These are a few of my favorite things..(picture heavy and long!)

The new year is almost upon us, and I just wanted to post some of my favorite makeup from 2011. Some of it isn't from 2011, but I might've used it a lot more this year than others. ENJOY! (I will be using the makeup in upcoming posts also)

THE MAKEUP

Maybelline Great Lash: Lots of Lashes Mascara (or "LoL") in Blackest Black, L.A. Colors 3 Eyeshadow in Sand Dune, L'oreal Extra Intense Eyeliner in Carbon Black, ULTA smudge brush, Essence Gel Eyeliner Brush.

This is what the brush looks like on this mascara. I bought this because Maybelline's Facebook page was offerring a $1 off coupon, and it was only $4.24 (or something) at Wal-Mart without the coupon so I said "What the heck?" I LOVE it. I normally don't care for Great Lash mascara, they tend to have small brushes (except for the big version they came out with however many years ago). But it's great, and that's saying something because my #1 makeup must-have is mascara. If my eyelashes look like crap, it ruins my day.

This is a close up of the eyeshadows. These were a surprise buy. I got them at the Dollar Store for..well..a dollar. I love these also, and I'm not saying they're great for the price, I'm saying they're awesome even if they cost a lot of money. They go on so smooth with a lot of pigment. I don't use the light blue, but I like to combine the brown and blueish-gray color and it is GORGEOUS.

The eyeliner is awesome. It is called Extra-Intense Liquid Pencil Eyeliner, and that's exactly how I would describe it: a pencil that goes on like liquid. It is so smooth with no drag, and EXTRA INTENSE. This also has a smudger on the end, which also works well with this eyeliner. It is kinda expensive, but what the heck..it works good. It also comes in brown and probably purple. I don't know about other colors.

These brushes are good, nothing to say really about them..I looked everywhere for an eyeliner brush like this, so when I finally found one that was only like $1.49 at ULTA (from Essence!) I was sold. My previous eyeliner brush was getting old (and the handle broke off so it was hard to use) so I was very critical about what brush I would buy. But this one is great...and cheap.

This is the best EVER ( well..for me). It was only $1 (who doesn't love cheap that works??). ELF Eyelid Primer in Sheer. It is seriously the best I've ever used. You can get it at their website or Target.

THE LIP COLORS

THE LIPSTICKS

Napoleon Perdis Lipstick in San Francisco (can be seen here), Maybelline Lipstick in So Pearly (can be seen here), Wet n Wild MegaLast Lip Color in 918D (can be seen here), Sephora Lipstick in Lip Attitude - G01, and Dior Addict High Shine in Nude Silhouette. (I love nudes, can't you tell?? )

THE LIP GLOSSES

Brown box is a set from ULTA called Sparkle & Shine, C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve, C.O. Bigelow Lip Shine in Cinnamint Mentha, Maybelline ColorSensational in Sandstone, and Essence Stay With Me in I Like Cotton Candy (can be seen here).

THE LIP STAIN

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Gothic. They have some of the best lip stains because they come with a balm. A lot of people don't like stains because they make lips dry, but this solves that problem. Cover Girl also has some good stains, but they dont come with a balm. Bourjois also has good ones, but I no longer have access to them since Sephora stopped carrying them!

THE POLISHES

These were ones that were new to me..a lot of them are really old, but I had never used them. Here they are! (also will be swatching these in later posts).

THE PURPLES

ULTA Salon Formula in Devious, OPI in Have You Seen My Limo?, OPI in OPI Ink, Sally Hansen Insta-Dry in Grape Going!, and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails in No Hard Feelings.

THE BLUES

China Glaze in For Audrey, China Glaze in First Mate, Pixel in Naughty Bit Nice, and Finger Paints in Easel-y Entertained.

THE REDS

China Glaze in Velvet Bow, Finger Paints in Romanticism Ruby, Wet n Wild MegaLast in Red Tape, and Essie in In Stitches.

THE NEUTRALS

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Commander in Chic, Essie in Chinchilly, and Essence Colour & Go in Irreplaceable (can be seen here.)

THE GLITTERS

Sinful Colors in Frenzy, and Sally Girl (No name or number..I removed the sticker).

THE CRACKLES/SHATTERS

OPI Shatter in Gold, and Sally Hansen Crackle Overcoat in Vintage Violet.

HOPE EVERYONE HAD A SAFE AND FUN NEW YEARS AND HERE'S TO AN EVEN BETTER 2012!

Essence Colour & Go Irreplaceable + What Do You Think?

Well, I know it's almost New Years, but since I will more than likely just be home drinking the bottle of wine I got for Christmas, I decided to just do a nail polish I've had and have wanted to try.

This is the first time I've tried any polish from the Essence line of cosmetics and I absolutely love it! The color is gorgeous and it did dry fast like it claims on the bottle ("flat brush-quick dry: trendy nailstyle within seconds!"). These are the colors I used to do my nails (and the toothpicks!):

Essence Colour & Go in Irreplaceable, Essence Colour & Go in What Do You Think?, Sinful Colors in HD Nails, and Wet n Wild Wild Shine in French White Creme.

