So you may have noticed that this is a new blog (possibly since you came here from the old one) and the reason for that is I felt the blog really needed a refresher and 4 years from Blissful Belle to elixelle's Beauty Moments to just Beauty Moments on the same landing is due time for new beginnings. Don't worry, I don't see myself deleting Beauty Moments anytime soon but if I do, chances are I would've migrated (or updated) my posts here.
So this is me officially welcoming you to Casual Vanity (yay!).
January is literally almost over (can you believe it?) and despite the fact that I've been planning to have this in video form, seeing that it might take awhile, why don't I just have it up as a blog post instead of missing it altogether like I did my 2011 favourites (oops!).
If you're interested to find out which were my stand out products of 2012, here we go!
Caution, this is going to be a really long post. You have been warned.
I didn't really deviate much from my basic skin care regime last year so I don't have that many products in this category to talk about. Stay tuned for January Favourites for some of the awesome products I've been loving in my new skin care routine!
The biggest standout product for me in terms of Skin Care has to be my Clarisonic Mia. The nifty little device that made the biggest impact to me and one I always pack with me on travels. I just love how it gives a dose of gentle exfoliation to the skin and leaves my skin feeling super clean and smooth, ready for the next steps of my skin care routine. I loved it so much that I recently upgraded to the Mia 2 which has a few additional features with a slight change in design and appearance. My dear trusty Mia is now bringing joy to one of my besties who bought it from me a couple of weeks ago.
Admittedly I get lazy when it comes to taking off make up at night. You know those moments when you're thinking you're ready for la-la-land and you realize you have make up on still? Which is why I love, love, love make up remover towelettes or face cleansing wipes (and they're perfect for travel too, no?). My favourites are the simple Kind To Skin Cleansing Wipes and the Neutrogena Night Calming Make Up Remover Cleansing Towelettes (what a mouthful!). I could be wrong but I think the Neutrogena towelettes are only available in the US but simple is readily available in all Watsons and Guardian stores here.
HAIR CARE
This is probably one of the categories I'm most excited about. I swear my hair grows at at least double the normal speed (not that I'm complaining) which means hair care if pretty important to me to keep those split ends away and maintain healthy hair. After searching high and low and trying different conditioners and such, it was by chance that I stumbled upon the John Frieda Root Awakening Purify + Nourish Conditioner and the Organix Renewing Moroccan Argan Oil Penetrating Oil (seriously, what's with these long product names?) while browsing the hair section at Target during my trip to LA last summer. I am absolutely in love with this combo!! Unfortunately these products aren't available in Malaysia (yet?) so I've had to source for back ups/stock online. The conditioner smells ah-ma-zing and I like the scent of the argan oil. According to Organix Malaysia, they are planning on making the Moroccan Argan Oil line available here soon (it's already available in Singapore).
Since the Toni & Guy Dry Shampoo seems to have been discontinued since they rebranded, I've been on the look out for other brands and while the Tresemme Dry Shampoo looks to have a cult following in the online beauty community, I just wasn't enjoying it as much until the Suave Dry Shampoo which again, is not available in Malaysia (why?!?!). I've read mixed reviews on this product, some saying that they only got 2-3 uses out of the can. I've had mine since last summer and I'm still on the same aerosol can. It's a nice product to use when I need a quick hair refresher on days I don't wash my hair.
BODY CARE
The one stand out product for me in this category hands down goes to Soap & Glory's Flake Away body scrub. The best body scrub I've come across so far. I believe it's a salt and sugar scrub mixed in with essential oils and moisturizing goodness. Not only does my body feel renewed and polished, but it just feels super moisturized too!
MAKE UP: FACE
Now for the good stuff -- make up. While I don't typically use face primer (like I do eye primer), I found myself applying Benefit's The Porefessional on the area surrounding my nose where pores are a little bit more dilated and visible just to tone it down a smidge or two. I'd initially tried a sample but have purchased the full size soon after (well, as soon as I could considering they don't sell Benefit in my city).
