I know I know.. It's already thirteen days into 2012 and here I am.. with a post of my 2011 favourites! I'm so late! I apologise!
To make up for it, let me throw a cliche sayin' at ya.... Better late than never. HAH!
Since there's so many products to mention, I'll make sure to keep the post as short as possible, but still informative! ^_^
Australis Ready Set Go Finishing Powder is the one I reach out for quite often throughout 2011 when I prefer a matte finish. Makes me skin feel very soft, does its job and the powder itself is extremely fine.
MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural is what I've been using for the past 3 months because I was suddenly obsessed with the 'luminous' look.. Offers sheer to light coverage though.
As for blushers, I've been loving these three!
The Australis Paparazzi Perfect HD Blush* in Shoot To Thrill is very pigmented and is much like a blush trio, allowing you to mix and match for your desired [pink] shade. Love it!
The light-pink shade of the BYS Blusher in Candyfloss looks a tad unnatural on me, but I absolutely love the finish. Very luminous and glowy!
..And on days, I prefer something in between matte to luminising, I reach out for the Sportsgirl Get Cheeky Cheek & Eye Shimmer^ in Rose. It's decently pigmented, but I'm in love with the shimmers in the trio! A healthy and natural sheen is what it offers on the cheeks!
I was actually switching through these three foundations and tinted moisturiser last year...
For full coverage, I go with Maybelline's SuperStay 24HR Make-Up which is similar to the Revlon Colorstay. Except that it lasts for 8-10 hours (with a primer) and is much more transferable.
For medium to medium buildable coverage with hydrating properties, I love the Face Of Australia Lasting Looks Natural Foundation*. The shade is a tad darker for me, but it's forgiving! Love applying this foundation with the Sigma F80 brush! Results with extremely natural and flawless lookin' skin, I tell ya!
Of course, there are also those lazy days when I'd like to skip using brushes.. I immediately reach for my Australis Fresh & Flawless Make-Up. Offers medium coverage which can be quickly (and easily) applied by fingers. Lasts for only approx 2-3 hours though and is transferable. This is what you'd see me wear to go out for a quick brunch or droppin' down to a corner store.
Speakin' of brushes.. Four brushes I've been loving last year.. and still loving..
I love traditional foundation brushes and the GLOSS Professional Synthetic Foundation Brush is my favourite out of my tiny brush collection. A tad smaller and much shorter than your average foundation brush, so it delivers foundation on both sides of my nose very easily. The bristles are also soft and not too stiff and not too bendy!
Sigma F80 Buffer Brush* is a popular pick and is a favourite of many beauty bloggers and vloggers. I still don't understand why it's so raved about, but I thought I'd give it a mention because it does really well for applying my Face Of Australia Lasting Looks Natural Foundation. As for other foundations, this brush tend to make it look a tad thick and is time-consuming. Probably just works better with different application techniques though!
Nose contouring is what I love to do whenever there's a special occasion and I love to use the Royal & Langnickel Eye Fluff Brush* from their Green Line to contour. It just fits perfectly on the sides of my nose bridge!
Another Royal & Langnickel Green Line brush to mention is the Blush brush*. I've already mentioned this in my November Favourites. I love how soft the bristles are and the size of the brush is the best fit for my cheekbones, eventually promoting it (heh!) to be my everyday brush to apply highlighters and blush!
Hello my favourite highlighters!
The Face Of Australia Mineral Therapy Illuminating Pearls* is what I'd wear if I have already powdered my face and forgetfully skipped highlighting. It gives off a very natural sheen to the cheeks.
If I haven't powdered, I prefer the Smashbox Artificial Light Luminising Lotion in Diffuse that I've purchased from the previous market haul. This highlighter is lovely, but gives that 'in-your-face' glow when applied to the cheeks. I personally love the look and a little goes a long way!
