The Academy Award winning movie Argo is now out on DVD, and with an evening to ourselves for the first time in ages, we settled in to watch it.

Those of you saw Saving Private Ryan way back when will remember D Day veterans saying that watching the movie was as close as it could possibly come to capturing the sheer terror of being on the Normandy beaches. I would imagine that those involved in the Iran hostage crisis of 1979 would probably say that Argo does the same job for those at the American Embassy that day.

Argo follows the story of six American embassy staff who manage to escape before the embassy is besieged and take refuge in the Canadian embassy. (As an aside, the British Embassy had a hand in their escape, although this is not shown in the movie – this link contains plot spoilers). The CIA come up with the most outlandish plan of all time to get them out of the country – one that could only happen in the movies.

Argo is beautifully acted and keeps maintains a high level of tension throughout. We thoroughly enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it for a grown up, quiet night in.

Available via Amazon.

This review was based on a review copy kindly provided by Warner Brothers.

Essential puppy kit

A year ago, a small, white fluffy furball landed in our lives. “People” had warned us that getting a puppy was like having a baby. Well, I’ve done both now and I would say “people” are wrong. Getting a puppy is like having an incontinent nappy-free toddler on acid dropped in your house. I’d taken guidance both from books and dog trainers and all of them said that in order to housetrain a puppy you need to take them out to the garden regularly. Like every half hour to hour or so. Which meant that I, the ultimate indoors sofa hugger was outside about 8 times a day, in the cold and dark, shining a torch at a puppy’s bum to see if they were producing as required. Nice.

As you can imagine, this played havoc with my skin. These were my lifesavers.

1. Lanolips. I bunged this on my lips morning and night and whenever I need to in-between. I also found the skin round my nose was getting very dry, especially when I picked up a cold and was blowing my nose repeatedly. I applied some Lanolips round the nostril area too – possibly not the best of looks, but it saved me days of red, sore peeling skin afterwards.

2. Lipstick. I moved to richer formulations like my Chantecaille Lip Chic (I have the one, I would have to sell the puppy to get more). The new Clarins Rouge Eclat formulation would also be good here, although not quite as nourishing as the Lip Chic. Basically you want a really nourishing formula, the richer the better.

3. Skin care. Bump it up. I have combination skin (which I hated in my twenties but am totally seeing the benefit of in my forties). But even I was struggling with dryness. Temporarily you might need to ramp things up a bit and go for something a little richer.

4. Perfume. You will be knackered, grumpy, and walking round with a mop in your hand. Buy yourself something very lovely, you might as well smell nice.

If you have got a puppy recently, or are thinking of one, the very best of luck and I hope the above advice helps. And be reassured – it does all pass, and as I quickly opened the door this morning and shooed the dog out for his ablutions, the acid toddler phase was but a distant memory.

Many action movies these days are over before you have eaten the first inch of popcorn from the pack. Not so The Dark Knight Rises. It’s a full blooded two and half hours which starts with a brooding Bruce Wayne, broken in body and spirit, and rises to a crescendo of mayhem. I watched it with my twelve year old and we both agreed it would not be suitable for much younger children: there is a considerable amount of violence that goes way beyond the KAPOW that Batman handed out in my youth, and a baddie that really is very creepy looking. However, for older children and adults it’s an absorbing and entertaining movie, with two great twists in the tale.

I would recommend watching the trilogy in sequence. The movie does stand alone but all three are great movies and Christian Bale makes an interesting study of a troubled Batman.

Anne Hathaway

You can pick up The Dark Knight Rises from Amazon on DVD for a tenner, which includes a digital copy for download or streaming. I was provided this DVD as a gift, but the opinions are my own and it would have made it under my tree in any case. Recommended.

Berry Lip Colours for December

These are my favourites but if you know something that I may “need” do please let me know in the comments.

First up are these candles, purchased from Space NK. I have a relative *waves at relative* who is heavily pregnant at the moment, and I thought these would be a lovely gift as they wait for the new addition to their family. Firstly, on opening the box they smell beautiful but also pack a punch for their tiny size. And secondly, call me shallow but the packaging is beautiful.

The two fragrances are Relax and Comfort and they retail at £29. Yum.

Aromatherapy Associates candles

I shall stare it a little more and then take a deep breath and plunge in. Wish me luck.

She Uemura Raspberry and Mocha palette

Bobbi Eau de Parfum

Bobbi Brown Pretty Powerful

*It’s not my invincible scent though. That’s 24 Faubourg by Hermes, which I wear if I ever need to kick some bum in a meeting.

Nuxe is a brand that doesn’t get a huge amount of coverage. Its products are steady rather than spectacular, reliable rather than sexy.

Most people will know about the multi purpose oil, but I thought I would give the hand cream a try. I am not exactly the most demanding customer when it comes to hand cream – I just want it to sink in nicely and make my hands look and feel better. This ticks all the boxes and I would definitely rebuy. A solid performer.

I had been a devotee of Bobbi Brown foundations for years. Their SAs are generally excellent, they have always colour matched me really well and they do a decent selection of different types of foundation.

I had, however found two problems with Bobbi Brown. The first was that on a few occasions the SAs sold me products based on my age (“more experienced”) rather than my skin type (combination / oily). This meant that I ended up with products that were too rich for my skin. And the other problem was that whatever formulation I picked, I could always see little droplets of it sitting in the pores round my nose, even when I used a primer.

So, on Sali’s strong recommendation I raided the kids’ piggy banks*, ventured to the very bowels of Selfridges’ beauty hall and bought myself some Suqqu. I went for the older formulation and I am a shade 15. It is awesome. I don’t know what the technology is that they have used, but this melts into my skin. It does not sit in my mahoosive pores AT ALL, and once it’s on (I use a brush or fingers) it’s flawless and leaves my skin feeling like velvet. Look, I have no idea how it works, but it does. If you get the opportunity, get yourself into Selfridges and give it a go. Just be prepared to spend the kids’ inheritance.

*Not really – what do you take me for? I emptied their bank accounts instead.