December Empties

So I announced in my final update on Project Pan on my YouTube channel that I would from now on be writing blog posts about which products I had managed to finish in each month.
The main reason for this is that it will be a lot easier to do then actually film a video at the moment. Lighting is a nightmare in my house, and filming a video takes a long time, where as snapping a picture will only take me a minute or two.

I wanted to still keep a record of what products I am using up though because I often forget these products when I make favourite videos and then you don't get the full picture of what products I am reaching for.

Without further ado, here are my December empties!

 

I know, pretty poor effort there, but as I explained in my December favourites I haven't been using a lot of different products lately, though I do desperately need to start downsizing my make-up again so hopefully more will finished soon!

La Roche-Posay Physiological Micellar Solution

£11.50 from Boots

I discovered Micellar solutions in 2011 and I think my make up removal technique will be changed forever now, they really are great. I have tried this La Roche-Posay one and the Vichy one, and I have to say I think I prefer this one. I don't know what it is about it but I don't seem to have to work as hard to remove things. When I use the Vichy I feel like I may not have got it all off, but with this I am confident my skin is makeup free. It isn't cheap, and I am hoping to give the Bioderma a go this year, but for now this will be a definite repurchase!

Ahava Deadsea Water Mineral Body Lotion

£22.00 for 250ml (size shown is a 40ml Sample) from Ahava 

This was a sample from my August GlossyBox, and was probably the best item in the box that month. It is definitely the only one I have finished. I used this primarily on my legs after shaving and it didn't irritate or give me a rash like many body lotions can, even though it is mildly scented. The scent itself isn't particularly offensive either though it is muskily floral.

I wouldn't repurchase this currently, purely because of the price, but hey if I all of a sudden start earning more then I would possibly give the full size a go!

Caudalie Quenching Sorbet Creme

£20 for 40ml (size shown is a 10ml sample) From Caudalie

Another beauty box sample, but this time from my first Carmine Box. This moisturiser is truly beautiful, it smells gorgeous (made from Bordeaux grapes) and really leaves teh skin feeling fresh and healthy, something which I find a lot of moisturisers fail to achieve. The consistency is a light almost foamy mousey texture which helps it to smooth onto the skin nicely. 

I would repurchase this in a heartbeat, but unfortunately I think it may have caused me to get those tiny little blemishes which are common when I react to a product, I highly recommend it though!

So there you have it, my first empties post, I hope you enjoyed it and let me know if you have tried and rate any of these products 

:) xo

A nook of one's own

It occurred to me the other day that while I have been talking about how I have been slowly getting myself back into both knitting and reading since last September I haven't really discussed how I am going about it. There is really one change that I have made which has helped the most so I thought a blog post about it might be interesting to you.

I am talking about my little nook. No I don't mean a Barnes and Noble E-reader, I mean a little space specially reserved for specific activities, in this case reading and knitting (though it sometimes becomes storage for cardigans and the like too).

 

Now I will apologise, because I have recently moved this, I rearranged my bedroom and have swapped which corner this chair is in, but I am using it in exactly the same way so I shall give you a little history.

I have had this chair since university (it was a cheap Ikea tub chair, cost around £35) and since moving back home it had lived on the landing, not a very reader friendly place to sit let me tell you. When I decided I needed to get back into reading I found initially that reading in bed simply didn't work for me any more, and neither does knitting there. My desk chair is incredibly uncomfortable for long lengths of time (which is why I am writing this in my nook actually) and so I decided I would squeeze my chair into my already crammed bedroom, and I managed to fit it in front of some bookcases, not entirely practical, but that's why it has now changed. 

I happily used the space to sit and get back into reading, and now that I am reading up a storm and knitting so fast my needles might catch alight my nook has also become just a general lounging spot. The cushion on the back of the chair actually becomes a foot rest, I don't keep it on the chair, and I have the blanket there not just to cover a massive coffee stain that my sister kindly added, but also for if it gets a bit chilly.

 

I use the chest of drawers to the left to keep stuff on, and a bookcase with my favourite crime books, and all the classics I aim to read is located to the right (though I may...and it kills me to say this...mess up my cataloging system and have that bookcase full of my to be read books, shock horror!) and I have space for a lamp and a mug of tea and my review record books. Where the chair is now located is also conveniently angled towards the new television I got for Christmas, perfect for when knitting! 

