Estée Lauder blockbuster set 2023 Review

Every year, Estée Lauder famously brings out a blockbuster set. Perfect for breaking up and filling Christmas stockings, these are eagerly anticipated by many. This year, the box is rather different because it has fewer makeup items and sample sizes, instead they've decided on several full size skincare items and a few makeup items. As usual, the box is worth much more than you pay for it. In Black Fridays past, you were able to buy the box alone. This year it was the usual routine of having to spend a minimum amount and then buy the box for £85 but you got 20% off the qualifying purchases.

I bought a lip balm set and a lipliner to qualify. 

The skincare items are

Advanced Night Repair 30ml (everyone’s fave)

New Advanced Night Cleansing Gelée with 15 Amino Acids 75ml, deluxe travel size (good for travel, never tried before but looks good)

Revitalizing Supreme+ Youth Power Creme moisturiser 15ml. (Sample size - giving it away)

1 x Advanced Night Repair Eye Supercharged Gel-Creme Synchronized Multi-Recovery 15ml, full-size (not tried but looks good)

1 x Gentle Eye Makeup Remover 100ml, full-size. (This one is made in China which horrified me. But I’m sure it’s a good one. My favourite is Lancôme but this will be useful or given as a gift)

The rest is makeup…

 1 x Limited Edition Eye Shadow Palette in CELESTIAL GLAM, deluxe travel size (.24 oz./7g) Includes 6 shades

This is very powdery with a lot of kickup and aside from the pink shade, they are very meh very boring. The compact is cute but very cheap looking and wouldn’t make a very impressive gift. Looks very much like a GWP. They used to have gold casing etc. A step down.

2 x Limited Edition Lipsticks, full-size in Starlet Red (A vibrant red with a warm undertone and creme finish) and Saturn Reign (A blue-hued pink with a cool undertone and creme finish.)

These are a moisturising formula and somewhere along the line Estée Lauder has lost that fruity scent and gone for a more vanilla scent (I like that) but again, both these shades are meh. I was excited for the pink to be a bit like MAC Candy Yum Yum but it’s more sedate. It’s not as fun on the lips as it looks like it would be in the tube. Both lipsticks are creamy and a bit sheer until built up. The red is very bold and not great on me but they’re both safe shades. And they have wonderful engraving (but the casing again is a bit cheap and GWP) however overall I think they would make good gifts.

2 x Limited Edition Lip Glosses, deluxe travel size in Divine Plum (A deep wine with a creme shine finish.) and Ruby Quartz (A rich red with a creme shine finish. These will be gifted as I am not a gloss fan. They would make cute gifts.

1 x Double Wear 24H Stay-in-Place Lip Liner, full-size in 07 Red

This is a great liner and I’m a huge fan of Estée Lauder lipliners but for me it’s a bit too red and warm. When wearing red I prefer the more pink MAC Cherry liner. The pencil is the exact same shade as the lipstick. I tried it with the pink lipstick and it wasn’t bad but really the pink is left orphaned. I wore the pink with a pink liner I already had.

1 x Sumptuous Extreme Lash Multiplying Volumizing Mascara, full-size. 

Again, Lancôme is my go-to for mascara, but I have used this one before and it’s very good and I’ll definitely use it. 

There was no blusher or highlighter palette this year, much to many an outrage.

Then the train case - huge and a bit tacky and I will be giving it away but it’s fun and very Christmassy.

Overall it’s definitely worth the £85 spend. Supposedly it’s worth £411! I would only say if you’re a fellow makeup fiend, you’ll already own all of these shades. Aside from the red lipstick, none of it is Christmas themed which is a safe move but a bit disappointing as I love sparkle around this time of year.

Some eye looks and lip looks:

UK CCOs - Cosmetic Company Store (Estee Lauder companies)

Did you know we UKers too have CCOs? Well we do! I recently had to be in Portsmouth for the day, and was able to sneak off and hit the outlet shops of Gunwharf Quays. Many Christmas presents were sorted, as they have some great deals. But here, I'll just focus on the spoils to be found in the CCO.

