2011's Favourite Products: Part 3 - Lip and Nails

2011 was definitely the year of the lipstick for me. I purchased over 100 new lipsticks, spent a whole month wearing a different lipstick every day and really got into wearing bold, bright shades that I used to shy away from. So let's have a quick rundown of this year's favourite lipstick - in no particular order.

Guerlain Rouge G lipsticks have become one of my favourite lipsticks and this year out of them all Garconne and Girly, the two bright autumn shades were my absolutely favourites. Garconne is the most perfect red lipstick for me, and Girly is a fun bright pink shade.

Guerlain Rouge G in Girly (left) and Garconne (right)

Keep reading to see which other lipsticks made it into my favourites!

2011's Favorite Products: Part 2 - Face

To continue from yesterday's favourites post I have the face products I loved the most this year to show you. Like I said in yesterday's post, it's hard to compose these lists because current favourites can easily make it in there even if you were using something  else for 11 months. Despite me not wanting to include products that have only recently made it into my most used and well loved products, I have gone against it and included a couple of products that are very new to me but have become firm favourites. Read on to find out what they are.

First up is my favourite face primer, Guerlain Meteorites Perles Light-Diffusing Perfecting Primer. It smells amazing and gives a smooth base, it's not slimy and slippery like some silicone based one, love it. I have reviewed it, so click on the link above.

Keep reading to find out which other face products I loved this year!

2011's Favourite Products: Part 1 - Eyes

As 2011 is drawing to a close, I decided to do a series of posts about my favourite beauty products of the year. To be honest though, I do find it quite difficult to do posts like this, because a year is a pretty long period and I often find if I think of my favourites of a certain period, the latest favourites will most likely be included rather than the ones I was crazy about 6 months ago. But I will try to be as objective as possible. I'm not doing detailed reviews on everything since I have actually reviewed a lot of these products, so I will just link them back to the posts if they've already been reviewed.

First up are base products. My favourites are in no particular order: Barbara Daly (for Tesco) Even Smoother Eye Base, Mac Paint Pots and Rimmel Colour Mousse 8hr eyeshadows. Click on the links for the reviews. The only one of these three that I haven't reviewed yet are the Mac Paint Pots. I don't know why, I've just never got around to doing it. I actually own a lot of them, having bought 10 with the last 2 Mac collections and also the permanent ones, or older limited edition ones that I'd already owned. They can be used as primers as they don't crease at all or just on their own for a subtle (or in some cases not so subtle) colour. My only problem with them is that my older ones are beginning to dry out, even though I keep them upside down and sealed properly. They are the most expensive of the bunch at £13.50 for 5 g.

Keep reading to find out what other eye products made it into my favourites this year!

Festive Nails: China Glaze Luna

Okay, so I know, Christmas is over, but there's still New Year's Eve, and in any case, you don't even need an excuse to wear a gorgeous glittery nail polish. China Glaze Luna is a beautiful icy blue nail polish with lots of shimmer and holographic glitter that shimmers in every colour of the rainbow depending on how the light hits it. Absolutely stunning.

With flash

My only problem with glitter nail polishes like this is that they chip and peel off very quickly. I like painting my nails the night before a party or meal out, and often with glitter polishes I have chips within a matter of hours. I actually had to stick back one nail back as it completely peeled off (just the nail polish, not the nail obviously). Of course there's always the pain of removal of course, but I'm starting to get used to it now. I also found this to be a bit thick, so drying time was a bit long, but just look at it, still very much worth it!

I got mine from the US on eBay, but in the UK you can get them from Sally Express for £6.49 each. You get 14 ml which will certainly last you a good while.

See more pictures after the jump!

Laura Geller Smoke & Ice Collection Review and Swatches

I bought this Laura Geller set on QVC because I really like her eyeshadows and highlighters, but I have to say this one is a really funny one. The set contains Eye Elements Baked Eyeshadows and Highlighter in Smoke & Ice and lipstick in Nice-n-Nude.

You get 3 silver/grey/black eyeshadows and a highlighter which is a sort of ashy pink colour. Although the eyeshadows didn't swatch very well, once I applied them on my eyes over a primer, they were actually very nice with good colour payoff and lasted very well without creasing. The highlighter is a funny one, it's a ashy light pink colour. You will see in the pictures below, it doesn't really show up on me, which is probably for the best because it's not a very flattering colour at all. You also get a very brown nude lipstick which I haven't actually swatched because I know I will never wear it, so will probably sell it eventually. The set cost £25.20 plus £2.95 delivery cost from QVC.

