Favorite Products of 2010

I always do my top products of the past year list when another year begins and this year has been the hardest to pinpoint items. I have found so many great products and narrowing them down was not an easy task. I limited myself to only add ten products to the list, but you can get a good idea of more items that I loved throughout the year by looking at my monthly favorites under my "favorites" tag. :)

These made this special list because they are products that I use nearly on an everyday basis. They made my little beauty world complete this year. With that said, I can't wait to see what new products I find this year and to see if they are worthy enough to add to my version of this list at year's end!

1. MAC Cleanse Off Oil- Review is here. This does wonders at removing makeup and is very gentle on the skin. You still want to wash your face afterward, because this doesn't replace that step.

2. MAC Viva Glam Gaga lipstick- Swatches are here. This is definitely not a lipstick shade for everyone, but I love it.

3. MAC MSF Natural- Small review is here. I can count on one hand the times I've gone without wearing this. I literally reach for it every time I do my makeup.

4. Urban Decay Naked Palette- Review/swatches are here. I've talked about this so many times and I know it is hard to get. I heard they are back in stock on sephora.com and they are bringing out more everywhere else soon.

5. Korres Lip Butters- Review is here. I have Guava, Pomegranate, Mango, and Jasmine. Jasmine is probably my favorite. It's a light pink and I find that the smell reminds me of brown sugar. So if you like sweet scents, I recommend it.

6. MAC Studio Finish concealer- Review is here. My favorite concealer ever. And it lasts so long. Mine has a huge dip in it and I still haven't hit pan.

7. Make Up For Ever HD foundation- No review yet, because it's one of my newer purchases toward the end of the year. I have absolutely fallen in love with it and I now understand all of the hype.

8. OCC Lip Tars- Review is here. These are some of the best lip colors out there. One small drop can cover your lips with full opaque color. And you can mix them to create your own colors.

9. NARS Laguna bronzer- I just realized I haven't reviewed this fully yet. I plan on comparing this and Orgasm to the ELF version. This is the perfect bronzer for my pale skin. There is slight shimmer, but it doesn't show up glittery on your face. It just adds a nice glow.

10. Urban Decay 24/7 eyeliner pencils- I have quite a few of these, but my absolute go-tos are Rockstar, Zero, and Stash. With a little bit of translucent powder over these, they last for hours without smudging on my eyes/waterline.

Revlon ColorStay foundation, CoverGirl LashBlast mascara, MAC Hang Loose blush duo, Maybelline EyeStudio gel liner, and Benefit High Beam. I totally should have made this list top 15, because they would all be on there too!

So what would be on your list? Did you find a holy grail product last year? Let me know in the comments or make your own list and link me to it. :)

December 2010 Favorites

A little delayed due to Christmas break! Here are my last monthly favorites from 2010. For the first time in awhile, I'm referring to stock photos. Why? Because I've temporarily misplaced my camera's battery charger. Story of my life!

1. Urban Decay Naked Palette. I know I keep bringing this palette up, but it is honestly the best palette I own. This is coming from a self-proclaimed eyeshadow addict. If you can find this in stock, I 100% can tell you that it is worth the price. I have swatches up in my review of this.

2. Starbucks holiday drinks!

3. MAC Painterly Paint Pot. This is my absolute favorite base for eyeshadow.

4. L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base. The newest product in my collection that is featured on this list. I will not say much since I plan on giving a proper review on it. It really works well for my dry skin.

5. YSL Rouge Volupte #2. This lipstick is in "my lips, only better" territory for me. Review and swatch to come.

6. MUFE HD Foundation. This is expensive, so I don't use it every time I go out. It doesn't tend to emphasize my dry skin. Now that I have been using it for over a month, a review will be coming.

7. Maybelline Dream Matte Mousse Concealer. I love the mousse formulation especially to cover any blemishes.

8. Christmas! I can't tell you how sad I am that it is over. Just talking about Christmas makes me happy. Love it!

I'd love to hear what some of your favorites are. Maybe you agree with me on some of these products or maybe you have a product to recommend to me! Onto a whole new year of favorites! :)

November Favorites

A bit delayed since I was on vacation in Disney World! I was planning to make an entry yesterday, but I just didn't feel up for it. I was feeling out of sorts. Anyway, here are my favorites from November! Instead of doing a group picture, I felt it best to show individual pictures. So I apologize to those that still have dial-up!

