2012 Beauty Favourites

All of my 2012 favourites

Hello guys ! Here comes the 2012 beauty favourites. I'm pretty excited to do this as I will exclusively be talking about products that I love and would recommend.

I'll start with skincare and finish with make up as I think that you should always keep the best for last ! ;)
WARNING : This post is going to be a long one but you can always skip to your favourite parts ;)

My Favourite Skincare

*Skincare*

Before summer 2012 I'd never had any particular skin problems (a few spots now and then but nothing major) however this summer something happened (don't ask me what I have no idea) and I started getting spots (big hurtful ones) all over my cheeks (ew) so I had to make changes in my skincare routine.

Moisturiser : La Roche Posay Effaclar Duo & Effaclar Mat

They are very refreshing cream-gel texture with a very light fresh scent. I can't say it worked miracle on me but it helped and it's very nice to use.

Cleanser : La Roche Posay Effaclar Cleansing Foam & Chanel Précision Foaming Mousse Cleanser & Clarins Water Purify One Step Cleanser

I use the La Roche Posay one most of the time because of my spots. It makes a lot of foam and it's very nice to use.
There's another Cleanser I really like it's the Chanel one as it leaves my skin feeling super duper clean and purified. I use it from time to time when I want that extra clean finish.
When I'm too lazy to actually use a proper cleanser I use the Clarins One Step Cleanser on a cotton pad. This one is the version for oily skins but there's one for every type of skin. I love the smell of it and how fresh my face feels after using it.

Lipcare : Lush Lipscrub in Bubblegum & Vaseline Lip Balm

For my lips I found the perfect duo; I use the lush lipscrub (either the bubble gum or the pop corn one) and any of the vaseline pocket size lip balms (they work wonders on my lips).

My favourite things to use on my body

*Body*

Shower Gel : Lush Snow Fairy

What can I say. I love the colour. I love the smell. I love the glitter in it. The only downside is that they only sell it for Christmas but hey one can always stock up.

Body Butter : The Body Shop Cocoa Butter & Raspberry Body Butters

The cocoa butter one smells amazing and is great for really dry skin. When I want something a bit lighter I use the Raspberry one which has a delicious frutty smell. What's great about these butter is that they sink in really well and don't leave your skin feeling all sticky.

Body Scrub : The Body Shop Cocoa Butter Body Scrub

The same smell than my body butter (amazing !) and what I love about that scrub is that the scruby bits are actually almond shells. And I love to know that what I use is natural. Oh and most importantly it's very good at "scrubing".

What my hair prefers 

*Haircare*

Shampoo & Conditioner : Bed Head Urban Antidotes Resurrection

Smells like strawberryl ! Freaking smells like strawberry ! Nope nothing else to say. That's enough to make it my favourite. Seriously I loooove that smell (although when I first used it I was kinda scared I would be sick of it by the end of the day; luckily the smell isn't too strong on you hair once you rinsed it) What's more it leaves my hair silky soft and not weighed down at all.

Hair Mask : Tigi S-Factor Serious Conditioner

I know, I know as the name suggests it it's not a mask. Well I use it as one anyway and it works wonder. I put it in wet hair either 30 min before I shower or even better the night before. I wet the length of my hair put some of that product in braid my hair and leave until the morning. It makes my hair really soft and also smells like strawberry (strawberry and mint maybe or something like that.

Leave-in Conditioner : Macadamia Healing Oil

I discovered the macadamia range in 2012 and I like to use this hair oil as it doesn't make my hair look greasy (the nuxe "huile prodigieuse" tends to make my hair look greasy no matter how little I use) and I think that it really helps my hair (I have long hair and as I want to grow it longer the ends tend to be all split and broken).

What makes the prettiest version of myself ^^

*Make Up*

Foundation : Revlon Colorstay for combination/oily skin in 150 Buff
It's really hard for me to find a foundation that's light enough. This one is !!! The coverage is good without being to heavy. It covers pretty much all of my blemishes; I just need a tiny bit of concealer on the bigger spots that I tend to get. The staying power is pretty good as well.

Concealer : L'Oréal Le Concealer TrueMatch in n°2 vanilla
It covers without being dry or cakey. It works for both the under eye area and any blemishes that I get. It doesn't stay on extremely well but I just top it up once a day or so. Nothing too bad. I'm not entirely satisfied that's true but I'm still to find a better one.

Powder : Maybelline Dream Matte Powder in 02 Rose Ivory
I have quite oily skin and I find this powder does a really good job keeping the shine away without making my skin look to powdery.

Brows : YSL Eyebrow Pencil in n°5
It's a pencil and a brush at the same time. Good for me as I tend to travel quite a lot. The colour match is pretty good. The finish is natural. I love it !

Blusher : Mac Sheertone Blush in Peaches
It was the first time I got one of the mac girls to pick something up for me. I wish I could thank her. Best blush ever for my skintone ! I don't think I need to say more about it. We all know that mac products are all in all pretty good. Well that one is no exception. Great colour pay-off stays on well and suits me very well.

Bronzer : L'Oréal GlamBronze in 101 Blonde Harmony
It's a duo bronzer with one pretty light colour. Both colour have a little bit of gold shimmer. I tend to have the same problem with bronzer and foundation as my skin is very fair but that bronzer does the trick for me. I use both colours at the same time and it makes the perfect colour to contour and bronze.

Mascara : Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes in Black
There's a review of that mascara on this very blog. Not much more to say. It is amazing. Never fails to make my lashes gorgeous. Doesn't smudge. What more would you want ?!

Eye Shadow : Maybelline Color Tatoo in On and On bronze, Pink Gold and Eternal Gold
I've also made a blogpost on these cream gel eyeshadows. The more I use them the more convinced I am that they're amazing. Great colour, buildable and stays on forever !

