Call It Beauty's Best Of 2011

Another year gone by... It's amazing how quickly time actually passes by when you start thinking about what has happened throughout the year and how much you've done (or in some cases, how much you didn't do). 

I always get a rush of emotions whenever the year ends... This year, what I feel the most is gratitude. I'm so thankful for all the friendships forged through blogging (Lipstick Bandits, I'm talking bout you :p), for general health/well-being, for a job that can sustain the blog :p... We have so much to be thankful for. Sometimes we forget when we are so caught up with the every day things. But we are all honest with ourselves, it's true. We have a lot to be grateful for.

Anyway, all of that aside, let's get to what I really came here to do, which is share with you my top picks for 2011. I feel like I probably picked too many things, but I can't help loving them all! The following products are the best that I've tried and my absolute favourite items to use in the year 2011.

Here we go...

FACE

The Face Shop Power Perfection BB Cream

Tarte Smooth Operator Amazonian Clay Concealer
Revlon PhotoReady Concealer

Maybelline Dream Matte Powder

CHEEK

Cargo Cosmetics Blush in Mendocino
MAC Mineralize Blush in Feeling Flush

Lancôme Star Bronzer in Èclat Bronze

EYES

Urban Decay Naked Palette

Prestige Cosmetics Brow Perfection Revitalizing Clear Brow Gel

Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner

Eyeko Graffiti Eyeliner Pen

LIPS

Korres Lip Butter in Jasmine

MAC Sheen Supreme Lipstick in Bare Again

Maybelline Color Sensational Lipstick in Plum Jewel

Maybelline Shine Sensational Pop Stick in Fruit Punch

SKINCARE

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser

L'oréal Skin Genesis Wet Cleansing Towelettes

Marcelle Essentials Soothing Cleansing Water *not pictured*
Liz Earle Instant Boost Skin Tonic *not pictured*

NAILS

Revlon - Plum Seduction

Sinful Colors - Cream Pink

Revlon - Facets of Fuchsia

OPI - Steady As She Rose

Revlon - Tangerine

BATH & BODY

Lush - The Olive Branch

Lush - It's Raining Men

The Body Shop - Mango Whip Body Lotion

HAIR

Lush R&B Hair Moisturizer

Macadamia Natural Oil Healing Oil Spray

TOOLS

Z Palettes

EcoTools Retractable Kabuki

And there you have it... My "best of the best" for 2011. 

I do hope you all have a wonderful New Year's Eve! Have fun and stay safe! And I wish you all a fabulous 2012. I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store for me and I hope that the upcoming year has nothing but the best for all of you, because you all deserve it!

HAPPY  NEW YEAR!!!
from Call It Beauty

  

Checking In...

 

Hello, lovelies! I hope everyone had an awesome Christmas.

Still laptop-less, but I've figured out a way to blog here and there until I am able to afford a new one. In the meantime, I thought I'd share my post-Christmas haul with you guys. All my photos were taken on my iPhone, so please bear with the quality :p.

Steve Madden Bandditt Boots

 

Steve Madden Dynemite Platforms

 

Bumble & Bumble Tonic Lotion

 Caudalie Premières Vendanges Moisturizing Cream

MAC Blush in Subtle Breeze (from the Naturally Collection)
Funny tidbit: the SA at the MAC counter in Nordstrom pronounced it
SUB-TUHL. Forreal... I had to stop myself from giggling.

  MAC Blush Ombré in Azalea Blossom (from the Daphne Guinness Collection)

 Burberry Beauty Lip Mist Natural Sheer Lipstick in No. 07 Camelia Pink

bareMinerals READY Eyeshadow 2.0 in The Vision

 Sultana of Soap, Lust Soap,Golden Wonder Bath Bomb, Cinders Bath Bomb, Abombinaball Bath Bomb, Lil Lush Pud Bath Bomb & Three Gold Rings Bubble Bar.

 What does your Boxing Day damage look like?

A Forced Hiatus on Call It Beauty.

If you follow me on Twitter, then you probably already know my sob story...

For those who aren't aware, my car was broken into this past Wednesday and my laptop was stolen.

I am certainly partly to blame, since I forgot to put my laptop in the trunk; but it's still pretty distressing, as I'm sure you can all imagine. >.<

Having my laptop stolen means I have lost all my personal and blog photos; which then means I have no pictures to use in subsequent blog posts.

At this moment, I have no posts scheduled on the blog and I probably won't be able to start blogging again until I have acquired a new laptop, which probably won't be until the new year. I hope you can all bear with me for the time being!

I'm not sure how well I'll be able to keep up with everyone else's blogs, but I will try my best. I will still be keeping up with everyone through Twitter, though. :)

Fellow Lipstick Bandits, I'm so sorry I am unable to join you on this latest venture. Please know that I will be there in spirit... I will sport ___, _____ lipstick with you on Monday in solidarity :p. I love you ladies! ^.^

Anyway, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a fantastic New Year! Fingers crossed I will be back to blogging then :). Until then!

<3, Dani

All About Eyes - I'm Getting Sunburned

I was immediately drawn to this Wet n' Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio in I'm Getting Sunburned because of the colour combination. This is definitely not the kind of look I would've put together myself, which is why I really like the WNW palettes - it helps me "think outside the box" a little bit more.

