know. It's not been long since I promised no more beauty buys but my epilator gave up the ghost and stopped working and on the same day a GWP offer from Ulta showed up in my inbox and I had Ulta rewards to redeem and cash back from Ebates could be applied so I had to take advantage of this gift bag. I mean turning down something for nothing makes no sense when it is something that is of use right?

Free with a $75.00 spend, there were a choice of two bags containing different products: 'sugar' or 'spice'. Ulta has the most amazing deals on almost of the time but they swap them out fast. When I checked on my shipping tracking I looked for this deal and they only had the 'sugar' bags remaining. By now Ulta are onto another promo - hair products when I last looked.
Moral: if you fancy a certain Ulta GWP then move fast!

The bag itself was a dark pink suede effect pochette but as ever it was the contents, a mix of samples and generously sized minis that I was more interested in!

Skincare.

Yay! There's a good selection of skincare samples included here and they are a varied bunch that will
(excepting cleansing products) cover your skincare needs for a few days.
To start a routine there is a mini spray of Tarte Get Set Radiant to tone and refresh skin with and a small tube of Dermalogica Stress Positive Eye Lift. There are samples of two serums, Perricone MD High Potency Face Firming Activator which would work as a daytime serum and the cutest mini bottle of Estee Lauder Advanced Night Repair, to use as a nighttime serum. To finish your routine there is a generous 15ml pot of Vichy V Liftactive Supreme Cream.

Make Up.

There is a sachet of Smashbox Photo Finish Primer - I always like getting samples of primers to try as they generally last a while, making them ideal to tuck in my make up bag when I'm off on a trip. 

There are two mascara samples: a mini Benefit They're Real and a mini, mini Urban Decay Troublemaker Mascara. I'm always happy to receive mini mascaras and I seem to get so many that it is rare that I ever have to buy mascara myself.

There are three lip colours included in the gift: a mini Smashbox Legendary Lipstick, a sample of Juice Beauty Liquid Lip and a full sized Ulta Matte Lip Crayon.  Fittingly for a spice themed bag they are all quite strong Autumnal colours. None of them are the kind of tones that I wear as they are quite bold so I'm going to be passing these three along to people who can wear them.

Haircare.

I won't use the Sexy Hair Not So Hard Up Holding Gel but I'm happy with the other three generously sized haircare samples I was sent. Hempz Daily Colour Preserving Shampoo containing grapefruit and raspberry smells fun, fresh and fruity. Matrix Biolage Cleansing Conditioner is a product I'm looking forward to using as I got on well with the last Co-Wash product I tried. (I feel like Co Wash products were everywhere a couple of years ago but they don't seem as common of late). There's also a mini bottle of It's a 10 leave in hair treatment which I will use and sachets of Klorane Strengthening and Revitalising Shampoo and Conditioner which I'm sure will be a treat for my hair.

Bodycare.
There was only one body care item in the bag but it was a good one - a travel sized Rituals Yogi Flow Foaming Shower Gel. This rose scented gel seems to be something of a staple in beauty boxes and gift bags but I'm always happy to receive this moisturising shower product that smells lovely and is kind of fun to use as well. 

Perfume.

Finally there are three perfume vials: Gucci Bloom, Michael Kors Sexy Amber and Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy Glace.

I think that's a very decent selection of products for a not too expensive GWP and there was also a coupon included for $5.00 off $15.00 worth of Ulta own brand products.

Be sure to sign up at ulta.com to learn about other deals like this one!

Good Me, Bad Me.

Fifteen year old Milly is the daughter of a notorious serial killer. Following her mother's arrest she has a new identity and a new life in London with her foster family, psychologist Mike, his wife Saskia and their daughter Phoebe. The run up to her Mother's high profile trial is an intense and difficult time for Milly as she is being prepared to give evidence and she is also struggling to fit in with a new life where she is bullied at school and tormented by Phoebe.

 Narrated by Milly Good Me, Bad Me will soon have the reader wondering if Milly knows more than she is telling and, even more chillingly, if she is perhaps more like her Mother than she is revealing.

Written by Ali Land a mental health expert, this is a dark and menacing tale that I found to be unputdownable. Good Me Bad me is a spine tingling read infused with a sense of dread. The story is truly gripping and the sensitive nature of the material is carefully handled. Expertly written, Milly is a truly believable character - at times I felt as if I were reading a case study in a text book.

This is one of the best books that I have read in a long time, if you like psychological suspense this book will not disappoint.

Highly recommended.

    

The Lying Game.

