Carmen Reid - An OK Read

Advantages: Good for escapism, light-hearted, fun
Disadvantages: Not the best of it's kind, others do chick-lit better

...Annie Valentine is stylish, savvy, mulit-tasker extraordinaire and she is the central character in Carmen Reid's 'The Personal Shopper'. I've never read anything by Reid before and I nearly didn't read this after I noticed the appallingly cheesy tagline on the back of the book - 'A fabulous read. A sexy read. A Carmen Reid'. But I decided to overlook this minor 'flaw' and give it a go - after all, you should NEVER judge a book by its cover! Annie Valentine is the single mother of a stroppy teenage girl and painfully shy eleven year old boy. She is a super-busy personal shopper in a super-swanky department store. She spends her days mentoring and re-inventing her clients through the medium of clothes and she's damn good at her job. It seems though, that she is so good at her job that she leaves no time for her personal life. Will she...

dkm1981 16.12.2009 · Read review
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Review of The Personal Shopper - Carmen Reid

CARMEN REID IS A FABULOUS READ!

Advantages: A feisty, funny, memorable heroine plus a great story
Disadvantages: It came to an end

...wonderfully rounded. They are all given great parts in this busy story and not one is a disappointment. I loved and hated them as necessary. No way does the story focus totally on Annie's job as a Personal Shopper. You won't find screeds of fashion tips and hints cunningly included within the plot. You will find some, of course, but the theme is certainly not intrusive. We meet a few of Annie's favourite customers and their parts are well written and the interaction between them and Annie is not in any way unnecessary to the story. There's no padding in Ms Reid's writing. Oh! And I have to tell you that Carmen Reid is also the only author I've read to date who can write a lovemaking scene which is actually delightfully sexy and funny and not at all clinical or mucky. With lots of love and laughter, a little sadness and a huge...

Louizalass 24.10.2007 · Read review
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Review of The Personal Shopper - Carmen Reid

Great Modern Carmen

Advantages: Smooth voiced protagonists, nice sound
Disadvantages: Slightly tame Escamillo, maybe lacking in some french style

...Arguably the best recording of Carmen in the past 30 years. Teresa Berganza has a smooth and warm voice here, rather darker than Victoria de los Angeles (Thomas Beecham conducts, EMI) but smoother and lighter than Maria Callas (Georges Pretre conducts, EMI) and Regine Resnik (Schippers conducts, Decca). Her performance is similarly balanced - dramatic without being too vampish and with that sultry latin quality (a little bit lacking in Victoria de los Angeles in my opinion). She sings with greater precision in the runs and leaps than Resnik and her voice seems like balm after the altogether different instrument of Maria Callas (even at the later's best she growls rather more than Berganaza which you either love or hate). Placido Domingo is a king amongst recent Don Joses on record. Jose Carreras with Karajan may bring more passion to...

operalover2000 04.04.2008 · Read review
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Review of Bizet: Carmen

Lush Carmen Miranda - My Fruit Cocktail

Advantages: A great all round soap for anyone
Disadvantages: None

...This is, without a doubt, my all-time favourite Lush soap. And it was my very first Lush soap, too! There I was, in a virgin Lush shower with Miranda and I was having such a fantastic shower, all because of a piece of soap! Needless to say my boyfriend thought i'd gone mad, as he said and I quote "its only a soap". Oh no my friend, its not just a soap its a Miranda soap! Originally named Carmen Miranda (the singer from the 70s, who dressed in very elaborate head- gear made of fruit. She was as famous for her singing as she was for her fruity head dresses) it was created as a big soap "pie" decorated with huge pieces of carved soap fruit on top. Truly, it was nothing short of a work of art. But then it was briefly discontinued, reformulated, and returned as Miranda, a white to light green soap with the fruit now being stirred into...

sweetpeas01 02.05.2009 · Read review
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Review of Lush Carmen Miranda Soap

Vinyl Dryer Balls Make Me Itch

Advantages: Supposed to reduce drying time
Disadvantages: Gave an allergic reaction to the vinyl

...I bought myself two dryer balls after my daughter recommended them to me. They are supposed to soften fabrics and shorten drying time in the tumbler dryer and the two I bought were pink and blue and cost £1.99 from Amazon. These are hard, spiky balls that make an awful racket as they go round inside the tumbler dryer. The spikes are supposed to ?agitate? the fabric and soften it. To be honest I noticed very little difference between drying with these in the drum and leaving them out. I still prefer to use dryer sheets which give everything a softness and have a nice smell as well. Anyway, since I had bought the dryer balls, I decided to persevere and see if I could get used to them. I woke up one morning covered in a read prickly rash which itched like mad, but had no idea what had caused it. Eventually it faded and I was...

jan007 13.12.2009 · Read review
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Review of Dryer balls

Kinky Massage Balls are Dryer Balls.