All in all I don't think it was worth it, although the eyeshadows are good, the rest are just not suitable for me. I can see the highlighter work on my browbone as it has a grey hue to it, so it would go well with the eyeshadow trio, but on the cheeks it's too ashy.

See more pictures after the jump!

Festive Nails: China Glaze Ring In The Red - The Ultimate Christmas Red

Sorry about the slightly fuzzy picture, I took it on my mobile. But you can still see what a gorgeous sparkly red nail polish this is, just perfect for Christmas. This was part of China Glaze's holiday collection, Let It Snow (same as Champagne Bubbles).

It is a really fabulous red nail polish with red glitter in it which is quite fine, so it doesn't feel gritty at all. It took 2 coats to look even, but I did 3 for an even nicer finish, plus Seche Vite top coat. Unfortunately a couple of nails chipped after just one day, but sadly that is not unusual for me at all. It did at least dry pretty quickly, so if I have to reapply, it won't be a big deal.

I got mine from the US on eBay, but in the UK you can get them from Sally Express for £6.49 each. You get 14 ml which will certainly last you a good while.

What is your favourite Christmassy nail polish? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

Mac Metal-X Cream Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

Despite hearing bad reviews about these and saying I won't buy them, once I swatched these eyeshadows at the Mac counter I decided to pick up a few anyway. I can't explain why, just that the colours looked pretty and that was enough to suck me in.

Palladium, Fusion Gold, Cyber

I got Palladium, Fusion Gold and Cyber, and I have to say, that despite the bad reviews I'm actually quite happy with these. They seem quite dry for cream shadows, they are certainly not as creamy as I thought they'd be. As a result actually, they are very hard to apply with a brush, so I just use my fingers to apply and blend them. I used them over two different bases (Urban Decay Primer Potion in Sin and Too Faced Eye Shadows Insurance Policy) and I have to admit, they still creased. But I didn't think they were that bad, I mean yes, it's not great that they crease, but there was really only a faint line, not a massive big area on my lid. And since my eyes are quite hooded and I don't walk around with my eyes closed, I think the creasing is not at all noticable. I suspect it would be worse with the darker colours, but these light ones are fine.

My favourite ones of the bunch are Fusion Gold and Cyber, I love the pinky gold shade of Fusion Gold and the silver glitter in Cyber. Thankfully there wasn't any glitter fallout from it, and it is so pretty. Palladium is a nice highlighting shade. I have not tried these with powder shadows layered over them, not sure if that would help with the creasing, but I didn't buy them as bases, so it doesn't greatly matter.

Mac Metal-X Cream Eyeshadows cost £15.50 each and they are 2.4 g, so the larger pan size. They seem to have sold surprisingly well considering their bad reputation because Debenhams only has a few shades available, although on the Mac webiste only Vintage Coin is showing as sold out. Debenhams did have a long running 10% off beauty sale, so maybe that's why they've sold more of them. Anyway, while I don't think these are that great, I don't hate them and I don't see why some bloggers say they're so awful.

Have you tried these eyeshadows yet? What do you think? Let me know in the comments.

See more pictures after the jump!

17 Blemish Balm All In One Magic Make Up Review - This One Is Good!

After the disappointment that was the Garnier B.B. cream I swore I wasn't gonna buy another one, but somehow I ended up getting the new 17 B.B. cream. I actually like this one though, so it wasn't a waste of money.

The formula is much thicker than the Garnier one and as a result provides a much better coverage. They claim it's full coverage, but I wouldn't go that far, however you certainly get a decent medium coverage. It feels more like a foundation than a tinted moisturiser to me actually. I got the light shade and it's a very good match for me, but I suspect it will be too dark for those who have a lighter skintone (I'm a Mac light medium (NC/W20-ish) in winter). I think this only comes in light and medium, so there won't be a match for everyone for sure. It lasted very well on me, and I only had to touch up my oily bits once, but that's the same with other foundations too (if I'm lucky). This certainly doesn't make my face look oily or dewey like the Garnier one did, so that's a major plus too. It also hasn't made me break out which that did, so another plus goes to 17's B.B. cream.

I still don't like the use of the word magic in the title because quite frankly it's not. It's a decent tinted moisturiser/foundation, but I see nothing magic about it. It's great that it has SPF25 as I'm lazy about my suncream in winter, so that gives enough protection for me. I can't really say if it's moisturising, but it's certainly non drying, and I would also disagree with the weightless formula because it actually feels a bit heavy on my skin, but like I said, at least this way it gives a good coverage.

You get 30 ml for £6.99 which makes it more expensive than the Garnier B.B. cream, but it's on par with 17 foundations, so it's fine (plus I'd much rather pay more for a better product anyway). So all in all I would recommend this, but I really need to add that this is in no way a miracle product, so as long as you're not expecting one, you'll be fine.

