Essie Penny Talk Review and Swatches

During winter I wear nail polish less frequently because my hands are constantly inside gloves and hot shower usually makes my nail polish more prone to peeling. This doesn't make me too comfortable because I love covering my nails in color ;) My latest buy which also included in my 2012 favorites was this nail polish by Essie called Essie Penny Talk. Take a closer look!

Guerlain KissKiss 544 Reve D'or Review and Swatches

So last Sunday I went to Sephora and they were having some items on sale for 30, 50 or 70 percent off. I was drawn to some Chanel stuff; Mimosa nail polish, rouge allures in delicieuse and insouciante but they were only 30% off :-/ I guess Mom taught me well to look for the most valuable discounted items ;) so I found this Guerlain KissKiss, originally retailed at €28.80, with a 50% off sticker but the tag said €12.40 (apparently they put the wrong price on it but the cashier gave me that price even so). I was happy to get a good bargain of course, but it wouldn't mean anything if the product doesn't deliver, right? So let's take a closer look :)

The Beauty Audit

My Copy of February InStyle came in the mail a few days ago and there was one article that really caught my attention. It was titled The Beauty Audit and talked about how many products you use today and how much they cost. Eight girls laid out the products they used today, how many and how much and I find it very interesting :) InStyle made a little collage of every girl's products and it looks so nifty so I decided to make one myself :)

DESERT ISLAND PRODUCT

I have to say Nars Orgasm 

(€29, narscosmetics.eu) 

Beautiful natural flush 

that's hard to be overdone.

Among the ladies of InStyle, two had stashes kind of similar to mine, theirs worth £370 for 18 products and £318 for 14 products. Both ladies claimed to be surprised that their everyday natural look actually use quite a lot of products. When I started doing this I thought I would barely hit 10. As for the value, the base products took up most of the cost, apparently, fortunately they can be worn for months even though right now my blot powder has already hit pan (twice in 2012, that is).

It's been quite fun doing this (it took up most of my morning ;)) and I hope this post somehow encourage somebody to do this too because I would love to see other people's version of it ^^ Have a great day!

2012 Favorites

Hello!

It's the last day of 2012 and I have to say that last year I started this blog as a part of 2011 new year resolution, the blog is growing super slow afterwards but I love writing something once in a while :) I think for 2013 I have to vow to post more reviews and share more stuff here and also at overmellow.

Just moments before this year ends I wanted to list some of my favorites for this year, I will write more thorough review or swatch for each product/thing mentioned later :)

Skincare

Cleanser Neutrogena Pink Grapefruit Oil-Free Acne Wash
Toner Bioderma Sensibio H2O
Exfoliant Paula's Choice 2% BHA Gel
Spot Treatment Mario Badescu Drying Lotion
Sunscreen Shiseido Sun Protection Lotion
Mask Freeman Avocado & Oatmeal Facial Mask
Body "Cleanser" Dove Bar Soap
Lotion Eucerin Repair Lotion 10% Urea

Make Up

Liquid Foundation Make Up For Ever Mat Velvet+ and Revlon Photoready
BB Cream Diorsnow UV Shield White Reveal SPF 50 PA+++
Tinted Moisturizer Bobbi Brown SPF 15
Setting Powder MAC Blot Powder
Powder Foundation Everyday Minerals Matte Base
(come to think of it, I hardly ever wear face primer this year)
Make Up Brush Sigma
Eye Primer Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Eyeshadow Palette Too Faced Natural Eye Palette
Eyeliner Eyeko Skinny Liquid Eyeliner and MUFE Aqua Eyes
Mascara Maybelline Falsies Flared and Urban Decay Supercurl
Blush MAC Peachykeen
Lipstick Bobbi Brown Creamy Matte Lip Color in Über Pink
Lipgloss Lioele Blooming Gloss in Vanilla Pink and Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in Insouciance

Nails

Nail Base Seche Rebuild (replacing my ever favorite Nail Envy)
Nail Top Coat Seche Vite
Nail Polish 
OPI Dulce de Leche is still my most favorite but from the ones I got in 2012; I love Essie Penny Talk

There they are fully listed. Most things are the ones I wear on daily basis so it's not difficult to pick a favorite. I'm still looking for go-to highlighter, concealer and bronzer tho. What I usually wear now is just so-so, therefore they are not included in the list :) I guess that's all for now, cheers for the new year!

Essential Brushes

Lately I have been using only two brushes to do my make up. I've mentioned a couple times that I rarely wear eyeshadows, I usually only apply some primer then eyeliner on my eyelids. So I don't have any go-to eye brushes *shame*

These two are the brushes I'm wearing lately. The first one is Bubbi HD Flawless brush. I got this one at shopbubbi.com from make up brushes line by Lindy a.k.a bubzbeauty. I've been eyeing this brush for quite a while because of its similarities with Shiseido foundation brush. It has dense angled short bristles for an HD finish. I kept myself from buying it because I had my Everyday Minerals flat top brush already. But eventually that brush just shed and shed and I think it's time for me to replace it. So I placed my order and the brush arrived.