Before I show you, here is the list as far as research can determine, of the UK Cosmetic Company Stores. Please be aware they do not sell online, so you will not find an associated website; any websites trading under similar names are just aiming to confuse you.

Bicester Village Oxon
Clarks Village Somerset
Swindon Designer Outlet
Gunwharf Quays Portsmouth
Freeport Braintree Essex
Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet Ellesmere Port
McArthur Glen Outlet Bridgend
York Designer Outlet
Livingstone Designer Outlet near Edinburgh
The Quays Gloucester

If coming from London, Bicester is nearest at a 40 minute train journey from Marylebone. However Portsmouth has a rich history and is a lovely place to visit, plus my suspicion is that you get better deals. The service in all the shops I went to was first-rate.

 Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Get off at Portsmouth Harbour Station (pictured) Spinnaker Tower in background - from this tower you can see across the English Channel on a fine day

Anyway let's get to the CCO now. It is owned by Estee Lauder, so naturally encompasses:

Estee Lauder, MAC, Smashbox, Aveda, Origins, Tom Ford, Bobbi Brown, Darphin, Aerin, Bumble and Bumble, Clinique, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Ojon and Glamglow.

(+Others which are owned by the company but these are the ones I spotted.)

The nice thing about these stores, and in some ways even better than the discount, is finding gift sets, travel exclusives, asian-aimed skincare which is hard to find in most stores, or limited edition pieces.

As it was near Christmas (unless this is commonplace) they had many gift-wrapped bundles and I even managed to find a gift-wrapped bundle on 50% off the original CCO price, for just over £12, and it looks like it must have cost me upwards of £40. They even gave me my purchases in an elegant white laminated bag and wrapped it in red tissue paper inside. I got the same high-end treatment (or better) as I would expect in a department store, whilst getting reduced prices. The shop was very neat and testers were clean and available for virtually every piece there. It was a real pleasure to browse and shop, and the staff were helpful and friendly.

I was very restrained because I'm on an unofficial "low-buy". There comes a time in a makeup addict's life when you do become jaded. At this point I have so much that it's a rare time when I see something that doesn't instantly remind me of at least 3 dupes in my stash. I do buy essentials like mascara and skincare which run out, but the days of amassing collection pieces just to prove "I woz here!" have all but gone. The occasional holiday piece if it's really breathtaking, but the average MAC collection just isn't the milestone it used to be...

MAC do many more promotions online than they ever did 'in my day', too. There is no doubt that their stranglehold of even just ten years ago, has been slackened by social-media fuelled indie brands. Indeed, MAC are now collaborating with Youtube celebrities at a frenzied rate. I remember when Temptalia did an April Fools spoof post about her collaboration with MAC - Just a year later, it was true. This was 2011, and I would say that's possibly the zenith of when the tide really turned. My point being, that some of these CCO discounts (typically only about £10 saving) can be equalled using a cashback site (I like Topcashback) and buying from sites which are offering gifts or other enticements; just the other day MAC was giving away a limited edition blusher from a random LE collection in 2016 with minimum purchase, which clearly was otherwise destined for a CCO. So in other words, the thrill of a CCO is to be taken in context.

That being said, it was immense fun to see old collections brought back to life. MAC Trolls and the infamous bright blue and green lipsticks collection which reduced MAC to literally giving them away were present and correct. A few odd Mariah Carey items and a lone brush set from Nutcracker Sweet. So far so predictable. They also had a large amount from the moribund Estee Edit collection. I fought against my resentment of the cringey names and bought the last "Mega Chorella" soap bar for £12; as far as I can see from ingredients it is identical to the current Estee Lauder Algae soap which is £20.

