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Sunday 31 March 2013

Happy Easter!

Apart from consuming my own body weight in chocolate (and Lord knows, I don't require a dedicated religious holiday to manage that), I haven't done much to celebrate Easter this year, other than these egg-wrapping inspired nails. I'm not really one for nail art considering my general lack of ability in that department but sure it's a bit of craic if nothing else. For me, Easter nails are all about the pastels. I picked up two of the Essies on Fragrance Direct.com for next to nothing recently and couldn't wait to try those out- that's Cascade Cool (pink) and Bikini so Teeny (blue).



  • Over the blue on my ring finger I put a coat of Luxe and Lush (that beautiful sparkly holographic top coat from the China Glaze Hunger Games collection). 
  • Over the pink I put a layer of Barry M's Gold Glitter. 
  • My thumb is Essies Topless and Barefoot (which I did a full review of HERE before) with dots of Bikini so Teeny.
  • My index finger is Ciate Apples and Custard with dots of Topshop's Heart of Gold and 
  • My baby finger is Max Factor Mellow Yellow with a tip of again, Topshop's Heart of Gold. 

Really if nothing else, this has been an exercise in showing me just how many nail polishes I own that I don't wear often enough..hmm.
If you've done your own Easter inspired nails I 'd love to see them, there's something about that particular theme that always cheers me up! Leave me a link in the comments if you've done a post!
Happy Easter! 
xx

Saturday 30 March 2013

Miss Selfridge Pearl Spike Collar

Just a quick post today to show you the beautiful necklace I just got online from Miss Selfridge. I've been after this little beauty for a while and decided during the week to treat myself. A combination of pearls, pink and clear crystals with little gold beads, this is going to look fabulous over a plain grey marl t-shirt or a black dress.


These statement necklaces still seem to be very much in fashion this season which works well for me as there's not much I love more than a dramatic neck piece. For a similar alternative, Love From Misbehave also have THIS Disco spike necklace in five different colours, at only 4.50 each and I think they have 10% off this weekend too. I'm seriously considering getting one of the mint green ones, at that price it seems almost wrong not to :)

Friday 29 March 2013

Nuxe Creme Fraiche de Beaute Enrichie



Well that's a mouthful, isn't it?! My skin has been in bits lately- a combination of long term illness, major surgery and a lengthy hospital stay combined with my just generally unfortunate dry complexion (that last one is clearly the least of my worries) have all added up to me resembling a wizened old shrew of some sort. Attractive. Step in my sister with this gift of moisturising goodness. Nuxe is a French brand I've wanted to try for ages and what better way to start than with this 24 hr soothing and moisturising rich cream for sensitive, dry to very dry skin. The 50mls contained in a heavy glass pot adds a feeling of luxury, while the product itself, although for very dry skin is also surprisingly light and is easily absorbed. It smells amazing, which is unsurprising given that it contains almond and orange white flowers. I will say that it is quite a strong scent though so not for those who prefer lightly scented products.


The super duper moisturising part works through a combination of 8 plant milks, aloe Vera sap, macadamia oil and something called salicornia, which maintains optimum moisture levels apparently. It's paraben free, non comedogenic and contains 91.4% natural ingredients. My skin is definitely starting to feel more soft and plumper so Ill be continuing to use this for the foreseeable future and am already planning my next Nuxe item..apart from their famous Reve de Miel lip balm, is there anything else I should be looking at?

Thursday 28 March 2013

Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector

I've been lusting after this beautiful gloss for an absolute age so was delighted to receive it as a gift recently. While Clarins originally produced this in only three shades, they've since brought out several new ones, all of which look rather lovely. I however had my heart set on this one from the original line-up 01- Rose Shimmer, a stunning milky pink which in spite of the name actually has no shimmer in it at all.


It's a very pretty pink gloss that looks natural yet still manages to enhance the appearance of the lips. It smells really good too- like vanilla flavoured sweets and the packaging is very aesthetically pleasing. I also like the application of it- it's a soft nib that the gloss is squeezed through, so very soft on the lips.