Really it is a very simple idea nominating a small space for a specific task, and we do it with so many other tasks which we do each day, desks are for working, vanities are for makeup, kitchens are for cooking. But taking the time to create a comfortable peaceful space where I can take some time for my hobbies has helped me to realise again just how much I love them, and I think everyone deserves a little nook of their own.

2012

Image via weheartit

I hope you all had a great New Year, I have debated whether to set myself any challenges for both this blog and my YouTube this year, as I set some for myself on my other blog and have decided on these two:

Shop my stash
I have so far managed to downsize my makeup collection since my storage video, but I want to do that even more. I really don't feel like I need as much makeup since I successfully completed Roaccutane treatment and I find myself wearing less. Shopping my stash of products should help me to eliminate the products that really don't suit my needs any more, which should show itself in the monthly posts I am going to try and keep up with. I should also be able to identify which of my products are true favourites, and potential holy grail items. I suspect I will always want more lipstick and blusher though!!

Regularly use The Cometics Library for more then just video updates
So far this blog has mainly been for updating my video list and posting the odd nail of the day but I really want to move some of the focus into blog posts as making videos regularly is difficult and time consuming. I have always been more of a writer too so it suits me I think. I will still keep making regular videos, but I aim to shift my empties/project pan continuation to the blog with a post each month, and regularly review items currently in my makeup collection like my lipsticks and blushers. I will probably keep the hauls and the favourites on YouTube though.

So here is to a productive 2012 hopefully! I hope you all share the ride with me.
:) xo

A Bank Holiday

It's bank holiday Monday and although I didn't have a huge amount planned I thought I would snap a few pics of my day seeing as it was mostly book and yarn related :)

a/n: most of these are iPhone pictures, so excuse the quality

The day started as it often does with some reading.

I've been picking this up and putting it down for a couple of weeks now, it's only a little book but a fun light read so I find it easy to grab when I'm not really awake yet.

Rapidly followed by breakfast (tea and a chocolatine, nom), IM-ing and some YouTube beauty videos from my subscription box

 

This is a pretty regular sight all day, but I probably first opened it during breakfast, it's Tiny Tower, a free game on the iPhone/iPod where you build a skyscraper. It is seriously addictive!

 

While the rest of the family put away Christmas for this winter (I wasn't being lazy and not helping, I had to put it all up because my mum fractured her arm and my sister was away at Uni and it was rather stressful and tiring, so I said my sister could take it down while she was home) I sat and wove in the ends of my Bon Temps Marina Shawl now that it is all blocked and pretty. (FO report coming soon!)

 

 After some thorough cleaning of the house I sat down to watch a film from a favourite series of mine, and one which is often shown around Christmas and New Year, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. It seems so strange seeing the stars so young every time I watch and it definitely isn't my favourite of the series, but it is always fun, I love when Ron gulps before valiantly sacrificing himself in the chess game, such wonderful acting ;)

And as the day began to draw to a close I realised I had missed one of my traditions, I am a HUGE Agatha Christie fan, and watch the Poirot or Marple that is shown at Christmas every year but this year I missed it and so instead watched on ITV Player. It is a bit confusing though, as this is the first episode of season 12, and we have already seen all the other episodes, this one wasn't shown last year. Not sure why, it was still great though!

After some telly watching I did a bit of knitting on this lovely pattern, and then realised I had gone wrong somewhere and decided to frog and start again. When I did frog though I had the genius idea to wind the yarn and chop out the horrible khaki colour bits in the Noro Kureyon Sock I was using, god knows what Noro were thinking including such a muddy shade amongst such lovely vibrant blues and pinks!

 

So now I have some lovely bright balls of yarn (left, bad picture doesn't really show how yucky the other ones are) and some horrible shades which im sure I will still find use for (right) all ready for casting on, which I think I will do right now!

 

I hope you all enjoyed your bank holidays if you had them off :)

xo

Happy New Year!!

I hope everyone had a great time last night ringing in the new year, and that everyone was safe.

Image from We ♥ It

I thought a new challenge setting post for 2012 would be appropriate.

I clearly failed terribly at project 2011, though the beauty challenge became something else entirely and what was originally just going to be an attempt to use up all my old products became a new hobby, a new blog, and a venture into YouTube! It has certainly been exciting.

