Barry M lip loving

There's a lovely big Superdrug near work so I popped in at lunchtime yesterday and picked up these two. They were £4.19 each so pretty affordable and despite being cheap, the packaging is great (Rimmel, No 17 - take note!)



Lipstick no. 146 - Dolly Pink, and lip gloss in no. 2 - Toffee


They're the first Barry M lip products I've tried, and overall I'm impressed. The consistency of the lipstick is lovely - I have the say the colour is BRIGHT..I'm not entirely sure how often I'll find myself reaching for this one, but nevertheless it's a fun addition.

You may already have noted my deep hatred for lip gloss but I'm determined to find one I like. This one falls very much into that 'my lips but better' category - and the effect is pretty. It's not as sticky as some, which I like. The overpowering toffee smell is a little off putting as I'm not sure I like feeling as though I'm smearing toffee sauce on my lips!

So, I'm going to try some more soon I think - which Barry M lip paints and glosses do you have? And do you like them?

ubi ibi libris....

Reading this great post from the wonderful Amanda made me think how much I'm enjoying the book I'm currently reading - to the point of letting my friends go off to lunch without me so I can spend a blissful solitary lunchtime reading instead of being sociable. I've read quite a few of Paul Auster's books, and loved them and now it turns out I love his wife's writing too, or certainly this book...

It's What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt

I wish I was clever enough to write a review that would enthrall you, and tell you how much I love it and make you want to read it too. Instead I'll quote from the Guardian's review:

"Siri Hustvedt has written a novel of ideas, in which she tackles questions of how much of what we perceive is personal, how much shared, how much is fixed for all time and how much is liable to shift."

To be honest, I'm loathe to read to the end of the review in case it reveals the ending.

It's set in the 70s and onwards and is the story of an art writer, his family, his friendship with an artist and his family, and how things change over the course of time. I love the snapshots of a New York from another time and I just love the way she writes - she has just such a beautiful, spot on way of phrasing things.

Give it a go.

p.s. the title of this post...I studied classics, and my dad is a classics teacher - and this quote is close to my heart - "ubi ibi libris, ibi libertas" where there are books, there is freedom. Great words.

Sunday afternoon chores

Spent the afternoon doing the unenviable task of sorting through all my clothes and shoes deciding what to keep, what to charity shop and what to bin. Dull but essential, and it seems a good time of year to get the job out of the way.

Obviously this job can't be done without something interesting on TV - so I had a retro moment with one of my favourites....who remembers St Elmo's Fire?



I can't tell you how much I was in love with Rob Lowe when I first saw this film. Has he aged at all?

Anyone else love the brat pack films?

More Inglot treats

We ploughed our way through the crowds at a heaving Westfield today so I could go coat shopping. The effort was worth it, and I now have a lovely new winter jacket -and a purple one at that!

I made a quick stop at Inglot to pick up a couple more eyeshadows. They're a wonderful alternative to MAC - cheaper at £11 for 3 eyeshadows and as far as I can tell so far the pigmentation is almost if not as good as MAC. And they fit into the Pro palettes.

From left to right we have:
a matte neutral shade (390)
a pearl finish pink-y mauve (445) (a little like MAC's Trax crossed with Satellite Dreams?)
a pearl finish deep red-ish purple 452 (similarish to MAC's Cranberry?)


swatched without any primer:


Love them! What do you reckon?

A trip to Westfield is complete without a) a trip to Inglot and b) a cupcake from Buttercup (I ate it far too fast for a photo!)

5 Loves, 5 Hates

LOVES

1. My Diptyque John Galliano candle. One of my birthday presents - it reminds me of home as my folks always have one on the go. It smells of incense and wood and is a lovely cosy winter-y smell.


2. What I Loved by Siri Hustvedt. It's been on my reading list for years now, and I stumbled across a copy in my local charity shop last week - joy! I'm so engrossed.


3. Corn on the cob. I never ate corn actually on the cob until we lived in NYC and I bought some at one of the street fairs that seem to spring up every month. And, wow, how much do I love it. I could eat it every day.

4. ELF Studio Warm Bronzer. Thankfully it turns out I'm not dangerously allergic to this and I love it. Great product at a great price.



5. Tunnocks Tea Cakes. These are THE BOMB




HATES

1. Capers - urgh. Root of all evil. It almost creeps me out too much to post a picture


2. 2True Plumptuous Lip Gloss. Yes, granted it's cheap lip gloss to probably not the finest quality, but it reminded me of why I HATE lip gloss and stopped wearing it. Sickly smell and too sticky. Yuck.



3. Temping....I've been at the same company 6 months now - hopefully soon to be made permanent but until then it's temp wage, no holiday allowance.


....Do you know what? It's a good week - I'm stopping at 3!

Hope you all have a lovely weekend.

Do you want to see something beautiful?

I couldn't love Strictly Come Dancing any more if I tried



I sometimes think dancing doesn't get any better than watching Vincent and Flavia.

On a more banal note, had a random little spot (or "blemish" in euphemistic beauty speak) or two pop up in the past week - I couldn't find any of the usual zappers - Body Shop Tea Tree, Mario Badescu or Liz Earle so I just applied...nothing.

And do you know what? They've never cleared up so quickly.

Any er - beauty secrets you've stumbled across?!

Christmas hols!

It's a year since we moved back to London, from New York, and though London's great, I still miss New York an awful lot.

But, we've just booked a little trip back to visit in a couple of months time, and I can't wait to revisit old haunts.

This was the view from our apartment


..though I do love living in Pimlico now, nothing beats being able to see Central Park from your window (yes, squint...you can see it - just to the right of the Hearst building!)

Roll on Forever 21, Sephora, a Duane Reade raid and lots of delicious food!

Are you off on hols anywhere interesting before the end of the year?

Rose & Co Apothecary

We took a trip to see Mr C's folks the other weekend, who live "oop north" and while we were there, we went to visit Haworth - famous for being the home of the Brontes and now also home to Rose & Co Apothecary and a more gorgeous old fashioned chemists, you've never seen. I don't know whether time has stood still, or whether it's all contrived to look very old but either way the effect is charming.


How lovely is this?


I left with a bag of rose (natch!) bath salts - I find it hard to find nice bath salts, and I HATE bubbles in my bath! Does anyone else agree?

Where have I been?

It's been so long. Too long.

The holiday was bliss. Absolute bliss


Need I say more? Lots of Milo, nasi lemak, tiger beer, sunshine, tropical fish, monkeys and cats. And by the end of two weeks even I had got a tan.

The inevitable catching up at work after a holiday has kept me very busy.

Had my first ELF order the other day. I suspect it would have arrived quickly if all the postmen in England weren't striking (don't get me started...)

So, Pink Ice custom eyeshadow, eyeliner brush from the Studio line, and Warm Bronzer, also from the Studio line.

Had a scary allergic reaction where my face puffed up and I had to go to A+E, and the doctor floated the idea it was a reaction to any new makeup I had..argh - was it the bronzer? Well, I can report a few days later I used it again, totally forgetting what the doctor had said, and I am fine. So phew - I'm not allergic.


So yes, the bronzer is lovely. Give it a go if you haven't already.

Hope you're all well. I'm off to take a tour around all my favourite ladies blogs now!