Thursday, December 29, 2011

2011 Beauty in Review

I am so grateful to all the many wonderful beauty bloggers I follow, read and consult with. Not only did you inspire me to create this blog, but I found a community of incredible women who aren't afraid to talk about a subject some would deem frivolous--things that make us look and feel good, pretty and even sexy!

Though I've not been blogging in this area as long (just since July) I feel that thanks to you all, I've done a crash course in Beauty 101. I've learned about brands, how to use them, where to find them, and why I need them lol. Thanks to you I have 2 shiny red Helmers for my polish and makeup, plans for a custom vanity, and an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of what I have, and what I'm lusting for. I'm even proudly using Beauty Junkie lingo--lemmings, HTF, Unicorn Pee, LE, multichrome, backup, etc.

My 16yo daughter, quite the minimalist who envisions herself the 21st Century version of a hippie, usually rolls her eyes when I start talking about my makeup. And while she is a bit impressed I can remember so many names of my polishes, she rarely wears more than a touch of eyeliner and perhaps lipgloss, and sometimes fragrance. My son is more fascinated with the colors of my polishes than she is, usually comparing some of the more intricate ones to gemstones.

But during this crash course I've learned a lot, met a lot of lovely women and became more obsessed about beauty and polish than I knew possible--my youngest sister who has always been a fashionista is pleasantly surprised and amused.

First I'd like to mention some of my FAVORITE Beauty Bloggers--they not only have great reviews and photos, but I rely on them as a valuable resource when I am shopping for beauty products.

Belles of the Beauty Blogging World 
(Links in my sidebar!)

Phyrra
Toxid Lotus
Scrangie
Socialite Dreams
Let Them Have Polish
Vampy Varnish
Nails & Noms
Pink Sith
The Polishaholic
Nailside
Fashion Polish

Favorite Finds of 2011

MOR Cosmetics
My Pretty Zombie Cosmetics
Llarowe Nail Polish Goddess
Sephora (it's a girl's best friend!)
GingerKitty Designs Nail Polish Jewelry
Helmers from Ikea (red of course)
Fyrrinae Cosmetics
Tokidoki *anything*
HauteLook
Eco-Emi
JulepMaven program
Ozotic Multichromes & Elytra Line
Glitter Gal
Manic Panic--Hair color
Deborah Lippmann
Nfu Oh
Vincent Longo
Hard Candy Lip Pencils
Shea Terra


Sensational Scents

MOR Marshmallow
Aquolina Pink Sugar
Prada Candy
Harvey Prince Eau de Creme
Hugo Naturals Essential Mist--Vanilla & Sweet Orange
Kate Spade Twirl
Juicy Couture Viva La Juicy

Makeup (Almost) Too Pretty To Use 
(or: Get a Backup!)

Lancome "Maison Lancome" Powder Blush
Guerlain Parure de Nuit Pressed Powder & Blush
Vincent Longo Pearl X eyeshadows

Holy Grails

Too Faced Shadow Insurance
Meow Purrfect Foundation
Origins Mattifying Lotion
Fyrrinae Oil Control Finishing Powder
and Pixie Epoxy
Urban Decay All Night Setting Spray
Butter London Horse Power Nail Fertilizer
Butter London Matte Topcoat
Julep Quick Dry Topcoat
Zoya Remove+ polish remover
Reviva Labs Rosewater Facial Spray
Too Faced Brow Envy Brow Shaping & Defining Kit
Tweezerman Tweezers
GingerKitty Designs Nail Polish Bracelet in Liquid Euphoria Bliss

Manic Panic Haircolors of 2011

Cotton Candy Pink
Purple Haze


*****
 I had a really difficult time thinking how I wanted to handle the polishes in my lovely red Helmer. So I needed to come up with several categories. Then I want to recognize a few specials from most of the brands I have. They're like kids--I can't pick just a few favorites!

Unicorns Sought--and Found!