The reading and knitting challenges were not quite so successful, and ultimately I think it has been obvious that I decided to take on a huge challenge during a year where I already had far too much going on. I managed to read and review only 12 books for the entire year (though for some I reviewed the whole series), along with a couple I didn't get around to reviewing. I read a couple more library books, but I really did lose my reading mojo last year.
For 2012 I still hope to read and review 52 books, but I am not going to pressure myself, and I am going to include library books because books should be for enjoyment and if something fluffy from the library takes my fancy then I am not going to enjoy the books already on my shelf. So, hopefully I will manage to read a nice range of books over the next year and provide lots of reviews for you to read. I will have a post about using a filofax to keep record of those reviews soon too!

Knitting definitely got moved to the back burner in 2011, and I am just glad to have managed to finish my only remaining 2010 project in the last week. I really wanted that Marina Shawl finished before 2012 started, so look out for  a finished object report on that.
For 2012 I am hoping to finish the projects I currently have on the needles and possibly knit a few more. I would love to finish at least 12 items, and I don't want to buy any more yarn still as obviously my stash hasn't been reduced.

So, Project 2012 shall now be declared started, but I wont be setting myself any limits, they are more of a guideline :)

Get your toes wet dipping into this series ★★★★

 

Another teen series for you this week, but this time one which is traditionally aimed at the boys. 

The Percy Jackson and the Olympians series of books by Rick Riordan is a set of five books (with a spin off set of books having just recently been published) featuring the main character Percy Jackson and his group of friends going on adventures. 

As the title suggests the series is based around the mythical Olympus, the adventurers in the stories are children of the Greek Gods, half bloods, who are brought to Camp Half-Blood in order to train to undertake quests just like Hercules and the other heroes of myth and legend. Percy, the hero of the stories is the son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three Gods (along with Zeus and Hades) who were forbidden from having any more children, and so is in somewhat of a lonely position at the beginning of the series. The quests he undertakes with his friends vary in nature but they all relate in some way to the prevention of the rise of the Titans, who in the old myths were the race who came before the Gods and Demigods and Heroes. Is this sounding like a history lesson?

Although the whole idea of Greek mythology can be crazily complicated, the series manages to make it interesting and simple enough for kids (the books are technically placed in the 9-13 age bracket) while getting enough of the mythology in there for it to be educational. A full range of characters from the myths make regular appearances as both friend and foe, and the challenges are exciting enough to keep the reader entertained and thrilled. 

While they are obviously written to entertain, these books also manage to provide a role model for kids, especially kids who might traditionally shy away from reading. The main characters, the teenage Heroes, all have a range of learning difficulties such as dyslexia and have ADHD due to their God genes, and they use these features, which traditionally would be classed as a weakness, to help overcome battles, for the right child this sense of purpose could really provide inspiration.

For anyone interested there is also a film which is fun, though not as good as the books, and I know several adults who have read these as well as a fair few teens as well, they managed to keep them all happy, so good all round!

★★★★

The Book of Yesterday ★★

 

I will start this review by saying that I had never read any Cecelia Ahern before reading this book, so I am not used to her writing style and I cannot compare to her other bestsellers. She is a very successful author, she of P.S. I Love You (made into an adorable film featuring the wonderfully rugged Gerard Butler) and Thanks For The Memories, but personally this book has put me off reading any more of her work. I have several of her books sat on my shelf (all purchased for about ten pence each from the library book sale) and I really am not inspired to read them, I shall explain why.

The Book of Tomorrow follows a teenage girl, Tamara, as her and her mother are forced to abandon their high flying lives in Dublin following the death of her father and the subsequent reveal of a huge mass of debt. Tamara and her mother, who it appears has fallen into depression,  move in with family who live in the gatehouse of an old country estate. Tamara being a typical teenager hates the situation and her new surroundings and finds it difficult to adjust. While out attempting to entertain herself Tamara then finds a book which reveals the next day's diary entry to her (written by herself) and of course in typical fashion, she tries to change events. 

My main problem with this book was initially a general confusion about the target audience, in the UK this book is marketed generally as adult fiction, however the book follows a teenager and her experiences. I believe in the US this book is also categorised as teen fiction. This is hugely confusing because an adult may find it very difficult to identify with Tamara without finding her annoying, and it distracts somewhat from the story Ahern is trying to tell.

That story is my other issue with the book, primarily in that it takes so long to get anywhere and then when the real plot does suddenly appear it becomes really quite predictable. The story itself is a generally a good idea, but it shouldn't have taken a third of the book for me to really get into it. I understand Ahern is trying to create this desolate boring image of life in the country for Tamara, but instead I simply found my mind wandering and longing for other works of fiction to read. 