Here's the brands description:

"The ideal lip perfector for smooth, perfectly shaped lips with subtle, natural colour. A soft, gel formula that nourishes, repairs and protects. Day after day, lips are visibly more beautiful".

I would agree with all of that except the "day after day" part as I haven't been using it long enough to judge. It has left my lips softer though even after a couple of uses. The only negative thing I would say about it is that it isn't crazy long lasting but I almost prefer that because it means the formula isn't as sticky or tacky as a lot of longer lasting glosses can tend to be.
Overall, I absolutely love this gloss. I now have my eye on the original peach shimmer and will definitely be checking out the newer shades.



Have you tried any of the Clarins Lip Perfectors?
xx 

Monday 25 March 2013

Recently Read Part 1

I haven't done much lately except for read hence this post is split in two parts. A reminder that I'm also on Good Reads HERE if you want to check out what I'm reading and what's on my to-read list (I warn you though, it's long!)


The Poison Tree by Erin Kelly
Touted as a Tana French style author (I love her), I said I'd give this debut novel by Erin Kelly a go and I wasn't disappointed. It follows the story of Karen- flipping back and forth between her present day life and her past when she first meets Biba in college- a free spirited, fun loving but ultimately selfish individual who changes Karen's life irrevocably.  This book really gripped me from the start- gradually what happens to Karen is revealed but it's almost impossible to guess the outcome of the book, which is always refreshing. Definitely worth a read.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
This dystopian thriller, originally published in 1985 but set in the distant future became an instant cult classic and was made into a film in the early 90's. I do love a bit of dystopia and this is particularly freaky. In this reality, the United States as a nation has broken down- in it's place is a new ultra-religious, ultra-conservative cult style movement which strips women of all their rights. In this world, an unidentified virus along with constant sexual violence towards women has lead to widespread infertility and women being kept as "handmaidens" by powerful men, for the purpose of control and procreating only. The book follows one of these handmaidens through her daily life which at times makes for disturbing reading but is compelling and gripping at the same time. Mostly I found it disturbing because it wasn't wholly unimaginable- women's place in today's society is becoming increasingly more precarious and it seems like women's rights are more at risk than ever. So while it's a difficult read at times I still loved it and would highly recommend it.

Hello Kitty Must Die by Angela S. Choi
The "Hello Kitty" in the title here refers to young Asian-American women, who although appear outwardly modern are trapped by their culture and family traditions- expected to marry a wealthy Asian man, give up work, have a family and be obedient. Fiona is a classic example of this-a young San Francisco based lawyer desperate to get away from her constrictive family, she meets up with an old school friend Sean, who turns out to be a complete psychopath- something Fiona doesn't seem as appropriately disturbed by as she should be..I liked this book, the story is very unusual and makes for an entertaining read.

Testimony by Anita Shreve
I'd read one of Shreves books before and liked it so I thought I'd give this a go. It's the story of how a sex tape involving underage students at a private boarding school in America can affect and damage an entire community..so far, so interesting. In spite of the subject matter however it was actually a really tedious read- told from the perspectives of everyone involved it somehow managed to be really drawn out and completely missed the mark as far as I was concerned. I'd give this one a miss.

Over to you! Read any of these? Any other good reads I should be checking out?
xx

Wednesday 20 March 2013

New Coast Head Pieces by William Chambers

Wedding season is upon us and if you're looking for something special that'll set your outfit apart from everyone else's (except the bride's of course, that's just tacky) then you could do worse than consider a head piece. Personally I rather enjoy a jaunty 40's style hat/head piece so I was really happy to see that Coast have just launched a new range by designer William Chambers, which I had to share as they're just all so beautiful. They are a bit on the pricey side, being over a hundred euro each but really they are investment pieces and I feel like the colours and styles used, while unique looking aren't so dramatic that they couldn't be worn again with different outfits. Here are my two favourites, you can click on the description below the images for the direct link:






There's more styles available on the Coast website. Lovely, eh?

