Tuesday 10 January 2012

My Favourites of 2011!

I wasn't planning on doing a favourites of 2011 post, but after seeing so many other people on blogs and youtube post theirs I felt like I wanted to get in on the action :) I'm sure a lot of the items will come as no surprise to you if you've seen any of my recent favourites posts, and I've tried to narrow it down as much as possible- but here goes:

Skincare: Aside from my Neutrogena face wash (which I fear will be much less well-loved in 2012 as I've discovered hot cloth cleansers...) I've been enjoying Rescue Oil -which I still need to review- for any particularly dry patches or my cuticles and the stubborn patch of eczema that keeps returning underneath my right eyebrow! Plus a fairly new discovery, Simple soothing eye balm has been a great eye cream for me, my eyes are much less dry since using it. I'm hoping that 2012 is the year that I find a really good moisturiser- I've never yet used one that I really love- suggestions are always welcome :)




Face: The big discovery for me in 2011 is the Garnier BB Cream, I love it because I hate the heavy feeling of foundation but this BB cream is light and moisturising (though I always use a moisturiser underneath, those with less dry skin might not need to) as well as providing a nice coverage :) A couple of staples for me this year have been my e.l.f. Blushes- especially Shy, which is a lovely pastel pink shade which looks nice and natural on me. As well as my 17 Blush in Damson Wine which is the parfect nauralish plummy shade (also still on my 'to review' list) And finally, this is not a new find, but I've used it pretty much every day this year (even on days when I wear no other make up) my e.l.f. Under Eye Concealer, it's fantastic at hiding my dark under eye circles :) Unfortunately i don't really use the (usually) attached highlighter and I have a couple of full ones left over, I think I should make it a little new years resolution to use them up!




Eyes: I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone when I say that my top eye make up purchase this year has been the MUA Heaven and Earth palette- it's simply awesome! For 4 measly pounds you get 12 lovely neutral shades suitable for everyday and night-time make up, I've used this almost every time I've worn eye shadow since I got it :) An honourable mention must go to all of the other MUA palettes, the quality and price is brilliant (the Immaculate Collection and Dusk Til Dawn palettes are also on my 'to review' list)

Another super-awesome thing I discovered this year is e.l.f. Cream Eyeliner in Coffee- I've never managed to get liquid liners to work for me, plus I don't really like the shiny look they leave, so when I finally got around to purchasing this I couldn't believe how easy it was to apply (I think because of the stubby brush it comes with) and how long lasting it is! I've used it all the time since I got it and although I've had it over 6 months it's showing no signs of drying out :)

Another couple of standard loves this year are my e.l.f. eyelid primer which is great to help my shadow last longer without fading/creasing/smudging as well as making it easier to apply. And my (fairly new) Va Va Va Voom mascara I love the huge brush and the no-clump formula :)




Lips: Another few products that will probably come as no surprise to you- first of all Carmex- I love it! It moisturises my lips even when they are chapped and disgusting, plus it smells yummy (I even like the smell of the original!) Also, lip scrub- I could not believe how easy (and cheap!) it was to replicate the Lush scrub, and it keeps my lips smooth and flake-free (eww), whats not to love?

In lipsticks I have three most- used products, Natural Collection Moisture shine lipstick in Rose Bud (a reddish pink with shimmer) e.l.f. regular line lipstick in Classy (a lovely dusty pink) and e.l.f. mineral lipstick in Nicely Nude (a pale, brighter pink) they are more different in real life I promise!




Tools: My eyelash curlers have been a firm favourite of mine for years and years, and thankfully I discovered that rubber replacements are available cheaply on ebay :) I've been using the same three eye brushes over and over again this year, a couple are new finds, but the e.l.f. Professional Eye Shadow Brush (from the regular line) (middle brush) is fantastic for applying colour all over the lid- or at a push, even applying and blending a crease colour (only when I forget all other brushes though) I also love e.l.f.s Eye Crease Brush (left side) and the Defining Eye Brush (right side)- at £1.50 they are all absolute bargains - I highly recommend them all :) To be honest I should probably buy back-ups of all of them so that I can wash them more... (another mini new years resolution I think- wash brushes more frequently!)




And last but absolutely NOT least- Nail Polish!!! It was really really hard to pick just 8- I could easily have picked 20...

The Sally Hansen Double Duty and Insta-Dri combination has been brilliant for extending the life of my manicures this year- and the fast dry topcoat has made the painting process so much faster (which is great as I'm both impatient and incapable of sitting still!) Collection 2000s Sparkle Top Coat has been well-loved this year, it gives a beautiful but fairly subtle shimmer, everyone should own it! (It's only £2.99!)

China Glaze For Audrey is possibly my No1 top polish of the year. I lusted after it for so long, habitually looking it up on ebay and amazon only to find that I really couldn't justify so much money on one polish... but thankfully I finally got it!!! thanks to a swap with an American polish addict from reddit :) and it was SO worth the wait, I love it!





I've also been loving this grey polish from Models Own (Grey Day), I don't know what it is about grey polish but I really really love it :) This No7 polish- Lucky Lilac- is a fairly new polish but I am so glad I have it, I love lilac but it seems really hard to get an opaque/decent quality lilac polish- and this is the best I've found- well worth £2 (with the £5 off No7 voucher)

Revlon have had a pretty good year with their nail polish releases, Facets of Fuchsia is stunning- a dupe of an (expensive!) deborah lipman polish, it's a black/ dark grey base with multi-sized pink glitter, it looks fantastic alone or matte. Back in the summer (which feels like years ago now!) there were a collection of scented and pastel polishes (I really love Peach Smoothie and Sunshine Sparkle too) and Blue Lagoon is definitely my favourite of these, it's a lovely pale pastel blue with subtle shimmer- it works as a summery shade and a cool wintery colour.




Another couple of other favourites include: The Body Shop Body Butters- I bought quite a few new ones last year, they're all awesome! And Neutrogena Hand Cream- a total lifesaver for dry hands :)


What were your favourites for 2011?


                                                                                      xGretalRabbitx


4 comments:

  1. Great list!! :D That Heaven and Earth palette looks gorgeous!! :D Amazing picks. ^-^

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  2. Thank you :) It is! I'm sorry you can't get it outside the UK :(
    xGretalRabbitx

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  3. Hey there! Just wanted to let you know that I've nominated you for the Cute Blog Award, here:

    http://myglitteryobsessions.blogspot.com/2012/01/cute-blog-award.html

    ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Aww thank you :) I'll post mine soon!
    xGretalRabbitx

    ReplyDelete

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