Couture Couture by Juicy Couture perfume. Juicy Couture always seem to have the prettiest bottles!

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizing Lotion. This has been my saving grace as the cold weather rushes in.

The start of the Christmas season! I can never get enough of Christmas. I think January is my saddest month because I'm mourning the end of my favorite holiday season!

Taylor Swift's Speak Now. I love every single track on this album and it is so rare when that happens. My favorite tracks are Mean, Never Grow Up (makes me think of my brother), and Enchanted.

Sephora by OPI Studs & Stilettos nail polish

Korres Jasmine Lip Butter

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Liptar in Hush. A great pink lip!

Everything Orlando. I can't believe how fast my time there went. Can't wait to go back to Disney in two years! And the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was absolutely fantastic. :) It was my first time going during the Christmas lights and it was gorgeous. They really go all out!

Feel free to share some of your favorites!

Fall Essentials Pt. 2

I did this last year and some things may be repeated, but that just means that once again I'm depending on them to get me through fall. :) It's my absolute favorite season. ♥


Candles, anything pumpkin, boots, lip balm, printed scarves, cardigans, cute jackets, and plaid can make just about all of my fall days a little better! Of course a flavored hot coffee never hurts matters either! What are some of your fall essentials? Do tell!

IMATS Toronto 2010 Haul

I think I spent a little more than last year, but a few of the products (not pictured below) I purchased are for a swap I'm doing with Amelia. :) I walked out having $30 left of the money that I had allotted for spending. Not bad!



Only three things from Make Up For Ever. I was planning to get more, but they were sold out of a lot of things that I wanted. This is probably a good thing since this was the first booth I stopped at and didn't want to spend too much money yet! Aqua Eyes in 0L (black), Full Cover Concealer in 1 (fair), and HD blush in #7 (a peachy color). All will be swatched and reviewed!

OCC Lip Tars in Hush and Memento. I wanted these so badly last year but they had sold out, so I made it one of my first booths to stop by this time. I got lucky and wasted no time in telling them the exact two I wanted. One woman looked at me and said "I like you. You're a lady on a mission!" Darn right, I knew I had to have them this year. I absolutely cannot wait to swatch these and give my review!

Eve Pearl's Salmon Concealer and Treatment in Light. I've heard such lovely things about this concealer.

NYX had a booth this year, which had one of the bigger selections available among the different brands. I was really impressed. This also worked out perfectly, because Amelia happened to ask for a few NYX goodies for our swap. ;) Clear lipgloss, Salsa lipgloss, Bling lipstick, Heiress lipstick, Sparkling Dusty Rose lipstick, Summer in Hampton lipstick, Mauve blush, Peach blush, and Versus palette.

Just a quick picture to show you the Versus palette. Neutrals on top row and purples on the bottom row? Yes, please. It's a beautiful color scheme. Did I need another palette? No, but you try to say no to this. It's gorgeous. Ha!

I only picked up two brushes from Royal & Langnickel. They make decent brushes, but I do prefer Crown. Their booth was my last stop of the day. I managed to grab up the last concealer brush. The kabuki brush is so soft. It gives my EcoTools one a run for its money!

Crown brushes. These are some of the best affordable brushes around. So many people talk about Sigma, but not enough people talk about Crown! I picked up a flat top kabuki, an angled blush brush, duo fiber face brush, a tapered face brush (similar to MAC 138), retractable lip brush, lip brush, and a fluffy eyeshadow brush (MAC 217 dupe). I will give a further review on these with pros, cons, and uses.

If you want to know a specific price of something I got, I'll do my best to remember. The most expensive thing I bought would be the Eve Pearl concealer at $25 and the cheapest was the $2 concealer brush from Royal & Langnickel. That just shows you how decent the discounts and prices are at IMATS. If going to a future IMATS,I recommend looking at the different exhibitor's websites and making a list of what you want, because otherwise you'll go in and end up overwhelmed by the selection. I made my list and stuck to it. It also made my time at the booths shorter and I didn't go over budget.

