My Top Ten Beauty favourites right now.

                                                            My Ten Beauty Products

Caudalie Beauty Elixir:
This refreshing scent is wonderful for any old time but esp the summer time. Can be used on bare skin or over make-up to refresh it , and also wonderful for anyone going through the menopause during hot sweats to revive and feel better( or so my pal says). The scent is strong peppermint and Rosemary I believe and does take a little while to get use to but I love it now.

Another gem is Whip Stick by Lush. This lip balm is fantastic at giving a good dose of moisture to the lips while making them taste nice. It also stays on quite well . Don't be too concerned by the colour as it comes out almost colourless on the lips.

The next favourite of mine is this decadent scented body scrub by Soap and Glory . It can be bought at boots. The scent is Maple Syrup and you will really have to control yourself from not digging a spoon into this yummy scented scrub.It is excellent at smoothing skin but go easy as it is abrasive.Apply some body lotion after getting out of the bath/shower and you will have skin like a baby's behind.

The next wonder product is Liz Earle Cleanse and Polish. This does exactly what it says on the tin. It cleans the skin very well and the muslin cloth that comes with it exfoliates and leaves skin on face sooo smooth. The smell is very herbally/minty which I adore..it feels like I am doing my skin some good when I use this.

Here is one of my all time favourite Christmas limited editions from Lush. Glogg, supposed to be scented like mulled wine but I get a scent of cola bottle sweeties from it . It is refreshing and cosy at the same time. Getting low now and can't wait until the Christmas stock comes back into lush this year. Check this out in store if you can !!!!

Have you ever tried a solid shampoo before?? No?? well try this one. It's called Karma Komba and it is by Lush too. You use them like a bar of soap but on your head. One bar will give you approx 80 shampoos. The smell is fresh and citrus and stays in hair all day. Really portable too!!!

my next favourite is for sore muscles, esp after exercise. I go walking a lot and at night time before bed I put this on sore muscles or feet, pop some socks on and it really helps soothe.It is minty and warming at the same time.

This is what it looks like unwrapped

Little beans inside give an interesting massage sensation!!

Liz Earle Moisturiser is a little wonder pot. Smells great ,gives great moisture, great base for make-up and a little goes a long way.

This nails inc is in the shade Bruton Street. A great neutral colour and perfect for day time. It was in my She Said Beauty box.



Lastly is Micha Barton's Lemon Zest Body butter.I used it over the summer as an after sun but it is great for any old time. The scent is my favourite bit, zesty and refreshing,changes slightly when on skin which makes it even better.. I got this in a beauty box but it may be available to buy on line.

I hope everyone has enjoyed my first beauty blog. I hope to see you here for more beauty news etc real soon xxxxxxxxxx



http://lush.co.uk

http://www.lizearle.com

http://shesaidbeauty.com

The Land Of Stories( The Wishing Spell) by Chris Colfer

The Land Of Stories( The Wishing Spell ) by Chris Colfer.

 

I had seen this book doing the rounds on various youtube vids and in the book community generally and it's cover was what intrigued me about the book before I knew what it was about. Whoever picked this cover WELL DONE!!!
For those who are fans of Glee ( American TV show) you may be familiar with Chris Colfer but I don't really watch the show, but I have seen Chris in it, and I thought his character was charming, and sweet. I was really surprised when I learned that he was the author , but also very excited.
So after stalking the postman until my lovely book arrived I was even more impressed by it when I had it in my hands. It is so pretty, and magical looking .. Even by just looking at the cover you get the impression that great adventures are to be had by opening it's pages.

So, open them I did. The story begins , and we are introduced to our two main characters twin siblings Alex and Conner, and we learn early on that their father has died recently, and that their family (themselves and their mum) are struggling with money since their father died.
Both children were close to their father and they are still mourning their loss. Their mother is trying to hold it all together and they are trying to keep up at school.

On the twins birthday they get a surprise of their grandmother coming for a visit. This is their father's mother. They love their grandmother and hate when it comes  time for her to leave. She leaves them with her favourite old story book in the hope that when they miss her or their dad that they can take this down and read it and hopefullly get some comfort from it.

