2012. Favorites

Some of the past year favorites :)

Laura Geller Baked Matte Highlighter, from Fresh Brewed Beauty set.

Got it few months ago because it's described as matte highlight. It looks matte, but it's not. It gives face the most natural soft glow, almost undetectable. It doesn't contain any shimmer, as you can see on pic below.

It's available in one shade French Vanilla, yellowy beige shade.

Soon as the sun comes out, I'll do some proper swathes :D.

 

 

Nuxe Reve de Miel lip balm, only lip balm I use. One pot will last you whole year. Detailed review.

 

 

Garnier Miracle Skin Perfector BB cream, for combination to oily skin. I bought it 4 months ago, I use it daily and maybe half of it is gone. It has light to medium coverage. It will even out the skin tone, and cover redness but not imperfections. It gives demi matte finish. It doesn't dry out skin.

Since I got it, I stoped using foundations.

 

 

Bourjois Volume & Fast mascara, excellent mascara that gives lenght and volume to my medium lenght straight lashes with one coat. Lashes are evenly coated and seperated. There is no clumpling, even with few coats. My lashes are flexible and stay curled all day, unlike most other mascaras that keep them curled for few minutes and then they just go down.

It's easy to use, even in a hurry. It doesn't dry out to fast, it will last you few months. But once it starts to dry there will be slight fall out at the end of the day. I'm on my 3rd one.

 

 

Vichy Deo roll-on, mentioned in montly favorites. I still use it daily, and still love it :)

 

 

Manhattan Soft Compact Powders, read full review in montly favorites.

 

 

Deborah 24 ore eyebrow pencil, also mentioned in montly favorites post :)

 

 

 

Bioderma Sensibio Micelar solution. Been using this one a lot. I occasionally try some new one, but I always have few of theese in reserve. I already did full review.

 

 

Batiste dry shampoo, another long time favorite. Been using it for years now. I has very fine particles of powder, so once you brush it out, hair stays mattified and it's not white, which is important if you have dark hair :D

It also gives hair nice volume and lift. Only thing I don't like about it is the floral scent.

Package contains 6.73 fl.oz. and it lasts few months.

 

 

Last but not least, brushes. I love brushes so much I could go on and on about them :D

Here are my favorite brushes that I use all the time, and sadly neglect rest of the collection.

 



Elf Studio Powder brush, bought it 2 years ago. I use it only for loose/presed powders, but since it's synthetic it can be used for cream products as well.

It's medium dense, flat top brush, with very soft bristles. It doesn't shed or leek dye. Blends like a dream :)

With time the hadle got detached, but I simply glued it back with hot glue.

It can be bought in stores in US or online. It also available on  ELF UK for peple in UK and Europe.

 

 

Real Techniques Expert Face brush, best multitask brush ever.  I have alredy writen praises  so no point repeating them :D

 

Available in US at Ulta or online, for pepole outside US or Canada, it can be bought on iherb.com, or HQhair.com, Love Makeup. co.uk and other UK online stores.

 

 

Sigma E25 Blending brush. Only natural hair brush (I own few, but rarely use them) that I use all the time. I simply prefer synthetic brushes, since they don't scratch and they're multifunctional.

Brush is flat but fluffy and rounded on top. Bristles are soft, but not too soft.

It's not too big, so it's great for precision blending and defining crease. It blends like a dream.

Available at Sigma.

 

 

Real Techniques shading brush, small dense flat shadow packing brush. Excellent for precision apllication of eyeshadows, and for small eyes. It's also great for blending liners and applying ES on botom lashes. Works great for all tipes of shadows.

Like all other RT brushes, it picks lot of product and transfers it all, there is minimum or no fall out.

 

Available in US at Ulta or online, for pepole outside US or Canada, it can be bought on iherb.com, or HQhair.com, Love Makeup. co.uk and other UK online stores.

 

 

 

What were your favorites last year :)

My favorite products

This is a list of my favorite products that I can't live without.

Micellar solutions

I discovered this poduct last year and I'm hooked :). Makeup remover, face wash and toner all in one. Cleans the face in few a wipes, doesn't iritate, hidrates and calms the skin. It's safe for eye area. An no need to rince after use so it's great when in hurry.

I tried few brands, but Bioderma is the one that works best for me. Bioderma comes in two types, Sensibio/Crealine for sensetive skin and Sebium for oily skin. Also it comes in few sizes: 100 ml/3.4 oz, 250 ml/8.5 oz and 500 ml/16.9 oz.

I use Sebium as a face wash in the morning since I'm always in a rush, and I hate washing my face. In the evening I use it as a toner before bed time (I usually wash my face around 10 p.m., and go to sleep around 2-3 a.m.). It really helps to keep my oily skin under control. During winter it stops oiling completely and in summer reduces it drastically. It's rather drying so it's not for other skin types.

Sensibio is my go to makeup remover, and it works great. It's very gentle specially for eye area. I read some reviews that Sensibio doesn't remove mascaras very well, but if you try this technique it removes everything effortlessly. Lately I've been using it for everything since my skin is rather dehydrated.
One 500 ml bottle of Sebium/Sensibio lasts me up to 3 to 4 months.