I used White Creme beneath Irreplaceable, which I used a couple coats to get it to look like this. Another person said when they used it by itself, they only did three thin coats.
I just love looking at it! I painted my nails a couple days ago, but today I decided to add a little something to it (the flowers). I used What Do You Think? as the petals and White Creme for their centers. The green leaves I mixed the HD Nails and Irreplaceable for a more hunter green color than the bright color HD Nails really is. I loved it! I think I just might buy another of each just to make that color again. What Do You Think? is a really pretty coral color, also with gold shimmer. You can't tell buy using as the petals, so I can't wait to use it on my whole nail.
Here's another picture I blurred a little so the shimmer can be seen even more:

and a close up of the accent nail:

You can see the white around the edges..I need better lighting in my room! But other than that, I am happy with it. And the best part?? The nail polishes were each under $1! Ahh, I love bargains that turn out to be awesome.

(I used toothpicks for the dots because I don't have any nail tools. I used OPI Natural Nail Base Coat to start, and Sally Hansen Advanced Hard as Nails Strengthening Top Coat to finish!)

Physician's Formula Clearance Pick-Ups.

Recently I went to one of the many CVS stores in my town to see what was on clearance there. There were some really good things on sale, but what really caught my eye was the Physician's Formula section, which had many items for 75% off !! (Oh, and I think I should mention I only had $5 to spend.)

I ended up buying two things : Mineral Wear Talc-Free Mineral Correcting Concealer (sale: about $2.25 ; reg: $8.99) and Pearls of Perfection Multi-Colored Light Bronzer (sale: about $3.50; reg: $13.99) I'd say those were pretty good deals (even if I did have to borrow a dollar from my mom)!

Here is the bronzer:

There are all different kinds of "pearl" colors, ranging from light brown to medium dark brown. There are a few pinky color thrown in there also.

 ...and here is the concealer set:

 

I always love clearance sales because you get to try things that were always too expensive to buy in the first place! And what's great about PF is there is usually a coupon on some random products, so I am pretty sure I could have found one and my total would have been even less.

I bought the bronzer because years ago when it first came out my friend had it, and it also looks cool! I mean, come on, what other brand at the drugstore has bronzer balls??
However, the happiness soon faded..it doesn't work that well. I don't know if I am using the wrong kind of brush or what, but I could not get any color on my cheeks! Maybe it is too light. It is also hard to use brushes because the "pearls" get up in the bristles of the brushes. But I think I can make them work: just smash all the balls into powder form. No more fun, but that way they won't go to waste.

The concealer I have some pictures showing what it looks like on my hand.

These are all three colors before blending..the concealer is called Natural Light, the green is Soft Green, and the highlighter is Pink Highlighter. The instructions said to use the green on any red spots on your face, then use the concealer over it. The green is supposed to reduce redness. Here's what it looked like on my hand before blending:

here's the green blended with the concealer on top of it (before blended):

Here is what they look like both blended. I don't know how well the picture shows it, but I feel like the green can still be seen.

I made the mistake of using this for the first time when I did my makeup in a hurry (meaning, if I didn't like this then I couldn't take it off and re-do my makeup). Even with my powder on top I ended up looking like I was trying to cover up a black eye!
The concealer by itself works pretty well though, so it's not a total loss. It is kinda heavy, but I just use a small dab under my eyes and leave it at that!

Here's the last part, #3 - the Highligher. I kinda like this, more than #1 and #2 that's for sure. Before blending it is a really light pink color:

After I blended it on my hand there was a slight shimmer. It says to use it on your browbones and temples to highlight. You can also dab some in the corner of your eye! I just put it on my hand for now.

I hope the picture is good enough to see the shimmer. I darkened the picture a little so the highlight would pop out better. It's probably not the best highlighter in the world, but it, too, will get used!

For anymore information on this product (like the benefits of Physicians Formula - there are A LOT!!) go to drugstore.com (you can also buy it there, but not for the clearance price).

Who else took advantage of the clearance sale??

Bath and Body Works after Christmas Clearance Sale!

Every year I look forward to the after Christmas Clearance Sale at Bath and Body Works. It is simply amazing to me. Today I got to go and see what was on sale this year, and there is A LOT. Sadly, I only had $10 to spend, but I am some-what happy with my purchases. This is what I got (I apologize for the bad pictures, I had to use my phone camera)

Two Triple Moisture Body Creams, a travel size lotion, and a candle with a holder...and all for under $10!!

These are the two Triple Moisture Body Creams I got : Twilight Woods and Secret Wonderland. I think there was also Dark Kiss on the table. These were each only $3 (reg.: $12.00)! There was also the companion Triple Moisture Shower Cream on the table, and the Shea Cashmere Hand Cream. The hand creams had a bigger scent selection. These were two of my favorite scents this year so I was excited they were on the table (even though I'm hoping to get a new scent as the prices go down :) )

I also got this very small candle and glass container for it for JUST $2 FOR BOTH!! I got the very last Aromatherapy Stress Relief candle in my favorite scent Eucalyptus Spearmint

See how small it is? But with the candle being originally $3.50 and the glass $2.50, it was a great deal. The only candles that were on clearance were all holiday ones. I was actually surprised to see this one.

The last thing I got was a travel size lotion. This wasn't on clearance or anything, but becaue it's a new line they're going to have, it was only $1. There are three new scents in the collection (Escape to the Tropics): Aruba Coconut, Bali Mango, and Rio Rumberry. They all smell great, fruity, and tropical. However, I am pretty sure there was a similar collection just last year called Island Escape..? It also had Bali Mango, but the other scents were Hawaii Coconut and Fiji Passionfruit. A little weird, but I guess they were popular!

That's all I got. Hopefully there will still be great stuff next week when I get more money :) and if there are, I'm sure the sale prices will be even lower!! Ahh, the after-holidays.

What after holiday sales did everyone go to/plan on going to this year?