Not going to lie, I've been enjoying the Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation some months last year but the stand out foundations (yes, with an 's') for me in 2012 are the Make Up For Ever HD, Urban Decay Naked Skin and L'Oreal True Match. I love the coverage and formula of these 3 foundations the most not just because the colour matches my skin tone pretty perfectly, but it just makes my complexion look flawless and not look like I've caked on a ton of make up.
For awhile I loved the elf Translucent Mattifying Powder to set my make up but after trying the Rimmel Stay Matte Translucent Powder, there's just no going back. I just feel that although both powders are translucent, elf's seems to have more of a pink undertone as oppose to the yellow undertone in the Rimmel powder which sits with me a little better. If I want a little extra coverage, the L'Oreal True Match Powder works wonderfully!
I've been steering towards matte blushes a lot more in the last year and was surprised at how much I enjoyed Sephora Collection's Blush Me! blushes. The shades I have been alternating between are Rose Rebelle (which I bought during a Sephora clearance online for I'd like to say $5?) and Rose Petal (which I'd gotten at Sephora KL). Rose Rebelle is a slightly darker dusty rose while Rose Petal is a lighter rosy pink -- both of which are matte. I'll slip in an honourable mention here for MAC's Immortal Flower because I've been using that quite a bit too last year.
My bronzer picks for 2012 are Too Faced Chocolate Soleil (love!!) and Topshop's Bronzer in Global. Chocolate Soleil is a gorgeous matte chocolate-y brown bronzer that can easily be used for contouring (and was sold out at IMATS LA last year, I asked). For some reason, I just can't find the Global bronzer in Topshop since I got it. Apparently they phase them out and come out with different collections each season (or every other season? I'm not too sure). Global has more of a satin sheen to it which looks beautiful on skin!
Now I used to think highlighters just emphasize pores and look shimmery on cheeks. Clearly I was either using them wrong or using the wrong product altogether. After a period of time enjoying NARS Nico, I've been enjoying the MAC Mineralized Skin Finish in Redhead as my go to highlighter shade for most of last year. I believe it was a repromote item and I'm so glad I picked it up. So pretty!
OK, so last for face make up is the Urban Decay De-Slick Setting Spray. This is truly the secret to long lasting make up. All I do is mist this all over my face after foundation and powder and then I'd apply the rest of my make up and spritz again. Needless to say I bought the XL bottle of this which was on sale on the UD website.
MAKE UP: EYES
When it comes to eyes or the eye are in general -- make up-wise that is -- I can't help but be all excited with brows. I know everyone says this but it's so true! Brows really do frame your face and for me, I try to make it a point to at least do my brows when I go out even when I don't have make up on. After trying out so many different brow products, the Prestige Cosmetics Brow Perfection brow pencil has totally won me over. It's the perfect dark brown for my brows to match my super black hair (well, I've recently added in highlights but it still works). The pencil has a marbleized core (lead?) and a spoolie at the end. I was in Sasa one day, saw the display and decided to give it a shot and fortunately for me it worked out great!
Next products that stood out to me are the L'Oreal Voluminous Million Lashes and tarte Lights, Camera, Splashes! mascaras. These have been the 2 mascaras that I've been reaching for every time I do my make up. The L'Oreal mascara gives such great volume to my lashes I just love how full it makes them look! The one I have is a waterproof formula and holds curls really well without smudging or flaking. For a more natural look, I'd tend to go for the tarte mascara which again holds curls well and doesn't budge while giving a natural lengthening effect to my lashes.