I am not going to give anymore away from the plot as things really begin to liven up after that.
This is a diff kind of fairy tale re-telling, and one that was great fun to read. We are introduced to all the characters from fairy tales that most of us would have grown up reading about ,but this time we get to see some of their personality and Chris's backstory for them.. Chris did a wonderful job of making me now as an adult care still for the characters,some of which I had forgotten about from when I was a child.
 In the magical kingdom that Chris has made there are diff areas that our main characters Alex and Conner are going to be travelling through. There is Red Riding Hood's Kingdom,The charming Kingdom,The Northern Kingdom,The Dwarf forests,The Corner Kingdom,The Elf Empire,A Hidden Place,The Sleeping Kingdom,The Troll and Goblin territory,The Fairy Kingdom , and Mermaids Bay..Even the names of the various areas in this magical worls are intriguing..

There was a few surprises towards the end that I was not expecting and I really enjoyed that. All in all a great book for children and the young at heart or for anyone who likes adventures . I love books with smart kids who are up for some adventure while being very brave, I got all that in this story.

Well done Chris Colfer on a wonderful first book , looking forward to future books !!!

Book Haul Part 2 August 2012

This is the second part of my haul.. Again a good mix of different types of books. Life is much to short to stick with one genre of books.

This is the fourth book of the Sisterhood Of The Travelling Pants series.I have collected the first three too. I really enjoyed the movies of the first two books , the actresses chosen were perfect. Now I am keen to read the books to see how they measure up.

 

The final book in this series.. Hope it ends well!!!!!

 

Centerburg Tales   / Homer Price. These two books were recommended to me recently by someone who has similar book taste to me.... I have Homer Price read...they were right. I did enjoy that!!!!
I think smart kids who get up to adventures are great fun to read about.

The Land of Stories by Chris Colfer... I have been stalking the postman waiting for this to arrive , and arrive it did this week at long last!!!! I have read chapter one and love that so as soon as I finish up a few books that I am currently reading I will get started on this. I am keen to see the writing style of this wonderful Glee actor.

The Vile Village...Lemony Snicket.. I have been slowly collecting these books. I only have about 5 or 6 of these from the series . These are all wonderful and I have just finished this one .. another gem of a book about Sunny, Klaus and Violet ,and their constant battle of survival against Count Olaf.

I was a fan of the TV program as a kid.. Hopefully the books are as good..
So that's my second part of my August Haul..
Have you done any recent book buying ?
Until next time my friends , now I am off to read a good book.

The Girl on the Stairs by Louise Welsh

Wow, this was a good book!!!!!!!!!( Contain's spoilers).. I volunteered to review it, I just loved the cover..
The story begins with our main character Jane as she leaves  Scotland to be with her lover Petra in Berlin. They are expecting a baby and she is around seven and a half months pregnant.
Jane  first sees her neighbour Anna Mann outside their building and something about this thirteen year old worries Jane even though she can't quite put her finger on what exactly.

Not long after Jane first saw Anna she  over hears Anna's father calling her names and the next time she sees Anna, Anna has a bruise on her face that Jane suspects was given to her by her father Alban Mann who is a doctor .Jane soon learns that Anna  has a habit of running away and Jane comes across her one evening in the company of three dubious looking men. Anna seems to care little for her own safety and that worries Jane esp as she is so young, and from her experience Anna's behaviour has all the characteristics of an abused child. .
Petra is becoming more worried about Jane not taking more care of herself and putting herself at risk by the places she has been going to since arriving in Berlin while following Anna.Petra is worried about the amount of concern Jane is giving to Anna when she should be more concerned about their child that she is carrying. It is causing a strain in their relationship ,so when Petra leaves to go away on business she gets her twin brother to come and check up on Jane.

While Petra is gone Jane gets talking to one of her elderly neighbours who believes that Anna's mother was murdered by Alban Mann ,and that her body never left the building, and in fact may  be buried there. ... Slightly alarmed by this news from her slightly mentally ill neighbour Jane cannot quite find the will to ignore her suspicions about Anna and her family..Something is not right there and she wants to find out what. Something makes her uncomfortable about Anna's relationship with her father too and where Anna's missing mother ended up.


