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Not just another beauty blog...

Archive: February 2012

As I mentioned before I'm a big fan of Clarins products and always use their Daily Energizer range, which is specifically targeted at the 18-late 20's age group. I absolutely love the products that I have from this range and have re-purchased them over and over again. 


Daily Energizer Wake-Up Booster (sample); Daily Energizer Cleanser; Daily Energizer Cream Gel
However, I've never actually tried out any of their make-up but have been on the hunt for a new foundation (figuratively speaking, most of my 'hunting' is done from my desk, on my laptop) and have heard a lot about the Clarins Ever Matte Foundation. As somebody with relatively oily skin, I am often drawn to foundations that give an indication that they will be somewhat mattifying and I have read good reviews on this one in particular.



Recently there has been an insurgence of new-generation foundations that have a selection of minerals and plant extracts in and provide good amounts of coverage whilst being almost invisible on the skin. A couple of other examples of this type of foundation are the Estee Lauder Invisible Fluid Make-Up (£27) and the Bobbi Brown Skin Foundation (£29). 


The price of the Clarins foundation is £24 which I don't think is too bad for a product that is going to deliver what it says on the tin. On the Clarins website it says that the "plant-based 'Skin-Detox' complex regulates sebum and tightens pores...allowing it to breathe without drying." Sounds good, right? The foundation I use at the moment is a high-street one, the L'Oreal True Match, which actually I really like and find keeps my skin shine free for most of the day.
However, I have been wanting to try this one out for a while now and, luckily, it was payday for me today so I might have to be popping down to the shops to buy it, or maybe try a sample first to see how it is. I will do an update if I do take the plunge, but let me know if you've tried it and what you thought about it!



Hope your day is full of good things!

The reason books three, four and five have been compiled into one review is because they are all part of the same trilogy, so thought it might be wise to review them together. The books are The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins and have pretty much consumed all my time over the past week and a bit. 
I don't know if I mentioned before, but I am one of those people that cannot put a good book down. If I start to get into it it pretty much takes over my life until it's finished, and what with this being a trilogy, it's been pretty hard to do anything else recently. I know there has been a lot of hype about these books and sometimes that can be a bit off-putting, but after seeing the trailer for the up-coming film (out on 23rd March - super excited!) I thought I would give them a read beforehand. And I was not disappointed. 

The story is set in a post-apocalyptic world (stay with me here...) called Panem and is ruled by the Capitol who, every year, host The Hunger Games - an event where 24 'tributes' have to fight to the death, literally, to become Victor. The books follow the volunteer tribute Katniss Everdeen who throws herself into the games to save her young sister from having to do so. 

There is love, loss, fighting, anger, sorrow, hope and so much more and, in a strange way, kind of helped me understand more about what is actually going on in the world today and shows how revolutions and wars and destruction can so easily come about. I found all three of the books really engaging and enjoyable to read and, whilst I think the first one is probably my favourite, none of them seemed to drag on or have that "This didn't need to be a trilogy" feeling. If you know what I mean.

I can't wait to see the film now because from the trailer it looks like they've done a really good job with casting and I'm intrigued to see how they recreate the world of Panem. Take a look at the trailer below.


Hope you're having a brill day and let me know what you thought about the books if you've read them! 


Every Spring one of the biggest trends to hit the catwalks and high streets is florals. Big ones, small ones and everything in between. Whether it’s on clothes, bags, walls, notebooks or shoes, the floral print is a Springtime hit time and time again. And there must be a reason for this. Spring is the season of hope and new beginnings and blooming flowers represent new life and vitality in a way no other print can. Injecting a fabulous floral print into your wardrobe can bring old pieces back to life and bring you bang up to date, and the range from Next makes this really easy to do. 


The question is, how do you go about wearing it? 


In general there are two main options as to how to go about injecting some floral fun into your wardrobe. Option A is to go for one statement piece, such as this floral tea dress, and pair it with something simple such as black opaque tights (as it is very doubtful that this English weather will warrant bare legs) and either an old faithful leather jacket to add an edge to the outfit (such as this gorgeous one, also from Next), or a more tailored blazer for formal occasions.
Floral Tea Dress: £32 @ Next
Option B is to go for clashing prints. Now, this one isn’t for the faint-hearted and it can take a lot of courage to step out in an array of wonderful, colourful prints. To dip your toe into the world of clashing prints, you could team the tapered trousers with the Poppy Print Court shoes (below) and a simple black tank-top and structured blazer on top to keep the focus on the bottom half. This would certainly get you noticed but isn’t too over the top!
Poppy Print Court Shoes: £28 @ Next
Otherwise, if you wanted to go all out you could pair the trousers with a floral top, something with a smaller print and a pop of colour, to really make a statement. Alternatively, you could add a stripe somewhere into the mix - florals and stripes look fantastic together and would definitely put you ahead of fashion crowd. 


There are some really gorgeous ways to add some floral fun to your wardrobe this season, I'm definitely going to be trying out some new ways to play with it! What are favourite ways to wear florals? I'd love to know!


Talk soon and hope you're having a delightful day!





OH MY GOD! I didn’t actually think I would finish it (it being Before I Go To Sleep just in case you missed my post about it) so soon but when I got towards the end I just couldn’t put it down and HAD to know where the story was going. And let me say, you won’t be disappointed. Unless I was being hideously blind and had lost my ability to think then I don’t think it would be an understatement to say I was completely shocked and that it was really a very good twist. I always like to think I’m reasonably good at guessing what’s going to happen, but I think because I had so very many ideas as to what might happen in this, I may have got distracted and not been able to focus on any other thoughts. 