For the most part, I've been dipping into both of the Urban Decay Naked palettes (Naked & Naked2) for most of my looks. The formula is just so smooth and blendable (not to mention pigmented!). My fave shades from the palettes are:
- Brow highlight : Foxy (Naked2)
- Inner corner highlight : Booty Call (Naked2)
- Lid & outer corner colour : Smog, Darkhorse, Toasted, Hustle (Naked), Snakebite and Hustle (Naked2)
- Crease/contour colour : Naked (Naked), Tease (Naked2)
My favourite eye liner is the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide-On Pencil in Zero and Whiskey (yup, the colours of the double ended pencil from the original Naked palette) and I have them as a double ended pencil (with back ups) and full size pencil. I know that a lot of people much prefer Perversion compared to Zero because the black is more potent, but I just feel that Perversion has a softer formula/texture and smudges on me. Whilst Bourbon is also a nice brown colour, I like Whiskey a little better.
MAKE UP: LIPS
OK, now only a couple more categories to go after this. For lips, I've been loving the EOS Lip Balms whether it be in the spherical or stick forms. My favourite flavours(?) are Sweet Mint and Vanilla Bean. These lip balms are super moisturizing, non-sticky, has the right amount of slip for that balm-y feel and doesn't flake on me. It just works really well on my dry lips.
As for actual lip products (as in make up lippies), I have been obsessed with the Revlon Color Burst Lip Butters and have so many it's just crazy! The colour pay off is amazing and it isn't drying and for the most part, doesn't flake on me. I love every colour I have but the stand outs are Berry Smoothie, Sugar Plum (which was a surprise favourite for me) and Lollipop.
MAKE UP: BRUSHES
If you've been following my blog for awhile now (or you know me in person), you might already know how much I enjoy my Sigma brushes (and they're definitely amazing quality). Last year I branched out and tried more brushes from different brands and I've been loving some of them a lot!
- Foundation : Real Techniques Stippling Brush and Sigma F80
- Face Powder : Bobbi Brown and Real Techniques Powder Brush
- Blush : Bobbi Brown Blush Brush and Real Techniques Buffing Brush
- Bronzer : Bobbi Brown Bronzer Brush and Sigma F30
- Eyes : Sigma E25, E55, E35 and E60, MAC 217
I've been using the MAC Brush Cleanser for the longest time now and while at IMATS last summer I made sure to drop by the Parian Spirit booth this time around. I missed out on the chance to get this the year before and wish I had. This is by far the best brush cleaner I've tried to date! It has a citrus scent and cleans brushes like no other. Super quick, super clean and dries almost instantaneously. If only this is sold here. Le sigh.
FRAGRANCES
Last but most definitely not least, my favourite perfumes/scents! Admittedly I tend to hoard perfumes and do own quite a bit now. Despite all that, I find myself gravitating to 3 bottles in particular. The first is Britney Spear's Midnight Fantasy which is a very sweet fruity scent that isn't too sweet like Aqualina Sugar (I prefer Sugar Sensual if you're wondering) and is just very long wearing on me.
The next one is Juicy Couture's Viva La Juicy (I know, I know, everyone and their mother loves this one). This scent is softer than Midnight Fantasy and doesn't wear quite as long but I just love the scent of it a lot. This and Midnight Fantasy are pretty much my handbag/purse staples since I filled my Travalos with these and lug it around everywhere. Oh, and Travalos are amazing! No need for sample/miniature perfume buying anymore cos you can just fill it up (easily might I add) with your choice perfume.
Whenever I'm not spritzing Midnight Fantasy or Viva La Juicy on myself, I'd be reaching for Burberry Brit Sheer which is a fresh fruity floral scent that layers beautifully over Victoria Secret's Lost In Fantasy body mist. The notes are crisp and the perfume very long wearing. Do not be fooled by the 'Sheer' in the name.
Alrighty then, that's it for my top beauty pick for 2012. Phew, that was a long list. Imagine if that had been a video, I'd probably be rambling on and on for an hour or so. My January faves won't be as lengthy (I hope) and I might be able to film that (maybe?) or if that fails again, check here for the updates.
Let me know what you think I should try or what products you've been loving this past year in the comments below. Oh, did I mention there'll be a giveaway coming up really soon? Stay tuned!
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