After an anonymous call to social services brings social workers to Alban's door, the following day the police show up at Jane's door accusing her of harassing Dr Mann.
The storyline then really begins to get interesting and the tension is well and truly mounting.. All ideas I had about getting up and putting on the kettle were forgotten about as I was well and truly gripped..  .The story was a  real page turner and I could not put it down for a minute .There are long buried secrets ,and strange behaviour, deaths, and a number of mysteries, and a very sad past to this building where they all live..
 Towards the end of the book I did not expect things to go as they did, and that really surprised me , I finished the book with a satisfied feeling. This was everything I could have ever hoped for in a thriller/fiction type book. It will definitely be one I read again, and I can't wait to pick up some other books by this author!! If you enjoy a thriller with a creepy building and strange things going on with the neighbours then I urge you to read this book. It won't let you rest for a minute!!!!

Book Haul Part 1 August 2012

Below is part 1 of my haul. Here I have a good mix of a few genre's. I like to mix it up , sooo there can be anything from children's literature , fiction, science fiction, ya, thriller,horror etc.. I got these over a few weeks. Some new, some pre-owned. All loved :0)

As you can tell by the cover this in an oldie... I have never read anything by Alec Waugh before .Looking forward to it.

It has really been a few weeks of  buying great books with beautiful covers !!I ahve never read anything by Frances Brody before.. this looks great..

I love the books by Jacqueline Winspear!!!!!! Maisie Dobbs rocks!!!, while being elegent and solving  mysteries..

Do I love reading about smart kids who are capable of anything...you bet!! This spoke to me..

I have this in the kindle edition but when I was searching around for a paperback edition I could not find one that did not cost an arm and a leg, some toes and some nasal hairs.Thankfully I got lucky ... got it for a few euros and walked out a happy chick.

Ahhhhh the borrowers... the book equivalent of comfort food. Even  the cover makes me smile and it gives me warm feeling in my stomach( no..not heartburn,the good kind of warm glow)

I usually never find books if I go intentionally to the bookstore for them.When I went this one day recently and found this one my squeals were probably heard throughout the store...(yes I would embarrass you if you went into a book store with me)

I used to watch a TV series as a kid that had the same name. It used to be on after I got in from school. I hope these are the books from that series. (Finger's crossed)

Again the cover urged me to buy it. So pretty !!

One of my very first boyfriend's introduced me to this book. It is a gem.. Gothic,vampires, whats not to love!!!!!

I have only ever read The lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.. the cover of this was intrigued me.

I am saving this book until I get a copy of the first book in the Percy Jackson series.. I have been hearing good things about this series so can't wait to read it.

I liked the films a lot so am going to read the books too. This is a battered copy that I found in a second hand shop. If I end up really liking it I will be ordering a new one..

I love sweeties.... of course I was going to buy this book.

The cover of this book was why I bought it.. I later looked at the back cover.. A creepy house..lots of mystery ..perfect!!!!

As I do have a fondness for old time vampire books this oldie really appealed to me.. great cover..

I was first introduced to this writer after watching Becks over at getbookish on youtube. I have since had the good fortune to find a lot of her books at great prices..when I say great I literally mean I got nine or ten for about 5.50.. bargain..

I love a good detective story and I am hoping that this will be exactly that. The colour bleached a bit when taking this pic, sorry folks. Very nice looking book with a great new book smell.

I got this lovely hard back edition of Stephen King's book for very few euros. I was so pleased as I have almost all of his books in my collection ,this is a very pleasant addition.

My childhood love  of Roald Dahl books never went away as an adult. Much enjoyment can still be had when I re-read these even now. This is a very large hardback edition with a huge amount of all things Roald Dahl.

I just could not resist this hardback.. I know nothing about this writer or this book but I soon will :0)

This book I was sent for review , this girl in red makes me want to crack this open right now!!!.

14 by Peter Clines

There was one night I was pondering over books on audible.com,I was looking for something to scare the bejeezus out of myself on a Saturday night and this book cover looked like it could fit the bill.
14 is a book that is best read with little knowledge about it. I knew practically nothing. I listened to the sample on line and one or two reviews, but that was it. No one who read it was giving up the goodies on what it was about. Now that I have read it I know why.

Perhaps if I had known what it was about I may have not continued to listen to it. It mixes alot of genre's into one spectacular book that slaps you in the chops and leaves you wanting more. I would advise that if you have any housework, meals to cook, cats to wash, gardens to mow that you do all this before starting to listen to this book. In fact, here is the best piece of advice anyone is going to give you,. park yourself in your favourite reading place , bed, bath or whatever rocks your boat and have enough supplies of beverages and snack food ( if you can get food delivered then all the better).
Then after hitting the play button immerse yourself in the happenings in the Kavach building in LA.