Monday 18 March 2013

Recently Viewed



Flight
Ah, Denzel you little legend. I really didn't think I'd enjoy this film-the story of a huge plane crash where the pilot (Denzel, who is brilliant in this by the way) was heavily intoxicated and on drugs and his subsequent trial but it had me gripped right from the start. I particularly liked that I was left questioning how I felt about his character- a man who although completely in the grip of his demons somehow still emerges as both a hero and a villain- a very non black and white way of looking at someones actions. Definitely worth a watch.


Argo
By now everyone's probably seen this Oscar winner, directed by and starring Ben Affleck but I really enjoyed it so thought it was worth a mention if you didn't get to see it in the cinema and were looking for something good to rent. I'll be honest, political thrillers generally aren't my sort of thing (although I have been loving Homeland) so I was initially reluctant to watch this. Like so many times previously *half sarcasm* Hubster talked me into this one and I'm glad he did. The true story of the audacious CIA rescue of 6 U.S diplomats from Tehran during the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, this movie moves along at a surprising pace and as cliched as it sounds I really was on the edge of my seat the whole way through. I'd definitely recommend.


American Mary
As you all know by now I love horrors. This however is just an awful, awful film. I shouldn't even mention it in case somewhere, someone reading this is intrigued enough to go and watch it themselves. Basically Mary is a surgeon in training and starts to supplement her income by performing weird surgical fetish procedures for people. All pretty weird but harmless till her college professor drugs and horrifically assaults her and she goes a bit mental as a result. The rest of the film documents her revenge against him and others and her general devolution into becoming a full on psychopath. Unless you've got a serious love for the macabre, the psychologically scarring and the visually disturbing, I'd be giving this one a skip.. So that's a no then.


Frankenweenie
This being the brainchild of Tim Burton and starring Winona Ryder, I had a feeling I'd enjoy it and I did. It's a 3D sci-fi black and white movie about a young boy who resurrects his dead dog through Frankenstein-esque techniques with slightly ghoulish but also hilarious consequences. To be honest, I thought this might have been a little dark in places for younger audiences but any adult Tim Burton fans will love this- it's beautifully made and feels quite different to everything else I've seen recently. 

Friday 15 March 2013

Bourjois Rouge Edition and Healthy Mix Concealer

I recently found myself in need of a new concealer and in the unfortunate position to be in a Boots that did not stock Collection. Boo. So instead I went for Bourjois Healthy Mix Concealer, as I has previously really liked the accompanying foundation to that (Review HERE).


Similar to the foundation, this utilises 'fruit therapy' with apricot for radiance and raspberry as a micro-circulation activator (Is that even a thing? I'll be honest, it's not something that I had been previously aware of). It claims to be a moisturising formula and oil free. So far I would agree with that but my skin has been known to change it's mind at a moments notice, so we'll see. My initial thoughts on this is that it's quite yellow toned which obviously won't suit everyone but my current foundation, Armani Designer Lift is also a bit on the yellow side so it's all coming up Chloe really. Regardless of that, it does provide good coverage to both the under eye bags that I've been storing and to blemishes so I'm happy out.


Now for a completely unnecessary purchase, again from Bourjois: Rouge Edition Lipstick in No.11, Fraise Remix. So clearly I have a bit of a love for lipstick, but genuinely it makes me happy when I get a new one and it turns out to be a great consistency and the perfect shade- I think I've found that in this little beauty. First off, I love the packaging. It appealed to me in the same way brightly coloured sweets do (I'm actually not a total eejit, I swear) and it's particularly handy that you can tell immediately what colour it is just from the base of it (you know for when you're rummaging in your bag and you may happen to have several lip products floating around there). Fraise Remix is a coral/pink- super bright so not for the faint of heart.


