My favourite products of 2011.............

I though that this may make an interesting post, I wanted to share with you my top products from 2011. Most of them are products that I have discovered this year, several are now items that I will never be without. So without further ado.....

As you can see there is a little bit of everything, so I'm going to break it down into categories.

Favourite Brush

ELF's Studio stippling brush has been my stand out brush of the year.  It has been my brush of choice for foundation ever since I found it. It was £3.50 and a total bargain. LOVE IT!!!

Nail Products

OPI Nail Envy, No surprise there then. This is a holy grail product for me. Ive talked about it loads, if you would like to see why I love it check out my review.

Essie Fiji, possibly my favourite Nail colour of all time. I don't know why this has me under such a spell as it can be a pain in the bum to apply, but I really don't care I love it and am still wearing it at my wedding :))

Hair and Skin Care

Backcomb In A Bottle is something I discovered not to long ago after Cara mentioned it in a favourites. Its been an essential for me ever since. For more info see my Post.

VO5 Miracle Concentrate is a product that I discovered to replace my beloved Moroccan Oil. I reviewed it just this week after being totally blown away by it. Fantastic product and a great price.

Soap&Glory Wish Upon A Jar another holy grail product for me. This wonder moisturiser came into my life in March and has been a regular part of my skin care routine ever since. I love it when my skin is looking grey and life less, this revives and brightens leaving my skin alive and healthy. I did a full post on my saviour and you can see it here.

St Tropez Gradual Tan for Face has been my self tanner of choice for my face this year. It doesn't break me out, turn me orange or smell revolting. Its a winner all round and is just a gorgeous product.

Stand out new comer of the year...

MUA Professional MUA for me are the best new arrival on the high street this year. They offer amazing quality products at fantastic prices. Whether your budget is £1.00 or £8.00 there is something for everyone. A brilliant brand that I hope will be around for a long time and keep delivering fab products.

Lipgloss

Buxom is another range I discovered this year. I only have the one shade (Trixie) and i really enjoy this gloss when ever I wear it. It gives a nice plumpness to the lips with no irritation and isn't too sticky. Gorgeous.

MAC Plush Glass My favourite lipgloss formula from MAC. Plush glass again are slightly plumping. I find that they are long lasting and always leave my lips soft and moisturised when I wear them. This shade is Posh It Up and my favourite from the range.

Lipblam

Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Lip Protectant For me there is only one, another Holy grail peeps.

Biggest Discover of the year

Lipstick is something that I have fallen in love with this year. I have some favourite brands and shades, but lipstick in general has definitely been my biggest discovery of the year.

Face Products

NARS Laguna Bronzer is something I have had in my collection for a fair few years now. However in all honesty I only found the love this year. I love the way it looks on my skin, it warms and brightens without making me look orange.

Dior Amber Diamond The ultimate in Highlighters, I held out for a long long time before buying this. As soon as I tried it I could see why its so popular. its light on the skin, doesn't clog and lasts FOREVER......

MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural  (This is the natural, I just depotted it into my Wonder Woman compact, I like the mirror) This is my favourite setting powder. I only discovered it in April I think. I find that it keeps my skin shine free all day without it looking cakey or dry. I never thought I would love a powder so its a refreshing find for me.  

Eye Products

Wet'n'Wild Shadows Dinah sent me these in our swap and Ive been totally seduced by this drugstore favourite. I think its such a shame that we cant get these in the UK as the quality is fantastic and the the range of colours massive.

Chanel Fauve  This has quickly become my fail safe shadow of choice. Its been in my favourites more than once and will be for some time I'm sure. for swatches see here.

NYX HD Eyeshadow Primer This is a great product. It does everything that you need from a primer, its long lasting, non creasing and HD. For me I find this just as good as Urban Decay PP. I love the quality of NYX and this is no exception.

Estee Lauder and Mac Gel Liner  Up until recently I had only used Clinique and No7 gel liners. I was in 2 minds which to try and Nic over at Strawberry Blonde Beauty Blog suggested that I try the Estee Lauder Double Wear. Its a fab liner, it lasts brilliantly on the water line and stays put all day. I also gave the famous Blacktrack a go and that to is a great liner. I have chopped and changed between these two since I got them, they are both fab and I will def repurchase them.

So that's my favourites. Sorry it was such a long and rambling post. Hope you enjoyed it.

What have you been loving this year??

Mwah

More empties, Yayyyyyyyyyyyyy...........

So you may remember my self inflicted spending ban back in October.
Although I didn't stick to my 6 items that i had allowed myself to buy before new year, I really did cut back and use lots of my collection which may of been neglected otherwise.

I did a post back at the start of November sharing with you some of the things I had used up and emptied. ( you can see that post HERE )

This was something that I had really got satisfaction from, and so I decided to do it again.
So here we are these are my empties from November and December.

What Ive used

TRESeme Instant Refresh Dry Shampoo

Batiste Blush Dry Shampoo

Umberto Gianni Backcomb in a Bottle

Umberto Gianni Crystal Mist

Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation ( Not 100% empty but the pump is broken)

Clinique Clarifying Lotion

Midnight Poison Body Lotion

Angel Body Lotion

Simple Eye Makeup remover

Soap&Glory Hand Maid

Carex Hand gel

Soap&Glory Catch A wrinkle

Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir

Philosophy Pure Grace

Burbury Body ( sample 15ml)

MAC Msf Natural

Clinique Eye Brow Pencil

OPI Nail Envy Original

NYC High Definition Mascara

Some of these are items that I will without doubt repurchase either because they are every day products for me ( clarifying Lotion, Eye make up remover, Dry shampoo) or I have really enjoyed them.

There are a few tho that I wont repurchase.

