2012 Favourites... Makeup

When I was thinking about the different makeup products that I wanted to include in my 2012 favourites that list was getting very long and I was getting a bit concerned this post would turn into a bit of an essay, so I cut the list down and decided to only include the products that I turn to all the time without thinking and that list was easy to make. So here are my 2012 favourites...

L'Oreal Million Lashes Mascara
This is my all time favourite mascara, I love it!! I talk about it in this post.

Garnier BB Cream
I love this BB cream it is perfect for my combination/skin, it's really easy to wear and BB cream has lasted ages I bought this back in May (i think) and I still have loads left and I wear it everyday! You can read my post here.

Estee Lauder Double Wear Light Foundation
I really like this foundation, it is medium coverage and really does last all day, I know a lot of people compare this foundation to Revlon's Colour Stay foundation, which I have, but I think that the double wear gives a much better finish compared to the colour stay, you can find the foundation here, I will do a post soon!

Rimmel Stay Matte Powder
This powder is brilliant, there is not much I can say about a powder but it keeps my skin nice and matte all day and for only £3.99 it's a bargain, although since I have been using the Garnier BB cream I haven't been using it as much. You can find it here.

Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer
I recently did a post on this, which you can see here, but I am obsessed with concealer and use it everyday!

Collection 2000 Extreme Liner
This range of eyeliners are really great felt tip liners which can rival other brands such as L'Oreal and Rimmel for only £2.99. It's mentioned in a post here and here.

Avon Super Shock Gel Liner
I use this liner on my waterline and it is such a great true black I love it, I bought it from Ebay but you can find it here.

Benefit Blushers
I've included the Hervana blusher in my favourites, but I could easily wear any of my Benefit blushers any time. (You can see my post here and here)

I love all 3 of these lipsticks, they are so easy to wear, I have a LOT of lipsticks but I reach for these the most.
Revlon Lip Butter in Tutti Frutti (You can see my post here)
Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Lip Stain Balm in Crush (You can see my post here)
L'Oreal Rouge Caress in Dating Coral (You can see my post here)

MUA Heaven and Earth Eye Shadow Palette
I know everyone raves about the undressed palette, which I also have, but the Heaven and Earth palette is always the range of eye shadows that I reach for most often for daytime and evening makeup looks. I just realised I haven't done a post on this so I will get some swatches done soon, in the mean time you can find it here. 

Real Techniques Brushes
This year I have become really interested in using makeup brushes, I never quite understood the need for them before I became a blogger but now I am obsessed, especially with Real Techniques brushes, I first bought the Stippling Brush which I love, I got the core collection for Christmas so I can't wait to try them.

What have been your favourite makeup products this year?

Elaine

Customised Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer

As a pale skin lady I really find it difficult to find anything to match my skin tone, I have quite pinky skin so sometimes foundation/concealer whites out my skin too much and I look a little strange.

 So when I went to buy the Collection Lasting Perfection concealer I automatically went for the fair shade as the light was a bit too dark, but I was never quite convinced as it was that bit too pale for my skin tone and it put me off using it, I would always look at other blog enviously when they raved about this concealer.

That was until I mixed the fair and light shades...

(Bottom - Top) Fair, Light, Customised

The difference between the Fair and Light shades is quite big, something so simple as mixing the two shades has created the perfect shade for my skin tone.

Although buying two concealers at £4.19 each might seem a bit expensive, but the quality of the concealer is worth it, and you can change the colour of your concealer as your skin tone changes and it will last twice as long... 

Elaine

Collection Cream Puff Moisturising Lip Cream Review

T-B: Angel Delight, Cotton Candy & Fairy Cake

Collection Cream Puff lip creams have been around for a while now, and I have had Cotton Candy & Fairy Cake for ages but had forgotten I even had them until recently when I was having a sort through my makeup and I was having a play round with them (as you do) I instantly remembered how much I love them, so I went out and bought Angel Delight too.

The matte lip trend is set to stay and these lip creams are a great cheap alternative to some expensive brands such as Bobbi Brown's new matte lip creams or even Rimmel's new matte Kate lipsticks.

 

Collection say the Cream Puff's are a "Velvety soft, matte-finish lip cream. Enriched with a ultra moisturising, vitamin-rich formula, the creamy colour hugs lips to give your pout the perfect powdery finish."

L-R: Cotton Candy, Angel Delight & Fairy Cake

I love how neon Cotton Candy and Fairy Cake are but they are also very wearable, I'm not usually a bright lipstick person but I find these very easy to wear and Fairy Cake is really flattering on my pale skin.

As well as the bright shades there are also 2 neutral shades Angle Delight (swatched above) and Powder Puff, Angel Delight is slightly darker which I prefer in a neutral lip colour, as I have quite pinky lips so if I use a very pale neutral lip colour it just looks wrong on me.

Pros

• The colours are amazing, I adore all of the colours, it would be great if Collection released more trend shades for each season.
• The lip creams are perfect for the current matte lip trend, which can bring your makeup look up to date, they are also an investment as the matte lip trend looks to be big in spring/summer 2013 too.
• Price, at £2.99 they are an absolute bargain!!
• The lip creams really last on your lips, and wear off evenly so you don't end up with dreaded lip liner lips.

Cons

• They can be a little drying but as I have quite dry lips anyway I just ensure that I apply lip balm first before the Cream Puff colour.
• The colour selection isn't great, only 4 shades, which are neutral or bright, which could put people off especially as it is now Autumn so people always head for berry shades, although I do think that Angel Delight is a great autumn daytime colour.