Sometimes I worry that these sort of shades will be almost too neon for my pale skin but like a beautiful Tom Ford coral number I have, I find that this just brightens up my face completely and makes whatever I'm wearing look a bit cooler. This turned out quite pink on my lips in the photo but I can assure you it's much more coral in real life. At the moment I'm in hospital and wearing pyjamas so lipstick isn't really an option but I'm looking forward to wearing this in Spring and Summer.
Formula wise, these are quite soft and creamy, completely non-drying and the good news is that you can just go for a light sheen or build it up for a real pop of colour by applying a couple of layers. As an aside, this smells lovely in the bullet- faintly sweet/floral but that doesn't really transfer to the lips which is a great thing for those who don't like strong fragrances in their make-up.
I'm wearing both the concealer and lipstick in this photo:


Let me know in the comments if you've tried any of these or if there's any particularly lovely shade in the Rouge Edition line that I should be picking up next :)

Monday 4 March 2013

Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge!


What does one do with ones self for entertainment when in a hospital ward with no television and a desperate need for distraction? That's a good, if somewhat random hypothetical question you might say. And you would be correct but the answer is of course download *legally, cough* every series of The Gilmore Girls and let the obsession begin. What a great show. It aired from 2000-2007 and I avoided watching it that whole time because I mistakenly thought it was a 7th Heaven type of programme- cheesy wholesome American sitcom/drama. I could not have been more wrong. It's laugh out loud (I refuse to type LOL) funny, with so many great pop culture references and overall is just really enjoyable. It's been ideal for helping me forget how unpleasant it is being a patient so for that alone, aside from all the other reasons I've mentioned, I love it.


Rory Gilmore is the daughter of Lorelai, both of whom are super smart, funny and generally lovely characters. Rory is bound for an Ivy League college and continually has about 4 different books on the go. Someone somewhere actually went to the trouble (several years ago, I'm very late to the party. I don't know who originally created the list but I found mine on THIS lovely blog) of making a list of all the books that are mentioned that Rory has read, is reading during the show or that she makes reference to throughout all 7 seasons- there's 250 of them. In my wisdom I've decided to make an attempt at reading them myself, they're listed alphabetically below and I've highlighted the ones in blue that I've read already. As I go along I'll tick off what I've read by highlighting the title in red. If you've read any of these yourself or have any recommendations for what I should tackle first or what I shouldn't bother with at all, I'd love to hear about it in the comments!  

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Michael Chabon
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (currently reading)
Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
Archidamian War by Donald Kagan
The Art of Fiction by Henry James
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Autobiography of a Face by Lucy Grealy
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Babe by Dick King-Smith
Backlash: The Undeclared War Against American Women by Susan Faludi
Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath 
Beloved by Toni Morrison
Beowulf: A New Verse Translation by Seamus Heaney
The Bhagava Gita
The Bielski Brothers: The True Story of Three Men Who Defied the Nazis, Built a Village in the Forest, and Saved 1,200 Jews by Peter Duffy
Bitch in Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel
A Bolt from the Blue and Other Essays by Mary McCarthy
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Brick Lane by Monica Ali
Bridgadoon by Alan Jay Lerner
Candide by Voltaire 
The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Carrie by Stephen King
Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger 
Charlotte’s Web by E. B. White

The Children’s Hour by Lillian Hellman
Christine by Stephen King
A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess
The Code of the Woosters by P.G. Wodehouse
The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty by Eudora Welty

