The Favourites | Best of 2012... Make Up

Welcome to the first in a little mini series of the Best of 2012! The first is make up, as that seems to be the product I talk about the most of here and probably the hardest category to fill... So let's give it a go!

Clinique Stay Matte Oil Free Make Up
My favourite foundation of all time. The perfect partner to my oily skin and complexion. It lasts for a good few hours and is the closest colour match I've ever had. Bit pricey but worth it for me!

Mac Mineralize Eyeshadow in Smutty Green
The perfect colour for the Christmas season, long lasting and ridiculously easy to apply. I would love to try this in other colours as well to see how they all come out!

17 Mirror Shine On Lipstick in Belle
Under a fiver and literally the perfect everyday lipstick. It's a nude pink, with a tint of gloss and really long lasting. It's recently been repackaged and some new lines added, definitely check it out.

Pixi Lash Line Ink
The easiest and longest lasting eyeliner I have ever used. Glides on with a very crisp and clean line, it's a very solid black - not a namby pamby black and the packaging is o so cute!

Tarte Amazonian Clay Blush in Dollface
All the way from the US, this blush is the most incredible blush I have ever used. Lasts longer than my foundation and is the perfect flushed pink colour. Magic!

What's your top 5 make up picks on 2012?

Pixi Lash Line Ink

Pixi Lash Line Ink from Asos £12

I am an eyeliner kinda gal. We all know this, usually it's more of an eye pencil kinda look but more recently I've been swaying towards liquid liner, flick eyes. But in a subtle way, cause you know me, I like my subtle make up.

This is another product from Pixi, thanks Lily, that I picked up with the tinted brilliance balm and I have to say, I really do like it. It's very black, which I don't have a problem with, and it's really easy to use.

The pen itself is quite small, and quite solid so it creates a really nice solid line without too much effort required and it lasts for ages. It says 24 hours, I would say that it does last for that long, but it does fade after about five or six hours. You can still see it, but it's just not quite as strong as when first applied.

My only gripe (I seem to like this word atm) with this is that it can transfer up onto my upper lid if I don't let it dry. However, I have found that when I use my MUA Professional Eye Primer underneath, it doesn't tend to do this so I have found a way to combat this!

This is £12, so a tad more expensive then the GOSH version I've tried before (nearly double the price). I wouldn't say it's doubly better then the GOSH version, but I do prefer it as the pen is just that bit more solid so it's easier to create a steady, perfect line and flick. So I would definitely recommend this. It has become a staple in my daily routine! Plus, I love the Pixi packaging. It's the cutest I have ever seen in my entire life!

Which liquid eyeliners are you loving right now?

Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm

Pixi Tinted Brilliance Balm in Craving Coral £12 via Asos

I got this after seeing Lily review it on her blog. You know me, I love my lip products at the moment and I'm loving the lip pen/crayon/pencil things as well so this really appealed to me.

I bought this is Craving Coral because I've been after a really nice, moisturising coral lip product for ages and  I hoped this was it.

Firstly, how CUTE is the packaging. It's absolutely adorable and I feel in love. The product itself is really good, I'm really pleased with it. It glides on and is really moisturising. I actually prefer the feel of this product to both the Revlon Just Bitten Balm Stains and the Clinique Chubby Sticks (shock!). It's such a nice product to wear and use, and the colour lasts for around three hours, which I think is amazing. The sheen disappears after about an hour, but the colour stays.

My only gripe is this - it is NOT coral. At all. It's a definite pink. I popped it on, all excited and then looked and got very confused. I checked the packaging about three, four times to double check I had ordered the right colour. This is definitely a pink, not a coral at all. In my opinion anyway. Don't get me wrong, the colour is gorgeous and goes perfectly with my skin tone so I'm happy as larry, but for me I was a tad disappointed that it wasn't the colour I was looking for. Bummer.

Otherwise, I can't fault this product at all. My understanding is that it's a US brand, so when I pop over in December I will definitely be looking to get some more of these and exploring the brand a little further.

Have you tried Pixi products before? Which would you recommend?

PS: Just to inform you, or warn you, I may be a tad quieter on Twitter then I have been! Basically, I've changed my life a bit and I have got a new job which I start today (wish me luck!) and it's in retail, so I won't be on a computer all day everyday. I will do what I can on my phone on breaks so I will definitely try my best and you'll still get your posts every day!!
So yeah, I hope to carry on as well as I can and I WILL keep up my blogging, I promise! I just might be a little quieter than I was before!