Mecca Cosmetica Haul

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I am allowing myself a little treat every pay day while in isolation, you know, just to keep morale up. Recently the lovely Anissa tweeted to say that the Mecca Beauty Loop boxes were available. I feel like I always miss out on the Beauty Loop boxes, so quickly I hopped onto the Mecca site to immediately place an order. Here’s what I purchased:

 


 

 

Lancome Hypnose Mascara – I have lost count of how many times I’ve repurchased this mascara, it’s the only one I wear. I’ve heard mixed reviews from other people about how well this works for them, but it’s perfect for me and I’m not even tempted to try something new. Stick to what works!
 
Mecca Max Bring On Bright Illuminating Primer – This is another product I have repurchased a few times. I’ve even managed to turn both my best friend and mum on to using it, so it must be doing something right. As a primer it doesn’t seem to do much in the way of keeping my makeup on my face for extended periods of time, but it does give a lovely “glow” as a base.
 
Living Proof Restore Repair Leave In Conditioner – I have been loving my Aveda shampoo and conditioner products, but I’m finding the conditioner is not quite as heavy duty as my hair needs at the moment. I’m nearly finished with my current “leave in” product (Kevin Murphy ‘Staying Alive’), and I wanted to try something new. I’m curious to see how this works for me during winter because my hair has a tendency to get quite dry at the ends during the colder months.
 
Darphin Hydraskin Intensive Moisturising Serum – True to tradition, my skin has been playing up a bit as we transition into a different season. My biggest concern at the moment is dryness, so I’m hoping this hydrating serum will help give my skin a bit of a boost. I’m a big fan of the Darphin skin care range (not so much the price tag) so I have high hopes that this will work well.
Posted in: haircare, haul, makeup, skincare

Autumn Book Haul

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If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio – “Oliver Marks has just served ten years for the murder of one of his closest friends – a murder he may or may not have committed. On the day he’s released, he’s greeted by the detective who put him in prison. Detective Colborne is retiring, but before he does, he wants to know what really happened ten years ago. As a young actor studying Shakespeare at an elite arts conservatory, Oliver noticed that his talented classmates seem to play the same roles onstage and off – villain, hero, tyrant, temptress – though Oliver felt doomed to always be a secondary character in someone else’s story. But when the teachers change up the casting, a good-natured rivalry turns ugly, and the plays spill dangerously over into life. When tragedy strikes, one of the seven friends is found dead. The rest face their greatest acting challenge yet: convincing the police, and themselves, that they are blameless.”

No Exit by Taylor Adams – “On her way to Utah to see her dying mother, college student Darby Thorne gets caught in a fierce blizzard in the mountains of Colorado. With the roads impassable, she’s forced to wait out the storm at a remote highway rest stop. Inside are some vending machines, a coffee maker, and four complete strangers. Desperate to find a signal to call home, Darby goes back out into the storm… and makes a horrifying discovery. In the back of the van parked next to her car, a little girl is locked in an animal crate. Who is the child? Why has she been taken? And how can Darby save her? There is no cell phone reception, no telephone, and no way out. One of her fellow travelers is a kidnapper. But which one? Trapped in an increasingly dangerous situation, with a child’s life and her own on the line, Darby must find a way to break the girl out of the van and escape. But who can she trust?”

Nightingale by Amy Lukavics – “At seventeen, June Hardie is everything a young woman in 1951 shouldn’t be–independent, rebellious, a dreamer. June longs to travel, to attend college and to write the dark science fiction stories that consume her waking hours. But her parents only care about making June a better young woman. Her mother grooms her to be a perfect little homemaker while her father pushes her to marry his business partner’s domineering son. When June resists, her whole world is shattered–suburbia isn’t the only prison for different women… June’s parents commit her to Burrow Place Asylum, aka the Institution. With its sickening conditions, terrifying staff and brutal “medical treatments,” the Institution preys on June’s darkest secrets and deepest fears. And she’s not alone. The Institution terrorizes June’s fragile roommate, Eleanor, and the other women locked away within its crumbling walls. Those who dare speak up disappear… or worse. Trapped between a gruesome reality and increasingly sinister hallucinations, June isn’t sure where her nightmares end and real life begins. But she does know one thing: in order to survive, she must destroy the Institution before it finally claims them all.”

Posted in: autumn/winter, books, haul, Uncategorized

June Book Haul

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Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand – “Marion: The newbie. Awkward and plain, steady and dependable. Weighed down by tragedy and hungry for love she’s sure she’ll never find. Zoey: The pariah. Luckless and lonely, hurting but hiding it. Aching with grief and dreaming of vanished girls. Maybe she’s broken-or maybe everyone else is. Val: The queen bee. Gorgeous and privileged, ruthless and regal. Words like silk and eyes like knives; a heart made of secrets and a mouth full of lies. Their stories come together on the island of Sawkill Rock, where gleaming horses graze in rolling pastures and cold waves crash against black cliffs. Where kids whisper the legend of an insidious monster at parties and around campfires. Where girls have been disappearing for decades, stolen away by a ravenous evil no one has dared to fight…until now.”