To conclude base-make-up favourites, last year's top under-eye concealer is this Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Double Face Perfector which also comes with a highlighter. I love the highlighter for my nose bridge and as for the concealer, it offers much of a medium-buildable coverage. However, I prefer it over creamy concealers for my under-eyes because it doesn't crease, is light-weight and blends very easily!
As for eyeliners, I thought Le'Lan Vital Perfect Wear Eyeliner deserved a mention. The formula is great.. fade-proof, water-resistant and pigmented. What I love most about it is the colour, surprisingly! It has a blue tinge to it which makes me brown eyes look extremely light! However, after finishing the first eyeliner, the second one just didn't seem to have the blue tinge.. oddly.
The Rimmel London Glam Eyes Lash Flirt and NYX Doll Eye Volume mascaras has been the two I've reached out for most. I love the mascara wand of Glam Eyes as it allows me to control the amount of length and volume when I coat my lashes, however it tends to smudge on my lower lashes after a few hours. The NYX Doll Eye is similar, but better though I dislike the shape of the wand. It lengthens very well, leaves me with very natural lookin' lashes and doesn't smudge of my lower lashes! Yay!
Now, to lip balms!
Blistex Lip Conditioner has been my all-time favourite though I hate how it's a jarred packaging. Boo! Very effective for dry/flaky lips though!
Lucas Paw Paw Ointment is what I've discovered a few months back. Very similar to the Blistex Lip Conditioner, but in a squeeze tube and much more creamier and thicker in consistency! Also does its job well!
Maybelline Baby Lips tend to just sit on my lips and slides to the corner of my lips when I talk, makin' it quite annoying. However, it's still a great balm and I can't deny that it's extremely moisturising.
I thank ABBW for introducing the Carmex Moisture Plus Lip Balm* to be. Smells delicious and to me, is very much of Blistex Lip Conditioner is a much more sanitary stick form!
My favourite beauty products.. lipsticks.
I bet these three Sportgirl's lippies^ surprised ya! Fruity Tingle (matte coral) is the most beautiful coral shade in the world with a very unique spice to it. Not sure what it is, but it's outstandingly different to the regular corals. A tad drying though.
Juicy Watermelon is extremely pigmented and not drying at all for a matte lipstick. Beautiful rosy pink! I'd only apply this sheerly as a lip stain/tint though.. I'll wear it properly someday though.. when I man up.
Onto this barbie pink shade called Beauty Queen... I'd only wear this if I was dolled up or else it'll make me look pale and sick! I loved this shade though.. A very different shade from my other pink lipsticks!
I bet you saw this coming.. two Australis Colour Inject Mineral Lipsticks! One in Mambo which you all know.. is my all-time favourite lip colour last year. A nude pink with an outstanding moisturising formula! And also another in Honky Tonk which I was using towards the end of the year for its pretty pinky-coral shade! This will look amazing on fairer skin-tones!
As for the mini Lancome sample size Creme De Brilliance Lip Gloss (middle), I prefer to use it on special occasions as it's very pigmented, although forgivably sticky. I just feel like I would look a tad over-glammed when I'm only dropping by Woolies!
Almost done, I promise! These are my top 5 picks from 2011! I love them all for their colour/shade, so there's nothing special about the formula.
Collection 2011 Nail Polish in 250 Bronzed is a beautiful frosty bronzed colour!! It's so frosty! I love it!
Another frosty I love is ORLY's Sweet Peacock*. I usually don't fall for blues, but this blue is just so beautiful and a bonus for its frosty finish! Love!
You probably think there's nothing special about B Collection's Nail Polish in Vancouver, but to me, it's a very cute and fun light pink!
Green usually makes me feel sick, but there's something so gorgeous and unique about Australis' Nail Enamel in Limited Edition 2 which is now discontinued. I've always wanted a green like this without forking out too much money on O.P.I.
Jordana's Nail Polish in Chiffon is what I've recently found in my mum's nail polish stash and I've been loving it! It's a very pretty light coffee colour!
