Best Of 2012: Nails

As promised in the December's favourites post, I will be sharing with you my favourite products from the past year in a series of posts. Part 1 is going to deal with nail products for you know I am very fond of them. The products are listed in no particular order and they are not necessarily 2012 releases.

I will start with what is probably my most expensive polish... O.P.I. The Man With The Golden Gun 18 Carat Gold Top Coat. This was released in September as part of the Skyfall Collection to celebrate 50 years of James Bond and the latest movie that goes by the same name of the collection. The top coat lends a very sophisticated and expensive look to any manicure and is definitely a polish worth coveting! 2012 saw me try O.P.I. for the first time and I also liked The World Is Not Enough (also from the Skyfall Collection) as well as Nothin' Mousie 'Bout It from the Vintage Minnie Mouse Collection launched earlier in the year. I love the names the people at O.P.I. give their polishes and they quality of the polishes is second to none! They are a bit on the expensive side though. 

Speaking of new polish brands I tried last year, I also bought my first Zoya and my choice naturally fell on Lara from the Summer 2012 Beach Collection as it has the same name as me. It is a beautiful bright pink creme and the formula is a bliss to work with. There is also something about the bottles which I like and this definitely won't be my last Zoya polish.

Next, comes my all time favourite nail polish brand...China Glaze. I have accumulated quite a good number of polishes from the brand but my 2012 favourites are definitely Jungle Queen from the Safari Collection and It's A Trap-Eze from their latest collection, Cirque du Soleil Worlds Away.

I was also really keen on the magnetic polish trend as I feel it gives a beautiful effect in no time. I was able to try this trend thanks to Pupa Milano Magnetic Nail Kit in Red*. The kit comes complete with two magnets for different effects and the polish dries fairly quickly!

Moving on to the more budget friendly brands, I was really impressed with Essence and Catrice for the fabulous collections they came out with this year and also for improving on the Colour & Go Polishes* range in terms of finish, durability and size of the bottle. My favourite shades include Essence Vampire's Love Trend Edition Nail Polish in 03 True Love*, Re-mix Your Style Trend Edition Pop Top Coat*, Catrice Ultimate Nail Lacquer Brushed Metal Effect Nail Polishes in 900 Steel My Heart* and 905 Steel My Soul*. 

Two other polishes which have been favourites of mine last year are Essie Luxeffects in Shine Of The Times and Gosh 549 Holographic Hero*.

As for the random stuff such as base coats and the likes, these are the products that have helped me and many a client have stronger and more beautiful nails this past year, namely, Orly Nailtrition (the best, strengthening base coat I have ever ever tried!), AODL UV Gel Top Coat* (can be found at bornprettystore.com and makes nail polish last up to two weeks. The only downside is that you have to dry it under a UV lamp), Rimmel Cuticle Scrub and last but by no means least, Seacret Cuticle Oil* which moisturizes my cuticles and nourishes my nails. Moreover, my absolute favourite hand cream this year has definitely been La Roche Posay Lipikar Xerand* (not shown) that restores my skin's moisture levels instantly and protects my hands against the constant use of gloves in my profession. I have also found a new favourite nail polish remover...Essence Nail Polish Remover which smells of fruit and removes nail polish quickly and effectively. More importantly, it is an extremely good value for money product!

I cannot conclude this first post in the series without mentioning my winning nail art embellishments that I used over and over again in 2012. All of these products can be found at Born Pretty Store which has an extensive range of nail art embellishments amongst other products. So here goes! First up are the round 1.5mm gold stud rhinestones* for which there are only too many ways to use! They give an interesting edge to any manicure and are sure to make a statement! Next is the red brown flocking powder* for that much sought after 'fuzzy sweater' effect. Lastly, I am really fond of this little tray that comes with the rhinestone picking kit*. It has the ideal shape to contain rhinestones while working and makes it easy to transfer them back into the wheel after use!

And that sums up the Best Nail Products of 2012 for me! Have you tried any of them?

Products marked with * were either gifted to me or sent by the respective companies' PR for review purposes

Monthly Favourites: December

How are you all today? The year is officially at an end and as it so happens at the end of each month, here are my monthly favourites. I am also planning to do a series of Best of 2012 in terms of beauty products so let me know if you would like to see that kind of posts.

My most favourite item this month has been a fashion item, more specifically a pair of shoes, and even more specifically, a pair of boots. Enter the Nine West that my bf bought me for Christmas :)

They're the most comfortable pair of boots I have ever owned and I really like how they dress up an outfit effortlessly while at the same time lending it a bit of an edge. 