Clarins 230 (Don't. Even. Ask. how much I spent)
GOSH Rainbow (thanks to a trade from Ireland!)
Cult Nails Clairvoyant (aka Unicorn Puke)
Nails Inc Crystal Colours "Royal Wedding" set: Kate & Will
OPI Mad as a Hatter
BB Couture Dragon Breath
*note* I was thisclose to getting my hands on a bottle of Liquid Euphoria Bliss, froze up and lost the auction. Damndamndamn


Prettiest Polish Bottles

Nails Inc Crystal Colours
Nfu Oh
Deborah Lippman Juicy Couture Collection


The Hype Won Me Over

Chanel Peridot


Complete Collections!

Zoya Matte Polishes
OPI Pirates of the Carribbean: On Stranger Tides
Sephora by OPI: Glee (reg & minis)
OPI Alice in Wonderland
Nicole by OPI Holiday 2011
China Glaze Island Escape
Nubar Chocolate Truffles
Nubar Jeans
Nubar Venetian Glass
Nubar Risque Reds
Deborah Lippmann Get This Party Started
Deborah Lippmann Juicy Couture Holiday Sets (2)
Orly Cosmic FX
LCN Crocotop CrocoFever
Tony Moly Galaxy
Models Own Beetlejuice (2 sets)
Cult Nails Super Powers
Cult Nails Hypnotic
Cult Nails Inaugural
KleanColor Chunky Holos

Favorite Polishes by Brand

Zoya--Rica, Charla, Posh, Lolly
OPI--Teenage Dream, Mad as a Hatter
Sephora by OPI--Miss Bossypants, Who Let the Dorks Out, Looks Like Rain Dear
Nicole by OPI--Iceberg Lotus, Ornament for Each Other, Glitter in my Stocking
Ozotics--MultiChrome, Elytra
Glitter Gal--Lizard Belly, Not Another Red
A-England--Holy Grail, Lady of the Lake
China Glaze--108 Degrees, Fairy Dust, 2010, Snow Globe
Nubar--Wildlife, Knight's Armor, Peacock Feathers, Sugar
Nfu-Oh: Holos, Flakies
Butter London: Fairy Lights, Tart with a Heart, The Black Knight
Deborah Lippmann: Candy Shop, Across the Universe, Boom Boom Pow, Today was a Fairytale, Glitter in the Air, Stairway to Heaven, Edge of Glory, Do you Think I'm Sexy, Jewel in the Crown
Orly: Space Cadet, Rocket Girl, Fowl Play
NARS: Super Orgasm, Night Porter, Purple Rain
Dr.'s Remedy Tranquil Tangerine
Sinful Nail Junkie
Illamasqua Viridian, Shrapnel, Boosh
Models Own Pinky Brown
Cult Nails Hypnotize Me, Clairvoyant
KleanColor: Metallics, Aurora
Julep: Helena, Leighton, Sienna
Revlon: Khaki Zing (my first duochrome, had it forever!)

Best Glow in the Dark

Hot Topic
Warpaint Beauty

The polish that I own how many bottles of?
Deborah Lippmann's Happy Birthday (2)
OPI Rainbow Connection
Wet & Wild Party of Five

Polishes I'm looking forward to in 2012

OPI Holland Collection
Cult Nails Captivated (I heard she was maybe bringing it back!)
Girly Bits Nail Polish
Nerd Lacquer
Glitter Gal--larger sizes!
HITS
Lynderella
China Glaze magnetics

*****
Ok, ok so I listed nearly every polish I own LOL I'm a polish junkie, what can I say?

Sadly, every "best" sometimes comes with a "worst" and I've unfortunately run into some companies and products that were sadly, sadly lacking.

BUYER BE AWARE

Rockabetty Beauty--I can't say how her products are because I never got them. After 45 days of promises, excuses and half-truths, I had to file paypal in order to get my money back. I have every written transaction that shows I tried to work with her. She claimed to mail out 2 packages (one to replace the first one that she "thought" she mailed but had no record of) but she never did. She continued to have sales and do business even though she was "too sick" and "in the process of moving" to mail my package. After 50 days from payment (by the time she replied to my paypal complaint) she still had not mailed out the package but offered to. Uh, no thanks. Beware, has rabid fans who are paying to put up with her kind of "customer service". And FYI I don't mind long TAT's. I willingly ordered from another company that stated a wait time of months, not 1 week. There's a big difference between waiting an extra week for my order and a month and a half (and receiving nothing). This is just my experience but I cannot recommend her.

