Clinique Dark Spot Corrector Update

Do you remember way back in July when I told you about the fabulous raffle prize I won? It was a whole host of Clinique goodies, make-up and skincare products.

As I said then, I'm not much of a one for wearing make-up, but I do follow a skincare 'regime' (which makes it sound much more fancy than it actually is.) I decided to incorporate one of the products I'd won into this regime, and thus the 'Even Better Clinical Dark Spot Corrector' found a place between the Boots No7 Protect and Perfect Eye Cream and the Boots Time Delay Wrinkle Reduce Daily Serum (I'm ever hopeful that these products will do as they promise!) As well as applying the Dark Spot Corrector to my face I rubbed in on the back of my right hand as I thought this would be an easy way of comparing whether it had worked. So, back in July I took a photo of my hand

and every day since then (except for three weeks when we were on holiday) I've applied the Dark Spot Corrector to my face and hand. The bottle has just run out, so it's the perfect time for a comparison photo.

Sorry that my hand isn't in exactly the same position, but it's fairly close. So, what do you think? Personally I can't see that much of a difference, or at least not enough to encourage me to spend £58 a bottle on this stuff. Also, the first photo was taken during the summer so my skin had a little more colour to it from the sun, whereas now we're heading into winter and pale-ness has set in, which could account for the slight variation in the dark spots.

Has anyone else used this product? Has it worked?

Is It Just Me...

or does anyone else get that warm, fuzzy feeling and a slightly elevated heart rate coupled with the urge to shout 'reeeeeesult' and add in a subtle but meaningful fist pump when you go in to a charity shop and pick up not just the next book in a series you love (and happen to be currently reading), but also the one after that as well.

And for the princely sum of £2.49 each.

Please tell me I'm not alone?? Please? Someone??

And does anyone else love the No.1 Ladies Detective series like I do, or have you tired of it, or perhaps never even read any of the books?

Blowing Away the Cobwebs

A couple of weekends ago we decided to take a jaunt down to our favourite seaside resort, lovely Lyme Regis. On the way we may have made a very tiny detour into Axminster to partake of some lovely breakfast at the River Cottage Canteen. A bacon butty is a very necessary start to the weekend.

Unfortunately, when we arrived in Lyme it was raining. We sat in the car for a few minutes debating whether to just turn around and go home but then we decided we needed to be British about things and not let a little inclement weather spoil our visit to the seaside. 

As luck would have it, after about 20 minutes the rain clouds toddled off and left us with some lovely blue skies and autumn sunshine. Perfect weather for crabbing; although if you're DC any weather is perfect weather for crabbing.

This was the only critter we caught

Slightly wind-swept selfie

Lovely view from the end of the Cobb with Jurassic Coast cliffs in the distance

Oh, Lyme Regis, you are so pretty 

After all that crabbing, it was time for a pit stop in the amusement arcade; hours of fun to be had bashing rubber sharks.

 Before a little stroll along the prom prom prom (alas there was no brass band playing tiddly om pom pom).

 It looks positively tropical, don't you think?!?

Book Review No 12: We Are All Made of Glue by Marina Lewycka

I read this book while we were on holiday in Spain at the end of May; I really am so far behind with my reviews. The tea room takes up such a lot of my time that blogging has slipped to the bottom of the pile somewhat; it does make me a bit sad that this is the case, but I'm sure things will change one day and I'll be able to visit my little corner of blogland more regularly.

Anyway, better crack on since time is of the essence. Here's the blurb from the back of the book:

Georgie Sinclair's life is coming unstuck. Her husband's left her. Her son's obsessed with the End of the World. And now her elderly neighbour Mrs Shapiro has decided they are related.
Or so the hospital informs her when Mrs Shapiro has an accident and names Georgie next of kin. This, however, is not a case of a quick ward visit: Mrs Shapiro has a large rickety house full of stinky cats that needs looking after and that a pair of estate agents seem intent on swindling from her. Plus there are the 'Uselesses' trying to repair it (uselessly). Then there's the social worker who wants to put her in a nursing home. Not to mention some letters that point to a mysterious, painful past.
As Georgie tries her best to put Mrs Shapiro's life back together, somehow she must stop her own from falling apart...

I picked this book up because I'd read and very much enjoyed another book by this author (A History of Tractors in Ukrainian); I'm not even sure if I bothered to read what it was about, I was just happy to give another of her stories a go. And now I'm going to come a bit unstuck (pardon the glue pun) trying to review it because it was such a long time ago that I read it I can barely remember the story. Still, I'll give it my best shot. Not meaning to start on a negative but I know I didn't enjoy the book as much as Tractors since there were parts I found a little annoying, but overall the book was enjoyable. The writer's style is one that makes the book easy to read and 'get in to', and the humour was both gentle and a little bawdy. The story is at times far-fetched but, really, isn't that the point of a novel - to stretch the imagination and suspend belief for a while? Going back to the negatives though, the main character, Georgie, could be somewhat annoying, there were a few too many minor characters to keep track of, there are cliches a-plenty and the story is probably just a smidge too long. However, the positives outweigh the negatives (just about), and so I would say I'm glad I read this book and I will definitely read the author's other novel (Two Caravans) and will probably read any others she may write in the future. And there you have it, another scintillating review from yours truly.