My 12 favorite beauty products of 2012

Happy 2013 everyone!
Shockingly, I have found a bunch of HG or 'holy grail' products this year! It makes me happy to find amazing things that suit me, but at the same time it takes the fun away from hunting for something new.

Everything in this post are products I use daily or a few times per week.
You might recognize some of these items from my summer favorites post.
Sorry, I didn't take individual pictures of everything, I wanted to get this posted before 2014 ;) So; here are my top 12 beauty buys from 2012.

 

12. Clinique take the day off cleansing balm  $34 CAD

This was a recent discovery and I am so impressed with it. I've wasted so much money trying to find a 'gentle' cleanser that completely removes makeup.  I can't use foaming cleansers or wipes anymore, they make my face red and irritated. This balm easily takes off every single trace of makeup, even waterproof mascara - and it rinses off completely. No oily residue at all! I love this stuff so much.

11. Essence volumizing lash powder $3.99 CAD

I was skeptical, but this stuff works so well. I found that using wet mascara with it is best. Covergirl lash blast (orange tube) worked magically with it. It gave me fake looking lashes. The fibers won't irritate sensitive eyes, just be careful when applying and you will get amazing lashes.

10. ELF liquid eyeliner $1.50 CAD

I grabbed this back in the summer when I ran out of MAC penultimate liner (which dried out within 3 months of use :( And I don't think I will look back. I can get a thin dark line in one swipe, and it stays put all day. So cheap too!

9. Maybelline color tattoo cream shadow bad to the bronze $8.99 CAD

I use this all the time. It's one of my go-to shadows because it is so quick and easy to get a gorgeous taupe shimmery eye. Just apply to lids, add a few coats of mascara and then put on some more for a little more color intensity.

8. Wet n Wild color icon palette vanity $6.99 CAD

I think this is what I would consider my HG eyeshadow palette. I recently purchased a back up. It's so pigmented and gorgeous. The colors blend like a dream. I was using MAC blanc type as an all over base shadow before, but when I started using the matte beige in this quad I realized that it was even better than MAC! I will never be without this palette.

7. NARS larger than life lipgloss Tiber $30 CAD

I love NARS larger than life glosses. I think they are the best out there. They are shiny, long lasting and hydrating. No stickiness at all. Tiber is my favorite color, a nice neutral beige. I am going to buy more.

6. MAC lipstick blankety $18 CAD

This is my HG lipstick. It is the perfect mix of pink and beige and I can wear it with anything. It tones down the redness in my lips but it doesn't make me look like a corpse.

5. MAC paint pot constructivist $20 CAD

I love this as an all over lid color or as a liner. It's a nice rich brown with reddish pearl. It makes my green eyes pop. Genius color. Another item I will never be without.

4.  MAC eyebrow pencil lingering $18 CAD

This has become my HG brow product. I have tried lots. This is IT. The color is perfect, it looks totally natural, it defines and helps shape and fill in brows where needed. Most importantly, it stays on all day and it keeps brows in place. I couldn't ask for more. I have heard that maybelline has a dupe of this product so I will be checking that out too.

3. MAC mineralize skin finish light year (limited edition)  $34 CAD

I'm sorry I had to put an LE product in here, but this has become my everyday blush. I mix all the colors together and it gives me a luminous pink/beige/peach glow that I haven't got from anything else. It's exactly what I want in a blush. A little glow without looking overdone. All pale girls need this in their stash!

2. MAC play it proper beauty powder $34 CAD

This is my HG highlight product. It is a light pearly pink and it gives my cheekbones an amazing glow. I've hit pan and already have a backup because I use it pretty well every day. 

I highly recommend light pink highlighters for pale skin, I think they are the most flattering.

1. Make up forever face and body foundation $44 CAD

My number one favorite? MUFE face and body foundation. I love it. I haven't found any other foundation that gives such a youthful look to skin as this. It's dewy but it is so light feeling, and it lasts all day. I tried shade #20 and it was very dark on me, I ended up going for #38 porcelain ivory and it is a pretty decent match. It's expensive, and hard to get here but I will keep using it until I find something similar.

I hope you liked my top 12! What were your favorites of 2012? There were so many great things this year it was hard to pick!

My summer beauty favorites!