Lipstick : Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in Boy
THE best colour for my lips as it is pretty much the natural colour of my lips. It enhances them and gives them a slight glow. It's not drying and glides on smoothly. Great one. I always repurchase it as soon as I run out. (or before)

Nail Polish : Essie in Leading Lady, Beyond Cozy and Bahama Mama
I love a lot of essie nail polishes but I chose these three as my favourites. Out of all the colours I own they are the most worn ones. The only thing about essie nail polishes that I don't really like (no massive dislike but eh ... i'm not too convinced) is the brush. Either it's me who can't apply nail polish properly either the brush is really a bit too big. I don't know ... anyway they're still my favourites. Amazing colour. Unbelievable staying power (5-7 days without any major chip)

Perfume - Diesel Fuel for Life
I've tried guys I promise but I have no idea what it smells like. Sorry. It smells great and I love it. It's the perfume I always go back too even if I sometimes use other ones in between. It stays by far my favourite.

Well this is it ! Anything you now feel like trying ?

What is your major, one favourite of 2012 ?

LUSH - Phoenix Rising

This is a quick post as my weeks are getting busier and busier with the end of the semester coming up and all the essays I have due (and the christmas presents hunt).

All of this is kinda stressful and it's getting kinda cold so I've been enjoying taking bath lately. Most of the time with lush bath bombs and phoenix rising may be my favourite right now.

So this is what it looks like when you take it out of its paper bag. Gorgeous pink with gold shimmer. But then you put it in your bath and this is what happens ...

It GREEN on the inside and there's also a cinnamon stick in it. Needless to say it turns your bath water pink and smell of cinnamon. Oh so yummy.

The bonus is that it leaves my skin feeling oh so soft and your bathroom will smell of cinnamon for the whole day !

Have you ever tried that bath bomb ? Did you enjoy it ? What's your favourite one from lush ?

Essie Beyond Cozy & Leading Lady

Hello everyone ! =) Exciting news today, exciting news ! I found these two limited edition Essie nail polish colours Beyond Cozy & Leading Lady. And I must say I loooooove them ! I've never have nail polishes that dried so quickly before -especially beyond cozy- which is really important for me as I never really get enough time to let my nails dry properly. 

Beyond Cozy stayed on my nail perfectly for 7 freaking days with nothing but a chip on the night of the 6th day but that is it ! Amazing I'm telling you ! I love the colour too; this glittery silver colour is really easy to wear and super gorgeous.

Leading Lady is also very quick drying - although it might take 2 more minutes but I'm telling you they dry super duper fast ! The colour looks a little more purply burgundy like in real life than it does in the bottle (in which it looks really red) but it's still gorgeous with plenty of glitter. And it last very well as well as I'm on my 5th day now and you know my nails still look pretty perfect !

What are your favourite colours from the Essie nail polish collection ? Do you like them ?

Ps: Sorry the pictures aren't the best quality as I took them with my phone but I couldn't wait to get proper pictures; I really wanted to post this !

Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR Cream Gel Eye Shadows

Hello guys, in my last post I haven't been really nice to one of the maybelline products so I thought I'd balance it and talk about a maybelline product I really love. It is the Maybelline Color Tattoo 24HR cream gel eye shadows.

I picked 3 colours : Eternal Gold, On and On Bronz and one that I couldn't find online that's called Pink Gold. They're not super bold colours (unlike Turquoise Forever which is a wonderful bright turquoise) but I like to stay more neutral with eye shadows. (But that turquoise is eyeing me I can't guarantee that I will not end up buying it ;))

They are easy to apply with a brush or with your fingers whether you want it quite light and natural or super bright (as they are easily buildable). The small glitters in it make them look even better.

I love the look you get with these eyeshadow and they really last all day ! I don't know about the 24 hours as I never leave my make-up on that long but the longest I tried (6am - 11pm (17 hours for those too tired to do the math ;)) they lasted perfectly well even though my lids tend to be a little oily.
The one thing that is a little bit annoying and that may be just me is that they tend to dry rather quickly when you put it on your eyes and once they're dry it's impossible to blend or move it; it just stays.

This is what I'm wearing today: eternal gold on the inner corner and on and on bronze 

on the outer corner both applied very lightly for a daytime look.

All in all it is an amazing product ! All the colours are lovely (I think that the colour range is different depending on where you live and the names may vary but they seem to all be amazing nonetheless) and the staying power is amazing (try and get rid of the swatches you did on your hand/arms ... ^^,)

What do you think of these cream gel eye shadows ? What's your favourite colour ?

Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes Mascara

Hello again guys ! Today I'm gonna talk to you about a mascara I've only gotten the chance to try now; it's the Lancôme Hypnôse Doll Eyes.

The packaging is super lovely which is a great start even if the mascara where to be horrible (which it is far from being !) it'd look good in your make-up collection !

I really like the shape of the wand; it is really good to reach the lashes on your inner and outer corners. The result is as shown on the following picture. I have quite short lashes but that mascara does a good job in lengthening them as much as possible and it gives them volume.

I must say I have tried drugstore mascara that would achieve pretty much the same result (for instance the maybelline One by One Volum' Epxress mascara); it is therefore not necessary  to spend the extra amount of money on that specific one. BUT what was really better with that one is its staying power. It is amazing ! My lashes are blond-blond almost invisible when I don't wear mascara and I often need to top up my mascara throughout the day (just on the ends of my lashes) but not with that one. It stays on my lashes all day long, does not smudge and is easy to take off in the evening.

So a good mascara overall but if you don't have a problem with your mascara disappearing throughout the day I don't think it would be worth spending the extra amount of money. But it is a good treat for yourself or as a gift for a loved one.

What do you think of that mascara ? Ever tried it ?