A Comedy of Errors by William Shakespeare
Complete Novels by Dawn Powell
The Complete Poems by Anne Sexton
Complete Stories by Dorothy Parker
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas père
Cousin Bette by Honor’e de Balzac
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky
The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber 
The Crucible by Arthur Miller
Cujo by Stephen King
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
Daisy Miller by Henry James
Daughter of Fortune by Isabel Allende
David and Lisa by Dr Theodore Issac Rubin M.D
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
The Da Vinci -Code by Dan Brown
Dead Souls by Nikolai Gogol
Demons by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller
Deenie by Judy Blume
The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
The Dirt: Confessions of the World’s Most Notorious Rock Band by Tommy Lee, Vince Neil, Mick Mars and Nikki Sixx
The Divine Comedy by Dante
The Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells
Don Quijote by Cervantes
Driving Miss Daisy by Alfred Uhrv
Edgar Allan Poe: Complete Tales & Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
Eleanor Roosevelt by Blanche Wiesen Cook
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
Eloise by Kay Thompson
Emily the Strange by Roger Reger
Emma by Jane Austen 
Empire Falls by Richard Russo
Encyclopedia Brown: Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol
Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
Ethics by Spinoza
Europe through the Back Door, 2003 by Rick Steves
Eva Luna by Isabel Allende
Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer
Extravagance by Gary Krist
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury 
Fahrenheit 9/11 by Michael Moore
The Fall of the Athenian Empire by Donald Kagan
Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World by Greg Critser
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson
The Fellowship of the Ring: Book 1 of The Lord of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien (TBR) 
Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom 
Finnegan’s Wake by James Joyce
Fletch by Gregory McDonald
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 
Franny and Zooey by J. D. Salinger
Freaky Friday by Mary Rodgers
Galapagos by Kurt Vonnegut
Gender Trouble by Judith Butler
George W. Bushism: The Slate Book of the Accidental Wit and Wisdom of our 43rd President by Jacob Weisberg
Gidget by Fredrick Kohner
Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen
The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
The Godfather: Book 1 by Mario Puzo
The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy 
Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Alvin Granowsky
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Gospel According to Judy Bloom
The Graduate by Charles Webb
The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald 
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
The Group by Mary McCarthy
Hamlet by William Shakespeare
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J. K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling 

A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad (TBR)
Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders by Vincent Bugliosi and Curt Gentry 
Henry IV, part I by William Shakespeare
Henry IV, part II by William Shakespeare
Henry V by William Shakespeare
High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon
Holidays on Ice: Stories by David Sedaris
The Holy Barbarians by Lawrence Lipton
House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III (Lpr)
The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss
How the Light Gets in by M. J. Hyland
Howl by Allen Gingsburg
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The Iliad by Homer
I’m with the Band by Pamela des Barres
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote
Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee
Iron Weed by William J. Kennedy
It Takes a Village by Hillary Clinton
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë 
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
The Jumping Frog by Mark Twain
The Jungle by Upton Sinclair
Just a Couple of Days by Tony Vigorito
The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini 
Lady Chatterleys’ Lover by D. H. Lawrence
The Last Empire: Essays 1992-2000 by Gore Vidal
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
The Legend of Bagger Vance by Steven Pressfield
Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis
Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke
Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them by Al Franken
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
The Little Locksmith by Katharine Butler Hathaway
The Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

Living History by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
The Lottery: And Other Stories by Shirley Jackson
The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
Love Story by Erich Segal

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
The Manticore by Robertson Davies
Marathon Man by William Goldman
The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
Memoirs of a Dutiful Daughter by Simone de Beauvoir
Memoirs of General W. T. Sherman by William Tecumseh Sherman
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
The Meaning of Consuelo by Judith Ortiz Cofer
Mencken’s Chrestomathy by H. R. Mencken
The Merry Wives of Windsro by William Shakespeare
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides
The Miracle Worker by William Gibson
Moby Dick by Herman Melville
The Mojo Collection: The Ultimate Music Companion by Jim Irvin
Moliere: A Biography by Hobart Chatfield Taylor
A Monetary History of the United States by Milton Friedman
Monsieur Proust by Celeste Albaret
A Month Of Sundays: Searching For The Spirit And My Sister by Julie Mars
A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
Mutiny on the Bounty by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall
My Lai 4: A Report on the Massacre and It’s Aftermath by Seymour M. Hersh
My Life as Author and Editor by H. R. Mencken
My Life in Orange: Growing Up with the Guru by Tim Guest
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult
The Naked and the Dead by Norman Mailer
The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco
The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri
The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin
Nervous System: Or, Losing My Mind in Literature by Jan Lars Jensen
New Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson
The New Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
Night by Elie Wiesel
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
The Norton Anthology of Theory and Criticism by William E. Cain, Laurie A. Finke, Barbara E. Johnson, John P. McGowan
Novels 1930-1942: Dance Night/Come Back to Sorrento, Turn, Magic Wheel/Angels on Toast/A Time to be Born by Dawn Powell
Notes of a Dirty Old Man by Charles Bukowski
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Old School by Tobias Wolff
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
On the Road by Jack Kerouac