Skin-care! I'm sorry this post has got so draggy!
Sukin Purely Ageless Botanical Hydration Booster* has a very similar feel to Bio-Oil, but not as oily. Very hydrating for the skin and I'd usually use it at night with the Nutrimetics Restore Intense Anti-Ageing Moisturiser (right).
The Nutrimetics Night Cream* is a very rich and creamy moisturiser which helps with my flaky t-zone very much! I love it!
As for Alpha H's Liquid Gold*, there's something about it which helps to improve the texture of my skin making it feel very smooth. It also helps with evening my skin tone out too! ^_^ Unfortunately, it doesn't help to moisturise so I find myself juggling between this and the Skuin + Nutrimetics combination at night.
A few last skin-care items!
The Dermalogica Skin Hydrating Masque* (sample size) makes me skin feels soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo smooth! It's of a gel consistency and sinks in straight away after being applied to the skin. Sometimes, I just want to leave it on as a moisturiser and never wanna take it off, to be honest.
One of my favourite two sunscreens is the Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen* Lotion. It's very creamy which is a bonus for dry skin, but also mattifying. Great to prime the skin with a dose of sun-protection before applying make-up! It could feel a tad heavy for oily skins though.
Last, but not least are these cheap double eyelid tapes I bought on eBay for $1.50! I only use this sometimes whenever my eyelids are uneven or I feel like lookin' a bit dolly and they work pretty well! ^_^
Thank you so much for following through this post! It's very lengthy, but I tried to be as short and informative as possible!
Disclaimer: Products marked with (*) were not purchased by me, however, I am not obligated to do a review/mention them in my posts. Products marked with (^) are gifts from friend(s). All opinions are of my own and are 100% honest. Please refer to this blog's disclaimer policy >
Great favorites! Looks like you are a big fan of Australis products :D I don't think I even have access to that brand here in the US, but they sound like great products. I hear so many great reviews on the MAC MSF and really want to try it, but I have very dry skin though, so I don't know if powder foundation is such a good idea for me :(
ReplyDeleteaustralis' new range has most definitely surprised me too!
ReplyDeletewhat's the consistency of the bloom nail polishes? i always stop to look at the amazing range of colours but i'm unsure about the quality :/
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I'm really admiring the MAC Skinfinish (anything MAC i love!) What shade is yours? I'm a NC25 in general i've been eyeing and not sure to get it or not, I really want a glow! Also FOA illuminating pearls, I oh so want them are they that awesome?! :L
ReplyDeleteRinny, I am a big fan of Australis products! It's all over my blog Hahah! ^_^ It's okay though, you have Wet N Wild & Elf!! *Jelly* If you have dry skin, powder is probably not the very best option.. :( x
ReplyDeleteCate, Agreed! The B Collection nail polishes are quite average in quality! I don't have anything to complain about them though :P I don't think there's anything amazing and I won't pay full price for em' hehehe..
xx
Joline, I think I have mine in Medium Plus. It's very sheer and more of a finishing powder and not a foundation >_< So shades shouldn't matter too much! The FOA Pearls is a good product, but honestly nothing I can't live without :P x
ReplyDeletei like the msfn too, and use the australis powder to set my undereye, except i squirm everytime i hear the lid screech under my fingers whenever i open / close it.
ReplyDeletei can't find my orly peacock!! nnooo!! =( but i love the other color, the orly nail polish took my breath away with its consistency and color amazingness.
and estee lauder pure color lipgloss is also a new fav lipgloss of mine! non sticky and longwearing :)
awesome favs, so many products i love too. great to c them in your list.
ReplyDeleteI have the sigma F80 too, it's an awesome blush. I saw your blog on the BH forums!
ReplyDeleteGreat picks! I love the Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Double Face perfector too! I have yet to use the highlighter on certain areas of my face but I will try it on my nose bridge. :)
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