But the surprise was to see lots of current products, even Estee Lauder Doublewear was there! - and not just the dark shades as is usually the case. Plus my favourite powder Lucidity. Clinique stalwart skincare items such as Dramatically Different Gel, and some brushes, eg a MAC 239 at around the £15 mark. (I didn't remember paying much more than that and frankly that price seemed high for a CCO to me, but it was still nice to see an iconic MAC brush in a CCO.) There were also gift sets including an Estee Lauder set I bought online a while ago for about £30 and considered a great deal, for about £20 in the CCO. (3 minute makeup bag which I blogged about here.) There were some novelty Glamglow mud masks, and limited edition Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess items, Clinique palettes, Bobbi Brown shimmer bricks. They also had the Estee Lauder Crescent White collection which I always enjoy finding to try out in person. The BB cream and the sunscreen are superb. They sadly didn't have the Origins Spot remover or my favourite Aveda smooth Infusion shampoo (although I did score the smooth infusion mask at half price of CCO price bringing it to a tasty £9) but when shopping at an outlet, obviously it's a place where you have to be adaptable. I would highly recommend a visit and I can personally say that Portsmouth was a really fun day out. Not to mention that if you're a history buff, they have some great museums there too.

Estee Lauder Crescent White

...Let me know in the comments if I have missed out any CCO UK locations. And report back with any of your own CCO finds :)

Random Haul and review time :)

Despite being slack with my blogging duties, I have not 'put down the makeup brush' - I am just as addicted to makeup as ever. Usually I buy in moderate quantities but I felt there were enough goodies this time to just about warrant a haul blog post.

The first thing was another Estee Lauder Lucidity powder (have I mentioned this before? If not I should have...) it's one of the best powders to use with Double Wear foundation. Then, more excitingly, I spotted the new and presumably limited edition "3 minute beauty" bag. The bag itself is probably my favourite ever "GWP" EL bag - and I have a fair few to choose between. It's patterned but transparent, and it's small and slimline with an elegant gold zip that opens it out wide. It contains a full size Illuminating BB Highlighter pen in Soft Pink (2.2ml); a ubiquitous 7ml size of everyone's fave, Advanced night Repair serum; a mini lipgloss in Discreet Nude (surely an oxymoron); and a mini 3.4g size of Bronze Goddess bronzer in Medium 02. The bronzer is slightly pink toned and I really like it. Guerlain Terracotta still reigns supreme but this is a very respectable runner up - and it's oil free so it might even prove better in the summer. The lipgloss is ok but feels a little heavy (I have a low tolerance for sticky or heavy lipgloss and - you guessed it - Guerlain maxi shine is my favourite lipgloss; this doesn't compete. The BB highlighter is great - very much like YSL Touche Eclat (most are never as reflective) but with a little more coverage. The case is a little bulky and I've not decided which I prefer, there is something too classic about YSL Touche Eclat, it feels rude to question its Top Dog status. Plus YSL Touche Eclat is nice and slim and contains more product (2.5ml) so the bulky pen is needlessly deceptive.

 

 Estee Lauder 3 Minute beauty Bronze and Glow

 

Close up of Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Medium 

My local chemist has sold Guerlain for decades and I always enjoyed stopping by every (ahem) once in a while for a quick pick me up product. Hence I became a bona fide Guerlain addict. The way Guerlain font is, reminds me of the way I write my own name. Well, ok, it's very much a prettified version, but I always viewed Guerlain as my surrogate makeup line. Every item is so exquisitely packaged and balanced, and most of the time the product inside is every bit as good. Anyway, tragedy has struck: Guerlain is being wrenched off their shelves! I will still get my Guerlain fix, and the upcoming collection looks very tempting as always. But it won't be quite so convenient...

Mourning aside, my chemist did find some abandoned gems which I snapped up. The pressed Meteorites were replaced years ago by a non multi coloured powder (c'mon now Guerlain, you know we want to see that green popping) in fact it's now beige, not very luminous, and to be frank I find it can even get chalky. Something Meteorites balls themselves never do. But the Meteorites balls are very bulky and I pared down most of my collection, all except the Opera balls, which are my favourite release as they have a sumptuous golden beige glow that gives me that elusive "Bonne mine" look. But I digress. This Mythic is identical to the balls of Mythic but without quite so much bulk. I do prefer the packaging of the new pressed meteorites (this uses the same twist cap packaging as the Cruel Gardenia if anyone has that incredible piece.)
 