 I thought I'd do a little post on all my favorite makeup I've been using this summer. All products in this post I use daily or at least once per week. I'll list everything and why I'm loving it :

 Left to right:

• NARS larger than life lipgloss in Tiber ~ perfect nude color, awesome formula not too sticky and actually moisturizing!
• MAC prep + prime BB beauty balm spf 35PA+++ ~ Amazing product! I am using the Asian version currently, it's almost the same as the U.S. just has different sunscreen actives. I was using products with SPF 15 but realized I need more SPF than that (my skin was getting irritated by the sun). So this beauty balm (not to be confused with BB cream!) is sheer and non greasy, providing a perfect base for makeup with SPF 35. On good skin days I use it by itself, just evens everything out and gives a slight glow.
• Biotherm multi-proctection SPF 30 eye contour cream ~ Awesome eye cream with SPF. It's fast absorbing and moisturizing, perfect under makeup.
• Burberry Brit EDP ~ I got this by accident, and I'm glad I did because I love it! I picked this up in a sleep deprived haze - thought it was Burberry the Beat (which I also adore!) and once I tried it I thought I may as well keep it. It's grown on me.. it smells warm, clean, sweet and summery. 
• Cover Girl lash blast mascara waterproof ~ I only use this when I need to since it's hard to remove, but it stays all day and is truly water resistant!
• Cover Girl liquiline blast brown blaze ~ The most perfect brown liner I've ever used! I'm not exaggerating. The color is gorgeous and doesn't have shimmer so it's great for the waterline. I like this for the summer because it isn't harsh like black can be.
• MAC penultimate eyeliner rapid black ~ I've been searching for a liner like this forever. I can actually make a tiny, small line with this! I love using it on the top lash line to add just a little bit of fullness to my lashes without having to make a thick line.

 

• Wet n Wild vanity palette  ~ Love this! I like to use the matte colors for a subtle look somedays, and for a more smoky eye I put the shimmery brown over MAC constructivist paint pot and it looks amazing... try it!
• MAC MSF semi precious crystal pink ~ I'm really sad this is limited edition because it's the perfect summer blush and highlighter in one. I use this a lot, the middle gives a light bronze/pink blush and the outside gives a shimmery beige highlight. It's perfect.
• MAC constructivist paint pot ~ Gorgeous deep brown with reddish undertones. I use this one a lot too. I like to layer shimmery taupes and browns over it for a smoky eye.
• Maybelline 24 hr eye tattoo in bad to the bronze ~ Another amazing color. It's the one thing I must say you need for summer. Some days when I want a minimal look thats fast and easy I just use this all over the lid with some mascara and I'm good to go. It's the perfect champagne taupe color, not too dark or too light. The best thing is that it stays all day and doesn't crease or travel.
• MAC lipstick blankety ~ This has become my favorite lipstick ever. It goes with everything, It also makes lips look plump.
• Urban Decay naked palette ~ (Forgot to take a pic!) This is my go-to palette most days. I love it.

One of my favorite summer polishes is Illamasqua Milf. I love it! Sorry for the blurry pic, was holding my baby and trying to aim the camera with the same arm.

 

Here is my summer FOTD, very basic and neutral. I'm spending a lot of time outside so I look really tan..wow.
My FOTD:
face:
- MAC prep + prime beauty balm
- Revlon Colorstay in buff (a whole shade darker than the usual ivory! )
- MAC MSF crystal pink
eyes:
- Urban Decay naked palette: naked (lid), buck (crease & lower lash line), sin (blended above crease), virgin (to highlight).
- Armani eyes to kill mascara (review coming soon!)
- Annabelle brow pencil taupe
lips:
NARS larger than life l/g Tiber

Well I hope you are all having a great summer. My family and I are enjoying it, looking forward to holidays in a few weeks as well.
Let me know what your favorite summer beauty products are! Especailly any skin care and foundations, always up for trying new things :)

NARS blush in lovejoy photos and swatches

I do love grabbing a new NARS blush every once and a while. I chose to get lovejoy the other day after swatching a bunch of colors at sephora. I wanted something that would give me a bit of glow, and it looked like it would work.

It's a very pigmented berry bronze with golden shimmer. I found I had to be super careful applying because it is very easy to over-do.

Swatch of lovejoy:

in different light to show shimmer:

I found that once applied to my cheeks the shimmer didn't stand out very much. On me, lovejoy turned very red and sunburned looking.

Wearing lovejoy : (please excuse this blurry photo, was taken after a very long day)

It made me look very flushed. I felt like I was suffering from a bad case of rosacea :(
The red undertone made my complexion look overly pink and I really did not like that effect.
Sadly lovejoy is not a winner for me. This would work much better on warm toned or olive skin, ranging from light to dark in color.

What is your favorite NARS blush? I was looking at douceur but I'm on the fence about it.

NARS rebecca duo photos, swatches and EOTD

Rebecca, an interesting duo from NARS I recently acquired is described as Kiwi / Amber with shimmer.
Looks quite intriguing doesn't it?

More than anything these shadows seem frosted with shimmer. Frosty pale iced green and frosty light reddened brown. The shadows are pigmented, but they are very sheer and fine.

Swatched heavily:

My EOTD using Rebecca:

I used my usual gosh primer, and layered the colors quite a few times but they went on very sheer. They are more or less a 'wash' as opposed to being intense and rich. I figure to get them to show up more vividly you can use them wet.

Personally I don't like this duo. The coloring is just wrong on me! The 'amber' made my eyes look red and sore, and the 'kiwi' just didn't show up enough. I just think it makes me look ill.

Maybe darker skin tones can pull these colors off, but I'm not sure it would be flattering on anyone.