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest by Ken Kesey
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
The Opposite of Fate: Memories of a Writing Life by Amy Tan
Oracle Night by Paul Auster
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
Othello by Shakespeare
Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
The Outbreak of the Peloponnesian War by Donald Kagan
Out of Africa by Isac Dineson
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
A Passage to India by E.M. Forster
The Peace of Nicias and the Sicilian Expedition by Donald Kagan
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky 
Peyton Place by Grace Metalious
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
Pigs at the Trough by Arianna Huffington
Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
Please Kill Me: The Uncensored Oral History of Punk Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain
The Polysyllabic Spree by Nick Hornby 
The Portable Dorothy Parker by Dorothy Parker
The Portable Nietzche by Fredrich Nietzche
The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O’Neill by Ron Suskind
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Property by Valerie Martin
Pushkin: A Biography by T. J. Binyon
Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw
Quattrocento by James Mckean
A Quiet Storm by Rachel Howzell Hall
Rapunzel by Grimm Brothers
The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe
The Razor’s Edge by W. Somerset Maugham
Reading Lolita in Tehran: A Memoir in Books by Azar Nafisi
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm by Kate Douglas Wiggin
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Rescuing Patty Hearst: Memories From a Decade Gone Mad by Virginia Holman
The Return of the King: The Lord of the Rings Book 3 by J. R. R. Tolkien (TBR)
R Is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
Rita Hayworth by Stephen King
Robert’s Rules of Order by Henry Robert
Roman Fever by Edith Wharton
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf
A Room with a View by E. M. Forster
Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin
Sacred Time by Ursula Hegi
Sanctuary by William Faulkner
Savage Beauty: The Life of Edna St. Vincent Millay by Nancy Milford
The Scarecrow of Oz by Frank L. Baum
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Seabiscuit: An American Legend by Laura Hillenbrand
The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman
Selected Letters of Dawn Powell: 1913-1965 by Dawn Powell
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
A Separate Peace by John Knowles
Several Biographies of Winston Churchill
Sexus by Henry Miller
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
Shane by Jack Shaefer
The Shining by Stephen King
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
S Is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Slaughter-house Five by Kurt Vonnegut
Small Island by Andrea Levy
Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Snow White and Rose Red by Grimm Brothers
Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy: Lord and Peasant in the Making of the Modern World by Barrington Moore
The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht
Song of the Simple Truth: The Complete Poems of Julia de Burgos by Julia de Burgos
The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
Songbook by Nick Hornby
The Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Sonnets from the Portuegese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Sophie’s Choice by William Styron
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
Speak, Memory by Vladimir Nabokov
Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Stuart Little by E. B. White
Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway
Swann’s Way by Marcel Proust
Swimming with Giants: My Encounters with Whales, Dolphins and Seals by Anne Collett
Sybil by Flora Rheta Schreiber
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Tender Is The Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Term of Endearment by Larry McMurtry
Time and Again by Jack Finney
The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
To Have and Have Not by Ernest Hemingway
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
The Tragedy of Richard III by William Shakespeare
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
The Trial by Franz Kafka
The True and Outstanding Adventures of the Hunt Sisters by Elisabeth Robinson
Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom
Ulysses by James Joyce (currently reading)
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath 1950-1962 by Sylvia Plath
Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
Unless by Carol Shields
Valley of the Dolls by Jacqueline Susan
The Vanishing Newspaper by Philip Meyers
Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray
Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground and Nico (Thirty Three and a Third series) by Joe Harvard
The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides
Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
Walden by Henry David Thoreau
Walt Disney’s Bambi by Felix Salten
War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
We Owe You Nothing – Punk Planet: The Collected Interviews edited by Daniel Sinker
What Colour is Your Parachute? 2005 by Richard Nelson Bolles
What Happened to Baby Jane by Henry Farrell
When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
Who Moved My Cheese? Spencer Johnson
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire
The Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Yearling by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Hmm, that is indeed quite the challenge :)
I've also just joined GoodReads, where I'll be keeping track of what I read and posting reviews, if you want to check that out, here's the link:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/17998352-chloe?shelf=currently-reading

Saturday 2 March 2013

What's in my Make-Up Bag?!

