My Very Late Favourite Products Of 2012

Hello! So I'm only two weeks bleedin' late with this post .. but better late than never I suppose? I wasn't planning on doing this post at all but I had a horrible case of writers block so thought why the hell not! I don't know about you but these posts have been my favourite to read these past two weeks. I'm loving seeing what other bloggers have tagged as their favourite products from the past year, and even more so that I have a few of the same! I personally think that 2012 was a great year for beauty and hair products, who can forget the launch of the 'holy-grail' Rimmel Wake Me Up foundation or the launch of the Charles Worthington Hair Shine home kit? So, without further ado, here is the low down of the products that I have loved throughout the last year...

Bath & Body

Batiste Dry Shampoo in 'Lace'

Who doesn't love dry shampoo? It's the most convenient thing since sliced bread and just a quick spritz leaves my hair looking freshly washed. I love this one from Batiste as it smells gorgeous and doesn't leave your hair with a horrible consistency. 

St Moriz Instant Tanning Mousse in Dark

This is by far my holy-grail tan of choice at home and I wouldn't even dream of using anything else now. I've been using it for as long as I can remember and because I have olive toned skin, it doesn't leave me looking orange or patchy. Winning. 

Possibility Shower Gel in 'Raspberry Pavlova'

I love shower smellies! I particularly love the Possibility range too as it's so cheap but the scents are to die for. Amongst my favourites are raspberry pavlova (above), pink champagne and vanilla creme brulee. Beautiful.

Soap & Glory 'The Righteous Butter'

I couldn't have a product favourites without a bit of Soap and Glory! This is a more classic product, and I love it. It smells unbelievable and if you got your hands on the Best Of All gift set, then you would have received this monster of a tub.

Soap & Glory 'Hand Food' Mini

This remains firmly in my handbag throughout the Winter, and the full size product stands proudly on my bedside table. If you haven't tried this beaut, please do. It smells unbelievable and leaves my mitts ridiculously soft and hydrated.

Make Up & Skincare

Real Techniques Stippling & Powder Brushes

I was late jumping onto the Real Techniques bandwagon but I'm so glad that I did! They really do deliver high definition results, and I can't believe I hadn't used them earlier. They are so soft and wash really easily too.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Foundation in 200 'Soft Beige'

Again, this is one of the most hyped products of 2012. I absolutely love this foundation and it is what I wear on a daily basis. It does what it says on the tin and brightens skin and in turn makes you look more awake which is great. 

Sleek Face Form Contour and Blush Palette 

I reviewed this product in full a month or so ago and since then I have been loving it. It defines my cheekbones and the sides of my nose to perfection and the highlighter compliments my skin tone under my brow bone so nicely without it looking to ashy. 

MUA Undressed Palette

Again, I reviewed this product in full a while back and the colours are a great dupe for Urban Decays infamous Naked palette without the hefty £36.00 price tag. I was super impressed with the pigmentation of these too and they blend so nicely together for a perfect smokey eye.

MAC 'Shygirl' Cremesheen Lipstick

I found a great dupe for this lipstick (NYX 'Pumpkin Pie') but you just can't beat the formula of a MAC lipstick. This is perfect for an everyday lip, and the nude colour means it's not too 'out there' either. 

Revlon PhotoReady Primer

Ahh, a good old controversial product. You either love this or hate it, but I rediscovered my love for it and would go as far to say I prefer it to MAC's Prep and Prime. It mattifies my skin brilliantly and when I set foundation using a sheer loose powder my skin looks flawless. 

Dermalogica Daily Microfoliant 

I don't know one Glossybox subscriber who didn't love this in Novembers box! I have used this in the past and I love it. The only bad thing I can think of this is the smell, it hasn't got the most pleasant smell to it but it works wonders and leaves my skin so smooth.

Soap & Glory 'Dr Spot'

This stuff is one of my all time favourite products! Of course nothing beats a good old Sudocream facial overnight, but a dab of this calms down angry spots and speeds up the healing process of the nasty buggers. 

So that's a round up of my favourite products of the past year, even though I'm a whole two weeks late! What have been your favourite products been? Is there anything I mentioned above that you have also loved?

Review: Sleek Face Form Contouring & Brush Palette

Hi Ladies, I've been very quiet on the blogging scene recently; I've been so busy Christmas shopping and finishing off work before I go on my much needed Christmas break that I haven't had an hour to just sit down and blog. As I'm sure you've probably gathered I'm constantly on the lookout for new products to wow me and up until now I used a basic coffee colour eyeshadow to define cheekbones and my nose, along with a liquid highlighter from Gold by Giles to highlight my brow bone.

I will admit I'm not too familiar with Sleek as a brand, I've only ever tried the lipsticks which I did love and have repurchased since. I know that their blushes are famed for being amazing so it was no surprise that I loved their new Blush & Contour palette. I picked mine up from Superdrug for £8.99. The palette itself is pretty standard, just matte black with the glossy Sleek logo which is carried on all of their products. It's exactly the same size as the Blush by 3 palettes which means its compact and can be used on the move with the handy mirror on the inside. 

(From Left to Right: contouring powder, highlighting powder, blush powder)

The Blush & Contour palette comes with a contour powder, a highlight powder and a blush powder. There are three shades available in light, medium and dark so I chose the medium palette as I thought the colours would compliment my skin tone. The contour powder is matte, the highlight is shimmery and the blush is ridiculously shimmery.  

Contour - The contour powder is the perfect colour for my skin tone, and I'm an NC30 so medium would be ideal for anyone with a similar colour match. It blends so easily and sits all day without moving, regardless if I've used a primer underneath my foundation or not.

Blush - It's Sleek's 'Rose Gold' blush although it doesn't say this on the packaging and it's a vibrant peach colour with gold shimmer running through it so it really brightens the skin during Winter.

Highlighter - I'm not a user of powder based highlighter as I used my beloved Benefit High Beam which is liquid based. This is alot more natural and definitely more suitable for a day to  day face so I'll get some use out of it.

All in all I'm so impressed by Sleek's Blush & Contour palette. Once the pans begin to wear their product away I'll definitely be repurchasing it unless I find something better for me. But for the price that it is with three great products, I can't see that happening anytime soon. Have you tried anything similar to the blush and contour palette?

♥