Favourite Products Of 2011

I have probably spent more on makeup in the last 12 months than in any other year of my life. It sure is expensive work being a beauty blogger! Luckily it means that I've found some products that I really love and can see myself using for a long time to come. Here are some of my favourite things that I used last year. I liked a lot more stuff than what I've listed here but these are the products that really stood out to me.


Skincare
Clarisonic Mia / Liz Earle Eyebright / Dermalogica Active Moist
The best thing that I invested in last year was my Clarisonic Mia. There is no other skincare product or treatment out there that compares to what this will do for your skin. I love how it makes my skin look, almost like I've had a spa facial every time I wash my face. I love all the Liz Earle products that I've tried so far. I use Cleanse & Polish with my Clarisonic & follow up with their Skin Tonic too. Eyebright is a bit of a wonder product as it instantly cools & refreshes your eyes. Its brilliant if you've had too many late nights or need to look & feel more awake. Active Moist has been my favourite moisturiser for a while now. Its perfect on my normal/combination skin type. I haven't really liked any of the moisturisers I tried last year so I'll be sticking with this one for the foreseeable future.


Haircare
Tangle Teezer / Kerastase Ciment Thermique / Batiste XXL Volume Dry Shampoo / Frédéric Fekkai Brilliant Glossing Cream
For anyone still wondering if Tangle Teezers work, yes they do & mine has saved me from some pretty horrific knots. I still really like the Kerastase Ciment Thermique & I don't think that any other heat protection product compares to this one. The grapefruit scent lingers on your hair & its absolutely beautiful. I only recently managed to purchase the XXL Volume Batiste as its been really hard to track it down. Its literally always sold out. I'm so glad I got this as although it does make your hair feel like utter crap, it does give you lots of volume. Just whack some serum on afterwards and you're good to go. The Brilliant Glossing Cream is kinda like a cream version of Moroccanoil so it helps to weigh down your hair more. Some people won't like that but I do as it means less flyaways & a more polished looking hairdo.


Base
Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation / Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer / Bobbi Brown Corrector / MAC Pearl Cream Colour Base / Illamasqua Hollow Cream Pigment / MAC Mineralize Skin Finish Natural / Dior Amber Diamond
Last year I became obsessed with finding the perfect base products. I bought a ton of different products but these are my favourites and I use all of these every day. Illamasqua's Skin Base Foundation has been a revelation. I finally have a foundation that matches my exact skintone and has no SPF in which stops the 'ghost face' that Estee Lauder Double Wear used to inflict upon me. Like everyone else I love that Collection 2000 concealer. Its practically opaque & covers pretty much everything. I couldn't live without my Bobbi Brown Corrector as although the Collection 2000 concealer is really good, this product colour corrects my dark circles making me look really awake & like I've slept for 12 hours each night. MAC MSF Natural has been my fave powder for ages, I just wear this with some concealer if I have no time at all to get ready. When I use the Illamasqua foundation I just use this to powder under my eyes because otherwise my mascara ends up all over my face. Pearl Cream Colour Base & Amber Diamond are the perfect highlighting duo. I've bought more highlighters than I can count in 2011 and these are the best of the best. I like a lot of glow so using a cream under the powder makes my cheeks look super shiny & it lasts all day. Hollow Cream Pigment is something I only bought recently but it is the best contour product ever.


Eyes
Lancome Doll Eyes Mascara / L'Oreal Carbon Gloss Superliner / HD Brows Palette / MAC Shroom & Patina Eyeshadows / MAC NC15/NW20 Pencil
The mascara that I've most recently fallen in love with is the Lancome Doll Eyes one. When I first got it the formula was a lot more fluid and didn't really give me the volume I wanted. But as it dried up a bit it got thicker and it is everything I could want in a mascara. It makes my lashes super long, thick & black. I use the L'Oreal eyeliner on a daily basis as I think I look weird without it. This one is really black, long lasting and pretty cheap too which makes it the best eyeliner I've bought this year. I love the eyebrow powders in the HD Brows Palette, they're so pigmented and just brilliant. I only use the one in the bottom right corner as the others don't suit me but I use the others as eyeshadows so its a fab product. The eyeshadows I've reached for most are Shroom & Patina by MAC. I don't really wear eyeshadow much but these are subtle enough for everyday wear. I love this MAC eyeliner pencil as it makes my eyes look bigger & brighter without being a really obvious white line.


Blusher
Illamasqua Katie / Illamasqua Thrust / NARS Deep Throat / Topshop Head Over Heels
I like to wear a lot of blush as it adds some pretty colour to my deathly pallor which saves me from bronzing my whole face to an unnatural colour. My fave blusher at the moment is NARS Deep Throat, I think its the perfect colour for me with just the right amount of sparkle. I adore Illamasqua's powder blushers. Katie is a lovely pastel pink & Thrust is a bright magenta. It looks so scary in the pan but its a gorgeous colour if you apply it with a light hand & blend it properly. I want to try some of Illamasqua's cream blushers next as they seem really good too. The only cream blushers I own are from Topshop but they are great quality for the price. I like the shade Head Over Heels best as its a very pretty peachy colour thats perfect for Summer.