See more pictures after the jump!

Festive Nails: Mac Rain Of Flowers With 17 Nail Xtras Glitter Top Coat

I have another festive nail idea for you. I actually wore this to the school mums' Christmas drinks as I had a blue dress on. While it's not strictly Christmassy (as in not red, green or gold), I think it's a nice glittery look.

It was actually more purple than in the pictures, but my camera has trouble picking up pinks and purples, but you get the idea. I was very pleasantry surprised by the 17 topcoat as I was afraid it might not have much glitter in it, but two thin coats produced a good amount of multicoloured glitter, so I was pleased.

Do you like this combo? Let me know in the comments.

See more pictures after the jump!

FOTD With Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadows

This is the look I did with my new Barbara Daly eyeshadows, Navy Reflection and Cinder Shine. I used Cinder Shine all over the lid and Navy Reflection in the crease.

Here's a list of all the products I used to create this look:

Eyes:
Barbara Daly Even Smoother Eye Base
Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadow Cinder Shine all over the lid
Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadow Navy Reflection in the crease
Chantacaille La Baleine Bleue Eyeshadow Palette light grey shade on the inner corner of lid and above crease
Chantacaille La Baleine Bleue Eyeshadow Palette highlighter shade on browbone to highlight
Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner in Zero on waterline
Gosh Velvet Touch Waterproof Eyeliner in Cool Mint on lower lashline
No 7 Exceptional Definition Nutrient Enriched Mascara in Black
Mac Brow Set in Show Off

Face:
17 Blemish Balm (will review this soon)
Guerlain Radiant Butterfly Meteorites Voyage Powder
Chantecaille Blush in Laughter
Chantecaille La Baleine Blanche Face Palette

Lips:
Chanel Rouge Allure in Belgravia

See more pictures after the jump!

Barbara Daly Satin Swirl Eyes Eyeshadows Review and Swatches

On a recent trip to Tesco I discovered these new eyeshadows by Barbara Daly and decided to give them a go. I was sucked in by the pretty swirly wavy design (as usual), but it turns out these eyeshadows are more than just a pretty face.

I bought Navy Reflection, Taupe Ripple and Cinder Shine, but I think there's another 3 shades in the range (I did see a highlighter colour, and I think there's a purple and green one as well which were out of stock). They cost £8 each, but there was a 3 for 2 offer, so got 3 for £16 which I thought was okay. £8 each is a bit expensive in my opinion for a supermarket brand, but having said that, these eyeshadows are really good quality. I will definitely keep an eye out for the other shades.

As you can see in the pictures, the eyeshadows have a wavy pattern which is actually raised, so it looks pretty cool. It reminded me of the upcoming Estee Lauder gel eyeshadows (to look at), but these are definitely powder, not gel/hybrid. I was very pleasantly surprised when I swatched them, they are very pigmented and smooth. I have worn Navy Reflection and Cinder Shine (will be posting the FOTD soon) and they lasted really well, they applied beautifully and were easy to blend. They honestly feel like high end eyeshadows to me, they have a very nice texture and the colours are lovely too. My favourite of the three is Taupe Ripple, it's such a gorgeous taupe with a hint of sheen (not shimmer). You get 2.5 g per pot which is a good amount. I can happily recommend these eyeshadows and will be looking out for more shades myself.

Have you tried these eyeshadows yet? What do you think? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

Festive Nails: Color Club Sugarplum Fairy

I have another holiday nail polish to show you, this is Color Club Sugarplum Fairy from the Beyond The Mistletoe collection. It's really full on, lots of holographic glitter in a light purple base. Very pretty and very sparkly.

Formula is a bit thick, although that means it's opaque in two coats, actually it's pretty much opaque in one, but I applied a second one to even it out. Unfortunately it chips very quickly and in fact one nail completely peeled off witin 24 hours. I stuck it back on with a base coat and it was alright for another day, but by the end of day 2 it didn't look good. Removal was easy in that I managed to just peel it all off, which is probably not the best for my nails, but hohum.

I bought this as part of a set from TK Maxx for just £7.99, but sadly it's not available there anymore. However, you can find it on eBay for not much more (i've seen it for just £2 per polish on eBay). You get 15 ml in a bottle.

Do you like glitter nail polishes like this one? Let me know in the comments!

See more photos after the jump!

Givenchy Phenomen'eyes Waterproof Mascara in Acid Blue

I've been meaning to review this mascara for ages, but never got around to doing it. To be honest, I don't even know if it's available anymore or whether it was part of Givenchy's fall collection (feel free to let me know if you know). But in any case, this is a gorgeous mascara, so I need to tell you about it.

