Favorite make up products of 2011

Next up in the end of year ‘best of’ lists is make up. Many posts on here feature make up and so I have plenty of favorite make up products that I could list. However, I decided to be strict: I tried to represent every category with one product (ok, I cheated and picked two eyeshadow products but who cares) and also included nail polish. My other ground rule was that I must have bought the product in the past year, but that it doesn’t matter whether it was actually released this year. Let’s have a look shall we?

All of my favorite products together

My two favorite brushes: the Sigma E40 and E45

Some of my favorite brushes are by Sigma and when I bought these two I couldn’t have been happier. The E40 is perfect for blending eyeshadow and the E45 is now my favorite crease brush. It’s not as sharp as a pencil brush and gives a much nicer effect in my opinion. At first they both shed for a bit, but that stopped after washing them twice.

Favorite eyeshadows

When deciding on which eyeshadows to pick I knew very quickly which ones I wanted featured here. First of all there’s my Inglot palette with 5 eyeshadows. I have yet to figure out the actual numbers of the colors, but as you can see this has been used quite a bit. The teal/ dark turquoise color is my favorite. Above it you can see the Sleek Oh So Special palette. I love how this has some neutral pinks as well as some great matte browns and purples. If I were to choose one eyeshadow palette that I should use for a year, then this would certainly give me the versatility and pay off I’d want.

MAC Rubenesque Paint Pot & Bobby Brown Gel Eyeliner in Ivy Shimmer Ink

My favorite eyeshadow base of the year would have to be Rubenesque. This paint pot is a great base to make your eyeshadow color pop and last longer. This is also incredibly pretty on its own and I now prefer it over Barestudy. I only got into eyeliner this year as before I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. I now have gotten the hang of it though and this sparkly dark green gel eyeliner by Bobby Brown is the most amazing thing ever.

Famous Baked Bronze Pot in Shade 1 – Miami & ELF blusher in Berry Merry

Favorite bronzer and blush of the year! The bronzer is a very shimmery light color and I actually don’t use this as a bronzer but as a highlight for my cheekbone. It reminds me of MAC Mineralize Skinfinises, but since I don’t have any of those I can’t see how this compares to one of those. The ELF blush is amazingly pigmented and this berry color gives me just the right amount of color for a slightly flushed look.

MAC Creme D’Nude lipstick & NARS Dolce Vita lipgloss

My favorite lip products of the year must be these two. Creme D’Nude is the perfect color for me to make a nude lip with and NARS’ Dolce Vita is the perfect shade that matches my lip color. It’s the perfect: my lips but better shade. Plus both products are creamy and really nourish your lips while giving it a pop of color.

Favorite nail polishes

This post wouldn’t be complete without some nail polishes. My favorite shades of this year would have to be Diamond Cosmetics Taupe Shimmer, OPI Designer De Better, Ciaté Strictly Legal, Essence Nail Art Twins Edward, Essie Coat Azure.

If you click the links in this article you will be taken to previous posts with reviews, swatches and the like. What’s your favorite make up product of 2011?