I wont give it away but the story concludes with what is supposed to be a shock reveal of a deep dark family secret, but I found myself guessing what it was about half way through (and getting most of it right) and so the writing which was supposed to be gripping, instead just dragged on for a couple of hundred pages more then I felt it should have.

I will give Ahern something though, I loved her characterisation of the Nuns, it really did make them sound oh so fun to be around :)

All in all, this is only getting two stars, and really it should get one. The story itself was a great idea but I feel it was weakly executed which is a shame because I had been looking forward to this book. Let's hope some of her other work is more impressive!

Rating: ★★

NOTD: Festive French

Barry M Gold topped with Barry M Gold glitter.
Tips are Barry M Bright Red topped with Barry M Red Glitter

I have been wanting to paint my nails all Christmassy for days and finally got around to it last night!

These were really simple, just 2 coats of a gold polish followed by a gold glitter topcoat and then freehand painted 1 layer of red on the tip and added a layer of glitter.

A simple way to get sparkly Christmas nails without getting too messy playing around with nail art brushes and actual glitter.

:) xo

I want candy! ★★★

 

Now, don't go running away thinking "Oh I thought she had more class then to read Lauren Conrad! What twaddle!" Hear me out for a second because you might be a little bit surprised.

For people who know me in 'real life', i.e. not the internet, this might be a little bit of a shock, but I rather enjoy one reality television series of shows. It is the only, I repeat the ONLY, reality television that I really enjoy, and it is Laguna Beach/The Hills/The City. 

My mother is to blame, like, totally.

You see they started repeating these shows in the afternoons, when my mum would get home from work and put the kettle on and sit and chill before she had to make dinner or anything, and on days when I wasn't trekking back and forth to Sheffield or at work I would join her in watching, and I came to love them. 

They have the drama, which you know isn't real, but they make it just real enough that it is interesting. Plus there are all the parties and pretty clothes and makeup and things. We know (or at least if you follow my beauty blog you know) that i love pretty clothes and makeup.

Specifically my love for Lauren Conrad (or LC) came from watching these shows and seeing how she dealt with it all, I love her humour, and I hate Heidi so it was a given I would be team Lauren.

When I was bookselling I looked down my nose at her books, but having watched the show I decided I really wanted to read them as they are basically a behind the scenes look and Lauren's side of the story for the making of the Hills and Laguna Beach. I could definitely justify this with bookseller speak too, after all these books were New York Times best sellers!

The three books, L.A. Candy, Sweet Little Lies and Sugar and Spice, tell the story of two girls, best friends Jane and Scarlet, who move to the city and are approached by television producers to star in a new show 'L.A. Candy'. The girls share the stage with two other girls, both not nearly as down to earth as the two heroines and the four girls are then manipulated and their lives made a mess of through the producers need to create good television and the stars themselves being desperate for a cut of the limelight.

They were never going to be amazing literature, but they were some of those I-can't-put-this-down-dammit-where's-the-next-one-I-need-it-now books which I admit to loving. They give you an insight into the land of Hollyweird, which if you find the fake surface horribly cheesy and it grates on your senses you might find interesting for its seediness, and it allows you to look past the polished exterior of a show like The Hills and see how it can be truly damaging. The crazy events which occur help to illustrate the trappings of the high life and show readers that life in L.A. isn't just as sunny as its weather. The heroines themselves also help to highlight the importance of education and hard work as they continue to hold down steady jobs and go to university during all the happenings.

It also might help (to some extent, obviously she isn't a saint herself) to put the author, Lauren Conrad in a better position in your mind as it becomes clear she isnt as superficial as portrayed on the show. She really is a half decent role model for young women as her business sense is clearly strong. She has become very successful in turning the manipulation of the showbiz world she was thrust into on its head and taken control, something which we see the beginning of in the books.

Much like I expected, these books are great quick reads, a series that a teenager would love for the drama and their parents might actually like to consider for the message the series provides, that money and possessions really aren't worth the sacrifice. Anyone else might also find these interesting for the inner workings of reality television, but more then that they are inspirational. The books take a superficial character in a superficial world and add in the technical knowledge, the grit, and the determination to succeed which turns the heroine in these books into a well rounded character, and one to look up to.

Well done Miss Conrad  ★★★

Roaccutane VLOG 14: The final vlog!

So this was my final final roaccutane VLOG, which I uploaded the other day, 

it's short and sweet, with a happy ending. 

I hope all who are considering and/or going through treatment are doing well and I wish you all the best of luck!! 

xo