To start off, I applied the Browbone shade on the lid (I'm a rebel! Rawr!), but not all the way up to the outer edge. I also applied this shade along the lower lash line. Then, I applied the Crease shade on the outer corner and a little but on the outer third of the lower lash line. Then I blended the Eyelid shade along the crease, placing more product on the outer corner and softening it as I blended it inwards. To finish off, I applied Clinique Brush-On Cream Liner on the upper lash line. This look would definitely look better with eyeliner on the lower water line and some mascara, but my eyes were a bit itchy that day and I didn't want to exacerbate whatever reaction it was any further. Or maybe I'm just turning into Larie :p.

Hope you all like this look!

The Joe Fresh Compact Makes For An Awesome Travel Buddy

Joe Fresh has recently come out with a "mix and match" sort of palette compact that immediately made me think of Le Métier de Beauté's Kaleidoscope Kits. Except, you know... Much, much cheaper :p.

At the time, Superstore had a coupon deal where if you purchase 2 of any Face Duos, Eyeshadow Quads or Lip Duos, then you can get the starter compact for free. Each Quad/Duo retails for $12 CAD while the starter compact retails for $5 CAD.

The compact itself is made of white, sturdy, lightweight plastic. Each level snaps into place securely and the edges of each slab is magnetic so the compact stays closed. Although, it doesn't take much effort to slide out, so you might still find it open a bit when it's rattled around in your purse.

Coquette Face Duo

Both cheek products are pretty good quality. They blend well onto the skin and look quite natural. I particularly like the blush because most of my blushes are either pink or coral, so more natural looking blushes are always quite welcome. The highlighter is a lovely champagne shade that compliments the blush well.

Soft Smoke Eye Quad

I chose this eyeshadow quad because of the gorgeous shades - a deep forest green with some flecks of glitter shot through, a smoky green shade, a gorgeous taupe and a silvery grey shade. So pretty!

Unfortunately, the eyeshadow quad was a bit of a letdown. I absolutely adore the colours, but if you know me, you know that I'm not that into sheer eyeshadows. I understand that there is a time and a place for sheers, but I would've liked the option of a more pigmented look and it's much easier to sheer down a pigmented product than it is to do the reverse.

Also...

(Fallout galore! >.<)

That said, the eyeshadows are such lovely colours and they do look rather nice, as you can see from the FOTD below...

Ingénue Lip Duo

I'm a big fan of Joe Fresh lipsticks and this Lip Duo doesn't disappoint! Both shades are nicely pigmented and feel really nice on the lips. The only thing I don't like is the fact that the red shade really accentuates the dry areas on my lips by making them a tad darker. However, when my lips are in better shape, they apply evenly.

FOTD

*Please excuse my changing skintone :p. I haven't been able to figure out how to change the temperature/tint of my skin without changing the colour of the makeup. Apologies!

Are you a fan of the Joe Fresh cosmetic line?

Celebrate The Season of Giving With MAC Dazzlesphere Mini Gloss Kit In Coral

I'm gonna be honest. I totally purchased this set for myself.

But that's not the point! The point is that this Mini Gloss Kit would make an amazing Christmas gift.

Even if you're just giving yourself a gift.


Anyway, the Dazzlesphere collection by MAC is a great way to try out multiple products for a more inexpensive price. I purchased this set of 4 mini lip glosses for $38.50 CAD and they don't cheat you with the amount of product either, because at 0.07 oz. for the Cremesheen's and 0.09 oz. for the Dazzleglasses, you're getting a good amount of gloss action. This is an awesome deal if, like me, you're not that into glosses in general and tend to never finish one up.

First of all, I love the packaging. The clear globe is adorable and looks just like an ornament, though you'd need some heavy duty fasteners to get this attached to a tree, it's pretty heavy! The individual glosses are also encased in plastic tubes that are thicker than your typical MAC Lipglass packaging.

What I definitely do not like is the Dazzleglass' applicators because it tends to do that up there ^^. I prefer doe foot applicators because not only do I feel like I have more control, but I can also cover more surface area with it. You guys have seen my lips, there's quite a bit of area to cover :p. Brushes just take too long. 

Also, can we talk about how difficult it is to remove Dazzleglasses? Goodness, this stuff is thick! I definitely prefer how Cremesheen Glasses feel on the lips, but again, Dazzleglasses are amazing layered on top of other lip products.

This Coral set comes with 4 different shades: Phiff! ("sheer yellow peach), On the Scene ("light coral beige"), Eurobeat ("peach coral with gold pearl") and Richer, Lusher ("peach coral").

Phiff! is perfect for layering because it doesn't add any noticeable colour. On the Scene is a lovely nude shade that would be better used layered on top of lipstick because it settles into lines a lot. Eurobeat is absolutely gorgeous, this shade alone makes the whole set worth it. Richer, Lusher is very much an MLBB shade for me; lovely, natural and is a softer alternative to my usual MLBB lipsticks.

Phiff!

Phiff! - close up

On the Scene

Eurobeat

Eurobeat - close up

Richer, Lusher

Pretty, no? 

My favourites are definitely Eurobeat and Richer, Lusher. In fact, despite not being much of a gloss lady, I intend to wear Richer, Lusher often. I think I shall reserve Dazzleglasses for special occasions and performances, though :p. It's just not as comfortable to wear as I would like.

What are you favourite lipglosses?

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