Favourites of 2011

Well another years has whizzed by and here we are nearing the start of 2012!

I have been blogging on and off for the whole of 2011 (in fact 01/01/12 marks the first anniversary of my blog) and I wanted to do a favourites post detailing my top 10 favourite products of 2011.

1) Urban Decay Naked Palette

Urban Decay Naked Palette £35.00

I have never written a post on the Naked palette - mainly because there's already a million floating around out there in the blogosphere and mine is so well loved it looks pretty disgusting (can we all be in agreement that velvet is a horrendous choice of casing for a make up palette?!) - but as far as I'm concerned this is ultimate make up palette, I love the selection of eyeshadows and use it near enough everyday. The Naked Palette 2 looks gorgeous although given that I already own the original I'm not totally sure whether I will purchase it, in a way I wish I could pick and choose colours from the two and combine them to make my own ultimate Naked palette! 

2) Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder

Bourjois Delice de Poudre Bronzing Powder, £6.99

I'm a huge fan of this bronzer which I blogged about here. I am not blessed with beautiful olive skin so any help with bronzing is much appreciated, Bourjois have come up with an inexpensive matte bronzer that is well loved by beauty bloggers far and wide and has become my go to bronzer.

3) Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb

Viktor&Rolf Flowerbomb Eau de Parfum, £46.50

A gorgeous sweet smelling perfume packaged as a pink grenade, see my review here. This lovely, if not slightly expensive perfume can be worn day or night and leaves you smelling sugary sweet.

4) Naked Bare Faced Cheek Softening Face Wash with Rose Oil

Naked Softening Face Wash with Rose Oil, £4.49

After years of using heavy creams and cleansers to remove my make up this face wash by Naked has become my staple make up remover. I use Bare Faced Cheek every night to cleanse my face and I still can't get over how super soft it leaves my skin feeling, I love the rose scent of this product and am now on my third bottle. This face wash is great at removing all traces of make up including eye make up and given that it is 97% natural is also very gentle on skin.

5) Batiste Dry Shampoo in Brit

Batiste Brit, £2.99

Batiste was always going to feature on this list as I rely on it so heavily in between washes. Brit is my favourite Batiste scent and is exclusive to Superdrug. As with all Batiste products Brit is great at mopping up excess grease and freshening up hair, the scent is gorgeous and I find it smells similar to a Chloe perfume. 

6) Clean & Clear Morning Energy Moisturiser

Clean and Clear Morning Energy Skin Brightening
Moisturiser, £3.99

I'm really surprised this product made it onto the list as I'm really not a fan of Clean and Clear products. This moisturiser surprised me as not only does it smell lovely and fresh but also leaves my skin feeling moisturised and hydrated and makes a perfect base for make up application. I must really like this product as I've repurchased it a couple of times.

7) Deborah Lippmann Nail Polish in Happy Birthday

Deborah Lippmann Happy Birthday, £16.00

The first of two nail polishes that feature on this list. This is probably my favourite nail polish ever, it's so colourful and sparkly, I absolutely love it even if it is a complete nightmare to remove! Stay tuned for a Happy Birthday nail look coming up.

8) Chanel Nail Colour in Black Pearl

Chanel Black Pearl, £17.50

I lusted after this polish for a long time before I finally took the plunge and bought it. This polish is beautiful, the milky, grey colour with a petrol shimmer looks gorgeous on the nails and feels classic and sophisticated.

9) Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer

Collection 2000 Lasting Perfection Concealer, £4.19

Well done Collection 2000 for bringing out such an amazing quality concealer at a very low price, a definite contender for product of the year. This concealer is fab and gives excellent coverage, I've heard many people compare it to Estee Lauders Double Wear Concealer and for such a low price it really is fantastic, I'm already on my second tube!

10) Tangle Teezer

Tangle Teezer, £10.20

Finally, whilst not particularly exciting I had to include a Tangle Teezer into this list. I use mine everyday without fail as it's the only thing that can un-knot my long hair without pulling half of it out. 

Flowerbomb

Viktor&Rolf Eau de Parfum £46.50

'A thousand flowers in a perfume bottle. Full-bodied and opulent, Flowerbomb eau de parfum explodes in a bouquet of sensations with its addictive floral notes which leave, their trail, like a whirlwind that is distinctly couture. Key ingredients include: centifolia rose, India osmanthus, catleya orchid, sambac jasmine.'

This has been hands down my favourite perfume for the past year. It's a popular choice but I can't get enough of the sugary sweet goodness of this fragrance. Flowerbomb has been around for over 5 years and on my first ever sniff I thought it was awful, however my taste in perfume has changed and I've grown to love sweet scents. 

This frangrance is very sweet (think candyfloss!) with floral notes of rose, jasmine and orchid. It is a very feminine perfume with a strong scent which lingers on both skin and clothes for a long time, which I personally like. The bottle is very pretty, I love the fact it's pink and made to look like a grenade (yes, it really is the simple things with me!). 

The only downside to this perfume is the price, it is very expensive at £46.50 for a mere 30ml bottle, but given that it has such a strong scent, you can use it sparingly. 

Cherry Blossom

The recent hot weather signals that Spring is here, and with the start of a new season begins my longing for a Spring/Summer fragrance. I was looking for something sweet and floral, with the much loved Viktor and Rolf Flowerbomb and Marc Jacobs Daisy Eau So Fresh being my favourites.

....seriously, how cute is this tester strip! 

Then I smelt Cherry Blossom by L'Occitane. At £35 for 100ml it was the sensible option and I willingly purchased a bottle.

It smells like cherry blossom (no surprises there then!) We used to have a cherry blossom tree in my garden and until I smelt this perfume I wasn't even aware that cherry blossom had a fragrance, but this smells just like the morning spring air. It's light, girly and floral, perfect for this time of year when the trees are blossoming with pink and white flowers and the weather is (finally!) warming up.

Flying in the first breeze of spring Cherry Blossom is so rare and precious

One way I have been making this perfume smell even better is by combining it with good old Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula, everyone knows the delicious chocolate scent. When combined with Cherry Blossom the  result is simply amazing! I smell like a chocolate dipped cherry... for one of those can't stop smelling yourself moments!

Palmer's in an old favourite of mine, I have at least 3 different products from the range. I would love to try the Olive Butter Formula but I just cannot tear myself away from the original chocolate scent. With April starting next week I am increasingly aware that summer will soon be upon us, I'm trying to stay ahead of the game by getting my skin in tip top condition, so I'm not a complete flaky, pasty mess come June. Moisturising is the key especially as I work in an office with no access to a window.....mmm recirculated air....lovely! So I have been making sure to moisturise religiously after bathing - something I'm normally very slack on! Hopefully I'll start to see an improvement to my dry skin soon, and if nothing else....at least I smell fabulous.