At their second rate boarding school in a small English seaside town Kate, Isa, Thea and Fatima were as thick as thieves. These days they rarely get together, although they often think of each other and the brief time they spent together at school before a tragedy and a mysterious scandal sent them off on different paths.

 Almost twenty years later the discovery of a body on the beach leads Kate to send the others a simple text: 'I need you'. Dropping everything, they rush to Kate, now a penniless artist still living in the remote mill house that was her childhood home, and the truth of what really happened at the end of their schooldays together is finally revealed. 

I loved Ruth Ware's two previous books so much, my only reservation being that they were similar in many ways and I hoped that the author wasn't going to slip into the ease of writing formulated mysteries. The Lying Game has broken the mould and is quite different to her other two books. 

Deeper and more complex it is less of a straight forward tense and gripping thriller as it explores not only the mystery at it's heart but also the nature of truth and female relationships. 

The Lying Game is a well written story with relatable characters and an isolated setting that adds atmosphere and a sense of unease but this story didn't fill me with the same sense of anticipation and dread as the author's other works did. While there are plenty of cliffhangers throughout this book they didn't quite work for me as they didn't seem foreboding enough and I found the story a little slow going at times. 

Overall I did enjoy The Lying Game but not quite as much as I did the author's previous books... 

L'Occitane x Rifle Paper Co.

Around this time each year L'Occitane send me a voucher for a small gift. It's normally something to do with their Shea Butter line and while it's always nice to get a little something for nothing it's not usually something that I get too excited about. This year L'Occitane partnered with Rifle Paper Co and the gift was not only practical it was exquisitely pretty as well.

This year the products in the gift were a 50ml pot of Shea Ultra Rich Body Cream and a mini tube of Shea Butter Hand Cream (think pocket sized rather than handbag sized), both of which have specially designed packaging by Rifle Paper Co which is so pretty! 

I'll admit to being a little over 'milllenial pink' (I mean I like it but it's simply everywhere...) but the tin designed by Rifle Paper Co manages to combine the on trend tone with a retro floral pattern that I love - it looks like something your Granny would have kept thimbles or something in! I'm not sure exactly what I am going to use this for yet but it is far too pretty to discard and I know I will find something (not thimbles) to store in it.

I'm very pleased with this unexpected little gift. I don't have a price for the tin but the contents are worth around $16.00 and there was a discount of $10.00 on $40.00 spends offered when I picked up my gift - all in a very worthwhile visit to L'Occitane!

usa.loccitane.com

A Stranger in the House.

Tom and Karen Krupp are a quiet, law abiding, suburban couple until one night Karen has a car accident in a bad part of town. Karen isn't seriously injured but she has amnesia and has no idea what she was doing on the night of the accident. Why was she in that area, and what caused her accident? Then a dead body is found near the accident scene... Was it something to do with Karen? Perhaps she was fleeing a murder scene? 

Detective Rasbach is assigned to the case and, as the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, finds that appearances can be deceptive and the people that you think you know the best may be the ones who are hiding the biggest secrets from you...

This is the second suspense novel from Canadian author Shari Lapena. I was a little disappointed in her previous book The Couple Next Door so I didn't have high expectations of A Stranger in the House.

It's a quick read with lots and lots of dialogue that makes it easy to whip through the pages and while, like the last book, it is mostly composed of short choppy sentences somehow this book seemed to flow better. It's not without it's faults. The characters simply weren't fleshed out enough for me to get the feel of them (having Tom Krupp, who seemed to be the most boring man in the world, as some sort of suburban sex god didn't seem at all feasible), and the constant use of the term 'housewife' grated on me. 

I didn't find this to be a nail biting, edge of the seat read it more of a 'hmmm I wonder what happens next' type book and the sprinkling of not so subtle clues throughout meant that it was easy to second guess a lot of the plot. 

 I found A Stranger in the House an enjoyable, if not thrilling, thriller and it had a nice twist at the end that did surprise me. I don't know that I would recommend it but it's good if you are in the mood for a easy to follow and not too challenging suspense story. 

It's a 7/10 type of book for me. 

Cheap Thrills: L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil Lustrous Oil Serum.

This is a product that I discovered purely by chance. I was on a trip with hair that was getting exceptionally frizzy and I picked a bottle of this up in a supermarket not expecting much. However since then it has not only become something of a staple in my (rather minimal) haircare routine but  Mr C&C also uses it and has been impressed!

I was expecting this to be the usual type of cheap hair serum/oil that is loaded with silicones but it doesn't appear to be. Instead it contains a blend of oils, sunflower, coconut and soy to be exact, along with extracts of gardenia and rose. 