Nate, our main character is looking for a place to live ,after meeting an old friend he is advised that this building may be what he could be looking for. Cheap rent and all utilities into the bargain.
Too good to be true???? ..... well maybe...
So Nate does move in and here he meets some of the other residents:Mandy,Xela,Veek, and Tim. There more characters but these are the main group you will be meeting in this book.
Ray Porter is the narrator in this book, and what ever he got paid was not enough!!!!...mannnnn he did a good job!!!! I forgot after a while that it was a man doing all the female voices..now that takes skill folks!!!!!
So anyway, Nate has moved in and is meeting the neighbours , and is beginning to notice that things are not as normal as they  first seemed. Things look a tiny bit ...off.
For a start the layout of each apartment is very different,temperatures are a little odd in some apartments,odd coloured cockroaches etc.
When Nate does begin to nosy around about the building he gets the other residents interested too much to Oscar's dissaproval.( Oscar looks after the building)
So Nate and his new buddies set up a little group that they often compare to the Scooby Doo group.Each member ironically matching up quite well :0)
They find out that the history of the building is very dubious. Quite an alarming number of past residents committed suicide and a lot of people did not stay very long despite the low rent.It looked like alot of people found the building to be as strange as Nate and his friends.
So the story is building tension right from the first few minutes and it really does carry it on through to the very end. We begin to learn more and more about the building and then they start to hardcore search it for some explanation for the oddities that are occurring there.More and more things begin to happen and as more and more things are beginning to occur  it is really hard to leave the book esp at this stage to get a bowl of frosted flakes ....or sleep...
So.. here we go, the mid to end parts of the book were phenomenon. You are going to meet things that you could never have dreamed possible ..things that would chill you to your core and make your imagination spark with the visual your brain will be trying to conjure as Ray Porter introduces you to the Squales..... ha ha ha....oh the Squales.!!!.. I am not going to explain these to you.. No .. you must learn about them in the same way I did with the blood chilling voice of Mr Porter making me want to cover my ears and hide behind the nearest fluffy pillow.
I am not going to tell you if it ended well,nor if Nate stayed..These are all things you must read to find out..I can say that at least in my opinion you wont regret buying this book. If you can, get it in audible version, if not then in any format you can lay your hands on. Then have the comfy chair and snacks ready as you are in for one hell of a ride.


So...after finishing this..I took a step back and went ...phew!!!!!!
That was one hell of a bookish ride..
I want a book 2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Why, you may ask..... because lovely book reading people..It was that great...

An Insomniac's hobby

Do you have trouble sleeping?
Is the only thing going bump in the night in your house your slipper clad feet as they bang into the corner of the bed as you try and perhaps walk quietly,( as  a cosy Ugg wearing mouse)in the dark, out of your bedroom while trying not to wake your partner, boyfriend, husband, cat or dog?

You are not alone....
I too am a bad sleeper.. always was..
As a child I was a smart kiddo, I always had a good book handy and a drawer full of batteries for my torch , it was the size of a brick and likely to cause arm strain unless it was rested on something which luckily it usually was. One of my teddy bears was called Ted... no I did not name him... He was blue and white and when I think back he was as ugly as sin but nevertheless he did his job well. He had a nice plump belly which was perfect for torch balancing.
Many a night myself and Ted spent with a good book when it was after bedtime. Enid Blyton was a favourite back then with me, and as I entered my teenage years the Point Horror books were my new addiction. Ohhh those books were great.. The Babysitter 1,2,3 etc and The Boyfriend... I could just go on and on..
There was a huge range of these books which were a fair enough price for what they were.
I spent most of my summer holidays when I was not working in the bog and helping on hay making days, mowing my mother's garden in exchange for pocket money to buy books. Each week  my mum and I would go to the garden centre and get some plants and then grocery shopping and I would walk down to the newsagents where there was a small area selling books.Here I sat on the floor looking through all the books while seeing how many I could manage to get with my  money this week while hoping the rest would still be here the following week when I would be back again.

