2011 Favorites

Aaaand it's the last day and last few hours of 2011! Instead of doing a December favorites post, I decided to just do a post that includes all the products that stood out to me this year. Sure, I had a bazillion favorites but the ones that truly swept me off my feet are what you will see below. Otherwise you would have to see 50 blushes, 100 eyeshadows...you know I fall in love with products quite easily! 

First up is the wonderful Z palette. I love it for mainly two reasons; helps greatly in my attempt to keep my life and makeup drawer organized and it helps me find the color I am looking for very easily because of its clear lid. Read my review here.

Natural Eye by Too Faced hopefully isn't a surprise to anyone as it is one of my absolute favorite palettes! Other eyeshadow discoveries and obsessions are MAC's Patina, Woodwinked, Twinks, All That Glitters, Chanel Taupe Grise (definitely a winner by far!) in addition to Inglot's velvety soft and super pigmented shades.

Dior Amber Diamond is definitely in my top 10 products of the year. It's everything I would want a highlighter to be. It highlights my cheekbones like no other. Yes it is pricey, it is Dior after all. But if it makes me feel good, and it does, then it's worth every penny. Tarte Amazonian Clay Blushes have most likely deserved the most amazing and long lasting blushes of the year award. Not only are they paraben-free but last all day on skin and come in a variety of gorgeous colors. My favorite and shown above is Tipsy. Benefit Bella Bamba has been my go-to pink blush this year, it has just the right amount of shimmer thus making it easily wearable during the day. Have I mentioned it smells amazing? Top drugstore blush just must go to Milani's Baked Powder Blushes. My favorite is in Luminoso. It's the perfect light peach which wears beautifully when paired with Dior Amber Diamond. Favorite bronzer-but-really-blush kind of product is Laura Geller's Blush-n-Brighten in Honey Dipped. I would have most likely never figured out this product even existed had I not received it in my Birchbox few months ago, thank you Birchbox! Almost every time I wear this product, I get asked what it is! It's quite magical for a bronzy blush.

I talk about MAC Paint Pots quite a bit but don't be fooled because between you and me I have just introduced myself to them exactly a year ago. Since discovering these little gems of pots, I have started using UDPP less and less. And since picking up Nubile several months ago, I have not been using UDPP at all. I just feel like paint pots perform just the same (and some shades even last longer!) are less expensive and come in variety of permanent shades. My absolute favorites this year have been, Nubile, Vintage Selection, Indianwood and Genuine Treasure. 

Shu Uemura's Painting Liner in Black has been my go-to gel liner this year. I love it for lasting forever on my semi-oily lids, no flaking, smudging nada. I couldn't ask for more. Anastasia's clear brow gel have kept my eyebrows in place this year and have done an amazing job making my brows always look groomed. Concealers of the year have been Hard Candy Glamoflauge and YSL Touche Eclat. Glamoflauge will cover just about anything, I heard even tattoos! It lasts all day on my trouble areas on my face and it also seems like it will last me few years as you just need a tiny drop of it to cover a medium to large patch of skin. Ah Touche Eclat, why haven't I tried you all these years? It's done wonders for my under eye area, making me look awake on the days I was barely able to keep my eyes open. 

If you've been reading my blog for a while then you may know that I am not such a huge lip product fan like some other blogger friends out there. But when I love a lip product, I love it endlessly! MAC's Shy Girl, Hue, Underage, Maybelline's Pink Please, Revlon's Soft Nude, Dior's Singuliere and YSL Gloss Pur #2 to name a few. I believe I will never be without these beauties! 

The most important brush this year for me was MAC 217. I believe everyone needs not one but multiple of 217. It's seriously the best for blending! MAC 227 comes very handy especially during busy mornings and makes life so much easier. With 227, I literally apply and go. It's great for quickly applying an overall lid color. For face brushes, I absolutely fell in love with Sigma F80. It works amazingly with my favorite foundation ever, Revlon Photo Ready. The combination of these two leaves my face looking flawless. Earlier this year I experimented with Sigma F50 and began using it for blush application and since then it's the only brush I use for this purpose. A small duo fiber brush just doesn't apply well on my face and makes it hard to blend, but F50 does a perfect job. And finally Sigma F35 for contouring, applies the contour shade exactly where it should be. F35 is also great for what it's actually for; highlighting. 

2011 was a glittery and shimmery year for me - in terms of nail polishes that is :) Sure, my all time favorites nail polishes do not include this much glitter but this year...I decided change was in order! So I reached, more than it was necessary, for glitter overload polishes like Milani Jewel FX and Sephora by OPI Spark-tacular. I also enjoyed Orly Rage and Butter London All Hail the Queen on days I needed to be more polished (yes, pun intended!) :)

I want to thank my lovely readers and my blogger friends for making 2011 a great year with great beauty discoveries! I wish all of you a very happy new year, may 2012 be a year of joy and happiness with loved ones!

xoxo