The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides – Alicia Berenson writes a diary as a release, an outlet – and to prove to her beloved husband that everything is fine. She can’t bear the thought of worrying Gabriel, or causing him pain. Until, late one evening, Alicia shoots Gabriel five times and then never speaks another word. Forensic psychotherapist Theo Faber is convinced he can successfully treat Alicia, where all others have failed. Obsessed with investigating her crime, his discoveries suggest Alicia’s silence goes far deeper than he first thought. And if she speaks, would he want to hear the truth?”

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May Book Haul

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Normal People by Sally Rooney – “Connell and Marianne grow up in the same small town in rural Ireland. The similarities end there; they are from very different worlds. When they both earn places at Trinity College in Dublin, a connection that has grown between them lasts long into the following years.”

Nightmares and Dreamscapes by Stephen King – “A wrong turn on a lonely road lands a wayward couple in Rock and Roll Heaven, Oregon, where there’s no escaping the free nightly concert… A novelty toy becomes an unexpected and terrifying instrument of self-defense… An ex-con pieces together a map to unearth a stolen million dollars–but at what price?… A private investigator in Depression-era Los Angeles is finding his life unraveling as he discovers the shocking truth of who he really is… A third-grade teacher is willing to dig deep in order to exact revenge for his murdered wife… These are just some of the haunting scenarios to be found in this classic collection–spellbinding tales from the darkest places and the unparalleled imagination of fiction’s master storyteller.”

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April Book Haul

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Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake – “Mara and Owen are as close as twins can get, so when Mara’s friend Hannah accuses Owen of rape, Mara doesn’t know what to think. Can her brother really be guilty of such a violent act? Torn between her family and her sense of right and wrong, Mara feels lost, and it doesn’t help that things are strained with her ex-girlfriend, Charlie. As Mara, Hannah, and Charlie come together in the aftermath of this terrible crime, Mara must face a trauma from her own past and decide where Charlie fits into her future.”

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige – “I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t ask to be some kind of hero. But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado-taking you with it-you have no choice but to go along, you know? Sure, I’ve read the books. I’ve seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can’t be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There’s still a road of yellow brick-but even that’s crumbling. What happened? Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe. My name is Amy Gumm-and I’m the other girl from Kansas. I’ve been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. I’ve been trained to fight. And I have a mission: Remove the Tin Woodman’s heart. Steal the Scarecrow’s brain. Take the Lion’s courage. And-Dorothy must die.”

Daisy Jones and the Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid – “They were the new icons of rock and roll, fated to burn bright and not fade away. But on 12 July 1979, it all came crashing down. There was Daisy, rock and roll force of nature, brilliant songwriter and unapologetic drug addict, the half-feral child who rose to superstardom. There was Camila, the frontman’s wife, too strong-willed to let the band implode – and all too aware of the electric connection between her husband and Daisy. There was Karen, ice-cool keyboardist, a ferociously independent woman in a world that wasn’t ready for her. And there were the men surrounding them: the feuding, egotistical Dunne brothers, the angry guitarist chafing on the sidelines, the drummer binge-drinking on his boat, the bassist trying to start a family amid a hedonistic world tour. They were creative minds striking sparks from each other, ready to go up in flames. It’s never just about the music…”

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara – “When four graduates from a small Massachusetts college move to New York to make their way, they’re broke, adrift, and buoyed only by their friendship and ambition. There is kind, handsome Willem, an aspiring actor; JB, a quick-witted, sometimes cruel Brooklyn-born painter seeking entry to the art world; Malcolm, a frustrated architect at a prominent firm; and withdrawn, brilliant, enigmatic Jude, who serves as their centre of gravity. Over the decades, their relationships deepen and darken, tinged by addiction, success, and pride. Yet their greatest challenge, each comes to realize, is Jude himself, by midlife a terrifyingly talented litigator yet an increasingly broken man, his mind and body scarred by an unspeakable childhood, and haunted by what he fears is a degree of trauma that he’ll not only be unable to overcome – but that will define his life forever.”

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen – “When you read this book, you will make many assumptions. It’s about a jealous wife, obsessed with her replacement. It’s about a younger woman set to marry the man she loves. The first wife seems like a disaster; her replacement is the perfect woman. You will assume you know the motives, the history, the anatomy of the relationships. You will be wrong.”

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