These books would sometimes be cracked open on the sun lounger while in my swimsuit with a glass of ice cold coke if we got a nice sunny day.These days were pretty rare because if there was a nice day then there was work to be done but I did cherish those days. Reading outside with the sun beaming down as I heard mum prepare salad from the open door leading into the kitchen.It was lovely.
These days I have been sitting out at my pond reading. The noise from the waterfall and the fish jumping in the water make it a very relaxing experience. It reminds me of those days when I was kid and the joy books brought me ,they still do. The excitement is still there.

So if at night now I cannot get to sleep, I take myself,blanket and book and wander off to my library where no torch is needed( nor Ted) where if I should fall asleep with my book in my hand, and a half drank cup of tea by my side it won't be the worst thing in the world. Maybe being an insomniac is not so bad after all.

Summer Reading Outside

Did you ever as a child lie in the grass in the summer time, and look up into the sky watching the clouds up above?
Has it been perhaps a long while since you did that?

If the answer to the above question was yes then I urge you to get your self a picnic blanket and on a sunny day put it outside somewhere quiet and lie down.
I have a pond and I put by blanket out there beside it this week and I lay down. I loved lying down outside doing this as a child ,making pictures out of the white fluffy clouds overhead.. It was calming and peaceful then, and I was glad to see that it still is.

After a little while I pulled out a book out of my bag( zipped closed to stop spiders from creeping in).
I rolled up my trousers, put on my sunnies and settled on my blanket, I just felt great. The sun was warm on my skin and it was hard to believe there were still joys like this that cost nothing at all. There was butterflies and bumblebees flying around, and thankfully they left me in peace .

So I lay there reading my book for a few hours before doing chores but I remember thinking later that night before I went to sleep how glad I was that I had done it and that I definitely should not leave it so long to do it again.
I am hoping to do this as often as I can while the sun lasts ,and take some time just sitting outside quietly reading, and enjoying all that nature has to offer me.

Book Buying / Olympic Event

So, as any card carrying book addict will know book shopping is hard work.. It could even be regarded as a cardiovascular workout. You don't think so???

Well look at this way- think about all the walking up the aisle's, the pulling down of books from the shelf's and returning the books, multiply this numerous times,esp in your favourite section in the book shop. Then perhaps you may have already picked up an arm full of books to buy and your biceps are working overtime... you are really feeling the burn now.... then you see it.... The Sale Section!!!!!!!!... here I come doing the 20 foot sprint , my eyes are on the prize, I can already see the first peek of a colourful cover that has my book beak ( the unique nose of a book addict that can sniff out a bookshop within 100 yards) interested.

So after doing the quick sprint to the sale section before any other person can get there and ruin any chance of getting a book I wanted I try and maneuver all books already in my arms to one arm so I have the other arm free to hoke around the sales.. it is hard work and will require changing arms every few minutes to stop the dead feeling in my arm... well that, and the red marks that the heavy books always leave on my arms from carrying them, esp the hardbacks.. they are a killer.

Now if a day of book buying has been set aside and planned and looked forward to then repeat the above exercises and then park yourself into the nearest coffee shop/restaurant.. This is essential for this type of day. You sit down and get a chance to relax as you take a look at the books you bought. After consuming enough coffee and cookies in your system to fuel a nuclear power plant for a month you are now all set for the rest of the afternoon. This is when you go around all the rest of the shops you missed the first time round and go back into the shops where you saw a book and changed your mind about it.. but then changed your mind about it again and now want it.... phew... exhausting fun.

So after all this I get home.. tired and happy.. I won!!!!
All the books on my list were bought and I survived with the minimum of bruises and exhaustion.
Beside my bed is a stack of new books that I can browse through before I go to sleep.
A hot bath and a good book are all that is needed now, and perhaps a hot chocolate to end the day well.
Book shopping days are just the best!!!!!

Books And Summer Daydreaming

The sun is shining in my part of the world, It feels great. We were beginning to think that we were all to remain a pasty colour ,but there is a chance after all that our milk bottle coloured Irish bodies will get a hint of brown .This will save me having to get the St Tropez out, the only thing I will be slathering on my skin is a good SPF. Bliss !!!!
So, when the good weather is here I like to read holiday ,exotic location type books. Here are the ones I am going to be trying to read this week while the sun lasts.

Do you enjoy a summer themed book while the sun is out?
I think I am a seasonal reader.. are you??