Best Beauty Products of 2011

I’m not going to lie, this post is a little hefty and it’ll probably take around 12 hours to read so I suggest getting a drink before you sit down and read it. I’m not going to explain what this post is going to be about as the title is pretty self-explanatory so without further ado, here are the products I loved throughout 2011.

Chanel Illusion D’Ombre in ‘Epatant’ - £22.50

This has probably been a favourite of mine ever since I purchased it. It’s a beautiful colour, has a lovely fluffy texture and it’s so quick and easy to apply. The best thing about this cream eyeshadow is that it lasts all day without creasing or fading, great for if you’re a busy bee like myself and need something that it going to last throughout the day. You can also apply different eyeshadows over the top of the cream shadow and it’s also really blendable. A must have for any make-up artist or make-up lover!

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer in ’01 – Fair’ - £4.19

This is the best concealer of life and it’s only £4.19! I have an Estee Lauder concealer very similar to the Collection 2000 concealer, the only difference between them is that the Estee Lauder concealer is £19.50 and it’s also too dark for me even though I bought the palest shade… handy. You could buy 4 Collection 2000 concealers for the price of one Estee Lauder concealer.

I adore this concealer; it’s creamy, long lasting and most of all blendable. You usually find that full coverage concealers are a pain to blend as they tend to be quite thick but you don’t experience this with the Collection 2000 concealer. You can blend with a brush but I use my finger as I think this works best. I also love how this concealer covers anything; it covers spots, scars, and skin pigmentation, basically anything that needs covering! I bet it would even cover tattoos!

I highly recommend this concealer and if you haven’t tried, you need too! It’s AMAZING. The only downfall is that it’s only available in 4 shades so if you have a dark skin tone, you may not find a suitable shade. If this is the case then I would recommend mixing a bit of foundation into the concealer to darken the shade.

Illamasqua Skin Base Foundation in ‘06’ - £25.00

I have to admit that I absolutely love foundation, without it I’d have a mini meltdown. It covers a multitude of sins and gives the impression a have ‘Beyonce like’ skin. (I envy her skin so much!) I own so many different foundations but my Illamasqua Skin Base is the foundation I reach for the most. It has such a lovely lightweight consistency meaning it doesn’t feel heavy on your skin. It also covers everything, which is great considering the foundation is so lightweight. The foundation is available in so many shades so there is a shade for absolutely anyone. This foundation beats any foundation that I’ve ever tried and if you haven’t tried it, go and get yourself a sample! You will not be disappointed.

MAC Eyeshadow in ‘Short Shorts’ - £11.50

This eyeshadow was part of the MAC Surf Baby collection, a collection that contained a vast amount of bright, beautiful colours. A collection I had high expectations for. At first I was a little disheartened by the eyeshadow as it doesn’t have great pigmentation, it’s quite sheer and does need building up if it was to be worn on it’s own. I was instantly put off by its sheerness but was willing to try different methods of application. I found that this eyeshadow is a perfect highlight eyeshadow because it’s not too shimmery, it’s just gives a nice glow. I literally use it everyday now and have become best friends with it. So here’s a handy tip, if a product isn’t working for you, make it work by giving it a different use.

MAC Penultimate Eyeliner - £14.00

I have to admit, I’d had my ups and downs with this product, not because it’s rubbish but because it sometimes makes my eyes run a little bit. I’ve learnt not to use it anywhere near my waterline otherwise problems will occur. Overall it’s a brilliant eyeliner, it has a nice tip and it gives such a precise line. The good thing with this eyeliner is that it’s a true black and it lasts all day. It also lasts for months on end, to give you all an indication, I bought this eyeliner around spring time and it’s still going strong, 9 months isn’t too bad don’t you think?!

MAC Zoom Fast Lash Mascara - £13.50

I own many types of mascara not because I’m a crazy mascara addict but because I cannot simply find a good mascara that will lengthen, separate and add volume to my eyelashes. I don’t know if many of you know this but my right eyelashes are twice as long as my left eyelashes, a little weird but also a nightmare. I would invest in individual lashes but after hearing they rip out natural eyelashes, I was soon put off the idea, I’ll just stick to mascara. The point I’m getting at is that this mascara is by far the best mascara that I’ve ever tried; it actually makes my left eyelashes look remotely normal which is a massive bonus for me! The mascara also does a great job of lengthening and separating my lashes, its just genius. It’s a great mascara for wearing everyday even though it gives you huge eyelashes! I just LOVE the stuff and I will DEFINITELY re-purchase!

MAC Shadestick in ‘Tundra’ - £13.50

I bought this around mid September, I didn’t know much about shadesticks so I thought I’d try one, I also loved the colour and I think this was another factor why I bought it. If you don’t know what a shadestick is, it’s basically a pen style eyeshadow; they’re fast and easy to apply. The great thing with shadesticks is that they can be worn alone or you can blend other eyeshadows over the top of them. I also use my shadestick as an eyeliner too. They are practical for those people who have little time to apply makeup in the morning. Just swipe over your eyelids, blend a little using a fluffy brush and you’re done!

MAC Lipstick in ‘Unknown Pleasures’ - £13.50

I recently got this lipstick and I have to say that it’s probably the best berry toned lipstick that I’ve ever tried. It’s a mattene lipstick, which is basically a matte lipstick without the horrible dry feeling. I’m quite saddened that MAC haven’t made these lipsticks permanent because they truly are brilliant, the formulation is amazing. I love everything about these lipsticks, the packaging is sleek, they glide on the lips with ease and they last 8+ hours without fading! The perfect lipstick for wearing to a meal as drinking and eating does not affect this lipstick in anyway. A good tip if you buy one of these lipsticks, use eye makeup remover to remove it because it you don’t, this baby will not come off!

