Book Review [ S.K Tremayne "The Ice Twins"

*Disclaimer* This is my first book review and only my 5th blog post so please excuse me if I have rambled or lacked structure, I'm here to share my thoughts on things I love with you and reading is a true passion of mine so if you have any tips on what you would like to see in book reviews please do let me know!

Tremayne's "The Ice Twins"  was recommended to me in Waterstone's as a psychological thriller, and it certainly did not disappoint.

The book is told from the point of view of both Sarah and Angus Moorcroft, parents to identical twin girls Lydia and Kirstie.Their lives are thrown into a dark spiral when during the grieving process for one of their twin daughters, the surviving twin claims to be her dead sister. I knew I was going to enjoy this creepy book as soon as I read about Kirstie chillingly claiming "I'm Lydia, it was Kirstie who died."

This book is eerie. I was house sitting for family friends whilst reading it and I used to time when I would read with when my boyfriend would be around so that I didn't become too scared (sidenote I am 25, not 5). I applaud Tremayne for the chilling combination of a potential ghost twin, a remote Scottish island, and the brewing violent anger between Sarah and Angus. 

There are a few questions evolving throughout the story, which twin survived? Is there something we don't know about the accident? And what is causing the build up of anger and resentment between Sarah and Angus, to the point where they openly despise each other? The book is littered with spine tingling chills, and contains what I consider to be a brilliant twist that I did not see coming. I wasn't a huge fan of the way the book ended, I can't quite figure out why, but this did not take away from my joy in reading this book.

I found the book easy to read, and finished it in a couple of days, I would recommend to anybody who likes psychological thrillers, and found it comparable to the likes of Disclaimer, Daughter, and After the Crash.

If you have read The Ice Twins please let me know your thoughts! Please leave further book recommendations below!

Overall I would give the book a 7/10. 

Speak soon,

Rebecca

Dry January/Drink Aware App

Hi all,

I write this post at the serious risk of sounding like I am battling an alcohol problem, this is not the case, and alcoholism is a disease I take very seriously. That being said, I am very aware of how over indulgent I have become with alcohol (mainly wine.)

I was raised in a middle class family who drink a lot of wine, and slowly but surely I found myself drinking more and more. I almost began to believe it was my right of passage to have a glass whenever I wanted. The introduction of a very stressful but enjoyable career added to my belief that I deserved a glass of wine almost every night!By September 2015 there was not a day that would go by where I wouldn't drink at night, and by Christmas I had reached the point where one bottle was simply not enough!!

So here I am...at the beginning of January with a very fuzzy head and probably a slightly damaged liver. I am now partaking in the Dry January Campaign by Alcohol Concern. You can read all about Dry January here at http://www.dryjanuary.org.uk/

So far i'm doing well, it's lovely waking up in the morning feeling clear and refreshed as opposed to groggy and tired. I am hoping to also see improvements in my skin, and maybe a slight weight loss.

To help me along the way I am using the Drink Aware app which allows me to track what I previously drank, and shows me how much money I'm saving which is always a good motivator for me!

I will keep you updated on my journey, and please do let me know if any of you are doing dry January, and if so let me know if you are doing any fundraising so I can check out your pages :)

Speak soon,

Rebecca

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Top 10 of 2015 [Beauty Edition]

Happy New Year!! I had a wonderful year in 2015, discovered some amazing products, and really found my footing on a solid beauty routine! I want to share with you my Top 15 products of 2015, some new finds and some old trusty's! In no particular order:


1.  La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo - £15.50 - My skin is fairly clear, but I do suffer from hormonal breakouts along my jaw line/chin one or twice a month. When this happens, I immediately reach for my Effaclar Duo, and know that applying at night after cleansing will result in a far more clear face in the morning! This procuct is not a miracle worker, i.e. it will not magically remove every blemish from my face in one night of sleep, but I can safely say it will clear my skin up within a couple of days!






2. Pixi Glow Tonic - £18.00 - This year I learnt the importance of looking after my skin, hence why in this list you will see a few similar skin care products. I tend to switch between 3 different skincare routines, but a lot of products cross over into all 3. Pixi Glow tonic is an acid toner widely known to be a P50 dupe. I find it very hard to explain why I love glow tonic, and have failed to convert many of my friends by just simply stating that I love it, and it makes my skin look better/more glowy...very scientific I know!

3.  Alpha H Liquid Gold - £33.50 - I bought this product because Ruth Crilly A Model Recommends described it as "taking your skin to the gym". The idea of this intruiged me and I haven't looked back since. I sue this after my evening cleanse and do not follow it up with any other products.

4.Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Balm - £38.00 - This was my go to cleanser in 2015. I repurchased it multiple times, and will continue to do so in 2016. It feels luxurious on the skin, removes all traces of make up, and has the mot delightful scent, This is one of my few high end products I own, and I can solidly say it is worth the money!

5. Ren Vita Mineral Omega 3 Supreme Skin Face Oil - £25.00 - This serum appears in my skin care routine almost every night of the week. Paired with a good toner, and followed up with moisturizer this product is suitable for all skin types!

6. Maybelline Dream Flawless Nude Foundation - £8.99 - This was my most loved everyday foundation in 2015, It's perfect for work as it is lightweight with a light/medium coverage, and I can never feel it sitting on my face. This foundation needs a touch up after about 6 hours, and the best thing is it re applies beautifully, and doesn't ever appear cakey on my skin!