This serum makes my fine processed hair soft and manageable and even imparts a little shine which isn't that easy to do to blond hair. It stops my hair from getting frizzy and it does all of this without leaving lots of build up that weighs hair down and dulls it.

I use this daily on damp towel dried hair and apply it through the length of my hair but you can also apply it just on the ends. It instantly absorbs and hydrates my hair and I never have to fear applying too much of and ending up with lank or greasy hair. My hair is always left looking full and bouncy and healthy with minimal effort on my part. 

It smells very good indeed, it has that warm Argan/Moroccan type fragrance that's pleasant but not overpowering - this won't make you headachy or interfere with perfumes.

If I haven't already tempted you, you can also use this as a pre shampoo conditioner or smooth it over dry hair to tame fly-aways and add even more shine.

This versatile product is easily available from drugstores and it only costs - wait for it - $7.99. 

No wonder I have multiple bottles of this around the house! 

cvs.com 

A French Wedding.

A French Wedding takes place over the course of a long weekend and tells the story of rock star Max who gathers together six of his oldest and closest friends for his fortieth birthday celebrations in his idyllic country house in Brittany. In spite of their very different lifestyles a strong bond exists between the group who have been friends since they were at Art School almost twenty years ago. Also present are a husband of one of the group who nobody gets along with and the stereotypical stroppy teenage daughter of one of the couples present. The celebrations are being arranged and catered by Juliette, Max's Chef and housekeeper, who recently gave up her life as a successful restrauranteur in Paris to return home and care for her ailing parents. 

I was in the mood for a light hearted relaxing beachy type of book that didn't demand to much of me and I found it in this charming book. There isn't too much of a plot here but there are just enough unexpected mini dramas to hold your interest. This quick read is well written, I enjoyed the descriptions in the book of meals, landscapes and village life that added colour and shape to the story rather than being an unwelcome distraction.

Overall it's a pretty fluffy tale but it manages to be quite delightful and entertaining without becoming cheesy or annoying. My main criticism is that the title of the book is a little misleading as although there is finally a wedding it is very much an addendum to the main story and serves as a tying up the ends type of epilogue rather than a main event. 

If you are looking for a beach type book with a feel good factor then I recommend A French Wedding.

The Future Won't Be Long.

New York City, 1986, Baby is newly arrived from Wisconsin, without friends, job or a place to stay until a chance meeting on the street with wealthy student Adeline leads to her taking him under her wing and letting him move into her NYU dorm room. Over the next ten years their unlikely friendship falls apart and comes together again as they navigate their way through relationships, nightclubs and the world of arts and letters where they encounter many of the real life characters who helped shape the city's downtown scene. 

I'm interested in the era of New York that the author depicts and I find that it's always fun to read about places that you know well. 

I loved the characters of both Baby and Adeline, (Adeline had a strangely affected cadence of speech which should have annoyed me but managed not to) and I willed for them both to succeed and get their friendship back on track.

I enjoyed the author's writing style and there were other characters and anecdotes that were fascinating but The Future Won't be Long is a lengthy 400 page read and although I enjoyed (even loved) the first hundred and last hundred pages I found that the middle couple of hundred were a bit of a slog to get through - they had a tendency to meander and seemed somewhat superfluous.

Ultimately I feel that this was one of those books that could have done with a strict edit - if it were half the length it would have been a five star read for me, as it stands it's more like a three.

Empties: September 2017.

I find it hard to believe that September is over and it is now officially Autumn but it's time for another Empties post so I guess that it must be so. September's Empties pile was a pretty big one. I used up sixteen full sized products and twenty samples.

Skincare.

I finished five full sized skincare items. 

I was very impressed with Lierac Cream Cleansing Milk, it was more of  a cream than milk and it did an excellent job of melting away make up leaving my skin feeling soft and moisturised.  

I like to use La Roche Posay Eau Thermal as a second toner or facial spritz. Of all the 'water in a can' type sprays Caudalie Grape Water is my favourite but I've been tending to use this lately because I can pick it up in my local drug store and, honestly, it's not all that different.

Darphin Exquisage Serum was nice to use but I don't feel that it did much beyond give my skin a boost of hydration. It worked well for me as a day time serum but I don't think I would get this again as it is quite pricey for what it is.

Farmacy Sleep Tight Firming Night Balm is a curiously textured green gel that turns into an oil on application. I found that this was good to use in the colder winter weather or when I slept somewhere that had heavy air conditioning. It did a fantastic job of sealing in serums and replacing lost moisture in my skin but it was a little too much to use on warmer nights. Overall I enjoyed this and found it to be very effective.