Now on to cosmetics, starting with lip products. If you have a look at my OOTD posts, I rarely wear a single lip product, but I tend to pair up products more often than not. My favourite pairs this month have been Liptini Lip Liqueur in 4013 Pink Lady which stains the lips a nice dark pink colour together with Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 15 True Love & Catrice Ultimate Colour Lipstick in 190 The Nuder The Better and Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 08 Glamour To Go.

Moving on the eye department, I have quite a few products, most of which are new discoveries. With regards mascara, I have been reaching for Catrice's Glamour Doll Mascara mostly and when paired with RevitaLash Volumizing Primer, they give my lashes a whole new dimension. I also have a new favourite eyeshadow and glitter eyeliner, courtesy of Pupa Milano in Malta with which I did the NYE make-up in yesterday's post. You can also check out my full review on both products here. Lastly, since I have really been into neutrals this month, I opted for a brown kajal liner for everyday use and my favourite has been Catrice Kajal Designer in 150 Up&Brown&Up&Brown...

Next come the face and body products, namely Zadig & Voltaire Tome 1 - For Her La Purete and Burberry The Beat for perfumes and Napoleon Perdis Ultimate Contour Palette.  The palette is definitely my favourite contour tool as the bronzer is matte and matches my pale skin tone without looking too obvious and the blush is a pretty pink colour. The highlight provides a delicate pearly finish, perfect to emphasise cheekbones and your lips!

What were your end-of-year favourites ladies? Happy New Year to all!

Emerald & Gold Glitter - NYE Make-up Look featuring Pupa Milano Christmas 2012 Deco Collection products

As promised, here is a make-up look you can wear on NYE if you are still undecided. I have also included  a list of products used for your reference so keep reading to see how you can re-create the look :)

1. Start with the eye make-up first so that you can clean up fall-outs easily. Apply some scotch tape at 45 degree angle starting at the tail of your brows.  This will help to create a more accentuated outer-v.

2. Prime lids with an eye primer. Next, apply a gold eyeshadow with a shader brush on the inner third of your eye and proceed with a deep brown on the second third, moving outward (left eye).  Use an emerald green shadow on the outer corner and make sure that you create a defined line against the scotch tape (right eye). Here I chose to take the emerald shadow a little higher than the crease of my eye for a more dramatic look .  It is best if you use an angled eyeshadow brush for this step.

3. Take a fluffy blending brush and go over the gold eyeshadow once again, taking care to blend it with the brown eyeshadow. Do the same for the brown and emerald eyeshadows making sure that the line above the crease is nice and neat.

4. Apply a matte eyeshadow close to your skin tone on the brow bone for highlight and add some brow gel to keep brows in check.

5. Use a glitter eyeliner to line the upper lash line and the inner corner and with a slant eyeshadow brush, mirror the colours on the lid and line the lower lash line. Make sure you connect the shadow at the outer corner.

6. Curl lashes, apply a mascara primer if you wish and finish with several coats of your favourite mascara.

7. Now, for the face. Apply concealer and foundation as you normally would, taking care not to ruin the eye make-up. Set with a translucent powder and apply some fixer to avoid caked up make-up. Choose a foundation that doesn't have SPF so you don't end up looking white in photos.

8. Contour your face by applying highlighter to the bridge of your nose, cupid's bow and cheekbones; bronzer to the hollows of your cheeks and blush to the apples of your cheeks.

9. Lastly, since we have so much going on with the eyes, I opted for a nude lip and applied Catrice Ultimate Colour lipstick in 190 The Nuder The Better and topped it with Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 08 Glamour To Go for extra sparkle!

Face

NYX Concealer in a Jar in CJ12 Green

NYX HD Foundation in HDF02 Soft Beige

Essence Stay Natural Concealer in 01 Soft Beige

E.L.F. Studio Translucent Mattifying Powder

Napoleon Perdis Ultimate Contour Palette

E.L.F. Studio Make-up Mist & Set

Eyes

E.L.F. Eyelid Primer in Sheer

Essence Eyeshadow in 02 Dance All Night

Pupa Milano Diamond Eyeshadow in 04 Emerald Glitter Deco

E.L.F. Mineral Eyeshadow in Outdoorsy

Wet 'n' Wild Single Eyeshadow in Creme Brulee

Pupa Milano Diamond Eyeliner in 03 Copper Glitter Deco

RevitaLash Volumizing Primer in Navy

Catrice Glamour Doll Mascara

Lips

Catrice Ultimate Colour lipstick in 190 The Nuder The Better
Essence XXXL Shine Lipgloss in 08 Glamour To Go 

Happy New Year everyone :)

December Collective Haul ~ Clothing and Christmas Gifts

Christmas is not Christmas if you don't treat yourself to a little something after you have bought all those presents for friends and family right? And that I did! Here are the clothing items I bought this month as well as the gifts I received for Christmas, starting with, two pairs of shoes!