Some slytherin green EOTD looks using Kat Von D gypsy palette

I have some pics to share from before my camera croaked, in salutation to Harry Potter I present my slytherin green eyeshadow looks.
These were all done with Kat Von D's amazing gypsy palette. Sadly this is one of the only palettes that is really hard to find now because it was limited edition.

I hope to inspire those that own the gypsy palette to play with the different colors and try new looks.
If you don't have the gypsy palette well I assure you there are dupes of these colors out there.

To dupe the colors in gypsy try MAC carbon, club, trax and bitter eyeshadows as well as true chartreuse pigment. Also try NARS night porter eyeshadow and The body shop 08 emerald eye shimmer shadow to create the same effects seen below.
Sorry I don't have a dupe for the cream eyeshadow, as it was pretty dried up when I got this palette :/

true love palette gypsy:

Here is my most recent dark smokey green EOTD that I wore to see harry potter and the deathly hollows part 2:

Full slytherin face:

Another lighter green EOTD:

And here I used all the colors on the right side of the gypsy palette. I adored this look.

Thank you for looking! And to my fellow Harry Potter fans, what did you think of the movie?

Wet n Wild Greed ColorIcon Palette photos, swatches and EOTD

Please excuse the lack of posts lately, life is just crazy right now! It's great though because I've recently been able to grab a few new things to review in the future. I can't say what, it's a secret!

I am not really a big fan of Wet n wild palettes myself, but I couldn't resist the colors in this one. Especially the shimmery golden peach/pink color, it's really beautiful!


I found the pigmentation of these shadows pretty good. Compared to the silent treatment trio I had tried before I liked this way better!

The matte colors are really nice and creamy, very blendable and dense pigment. The shimmery ones are ok, not as pigmented as I had hoped. I found them to be a little chalky, but they did blend well.

Swatches of greed, shimmer colors (top) and matte colors (bottom) :

My EOTD using all three of the shimmer colors:

I used my favorite color (the pink gold) all over the lid. I should add that to really make them pop I applied the matte flesh toned color all over my eyes before applying the shimmery colors.


please excuse the brows as I was trying to grow them out when these pics were taken!

I don't reach for this palette very much because I am mostly wearing neutrals and bronzey colors these days, but I think I will play around with it some more and see what I come up with.

I really don't think you can go wrong with this for $6... even if it is just for one of the colors!

I should also mention that the purple color with gold sparkle is a dead on dupe for NARS stada! I hated strada because it didn't show up on me nearly as nicely as it looked in the pan. This wet n wild color however, (I think the single color is called 'kitten') is far more smooth than NARS and actually looks great over a primer.

I love finding cheap dupes that are even better than the more expensive brand ;) have you found any great dupes lately?

NARS gipsy lipstick photos and swatches

I have a hard time finding flattering red lipsticks. I think that any skin tone can wear red, but they need to choose the right shade. Finding one that suits paler than pale skin is not easy.

NARS gipsy is quite a nice red toned color that isn't overly brown blue or orange. It's pretty neutral. It is not overpowering or bright, but rather somewhat sheer. It can be built up to a brighter red, or sheered out to a light red stain.
I think it would suit any skintone.




It just adds a subtle reddish tint to my lips. It's quite pretty and lady-like.

Whats your favorite red lipstick?

MAC gentle mineralize blush photos, swatches and FOTD

Gentle is another supremely pigmented mineralize blush from MAC. The color is a deep raspberry, a mix of pink and red with golden shimmer. Although it seems cool from the photos, I find the color leans warm.

Swatches:

The golden pearl is more of a sheen, and the particles are so small they blend nicely into the skin.

Wearing gentle:

I also wanted to mention that gentle is almost identical to NARS outlaw blush (see that one here), which is now discontinued. If you missed out on outlaw, don't worry because gentle is a permanent color. The only difference is that gentle has a little bit more of a golden sheen to it, which I think is prettier!

Swatch comparison:

I don't particularly like this (or outlaw) on my skin because the warmth seems to bring out any redness in my face. I definately prefer cooler colors like NARS sin.

What is your favorite blush of all time? I need suggestions because I want to try something new.

NARS orgasm illuminator photos, swatches and FOTD

I'm on the slow boat and didn't try the NARS orgasm illuminator when it first came out. I did try it recently and was pretty underwhelmed. I whipped it out today and tried to make it work.

It looks so nice in the bottle, and dabbed on my arm:

And then I blended it..

Um where did the prettiness go? It looks like a super light liquid shimmery bronzer I can get from bonne bell.

Wearing orgasm illuminator on my cheeks:

It did add some light reflecting pigments to my cheeks but all in all it really didn't impress me. It kind of made me look greasy.
I thought I'd get some nice color from it since I'm so pale but it really refused to show up the way I wanted it to. It's not light enough to highlight and it's not dark enough to be a blush, so I have no use for this product.

Have you tried the illuminator? did it work for you?