I also tryed some other micellar solutions.

Vichy Purette termale micellar solution is very good as a makeup remover, little better then Bioderma. But for me, I don't like it for other uses. It's very gentle and has slight rose scent that I don't like very much.
It also comes in few packages: 200 ml/6.7oz and 400 ml/13.5 oz.

SVR Lysalpha is intended for oily skin. There is also one for sensetive skin (Provegol). It removes makeup and cleanses skin really well, and it leaves skin slightly mattified. Only thing I don't like is the scent. Is smells like lemon detergent, but I got use to smell.

Bourjois micellar cleansing water is by far the worst compared to the rest I tried. It's a solid makeup remover, not as good as Vichy, but it causes redness on my skin when I use it. I normally don't have sensetive skin. It comes in package 200/250ml. I use it only as a makeup remover nad brush cleanser.




ELF Complexion perfection

I bought this product few years ago and at first I didn't really know what to do with it. Then I started using it and I just love, love, love it.
I always carry one in my bag and have one in storage for backup :).

Why I love this product so much?
It's best mattifying powder I ever tried. It mattifies like crazy :D. And also it brightens up my face, but it doesn't make me look unnatural.
It's cheap, 3$/3.5£ for 13,5 g/ 0.47 oz depending where you buy it. And since you need very little it will last you a long time.
It can be worn alone, on clean skin or over foundation.
I usually apply it with large fluffy powder brush. Simply swirl the brush over all four colors, and gently buff it over your face.
You can also use individual colors. Yellow and pink for undereye area and for any blueish/purple marks/spots on the face, and green and blue are for neutralizing redness.

Don't apply it with sponge or you would look like you put flour on your face.



Lime Crime eyeshadow helper

I tried many eyeshadow primers and this one is best by far. I have oily hooded lids, so it's a challenge to find a primer that will help eyeshadows stay for more than 2-3 hours.
With this one my eyeshadows last up to whole day. It can be bought on official Lime crime website, and they ship worldwide. Price is 17$ for 7g of product. You need very small amount so it will last you a long time.
Website says that primer is waterproof, but I disagree. Somethimes my eye tear's up, and in my iner corner shadow gets wiped off. Maybe it would be waterproof on somebody with normal lids.

Best way to apply it is with your fingers. I used brush but it creased then. And you have to apply eyeshadow right after, don't wait to dry.

I also tried  ELF mineral eyeshadow primer, Art Deco Eyeshadow base, Coastal scents shadow works matte, Meow i-prime, Urban Decay primer potion, M.A.C. paint pot. They all lasted few hours. UDPP lasted the longest, and Mac paint pot creased really fast. It was worst of all.




Nuxe reve de miel lip balm

I discovered this product last year. Combination of flu and dry air (central heating) really dried my lips and they were badly chapped. I looked like I was hanging in Sahara :D.
I actually wanted to buy other product, but pharmacist convinced me to buy this one. It was rather expensive (around 14$/15g/0.52 oz) and I wasn't happy that I payed so much for a lip balm.
First few days I used it  every few hours and then only mornings and evenings. In a couple of days my lips looked and felt soft, smooth, like nothing ever happened.
Since then I only use it at night, before bed time. And that little jar lasted me over a year. I just recently opened a new one.
It has light citrusy scent and flavor. Formulation is little strange, it contains very small scrub bits, but they're not too detectable, it just not smooth and waxy like most lip balms.


Update:
Last month I bought stick version of this balm (aprox.10$/4g/0.14 oz), to always have it with me in my purse.

And I'm totally disappointed. Not even close to original. Not nurishing at all. It has clasic balm texture and light citrusy scent and flavor. It's ok for lips that are not chapped, for maintenance, to keep your lips from chapping, but it won't do anything once they're chapped. I think it might be little drying as well.





Gel liners

I just love gel liners. They're like eye liner pencils but more durable and don't smudge or transfer.
I was never fan of liquid liners, they iritate my eyes, it's tricky to use them (specially if you're clumsy like me :D), and I don't like how they look on skin, so harsh.
As you can see, I have quite a few and number just keeps growing :D

My favorite gel liners are Indelible gel liners. They are really longlasting and waterproof. They can be bought from various online shops and ebay.

Penny, Magnetism, Chocholate Mousse
Venomous, Black cherry

Shadow sealants

Best product ever :D
They keep your pigments in place and turn every eyeshadow into eyeliner.
My favorite is Inglot Duraline (9ml/0.3 oz).

Maybe it looks like a small amount but I have this one for a year now, I use it often and on a picture above is how much I used so far. You need very small drop, so it will last.
Once dried, eyeshadow doesn't budge. Not even if you rub with your fingers. It is even water resistant (I showered once with eyeshadow fixed with Duraline to test it, it stayed in place).
With Duraline my eyeshadows hold all day. It's easily removed with wsterproof makeup remover, or micellar solution.

I also love it because it revives dried gel liners. You only need few drops and gel liner is like new and it doesn't dry again. I use it to revive a gel liner that was dry for years but I couldn't trow it away because it was such unique color.

Recently I bought Kryolan CEL sealer, since I heard is also very good. I plan on trying it out and see how it compares to Inglot.



What are your favorite products?