I do so enjoy reading these sorts of posts on other peoples blogs because I love make-up (clearly) and so I thought it might be nice to do the same myself. This is by no means the limit of the make-up I own..tragically there's plenty more beauty products languishing away, unused in my bathroom. However, depending on the outfit and the season, there is a general rotation of items so the love is shared. Here's what's currently in use:
Firstly my make-up bag is Ted Baker- look how glittery and pretty it is!


Generally I always use either Ted Baker or Cath Kidston make-up bags as they tend to be made of strong, durable material and have that outer plastic covering that can be easily wiped down (as an aside, is there a worse combination of words than 'wipe down'? Other than 'moist crevice', obviously..answers below!), always handy. Also, this is extremely roomy, which is necessary for all the stuff I lug around. So here 'tis:

Face:

  • Pre-moisturiser I use Bi-Serum from Clarins. I find it creates a lovely soft base for my foundation. HERE'S a full review of it.
  • After moisturiser I put on a base of my Soleil Tan de Chanel (below), it gives a nice glow Winter or Summer. I usually work a light layer of it down my neck also, just for the sake of all my skin matching itself..that's the technical term by the way. I usually use some of this over foundation too to contour. 
  • Depending on whether I'm wearing tan or not I use either Armani Designer Lift (Review HERE), Bourjois Healthy Mix (Review HERE) or Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation (FOTD *face of the day* HERE).
  • Concealer wise, I use the Bobbi Brown Corrector and the Concealer set under my eyes and Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer (Review HERE) both on the under eye area and for any blemishes. At the moment I'm also trying to use up this Lancome Long-lasting Softening Concealer.
  • Blush again depends on the rest of my make-up but a shade that never leaves my make-up bag is Nars Orgasm.
  • Bronzer wise, I either use the Chanel Tan de Soleil or if I want an all over glow that doesn't take as long to blend in, I use YSL Terra Saharienne Collector edition Bronzing Powder (Review HERE).
  • Highlighter is MAC MSF in Soft and Gentle.
  • To set my foundation, I've been using Laura Mercier Invisible Loose Setting Powder (Review HERE).
Eyes:
  • Eyebrows are the Sleek Brow Kit and Rimmel's Professional Eyebrow Pencil in Hazel. I then set my brows with Collection's Clear Mascara.
  • I prime my eyes with the Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion and over that I've been using Maybelline's 24 Hr Colour Tattoo shadow in Permanent Taupe and Bare Minerals loose bronze shadow a lot lately. The Naked Palette is a firm staple in my bag as well. At the moment I'm using Chanel's Long lasting kohl eyeliner (Review HERE), No.7 Stay Precise Felt Tip Liner (Review HERE) and YSL Shocking mascara, all in black.
Lips:
  • I've been using a myriad of lip products lately: YSL Rouge Pur Couture Glossy Stain in 10, Dior Diorific in Marilyn (Review HERE), MAC in Rebel, YSL Rouge Pur Couture lipstick, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey (Review HERE), a Lancome Juicy Tubes mini I got free with something and Eve Lom Kiss Mix Lip Balm (Review HERE).

  • L to R: MAC Rebel, YSL Rouge Pur Couture, Dior Diorific in Marilyn, Kate Moss for Rimmel in 16.
Brushes:
  • Lastly, these are all of my make up brushes, which I store in the pot I decorated myself (very proud) at the pottery decorating part of my hen, so I have happy memories every time I reach for a brush :)
It was arduous but we made it through together! As we're here, be sure to let me know in the comments if you have any of these products and what your own current make-up bag favourite is!