Would I repurchase?

Definitely I love these lip creams, I would buy every shade if I hadn't already...

Have you tried the Cream Puff lip creams yet?

Elaine

Uh-oh I've been shopping

Recently I have been overhauling my skin care routine, I was beginning to realise that my Simple face wipes and foam wash just weren't cutting it anymore, I also learnt that my skin was dehydrated, which seemed strange to me as my skin is combination/oily, but my skin is actually lacking in water, so I have been trying to invest in products to help my dehydrated skin so that it can become more balanced and trying to drink more water.

So when I found out a couple of weeks ago that Escentual.com had a 1/3 off french pharmacy brands I jumped at the chance to get some new skin care products, the offer is running throughout September, if you spend over £30 you also get free delivery, which is great. I have spent more than I ever normally would trying to get good skin care products as Caroline Hirons says on her blog "If you would spend more on shoes, handbags, lipstick, jeans or fashion in general than you would on high quality skincare - you will be a sixty year old woman (and man) with a vintage wardrobe and a face like an alligator" so to find an offer like this was perfect timing!

Avene Hydrance Optimale Legere - Light Hydrating Cream, £8.99 normally £13.50
This moisturiser is also available with SPF, I chose not to get that one as I intend to use this at night time or during the winter months as I am happy with my Olay day moisturiser which contains SPF 15.

La Roche-Posay Hydraphase Intense Masque, £10.56 normally £16
I used this tonight and so far I really like it, my skin feels throughly moisturised and very soft, review to come soon.

Vichy Purete Thermale Refreshing Toner - Normal to Combination Sensitive Skin, £7.26 normally £11
I have used this a couple of times and my skin does feel refreshed and very clean, but I have noticed I have had quite shiny skin recently and I'm not sure if it is due to this toner... So I'm going to keep trying it out and let you know what I think.

Avene Thermal Spring Water - 150ml, £4.33 normally £6.50
I admit I only bought the big can so that I could get the free delivery, but I am excited about using this product to set and also refresh make up.

Not content with this, when I got paid at the weekend I went straight to Boots...

Indeed Hydraluron - Moisture Booster with the purest hyaluronic acid, £24.99
Caroline Hirons raves about this on her blog, and when I was looking through her clinic she strongly recommended it to a lot of people who had dehydrated skin which was nearly everyone, so I'm looking forward to trying this out and I have to admit I have high expectations. Although for the price it won't be something I will use everyday but as and when it's needed, which may be quite often now it's getting colder.

Botanics Radiant Youth Hydrating Eye Cream, £5.99 normally £8.99 
I figured if the rest of my face needed a drink then so did the skin around my eyes. I have been using this daily since I bought it, and I really like it as it sinks into the skin quickly and isn't tacky. 

Collection (2000) Lasting Perfection Concealer in Light, £4.19
I bought this ages ago in fair and I have never 100% been happy with it, the colour always felt too light for my skin tone even though I am quite pale, I know concealer should be a shade lighter than your foundation but when I used this in fair I looked odd. But after a week or so of hardly any sleep I needed a heavy duty concealer so I bought this one in Light and mix the two together and it gives me the perfect shade, I really wish I had done it sooner!

Elaine

Hot Lights Review

Collection 2000 - £4.19

I was given this lip gloss as a present from my lovely friend Sophie when I got my new job last year, and I love it. It's a Hot Light Lip gloss from Collection 2000 in shade 6, it's a really nice subtle pink shade which is perfect for everyday or a night out, it has a hint of glitter which just adds to the gloss rather than making it look like it should be for a 10 year old.

But the best bit of the gloss, is that it comes with it's own mirror and light! When you take the wand out of the tube a bright light automatically comes on and it has a nifty little mirror attached to the side of the tube. This is a really great dupe of  Cid Cosmetics i-gloss that costs £16.

Not only is this a surprisingly good lip gloss (it has become my go to gloss) for a gimmick product but it makes a brilliant present too, I can't even tell you how happy I was when I got this, Sophie knows me too well!

Elaine 

Rainbow Nails!

This is a post to show you all the different nail varnishes we used to make our new header!

(L - R)

Miss Sporty - Black

No7 - Night Silver 62

Topshop Nails - Starlight

No7 - Betty Blues 280

Barry M - 312 Indigo

No7 - Totally Teal 330 (one of our all time favorites)

Barry M - 291

(L - R)

Barry M - 299 Racing Green

Misguided - Misstique

Topshop Nails - Green Room

Barry M - 304 Mint Green

H&M Nails - Wanna Pepperoni (WTF?)

Barry M - Acid Yellow 300

Collection 2000 Hot Looks - 30 Sherbet Lemons (Awful! see Need for Neon post)

17 Fast Finish - Go Go 

(L - R)

Xtras - Phox 11

Nails Inc - Tate 

Barry M - Raspberry 273

No7 - Hot Pink 40

Topshop Nails - Painted on 002

Revlon - 990 One Perfect Coral

17 Fast Finish - Pink Grapefruit

Ruby & Millie - Orange 300C

Misguided - Misstaken

(L - R)

MAC - Dark Angel

Miss Sporty Clubbing Colours - 344

17 Lasting Fix - Parma Violet

17 Lasting Fix - Woo Me

Nails Inc- Jermyn Street

Topshop Nails - Mannequin 002

Topshop Nails - Hyperreal

Missguided - Missellaneaous

Rimmel Lycra Pro - 365 Beige Style

Nails Inc - Elizabeth Street