The red kitten heels are from New Look and they only cost €16.75 while the shearling boots were from one of my favourite shoe stores on the island (Gauda of Paola) and they were only €24. I shop a lot from the store and the shop owner knows my tastes only too well so when I went in and asked for the boots, he immediately told me that he had a pair in my size, and even better, it was exactly as I wanted it! I have already worn both shoes and I can confirm they are extremely comfortable!

Moving on, from Terranova I found this cute grey lace cardigan for only €19.99. I paired it with a pair of grey tailored trousers, a black vest and a black blazer with the red shoes shown above and it gave a girly edge to an otherwise serious outfit.

Most of my purchases this month were from Orsay. I always tend to walk past the store but the other day I was in Valletta with Mum and decided to check it out and boy they do have some amazing stock in there! I ended up spending €88.75 in total but I am pretty pleased with all my purchases and I am already thinking of different outfits with them.  The coral knit and the mint cardigan were €24.95 each, the beige and silver jacket was €29.95 and the earrings cost €3.95 (green) and €4.95 (mustard).  The transparent blouse is from Peacocks and features a flower and zigzag applique all over the front. Its cost is €28. Also from Peacocks, I bought this sparkly hair-comb for €5.50 to jazz up my short hair for special occasions.

Finally, here are all the Christmas presents I received, starting with the smaller ones :)

Mum & Dad got me this cute shoes 2013 Diary from Next that I had seen a few days before. I am lost without a diary and I usually keep two: one in my bag and another one at home.  They also got me some The Body Shop stuff, namely, a Face & Body Brush, Coconut Body Scrub and a red bath lilly.  Moving on, my brother got this skull clutch bag from SuiteBlanco which I chose myself as it looks very much like an Alexander McQueen.  I also got a Deborah Hydracolor in 28 Baby Rose from my beautician and the silver tray & candles was a gift from one of Dad's clients. Now I have a very good excuse to shop as my neighbour gave me a gift voucher from New Look.

Now for the more expensive gifts! Johan bought me this pair of Nine West beauties that I had been lusting after from the moment I saw them. They are the most comfortable pair of boots I own and they really dress an outfit effortlessly! And last but most definitely not the least, Mum & Dad also bought me this very elegant coat from Bortex. Mum will also customise it with a detachable vintage fur collar for me :)

What did you get for Christmas? Any treats for yourself?

December Collective Haul ~ Beauty Products

So, as it is, this is the final collective haul for 2012. I will be splitting the haul in two parts, namely cosmetics and clothes/Christmas presents.

First up, two China Glaze polishes from the brand's latest Cirque Du Soleil Collection. The only two that appealed to me were It's A Trap-Eze and Get Carried Away.  The former is a milky white base with tons of multi-coloured glitters that vary in size and shape while the other is a transparent black jelly base with long black flitters along with red, silver and black hex glitters and small black dots.  I also bought a bottle of Fast Forward Top Coat. The polishes were all around the €6 mark.  

I finally managed to find the Kate Moss Lipstick from her newest collection for Rimmel which is comprised exclusively of matte shades. I wanted shade 107 which is to one she wears in the advert. The lipsticks retail for €4.98 each.

Essence cosmetics have released the Home Sweet Home Trend Edition but I only got two products out of it as nothing else really stood out to me. The blush is called 01 Knits For Chicks (€3.10) and the nail polish is Red-y to Relax (€2).  I bought the products at Health Plus on Campus at University and I was very pleased to find some old stock of Catrice products and I ended up buying two of the Million Styles top coats, namely C06 Godfather of Pearl and C08 Have An Ice Day which I think were around €4 each. I also purchased a bottle of coconut and scented nail polish remover from Essence for €1.25. 

Since I finished up my bottle of Rose Water I bought a back-up as well as some Veet wax strips for touch ups.  I also bought a face mask to treat my skin with after all the partying that accompanies this time of year as well as a foot cooler...much needed after wearing all those high heels!

Lastly, I bought two back-ups of Lycia facial wipes and another Rimmel lipstick in 206 Nude Pink. The wipes were €1.85 for each pack of 20 and the lipstick cost €4.15.

Coming up in Part 2, Clothing and Christmas Gifts :)