Givenchy Phenomen'eyes mascaras are one of my most favourite mascaras, they work really well for me and I now have them 4 colours (black, purple, turquoise and blue). They make my lashes longer and fuller, don't flake or smudge, and the tube doesn't seem to dry out even after several months' of use (yes, I had one open for over a year and it was still fine, just started to run out by then, but still as good as new). I have reviewed them a few times on the blog, so feel free to do a search and read more about them.

This one is called Acid Blue and as you can see in the picture above, it is properly neon blue. Which makes it show up really well on my dark brown eyelashes, something not every coloured mascara is capable of. This is also waterproof, so will be perfect for the summer for a splash of colour by the pool. I know some people think coloured mascaras are so 80's, but I love them and use them regularly. I loved the 80's anyway, it was certainly the best decade for rock music for me. Anyway, Givenchy Phenomen'eyes mascaras are available from counters and online for £20 (ouch, I know) and you get 7 g for your money.

See more pictures after the jump!

Festive Nails: China Glaze Champagne Bubbles

I've bought a lot of nail polish lately, including lots of glittery ones from the current holiday collections, so I thought I'd do a little series featuring some of them. First up I have China Glaze Champagne Bubbles from the Let It Snow holiday collection, a yellow gold with silver glitter. The glitter is very smooth and not very noticable, but it's a nice twist on regular gold nail polish.

Taken with flash

I've only worn it for a day, so can't comment on how longlasting it, although I have 2 small chips already which is not unusual for me. The formula was a bit slow drying with 3 coats, even with Seche Vite on top, so I actually managed to put some small dents into it on my right thumb. I got mine from the US, but in the UK you can get them from Sally Express for £6.49 each. You get 14 ml which will certainly last you a good while.

What do you think? Do you like it? Is this the sort of colour you would wear during the festive season? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

More Guerlain Rouge Automatique Lipstick Swatches - 100, 163, 164

You might remember that a while ago I swatched all my Guerlain lipsticks including the new(ish) Rouge Automatique ones (you can find my post here). Well, since then I have acquired a few more of them (including the two Holiday Collection Rouge Automatiques which I reviewed here), so I thought I'd do a quick post on these. If you want to read more about the formula and packaging, please check out this post.

100 Apres L'Ondee, 163 Rose Bengale, 164 Chamade

I have shades 100 Apres L'Ondee, 163 Rose Bengale and 164 Chamade to show you. Apres L'Ondee is a nude pinky brown, Rose Bengale is a pinky rosy colour and Chamade is less pink, more rosy brown. I know, I suck at describing shades. Anyway, see for yourselves what the swatches look like. 

100 Apres L'Ondee, 163 Rose Bengale, 164 Chamade
Taken with flash

100 Apres L'Ondee, 163 Rose Bengale, 164 Chamade
Taken without flash in direct sunlight

Do you own any Guerlain lipsticks? Which ones are your favourites? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

Clinique Lash Power Mascara

I have a sample size of Clinique Lash Power Mascara that I've been using quite a lot and I thought I'd tell you about it because it's a good little mascara. It makes my lashes look nice and long and gives them good volume too, so really what's not to like? It has a much more straight forward brush than the No 7 mascara I reviewed a little while ago, and the brush is quite small, so would probably suit more people. I have Black Onyx and it's a nice black shade, but it also comes in Dark Chocolate for those who prefer brown mascaras.

The formula is called "long-wearing" and according to Clinique it "vows to look pretty for 24 hours without a smudge or smear" and also "lasts through rain, sweat, humidity, tears". This is true, and I was actually wondering if it is actually waterproof, and I tested it in the shower, which it isn't. In fact according to Clinique it "removes easily with warm water" which I have to disagree with, you need a good make up remover to remove it, although some of it will come off with warm water in a non-waterproof kind of way. You know what I mean. Now I don't need it to last for 24 hours and I also don't mind it that it's not a waterproof mascara, so the long-wearing bit is not that important for me, but obviously it's great that it doesn't smudge as I sometimes wear this when I go running and I don't end up with panda eyes.

So all in all, this is a great mascara and I would certainly recommend it. It costs £15 for 6 g which is not too bad for a high end mascara (or is Clinique more middle than high-end?). Have you tried this? Let me know in the comments!

See more pictures after the jump!

