2012 Favourites - Part 5: Skincare and Haircare

Okay, I know this is possibly the least exciting post of the 2012 Favourites series, but I wanted to do it anyway because now that I'm getting older, I'm finding it increasingly important to have a good skincare routine. Mine isn't really complicated, especially because I'm always so late going to bed, I never have the energy to do a lenghty routine. I do have a good cleanser and make up remover, and also a good serum, night cream and eye cream, with the occasional scrub and mask thrown in, so that's fine. In the mornings I just use a face cream having washed my face in the shower with clean water. I don't have time for more, it's as simple as that.

I did a video about my skincare routine back in April and although some products I'm not using anymore (have run out or have decided to change), it gives you a good idea about which products I enjoyed using in 2012. Check it out here. 

I'll start with cleansing. I usually use Boots Botanics Soothing Eye Make Up Remover (old style, this has now been rreformulated) followed by Simple Kind To Skin Facial Cleansing Wipes. The two together work very well for removing make up and dirt from my skin. I haven't found a cleanser I am that chuffed about, I just can't really get excited about a cleanser, but every one I've used so far does a good enough job. I'm currently using a L'Occitane cleanser with the longest, most complicated name that I refuse to copy. I also really like Lancome Bi-Facil and will probably use it instead of the Boots one because I've heard that the new, reformulated version isn't very good.

See which other products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

2012 Favourites - Part 4: Nails

2012 was definitely the year of the nail polish for me. I bought over 550 nail polishes (I know, crazy!) and discovered some amazing brands. (Check out my stash video and pictures here.) Until 2 years ago I'd hardy heard of any nail polish brands that couldn't be bought in Boots or Superdrug (and back then there weren't a lot of glittery, shimmery, duochrome polish around, or at least I didn't notice them). As well as continuing to buy from mainstream brands like China Glaze, OPI, Orly and the likes, I discovered some very unique and interesting brands and nail polishes. My favourite polishes are holos and duochromes, or preferably both together in one product, and I'm also rather partial to glitter.

The picture above shows a few of my recent purchases including the new Color Club holographic polishes that I regret to say I haven't tried yet as well as Topshop glitter polishes and Enchanted Polish duo(multi)chrome polishes.

My favourite newly discovered brands in 2012 were Topshop, Enchanted Polish, Layla and Glitter Gal. Out of the four I'd say Enchanted Polish is my definite favourite, the only thing I don't like is how difficult it is to come by as the polishes are only made in very small quantities and the shades are limited edition. Nevertheless I have managed to get my hands on a few of them and here are some:

These are from the Beatles collection (I Am The Walrus and Magical Mystery Tour) and from the Falloween collection (Witchful Thinking). The new holiday collection came in a new style, fancier, more professional looking bottle:

Green Peace on Earth, Dance Of The Sugar Plum, Bruised Nutcracker, Olive The Other Reindeer

Enchanted Polish nail polishes are absolutely gorgeous, duo- or rather multichrome with scattered holo, straight forward holographic or glittery. I have showed you Across The Universe here if you want to take a peek.

Find out what other nail polishes and nail care products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

2012 Favourites - Part 3: Face

Here's another installment of my favourite products of 2012, this time it's the face products. I will start with the more exciting ones, ie. pretty highlighters. To me one of the most used highlighters of 2012 was Guerlain Cruel Gardenia. It is just so pretty both in the compact and on my skin. Just lovely.You can read my initial review by clicking on the link above.

See what other products I loved in 2012 after the jump!

2012 Favourties - Part 2: Eyes

I buy and wear a lot of eyeshadows, eyeliners and mascaras, that is one thing I don't think I'll ever be able to stop. I have very undefined eyes, so I cannot be without eyeliner and mascara, eyeshadows are more of the fun part, I really enjoy playing with colours and have got pretty good at doing quite fancy looks.

I'll start with eyeshadows. One of the brands I mostly raved on about on here in 2012 is L'Oreal, I love their Infallible eyeshadows. Nowadays I tend to gravitate towards high end eyeshadows, but every so often cheaper brands that come out with something amazing and I'm not that much of a snob not to check them out. I did a series of reviews as I bought 20 shades of them, here's the recap post that is linked to all the reviews.

My other favourite eyeshadows that I often compare the L'Oreal Infallibles to were Giorgio Armani Eyes To Kill and Chanel Illusion D'Ombre eyeshadows. You can find several reviews of these on the blog as well, just do a search. I loved the Infallible eyeshadows most for their affordableness and big colour selection (although we don't get quite as many in the UK, but thank God for eBay and US sellers).

Carry on reading after the jump to discover which other products I loved in 2012!

2012 Favourites - Part 1: Lips

As it's now a new year, I thought I'd do a recap of my favourite make up products of 2012. I'll only included products that were either newly released in 2012 or new to me, no point in me repeating myself over and over again (I still love Vaseline and Pleasureflush MSF is still my favourite highlighter, nothing new there).

So I'll start with lip products. The brand that stood out for me in 2012 when I think of new lip products was definitely Revlon. While I still love Guerlain lipsticks very much and wear them often when going out, on days when I'm staying in or not needing a bolder lip colour, I often opt for Revlon's Lip Butters. I acquired 10 of them over the course of the year and they've become my most used lip products.

They are moisturising, very comfortable to wear and some of them are absolutely gorgeous and actually pretty pigmented. On days when I don't need to wear lipstick but want something more colourful then Vaseline, I reach for these, and of course some of them double up as lipstick due to their fantastic pigmentation. Raspberry Pie, Lollipop and Sweet Tart are my absolute favourite shades. I did a full review on these Lip Butters here, so if you need any more details, check it out!

See which other products I loved in 2012 after the jump!