Supergoop Setting Mist is an SPF50 spray that can be used over make up. This mini size was handy to carry around and use as a top up SPF if I was out all day. You do need to be careful not to get this in your eyes, but I will get another of these next summer as I found it to be so convenient.

I got through quite a few skincare samples this month (which was good as I gained a helluva lot of new ones!). I've used many, many samples of Fresh Soy Cleanser over the years and was indifferent to it for a long time but now I find I like it a lot. It smells refreshingly like cucumbers and works very well as a morning face wash.

Lancome Absolue Premium with SPF15 was a bit of a bust for me as it left my skin feeling greasy and looking shiny. It was so rich feeling that I initially mistook it for a night cream before seeing that it contained SPF. On the other hand, I love Caudalie Vinosource Sorbet. This lightly whipped moisturiser is perfect for me to use during the day when the weather is warm, it's light and cooling and has that distinctive Caudalie fragrance that I love. I do find that I tend to use this up rather quickly though...

I don't see the need to use a separate neck cream but I always use them up when I get them as samples, Natura Bisse Tensolift Neck Cream was a nice enough moisturiser but I didn't use it long enough to tell if it did anything.

Chantecaille Retinol Intense+ is a creamy Retinol that has a bit of a tingle to it on application - it's good though and not too strong. Goldfadden MD Wake Up Call is a rich night cream that smells quite fruity and left my skin looking plumped and brightened the next day. I rather liked this.

Juice Beauty Stem Cellular CC Cream SPF30 failed to convert me to CC creams. I didn't find it to do anything much coverage wise and it also felt heavy on my face which I disliked.

Pleasingly I used up six mask samples. 

I didn't mind Clean & Clear Deep Action 60 Second Shower Mask. It's more of a scrubby wash than a mask but it has a little AHA in it which left my skin feeling clean and bright. 

Chantecaille Fruit and Flower Acids Mask has been cropping up in a lot of goody bags of late and I don't mind a bit! This gentle mask is quick and easy to use and I like that it smells if flowers rather than fruit, it gently exfoliates and leaves skin softer and clearer. 

Another AHA containing mask that I used was Murad Intensive C Radiance Peel and I did find it to be quite intense, it tingled quite strongly and made my face quite red but when I rinsed it off my face felt cool and minty and soon lost it's redness. I didn't exactly dislike this but I felt that it was a little harsh for me.

I have been using Ren Evercalm Ultra Comfort Rescue Mask after peeling masks and treatments and it does an excellent job of cooling and calming things down quickly. If I didn't already have so many masks I would definitely buy a full sized tube of this.

Finally two moisturising masks. The Body Shop British Rose Plumping Mask was similar in appearance to the Fresh Rose Mask but it was nowhere near as effective - in fact I thought that this one did nothing at all for my skin (although it did smell good). Derm Institute Antioxidant Hydration Gel Mask wasn't as hydrating as I expected it to be but it felt wonderfully cool on my face. Great for use after a treatment, it absorbed well and I liked how it was packaged in single dose sachets.

Make Up and Perfume.

It's rare that I finish a full sized item of make up but this month I finished three along with three samples! 

The full sized items I finished were Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch which is Maybelline's dupe for a Touche Eclat. I actually prefer this to the real thing, not only is it cheap and cheerful, it blends superbly and it camouflages as well as it highlights. 

I finished two eye pencils from Charlotte Tilbury. A chunky Colour Chameleon in 'Smoky Emerald' was worn down to a stump! I have used this practically every day since I bought it under my lower lashes and I already have a new one on the go. I loved the Rock and Kohl Eye Pencil in 'Brown' for lining my water line as it is the only one that I have found to last a decent amount of time. I have had this one about three years and the center of it has dried out so I'm having to throw it away before it's finished. I have a ton of eye pencils at the moment but I will get this again in the future.

I used two mini Kevyn Aucoin The Essential Mascara. I like the formula of this, it lengthens and adds curl without being clumpy but these minis never last me long, they always become dry and flaky very quickly once opened. 

I also used a mini tube of Hourglass Ambient Primer in 'Mood Light'. This doesn't make my make up last as long as Hourglass Veil Primer but it does prep my skin evenly for make up and gives it a subtle glow. I liked this sample enough to purchase a full sized tube.

Bodycare.