7.  Real Techniques Miracle Complexion Sponge - £5.99 - I'm extremely late to this bandwagon and am sure you are all aware of this sponge craze. This is essentially Real Techniques answer to the beauty blender. I use this damp to apply foundation and concealer, it gives a lovely finish and is especially good at taking away the cakiness of heavier foundations i.e. Revlon Colorstay.

8. Benefit Coralista Blush - £23.50 - I have used the blush almost every time I've worn make up in the last 24 months. It gives my cheeks a healthy peachy glow which lasts all day. When I was a student on a tighter budget I used to use Natural Collection's Peach Melba which could be passed off as a dupe for this, minus the smell and staying power.

9. Revlon Highlighting Pallette Rose Glow - £9.99 - I randomly picked this up in a 3 for 2 sale at boots whilst purchasing a Revlon mascara and foundation, and it is now by far my favourite revlon product. When used as a highlighter, rose glow gives what I consider to be the perfect sheen to my cheeks, and when caught in the right light it is simply stunning, I have received a number of compliments on my skin since I began wearing this!

10. Jo Malone Wood Sage and Sea Salt Cologne - £85.00 - This scent was a gift from my boyfriend, and wasn't one I would initially have chosen for myself. After wearing this for the first time I could not stop sniffing my wrist, the scent is so light, refreshing and unique. If you have a chance please stop by a Jo Malone store/counter and smell this! I used the fragrance alone for daytime, and in the evenings I layer it with my Jo Malone Peony and Blush Suede for a beautiful evening fragrance.

I will be doing monthly favorites during 2016 that will not be limited to beauty products so I can keep updating you on what I'm enjoying! In the meantime please let me know what your favorite products of 2015 were!!

Thank you and best wishes for the New Year!!

October essentials that you didn't know you would need!

"Generic comment about how fast this year has gone and how I can't believe it's October already"

For those of you (all of you) who don't know me personally you won't know that this is the time of year where I turn into you're typical young British girl and start raving about how much I love autumn!!

The reason being, I truly think England does autumn so well! Spring is ok, we can never get summer right, and winter is rainy and cold! But autumn brings clear crisp mornings, beautiful changes in the leaves, and it also goes hand in hand with warming foods like soups, casseroles and pies! Whats not to love??

October is the month for me where I really start to make a conscious effort into transitioning into the colder weather. Which brings me to my list of my personal Autumn essentials!

• Vaseline (whichever chapstick works best for you) - If you are anything like me then my lips begin to become entirely dependent on a constant application of some form of moisturizer, Vaseline is my personal favorite, as it is cheap and always the most effective.
• Sunglasses - I wear my sunglasses more in autumn than any other season in England! Mainly when driving on those aforementioned crisp sunny mornings!
• SPF - Even if its not warm the sun is still shining and your face is still being exposed to the rays! Protect yourself!!
• Hand Sanitizer - As we transition into the winter months every single British person seems to become a walking sniffle. Use hand sanitizer to minimise risk of contracting colds, bugs and flus!
• Vitamin C - If the above tip did not help, then overdose on Vitamin C, As soon as I feel any kind of throat tickle or cough I overdose my system with Vitamin C. I mean literally take 7 vitamin c tablets, then two hours later take another 4. Continue this until you feel like you have fought off any unwanted germs (roughly one or two days).

Quick Tip || Buy High end beauty products discounted from M&S!

Roughly 2 years ago I noticed that one of my favorite UK department stores, Marks & Spencer, was beginning to introduce a lot more branded beauty and skincare items into their beauty hall.

The reason why this struck me as being so exciting was because the store regularly run discount codes and offers which often include products from the beauty hall! 

I recently purchased the Emma Hardie "Amazing Face Morigna Balm" set which included 3 pots of the Amazing Face Morigna Cleansing Balm for £30.40. This equates to 150ml of Cleansing balm!

It is definitely worth keeping an eye out for these offers, I am yet to discover any pattern in when they come along, I usually receive an email update as I am signed up to their text alerts. This can be done quickly and for free through the following link.

http://www.marksandspencer.com/s/contact-us/sms-homepage

Some of the other brands available in the M&S beauty range that I like are:

• Apothecary
• Burts Bees
• Bliss
• Bourjois
• Crabtree & Evelyn
• Glamglow
• Ren
• Korres
• L'Occitane
• Nuxe
• Pixi
• St Tropez
• Stila

There are many other brands available (some I haven't heard of before) so I do believe it is well worth a sign up, as getting the 20% certainly makes a lot of these brands fall into my budget when they previously wouldn't!

Hope this helped!

Speak soon,

Rebecca.

Hi there!

I figured I should kick off my foray into blogging with a little bit about me...so let me introduce myself!

I'm Rebecca Lane, a 24 year old from Surrey, UK. I wanted to start this blog to simply share some of the things I enjoy with the world, including (but not limited to) cooking, eating, drinking wine, walking, exploring, shopping, beauty and travelling!

Those of you reading my blog can hopefully take some recommendation, or inspiration from my posts, and likewise please do share blogs you guys have as I'm pretty new to the world of blogging and would love to follow some like minded people!

Speak soon!

Rebecca.