Lip Products
Philosophy Kiss Me Tonight / Beaute Wanted Weightless Lip Creme / MAC Hue Lipstick / MAC Enchantée Kissable Lip Colour
I bought a lot of lipsticks this year. In order to keep my lips lovely & smooth I use Philosophy's Kiss Me Tonight lip treatment. Its a balm that you put on before you go to bed and you wake up with beautifully soft lips. I also put some on before I do my makeup then blot it off when I'm ready to apply my lipstick. I bought the Beaute Weightless Lip Creme in Wanted after I heard that Kristen Stewart loves it. Its a lovely nude thats halfway between a lipstick and gloss. The MAC Kissable Lip Colours from their Peacocky collection use a similar formula. I love the colour Enchantée which is a cool toned bright pink. My fave everyday lipstick is MAC Hue. Its the most perfect pinky nude that looks brilliant on everyone.


Nail Polishes
Illamasqua Jo'Mina / Models Own Utopia / Models Own Pink Punch / Barry M Peach Melba
This was such a hard decision as I adore all the nail polishes I bought last year and believe me, I bought a lot! These ones stood out to me as unique colours that I always get complimented on. They all apply really well and don't chip too badly with some Seche Vite on top.

September Favourites

HD Brows Kit
As everyone knows these babies were sent out in the September GlossyBox. I was so happy to receive this item as I've wanted to get an HD Brows treatment for ages now. I got sent Foxy which is meant for brunettes but as my eyebrows are naturally so dark I can just about get away with using the ash shade in the bottom right corner. The other colours in the palette are far too warm for me. I would've preferred the one for blondes but oh wells. The powders are highly pigmented and last all day. You need a light hand to apply this as its so easy to overdo your brows. I don't really rate the little brush that came with the kit as I think a firmer brush is required to really do your eyebrows properly. This really is a great little kit though, well worth the GlossyBox subscription fee. As long as you get the right set of shades for you then it'll work perfectly and if you don't, they double up as some rather lovely matte eyeshadows.

Sigma F80
I'm sure everyone has already read about a million reviews of this brush, after all thats what made me want to purchase one myself. I bought it mainly to apply my Illamasqua Skin Base foundation with as I wanted to see if there was anything that would blend it better than the MAC 187 brush. This certainly makes the application a lot quicker and makes it look even more flawless than usual. I love dense the bristles are which makes it really good for buffing in makeup. A great partner for a great foundation.

Aveeno Cream
Finally cracked what was causing my eczema to flare up: our leather sofas! Apparently there was some kind of spray used on certain leather sofas which can cause eczema & rashes in lots of people. So I've made sure theres always a throw on top to protect my legs with & as well as using my Neal's Yard Stellaria cream I started using this Aveeno Cream. It contains Collodial Oatmeal which is really good for moisturising anywhere on your body. It has also helped to fade the scarring of where the rash was. I love the smell of it too.

L'Oreal Professionnel Serie Expert Silver Shampoo
I try a hell of a lot of different silver shampoos in order to keep my hair as white as possible. I always find that if I leave them on for too long they end up toning my hair pink or purple. This one is the holy grail of silver shampoos. It doesn't make my hair turn any colour other than proper silver. It costs about a tenner so its a bit more expensive than some of them out there but it works so much better. If you want really white hair, this is the one to get.

Charles Worthington Salon At Home Strength & Repair Kit
I only bought this because Boots were selling it for £13 instead of the RRP of £20. My hair has been coming out loads lately & its starting to feel a bit fine. I think its because the bleach is starting to take its toll. I figured that maybe this could help. It contains some hair repair oil, 4 shower caps, shampoo & conditioner, so theres enough there for 4 applications. You cover your hair with the oil & put a shower cap on top. Then leave it for about 10 mins or more if you want it to penetrate deeper. You then wash your hair with the shampoo & conditioner which you leave on for 5 mins. It leaves my hair feeling really soft, strong & thicker too. The amount of hair I lose each day has noticeably decreased since I started using this treatment. I think once my pack runs out I'll be buying another box but I'll probably buy it now while its still on offer.



Chai Tea Lattes
I am a total Starbucks addict & find it hard to walk past one without going in for my usual grande caramel macchiato. If I eat in I always get a cinnamon roll & an equally sweet chai tea latte. However there are no Starbucks in Huddersfield (I know right, what fresh hell is this?!) so I have to get my fix at home. Pretty much every supermarket sells Drink Me Chai's Spiced Chai Latte and it is amazing. If you've never had a Chai Latte before its basically like normal tea but with sweet spices to give it a nice kick. Its so similar to the one Starbucks do but super cheap. I like mine in a massive spotty Emma Bridgewater mug.