I used up two body washes this month. Zest Fresh Aloe Shower Gel is a reliable drugstore buy with a light fragrance that smells fresh and clean, it produces plenty of suds and doesn't dry out my skin. I love Nivea body products as a rule so I had to try out their new Foaming Silk Body Wash. This was lightly fragranced with the classic Nivea scent and left my skin feeling soft but I found that the foam wasn't very stable and melted to nothing when I rubbed it on. I needed to use a lot of this so it felt quite wasteful. I did like the packaging though, the undulating shape of it made it very easy to grip with wet soapy hands. I also used a small sample of Diptyque Shower Oil, I thought this would leave me with a perfumed bathroom and a veil of fragrance on my skin but disappointingly it did neither.

I used two (yes two!) tubes of Victoria's Secret Fragrance Lotion in 'Blush'. This is so far away from the type of product that I usually like that I shocked even myself how enamoured I was with this light body lotion! I did smell the whole range of these lotions and the rest were all too sweet or sickly but Blush's warm and sunny blend of Grapefruit Blossom and Magnolia was quite grown up, it reminded me a little of Tom Ford Orchid Soleil. It left my skin scented and softened.

Clinique Deep Comfort Hand Cream was a rich cream that sank into my hands right away and felt very soothing. It did work a treat but I prefer a lightly fragranced hand cream.

Haircare.

I enjoyed using OUAI Repair Shampoo and Conditioner. The shampoo felt as if it dried my hair a little but the conditioner seemed to put back what the shampoo took away. My hair looked and felt great when I used these and I noticed that there were very few hairs in my brush and in the shower so it appeared to strengthen my hair as well. I preferred the conditioner to the shampoo but found it annoying that it came in the smaller bottle of the two, I know I'm not alone in using more conditioner than shampoo. The bottles of both did last a long time and I would certainly repurchase the conditioner even though it's not cheap.

Samples of Pantene Moisture Renewal Shampoo and Martial Vivot Shampoo were both perfectly fine, but I preferred the cheaper Pantene one of the two of them as the Maritial Vivot shampoo was very thin in consistency.

L'Oreal Extraordinary Oil is a leave in hair serum that I picked up at the supermarket and I find that I like it as much as I do many high end and salon serums. It leaves my hair soft and shiny and doesn't weigh it down or leave it limp and lank. It's very good indeed and there's a few bottles of this around the house!

I also used a sachet of Rahua Omega 9 Hair Mask which worked well at deeply conditioning my hair. 

I'm happy with the amount of products that I got through in September. I have to admit that I have made a lot of beauty purchases of late so I hope I can keep up the good work finishing up products in October!

Sandwiches of New York: #12

What is it? Spinach + Artichoke.

Where is it from? Make Sandwich, 135, 4th Avenue (btwn 12th and 13th streets). makesandwich.com

How much is it? $9.95 (plus tax).

What's in it? Cooked spinach, grilled artichokes and parmesan cream served warm in a toasted baguette.

Make Sandwich is a tiny sandwich shop just south of Union Square. They offer a range of hot and cold sandwiches that are made to order. You may pick from a selection of house sandwiches or pick a variety of ingredients to tailor make your own personal sandwich. Service is friendly and efficient. You order and pay at the counter and the sandwich preparation is fast and streamlined so you don't have to wait long for your order, even at peak times.

In addition to sandwiches there is a limited range of sides: one salad, a slaw, pickles and Zapp's potato chips. If you want something sweet you will can choose cookies or an ice cream sandwich. Refreshment wise there is a water cooler that you can help yourself to, a few 'craft style' sodas and, somewhat surprisingly, a choice of red or white wine or beer. 

The interior space is bright (the front of the store is made of glass) clean and modern with a graphic black and white decor and the efficient open kitchen situated behind the service counter. There are a couple of places to sit outside, a window counter with three or four stools and a standing island in the center of the store if you like to eat standing up (I don't!) It is a nice space but it is tiny and busy so I took my sandwich to Union Square where there are plenty of picnic tables and chairs available.

And the sandwich? I opted for the spinach and artichoke sandwich because I was feeling like eating something kinda healthy... this was very tasty and satisfying but it was a rich and indulgent vegetable sandwich rather than a fresh, zingy, healthy one! The filling was basically a cheesy spinach dip with some jarred artichokes that had been lightly grilled. It was very tasty - even though it wasn't quite what I was expecting. I thought that this worked very well as a hot sandwich but I think it would be a little cloying to eat cold. The portion size of this was good, I like a fairly large lunch and this filled me up. I must say that while the bread worked well it wasn't what I would call a baguette, it was more of a sub style roll but I didn't mind as it held the filling well, and it worked well as a toasted sandwich. 

New York has a lot of sandwich outlets, but Make has some interesting combinations to offer. I can say with certainty that I will be back here for a take away lunch again at some point soon.