These are

NYC Hi Definition Mascara. The transfer on this is terrible, I also found that it flaked on me through the day. Added to this I simply just did not like the brush.

The other is the Umberto Gianni Crystal Mist, as much as I enjoyed this product, I'm planning on going a little lighter with the blond in my hair and if I do this will simply make my hair just too golden.

What have you finished recently? Will you be repurchasing or skipping??

Mwah

NOTD Feat OPI You Dont Know Jacques...................

Sorry I have been MIA lately!!! We got a new dog on Tuesday, a Lil Bichon Frise Called Maisy and I have been busy getting the Lil Miss all settled in to her new home.

So any way here is my NOTD post at longggggg last....

OPI You Dont Know Jacques

OPI Nail Envy Base 1 Coat

OPI You Don't Know Jacques 2 Coats

As you all know I have been stepping out of my comfort zone recently and trying new darker shades and Cara had mentioned this colour to me. And I am sooooo excited!! I LOVE IT!!! I can totally see why this Taupe Grey is so popular, its totally worth all the hype. Its opaque in 2 cots, applies fantastically with no smears or streaking and has a stunning shine. This really is one of my new faves!!! Thank you Cara!!!!

What do you think of this colour??

Mwah

NOTD Designer De Better................

Another Gem from the Muppet's collection for todays NOTD post.....

Designer De Better

OPI Nail Envy 2 Coats

OPI Designer De Better 3 Coats

I love this foil polish, its a really pleasant surprise, I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the gold toned silver foil with orange micro glitter. Its just soooo amazing, I really love it. I do think its a three coat polish tho, just to make sure you get a perfect even finish.

This polish is super reflective which I love, what do you think??/

Hope you are all having a great Friday!!!

Mwah

NOTD Mauving To Manitoba.....................

Morning!!! NOTD time again!!! And today I have something a little different, for me anyway....

May I introduce you to Mauving to Manitoba

This beautiful warm plum shade is just gorgeous. It has a soft gold shimmer running through it making it super soft and gentle on the eye.

OPI Nail Envy 2 Coats

OPI Mauving to Manitoba 2 Coats

This polish applies beautifully, no streaking or dragging here. Also it was very nearly Opaque with one coat, 2 makes it look just perfect. Can you tell I love this colour??? lol. I think this is going to be fab for the Fall/Winter season.

What colours are you loving at the moment???

Mwah

Orly Birds of A Feather Foul Play NOTD...........

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Hope you are all enjoying the holidays and having a spooky Halloween!

My NOTD is dark and Delicious in honour of the day.

Orly's Fowl Play

OPI Nail Envy Base Coat

Orly Fowl Play 3 Coats

This is one of the polishes from the Birds Of A Feather Collection that Orly recently released.

Its a deep berry colour with Orange flakies that flash red, yellow and green. There is also some micro glitter in this Jelly based polish.

It was a bit of a pain to apply, it definitely needs 3 coats as its still a little patchy after 2.

I do like this colour, but I must admit, I think I love it in the bottle more than on my nails......

What do you think??

Mwah

NOTD Rainbow Connection, Sparklicious.............

My NOTD is totally Sparklicious, its Rainbow Connection from the latest OPI Muppet's collection.

L To R

OPI Nail Envy Base - 1 Coat

OPI for Sephora Whats A Tyre Jack? - 2 Coats

OPI Rainbow Connection - 2 Coats

Now this I think is just fab!!! Its soooo sparkly and perfect for the holiday season.

I cant wait to try out Rainbow connection over some other colours, I think it will look great over white don't you? Rainbow Connection applies really nicely and dries quite smooth, 1 coat of top coat was more than enough. I love the fact that it gas chunky and small glitter. It does remind me an awful lot of Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday. If you want me to do a comparison let me know.

Anyway have a sparklicious day!!!!

Mwah

We wear Pink on Wednesdays NOTD with a OPI Twist.........

I cant believe its Wednesday again already, I dont know where the time goes.......

Now this isnt an obvious choice for Pink Wednesday, but trust me all will become clear....

You can see the tiny micro glitter in the polish, its baby pink and soooo pretty. It makes what looks like a plain gray polish have a beautiful soft pink sheen.

What I used....

OPI Nail Envy Base Coat

OPI Steady As She Rose - 2 Coats

OPI Its Totally Fort Worth It - 1 Coat

As you can see I layered the pale gray over Steady As She Rose, this gave more of a pinky tone all round. I am totally in love with this combo, really pleased I tried it out. I love the micro glitter in Totally Fort Worth It, the polish is very sheer so I do think its one that I will layer as im not a fan of sheer polishes.

So happy Pink Wednesday, dont forget to follow the link on the left of my page for more fabulous Pink Wednesday manicures.

Mwah

We Wear Pink On Wednesdays, NOTD Feat Revlon Starry Pink..........

And here we are at Wednesday again and that means Pink Nails....

OPI Nail Envy Base 1 Coat

Essie Fiji 1 Coat

Revlon Starry Pink 3 Coats

Out The Door Top Coat

I decided to give the Revlon Starry Pink that I got last week a go. After looking at more than a few swatches online, I decided to layer the Starry Pink over a solid colour to get a good opaque finish with no visible Nail line.

I just used one coat of Fiji ( my fave Essie Polish, EVER!!) and then used 3 layers of the Revlon. I love the result. Thar starry pinks is really pretty, the silver glitter coats the nail nicely and doesn't feel too bumpy with a top coat.

I am sooo pleased that I hunted this polish down, it was well worth the effort.

Have a fab Wednesday :))

And don't forget to follow the link to the left of the page if you want to see more Pink Wednesday manicures :))))

Mwah