Advantages: Less drying time, less creases, less lint.
Disadvantages: Noisy, husband complains even more.

...My drying balls were a result of wanting to treat myself. I had some Tesco club card vouchers which is the perfect excuse for a reason to buy something for yourself that you don`t really need. Whilst perusing the store, some strange looking balls caught my eye. I was wondering whether they were a pair of kinky massage balls. On closer inspection, I discovered that they were tumble dryer balls! I hadn`t seen anything like the balls before so I was compelled to have a look. There were 2 balls, one in pale blue and one in lilac, covered in little nobbly bits. They were partially covered with cardboard packaging. I needed to find out more, I really wanted to feel the entire ball in my hand. I was puzzled with regards to their use in drying clothes so I read the cardboard packaging. Claims. ****** There were several claims...

spottydog2 08.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of Dryer balls

Search for the thief Carmen Sandiego all around the world!

Advantages: Good graphics and has educational value.
Disadvantages: Can sometimes be difficult to defeat enemies and not alot of storyline.

...Age Rating: 7+ 1 Player PS2 memory card required. Trainee A.C.M.E agent Cole Gannon is searching for the elusive thief Carmen Sandiego. By cracking puzzles and fighting supernatural spirits, Cole will be able to gain clues that take him all around the world after Carmen. The thief is looking for several drums that can reveal a hidden diamond but spirits are trying to stop her from taking the drums. The main aspect of the game is exploring different areas for clues to Carmen's location, these are in the form of compasses that you have to pick up before you can get to the next level. Once you collect all of the compasses and finish the level the in-game GPS will appear and find your next destination. When you enter a new country a small window will pop up, Shadow will begin to talk about the country and its history. Another part...

Mistybrook 13.02.2009 · Read review
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Review of Carmen Sandiego The Secret Of The Stolen Drums

My New Tumble Dryer Balls

Advantages: Cut down on drying time
Disadvantages: None

...A couple of weeks ago I decided to treat myself to a couple of Dryer Balls. I've seen them many times before and have read about them, but always wondered whether or not they would work. I was in my local Poundland and I saw them for...would you believe!....£1, well as I like a bargain, I couldn't resist. A Bit About Dryer Balls Dryer balls are made from PVC plastic, which is able to withstand extremely hot temperatures and will not melt. You get 2 balls in the packet. They are approximately 3" in diameter and are covered in little nodules. You simply put the balls into the dryer with the clothes and start the drying cycle. The balls are believed to reduce static build up during the drying process, help to reduce the drying time, make your clothes softer and also reduce the amount of ironing needed. Dryer balls claim to replace...

lel1969 26.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Dryer balls

Get fruity with Carmen Miranda

Advantages: smell, it is natrual
Disadvantages: It is not Gingerman availability, not the cheapest thing in the world

...have been hiding under a stone for ten years Lush is a fantastic shop smelling innovative, fun and freshly made cosmetics and toiletries which are made of high quality ingredients and not tested on animals. They are most famous for their bath bombs but this review is on one of their newest soaps Carmen Miranda. Anyway once in the Princes Street store in Edinburgh I set about choosing my goodies. Once the bath bombs and the essential massage bar for fun with Duskman were selected it was the turn of the soaps. Lush soaps are presented in large blocks like cheese in the deli section of the supermarket and are cut and weighed the same way. While scanning over the different soap blocks my eyes settled on Carmen Miranda. Named after the calypso singer with fruit for a head dress Carmen Miranda is a lovely pastel green with different pastel...

duskmaiden 16.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Lush Carmen Miranda Soap

Carmen Angel Curls

Advantages: The steam setting helps set the curl and the size of the curl is perfect
Disadvantages: A bit difficult to get the hang of to start with , especially if looking in the mirror!

...I've always had naturally wavy but frizzy hair and fancied trying to coax it in to beautiful loose curls. I saw the Carmen Angel Curls product on Boots.com for the bargain price of £14.99 and decided to give it a go. I thought this was a very good price and a lot cheaper than other curling tongs but I think it's because they're really aimed at younger girls (13-16) who wouldn't be able to afford more expensive tongs. Although they're aimed at the younger market (with the bright packaging and pink handle) they're just as good as other 'grown-up' tongs I've used before - if not better! I really wanted a lovely head of curly hair for a friends party and sat myself down in front of my dressing table with my Angel Curls in hand. I'd flicked through the instruction book briefly (which looks very comprehensive) but they look pretty...

elliej21 04.08.2004 · Read review
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Review of Angel Curls - Carmen Girls