Kat von D Foiled Love Lipsticks (Valentine)--LOOKS pretty, for about 5 minutes. Feels like face scrub on your lips. Truly disappointed in Kat and Sephora. No staying power whatsoever, even with lip insurance.

Nicole by OPI Step 2 the Beat of my Heart and Have a Heart-- Those funky bottles make it damn near impossible to get the glitter out. This is a polish that sadly looks better in the bottle because you can't get it on your nails!

OPI Customer Service--I had a bad bottle of polish. It was like pulling teeth trying to get them to respond to my emails, and when they offered to replace it, it became a game of "sorry we're out of that". I finally took a stab in the dark and got a polish I like but not after alot of frustration.

Juicy Couture Customer Service--they sent the wrong item to me, and it became a nightmare to get the product back to them and get the product I wanted. And after being offered a discount (2 different amounts) and lied to, they are damn lucky I love their stuff so freaking much otherwise I would have said NO MORE. Truly a PITA.
*****

There will always be a few bad apples--but thankfully, there are some awesome people--and products out there. Here are some of the places I've gotten TOP NOTCH service!

Happy to Spend My Money Here!

Leah at Llarowe
Kim at Overall Beauty
Maria at Cult Nails
The Girls at Picture Polish
Glitter Gal
Sephora
FabulouStreet
Tracey at GingerKittyDesigns
My Pretty Zombie
Meow Cosmetics
MOR Cosmetics
Zoya
Manic Panic
LCN
Fyrrinae

Whew, I told you it was a crash course in beauty for me, I feel like I was in some sort of dual enrollment!

Thank YOU my readers for sharing this newfound passion with me. Here's to new lemmings and lovely things for 2012!

AND LOOK FOR SOME AWESOMESAUCE GIVEAWAYS COMING SOON!!!

Stay Pretty!








6 comments:

  1. You've basically summed up my thoughts for this year too, because I found the whole beauty blogging community in December 2010, I've learned so much since then!

    And I only started actually getting obsessed with nail polish a few months ago, and your blog & many others helped me learn more about the polish world... and helped spend my money haha! I can't wait until I get my hands on some Unicorn Puke! XD

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  2. Aww thank you that is a HUGE compliment for me *blush* Yeah I know what you mean about spending money LOL I never knew any polish brands beyond what I could find in my local Walmart or Target until I started reading blogs! I already need another Helmer!!

    I know Clairvoyant (unicorn puke) will be back in stock eventually--until then, Fingerpaints Effects Twisted is nearly the same, but in a clear base, where Clairvoyant is in a blue base. They are supposed to come out sometime this month but I got mine on ebay. HTH (spend more money lol)

    Glad I found your blog too :)

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  3. Oooh, I'll have to try Fingerpaints, I'm so glad the current trend is flakies, they are so gorgeous! Oh, and Cult Nails is having free shipping on any order now until the 14th, so I think I may just have to pick up a few bottles. (:

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  4. The full set of the Fingerpaints effects is due today, can't wait to see them!

    Yeah I got that email too from Cult Nails--I have almost all the polishes, so I bought her Wicked Fast combo (base and quick dry topcoat). I've heard amazing things about it! A few are out of stock but there are lots of gorgeous ones there--I LOVE Hypnotize Me and Iconic! Have fun shopping! :)

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  5. This is a great post, I always love reading favorite lists! Glad I finally stopped by to read your blog, I see your comments since we read a lot of the same blogs. I'll be doing some more reading :).

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    Replies
    1. Tina, I'm thrilled you stopped by!! And grateful you stuck thru the whole LONG list ;)

      My mojo is down a bit lately but I will get into the groove this week! Thank you so much for the feedback! xo

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