I'm very happy with my haul this year. I got so many things that I have been wanting for a long time. I am really looking forward to doing the reviews and swatches. Hope to see YOU there next year! :)

IMATS Toronto 2010 Pictures

I went on Saturday! I was pleased to see that it was bigger than last year's and much more crowded. That's great because the bigger it gets, the more brands that will get interested in having a booth. :) I'll share some pictures and input from my day in this post and tomorrow will be my haul.

Special effects displays at the Complections Makeup School booth.

Body painting. This girl's makeup was absolutely gorgeous.

NYX was there this year!

Naked pigments.

Crown Brush sets.

Koren's teaching class on makeup and brush tips. Elessa was his model! I learned quite a bit from him.

Me with Elessa.

Me with Koren. I had to keep tradition going and get photos with those two. They are both so sweet!

Me with Kandee Johnson! I pretty much made a dash near the end of her Q&A session and made my way to the Make-Up Artist Magazine booth for her meet and greet. I was first in line. Heck yes! I was actually not in the best mood and she whipped it right out of me with her bubbly personality. It's hard not to walk away from her and not be smiling. She's 10x sweeter and bubbly in person and I didn't even think that was possible!

The day was a success! I met a new friend, got some great makeup, and met some wonderful people that have taught me many tricks of the trade. Win! I felt like it was a bit of false advertising that they said that MAC would have a booth, so I got so excited over it. Turns out that it was just a display booth and to give out MAC Pro applications. Yawn. I think it was a mistake on their part, because they would have sold out much like Make Up For Ever! More tomorrow... :)

October Favorites

All pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month! What I have been loving this month! :)

Group shot with a lovely overload of pink. Okay, so the outer cases of the lipstick and compact aren't actually pink...the product is!

Philosophy Apricots and Cream body lotion, MAC Lazy Day (To the Beach), OPI's Bubble Bath, MAC English Accents lipglass (Give Me Liberty of London), and MAC Oh So Fair beauty powder (Venomous Villains).

My Canon SD1400IS camera, Coach wristlet, Nintendo DS Lite, Blackberry Curve 9300, and my new Finsbury Filofax.

Feel free to share your current faves with me! And Happy Halloween weekend, if you celebrate!

September Favorites

• Urban Decay Naked Palette- This is possibly my favorite palette that I own! Review and swatches here.

• NYX lipgloss in Gold Mauve- Such a pretty mauve! Small review here and swatch is below.

• Revlon ColorBurst lipstick in Mauve- I don't think I've mentioned this yet. I bought two colors, but this one is my favorite of the two. I've been wearing it with Gold Mauve for almost every makeup look I've worn for the past month or so! Swatch is below.

• MAC Studio Finish Concealer- My holy grail concealer! I'm so close to hitting pan. :) Review is here.

• MAC MSF in Porcelain Pink- This is such a pretty color. I wear it alone for a slight glow or I layer it over another pink blush for a little added color. Review is here.

Any specific products that you are liking? What is your favorite lip combination right now? :) I love that fall is finally here!

August Favorites

One month closer to fall weather. I'm jumping for joy at the thought of my favorite season! Here is a handful of my favorites from this month. You know the drill. Feel free to share any product that you have loved or even hated with me!

Body Shop Vitamin E Mist- I got this in July and I'm already almost out. It's a great refresher spray. If you liked Fix+ Rose's scent, you'll like this. It does moisturize nicely and sets makeup well.

NYC Blushable Creme Stick in Plaza Pink- This is so nice alone or layered under other blushes.

Sephora by OPI Just a Little Dangerous- A fun dark purple with little specks of glitter! A nice nail color for autumn.

TheBalm BalmShelter tinted moisturizer- I've been reaching for this more than my foundation. It doesn't go on streaky and it gives sun protection (a big MUST!).

Sigma SS187 (now known as F50)- Originally, I didn't like this brush. It's one of the only Sigma brushes that let me down not applying foundations and powders all that well for me. However, I have found it to be great at applying the tinted moisturizer. This is what I reach for to apply my BalmShelter and it works like a charm.