A Tropical FOTD With Famous Festival Palette

I don't stick to many rules when it comes to make up, I will wear any colour I like at any time of the year. I even match my make up to my clothes sometimes (shock horror)! So that is why I'm showing you a yellow, orange and bright pink tropical look in December (I actually wore this is November, but still)! It was a sunny day and I felt like doing something sunny, so I ended up with this. I even went to the supermarket like this, although that day I did wear my glasses instead of my contact lenses because my eyes were a bit sore, so they hid the brightness a bit.

I used my old Famous eyeshadow quad in Festival to create this look. By the way, whatever happened to Famous? It used to be sold in Superdrug, but then the Famous stand was replaced by MUA. I quite liked it, the products were cheap, but not bad quality. I have quite a few quads and a couple of trios. I also got some lipglosses and a face kit that was a bit rubbish though as the highlighter bit smashed into little pieces. Anyway... I do like this quad a lot, it's very cheerful.

So I used the yellow in the inner corner, the orange on the lid and the bright pink in the crease and blended them together. I added a light pink highlighter (also from Famous, from the infamous face kit) and Laura geller Angel baked eyeshadow on the browbone. I used Urban Decay 24/7 eyepencil in Zero on the waterline and Asphyxia on the lower lashline. I added Mac Dollymix blush on the cheeks and one of my Famous lipglosses (it's cherry red, but the writing has come off the tube, so no idea what shade it is). Ta-da!


What do you think? Do you wear bright summery make up in winter? Perhaps dark vampy lips in summer? Let me know in the comments!


See more photos including the quad after the jump!

NOTD: BeYu Nail Polish no. 397

Firstly, I would like to say that since this is a very busy time of the year for me I expect that the blog will not be one of my first priorities in the coming weeks. I've already been very busy with shopping for Christmas gifts, now we've got the children's Christmas performances coming up, there's the school Christmas fete, you name it, we have it. None of my Christmas cards are written yet and the list goes on. Also, I haven't really bought much make up lately, so I've been a bit uninspired.

So when I was trying to work out what to post about, I actually dug out some pictures I took back when it was lovely and sunny in October, so it's not a very wintery product to be honest. But it is so pretty, I really wanted to show it to you.

In direct sunlight without flash

This is BeYu nail polish in no. 397 (no name). I bought this in a shop called Beauty Base in Westfield, it was a strange shop with both high end brands and cheap brands. I did mention it in my London Make Up Haul Video if you want to hear more. The photos don't do it justice, this is a really gorgeous holographic pink glitter, it shimmers in every colour of the rainbow. Quite sheer when used alone, I think the picture shows 2 coats, but still, it's stunning. I think it cost something like £2 and you get 8 ml.

See more pictures after the jump!

Laura Geller Eye Elements Baked Eye Shadow And Highlighter in Sahara Skies

As you might know by now I'm a big fan of Laura Geller's baked products, be it eyeshadows, blushes or highlighters. So it's no surprise that I have yet another one of her products to review today. This time it's a 2-in-1 (well, really 4-in-1) product that contains 3 eyeshadows and a highlighter. Same concept as the Eye Elements Baked Eye Shadow And Highlighter in Amethyst Skies, just different colours. I believe this was part of the Lightness of Beauty Collection, but as I mainly purchase my Laura Geller make up from eBay, I didn't get anything else.

I love this product. The eyeshadow colours are plum, shimmery gold and brown, they are well pigmented and apply and blend easily, plus they stay on well without creasing. The highlighter I believe is called Portofino (according to the eBay listing), but I forgot to swatch it against my other Portofino highlighter, sorry. It's a lovely champagne colour highlighter, quite subtle and not at all glittery. The compact is 8 g, so a very reasonable size and this retails around $20 I believe. I haven't seen this for sale in the UK, but I would expect it around £20. 

See more pictures including swatches after the jump!

Finished! The November Edition

I managed to finish a lot of products this month, so I'm pretty pleased with that. Of course most of them are skincare products as usual, but I did finish two pieces of make up, so it's alright.

First up is the most expensive face cream I've ever owned, it's Guerlain Orchidee Imperiale Exceptional Complete Care Cream. This is a 50 ml size and it currently retails for £255. No, I've not gone mad, or maybe I have! I didn't pay nowhere near as much as this was actually a tester that I bought on eBay and the lid actually looks pretty worn, although don't know why because the cream inside was untouched. I've had this for quite a while, especially as I tended not to use it in the summer as it doesn't have any SPF. Also you really only need a tiny bit, so it does last forever. It's really lovely, but I don't know if it's 25 times better than my Nivea face cream that I've also finished. So I won't be repurchasing this for now, although I do actually have about 15 samples of it as well for travelling, so I'm okay for now anyway.  

See what other products I've finished after the jump!