MAC Lipstick in ‘Mlle’ - £13.50

This is the perfect nude lipstick and even though it’s a glaze lipstick, it has great pigmentation and lasts around 5 hours without fading. I primarily wear this lipstick when I wear a bright or smokey eye, as I want all the focus to be on my eyes and not my mouth. It’s also my go to lipstick when I don’t know what lipstick to wear. Some people dislike this lipstick, as it is quite pale and can resemble ‘foundation lips’ but because I’m ghostly pale, I can pull it off. I going to be devastated when I run out of this beauty, I just hope MAC re-promote this lipstick in a future collection.

Nars Lipstick in ‘Schiap’ - £17.50

This was one of the very first lipsticks I purchased in 2011 and it remained one of my favourites, especially one of my favourite pink lipsticks. This lipstick is so pigmented that it actually stained my hand after swatching it, it is definitely a lipstick that you can rely on.  This lipstick lasts around 12+ hours; you literally need to scrub it off your lips so invest in a decent eye makeup remover! The only warning I will give you is that you need to apply it with a brush, if you apply it directly from the tube and get a bit on your skin, then you’re going to look as if you’ve been chomping on beetroot.

Nars Loose Powder in ‘Flesh’ - £26.50

2011 was the year I discovered loose powder. It wasn’t that I’d never heard of them before, I just didn’t feel the need to own one. After a couple of months of blogging I noticed that a lot of people were raving about certain loose powders so I decided to check them out. After deliberating between Chanel translucent powder and Nars loose powder, I went ahead and bought myself the Nars loose powder. It’s a hefty tub and I don’t think I’ll ever reach the bottom of it; I’ve had it for months and haven’t even used a quarter of it. I use the powder to set my makeup and I also use it on it’s own when I don’t want to wear foundation. The powder has a slight tint to it so you’re able to wear it alone or on top of other products. It’s a great powder and it does exactly what it says on the tin. It doesn’t cause breakouts, it’s not cakey what so ever and it feels really light on the skin. It really is flawless skin in a tub.

No7 Cleanse & Care Eye Makeup Remover - £7.75

Skincare is very important to me and if I didn’t follow a skincare routine I know I’d develop under the skin spots and other little demons. One product I think ever makeup wearer should own is a good eye makeup remover as it’s important to remove every last bit of eye makeup. I used to use the Clarins eye makeup remover but after learning that it didn’t last long (approx. 2 weeks), I figured I needed to seek a different eye makeup remover. After seeing online reviews, I opted for the No7 eye makeup remover. It’s a brilliant product, it removes waterproof makeup and one bottle lasts around 2 and a half months, which is brilliant! Another thing I like about this product is that it comes with a pump meaning you don’t use up a lot of product, the remover can also be mixed with water too. It’s a great makeup remover and I highly recommend it to anyone.

Orly Nail Varnish in ‘Passion Fruit’ - £6.95

This is a beautiful yet unique colour. It’s basically a mix of red, pink and orange, a true passion fruit colour! Orly nail varnishes are amazing, they have great staying power and each bottle contains 18ml, which is brilliant as the majority of nail varnishes contain 8-15ml. I’m quite shocked at how reasonable Orly nail varnishes are because I would have expected them to cost a lot more as the quality is exceptional. Orly has a great selection of nail varnishes available, from bright neons to subtle shimmers.

Sally Hansen Double Duty Top Coat - £4.95

I use this top coat over absolutely anything, whether it being a plain colour or fancy nail art.  It really does help to keep your nail varnish in place. I also have an O.P.I top coat that was triple the price of the Sally Hansen top coat and in comparison it’s rubbish, I actually regret buying the O.P.I top coat. The Sally Hansen top coat is by far the best top coat that I’ve ever tried and once I’ve run out of it, I will be re-purchasing.

Sleek Oh So Special Palette - £6.49

This is a lovely little palette, it contains a great mix of colours and it’s an ideal palette for creating various different smokey looks. From brown smokey to purple smokey. The pigmentation of the eyeshadows is amazing; they are so pigmented that you literally need to use the tiniest amount. If you would like to see swatches and an in depth reviews, check out this blog post: Sleek Oh So Special

I honestly cannot praise this palette enough! For £6.59, it’s amazing!

Urban Decay Naked Palette - £35.00

I have seen this featured on a lot of people’s ‘products of 2011’ posts so I won’t say much about it as I think my opinions will relatively be the same. All I have to say about this palette is that it contains 12 beautiful colours and the perfect palette for creating everyday and smokey looks. The eyeshadows are also extremely pigmented and blend so well! I just cannot wait to get my hand on the Naked 2!

I also have a full post on the palette so if you would like to see swatches and an in depth review then it may be a good idea looking at that post if you wish to know more information about it. Here is the post: Urban Decay Naked Palette

Here are the swatches...

Top Row: Epatant, Short Shorts, Tundra, Eyeliner, Flesh.

Bottom Row: Mlle, Unknown Pleasure, Schiap, 01 Fair, 06.

 If you would like to see the video version of this post, here it is:

I hope you all enjoyed looking at my best beauty products of 2011! If you have any questions, please comment below! 

Thanks for reading/watching!

:)