But anyway that really doesn't matter. All that matters is how much I enjoyed reading this. It took me a few chapters to really get into it, as mentioned previously, but it was well worth persevering and was a very interesting concept to read about. I mean it is awful to imagine losing your memory every single day and having to rely on the people around you to tell you the truth and piece it back together. 


I would highly recommend this book for anyone that likes a bit of a thriller and a mystery. It will keep you guessing right up until the end and when you finally do realise the truth, it its written and described in a truly spine-tingling manner. It really makes you cherish the memories you have because really, they are all we are; a collection of memories adding up to a full life. 


I have started reading Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman, but got distracted and then started The Hunger Games trilogy (by Suzanne Collins) and haven't been able to put it down since, so the next review will be on those. 


Hope you enjoyed reading and hope you're having a fantastic day. 
I wanted to share with you one of my absolute favourite products at the moment. It is the Clarins Daily Energizer Cream-Gel and is the best moisturiser I have ever used! I love it. I keep it by my bedside table (as in the picture below) because I normally forget to put it on before I get into bed and am generally far too lazy to get up again to use it. 



I really, really like the Daily Energizer range from Clarins. It's aimed at the 18 to late 20's age group and has worked wonders for my skin. I use it with the Daily Energizer Gel Cleanser, something which I was a bit cautious about trying because I love a creamy, luxurious cleanser and thought a gel might not give me the consistency I wanted. However, I'm glad I gave it a try because it is amazing. 
Image from google.com
The whole range smells incredible and lives up to the title of being energising and for those of you who are also wary of using a gel cleanser or moisturiser, I would urge you to give it a go. I have combination-oily skin and whilst I have never had any major problems with breakouts or blemishes, when I do get a spot it helps to clear up the skin really effectively. 


Let me know if you've tried anything from this range and what you thought! Hope you're having a happy day! 






Image from google.com

I am just over a third of the way through my second book Before I Go To Sleep and just thought I’d give you a little insight into what my thoughts are so far because as I was reading it yesterday and it kept getting better and better. I thought it was slightly slow to get going (I think this may, however, have been because my mind was still on the previous book I had read) but now that I have managed to get into it is really surpassing my expectations.
I’ll tell you the synopsis given on the back:


“Memories define us.
So what if you lost yours every time you went to sleep?
Your name, your identity, your past, even the people you love - all forgotten overnight.
And the one person you trust may only be telling you half the story.
Welcome to Christine’s life.”


Having read as far as I have so far, I can tell you I have already thought of about 20 different variations of what might happen and who might be untrustworthy, but I have no idea what the truth is and it is keeping me very interested.


So far, so good. I will do a full review when I finish but thought I’d share a few thoughts on it so far.


Talk soon, bye!
The posts that I'm currently putting on the blog have actually been written since January because I did the book reviews as I went along and had to wait until some internet problems were fixed in my house to start the blog. So if there seems to be some inconsistency in timings, please forgive me. 

I do still want to share with you what my initial thoughts on the books were and the next post - Book Two Update was written about a third of the way through. 

I hope that makes sense! 

Have a joyful day. 
This year I promised myself that I would make resolutions and try to stick to at least one of them! Every year, along with thousands of other people, I make and break resolutions before you can even say February. This year I had about seven in total and so far this is the only one I have managed to maintain...fail.

The resolution is to read 30 books (at least) this year, only realising shortly after that this was two and a half books a month. Which seems like a lot. But I'd already written it in my notebook and I just really don't like making it look messy by scribbling things out! Now I'm not claiming to be a literary expert by any stretch and I probably wouldn't know a good book if it hit me square in the face, but these are just my thoughts and reactions and a bit of fun to keep my resolution ticking along nicely. 

I'm on my fifth book now (more on that in a later post) and as part of this blog I thought I'd do a short review on each of the books I read, so thought I'd start with the first...
Image from google.com
 It's called Into the Darkest Corner by Elizabeth Haynes and is one of those books that I found impossible to put down. It's about Catherine, a woman who has been through some traumatic events in her life and is trying to deal with the aftermath. There are a lot of twists and turns along the way that keep you fully engrossed and I found that I kept thinking about it throughout the day. The actual content of the book is at times harrowing and addresses some sensitive but brutal aspects of life. 

My only negative point is that I thought the ending was quite abrupt and I felt there could have been a bit more, but maybe that was just because I was enjoying it so much. 

I would really recommend it for something that isn't too much of a difficult read, but will most definitely have you engaged, scared and really wanting Catherine to be all right in the end. 

The next book I read was called Before I Go To Sleep by S J Watson and the review for this will be up in the not-too-distant-future. 

Thanks for reading, talk to you soon and I hope you're having a spiffing day. 


Hello there and welcome to my first blog from Duck and Egg. I am thrilled that you are taking the time to read this and I am extremely excited to finally be realising my dream of writing a blog for people to read and hopefully enjoy.


It has been a long time coming and since finishing university has been high on my agenda. The blogosphere is filled with so many inspirational people and ideas that sometimes it can get a bit overwhelming trying to establish where and how you will fit in, but here I am giving it a go and hoping that those of you out there reading this will find it entertaining, interesting and maybe even at times informative. Don't know about the last one as it may end up that I just ramble on incessantly about things but, if I do, I would ask you to bear with me because just sometimes there might be something worth a read. 


I have some posts ready and raring to go and will put them up over the next few days and weeks. The first post will be my New Year's Resolution post (and yes, I am aware of what month we're in!) and if you're interested in books you should take a look.


I don't have anything set in stone about when and what I will post about but I hope you enjoy them all the same and I look forward to talking to you again. For now I thought I would leave you with a picture showing what a lovely day it's been today.
Hope you're having a beautiful day.



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