Guerlain Mythic pressed powder

 

Next my magpie gaze was arrested by the sight of the Guerlain maxi gloss Gloss D'Enfer in 902 which is wildy sparkly. Guerlain lipgloss used to be wonderful but too sticky, these are still wonderful and really do have what Guerlain promises, "bare lip sensation."

 

Guerlain maxi shine lipgloss 902

Next, another unearthed winning but limited edition wonder- the Terracotta Sun shimmer highlighting blusher called Sunny Pink. It's a peachy pink gleaming blusher but I shan't dwell on it as I fear it's impossible to find under normal circumstances. Hope they bring this one back!

 

Guerlain Terracotta blush Sunny Pink

 

My favourite ever liquid eyeliner is the Guerlain previously Divinora but now apparently merely called Guerlain eyeliner. The shade I adore is called Brun Cendre. It's a deep dark cool brown and the fine brush is easy to use while always giving a delicate crisp thin line. It's also very long wearing and never smudges, even during workouts.

 

 Guerlain eyeliner Brun Cendre

 

Finally, I just couldn't resist Guerlain's new foundation brush. I have several Guerlain brushes and I hate to admit it, but they are scratchy and not much cop. This one even looked flimsy in the Guerlain official Youtube videos - but it's peach, even the bristles are peach! I prefer my Real Techniques Expert Face brush for foundation. But! I've found I love this for a powerful highlight application. This brush is not scratchy, however despite claiming to be cut perfectly round for a seamless finish, mine has hairs splaying out. It's synthetic hair so it's overpriced, and the case is disappointingly cheap feeling and looks cheap too... But they know it's pretty enough that it will still win out. I love it anyway.

 

 Guerlain The foundation brush

 

 

 Cheapie pouch... Not like the Pucci of yore but I suppose better than nothing...

couple of splayed hairs upclose

I'm really thrilled with all my purchases, even the brush, as it's brilliant for applying highlighter and getting the full impact - it's small enough and gives a dense application.


...Please share any good hauls you've had recently!

My favourite highlighters!

"Wow, you look great - Glowing!" I beamed with gratitude at this praise... but knew I was indebted to my Guerlain Sun in the City, which - despite it being a 2012 collection, had only just been unveiled at my local counter.

"Thank you, it's my new highlighter", I explained. A puzzled expression ensued; I had forgotten most people are not makeup addicts and think of stationery when told about highlighters...

The episode made me realise: I haven't shared my favourite highlighters!!!

Well as an Estee Lauder doublewear foundation addict, I have always had to put the glow back in. Doublewear is amazing for oily skin but it does make one look rather flat. My favourite highlighters are those which look dewy and moist and gleaming (as opposed to frosty or glittery).

My first encounter with a delightful, almost liquid finish, highlighter was Guerlain Cruel Gardenia. Apparently one can still find this at airport Duty Free so be on the lookout! This is probably my favourite... Well gosh, no all these are favourites. I have others, namely liquid ones and cream ones, but I've found that for longevity and that liquid effect, the gelee type formula AKA extra dimension (Estee Lauder and MAC terminology respectively) are the very very best.

 

 Guerlain Cruel Gardenia - a pale petal pink, almost a champagne rose

I don't like lilac pinks and purples, but a soft warm pink works well. I find lilac tones like NARS Luxor or Urban Decay Afterglow make my pale skin look like a gleaming corpse. I prefer looking like I have the angelic heavenly light of pure sunshine.

I sold my MAC Whisper of Gilt, I've spoken about this before - it was amazing - but I did get the latest evocation of MAC's delicious Extra Dimension skinfinish formula, Oh,Darling. It's a close cousin of Whisper of Gilt but not quite as wonderful. Having said that, once I got my hands on Anastasia So Hollywood, all mourning for Whisper of Gilt ceased. So Hollywood is paler than Oh,Darling and has that very slight murmer of pinky peach about it which I so loved in Whisper of Gilt. Oh,Darling is a gold with a burnt orange murmer rather than a pinky peach one. It almost gives a tan effect. The gleam on all these formulas makes them all exquisite regardless of shade tones.

MAC Oh,Darling beneath Guerlain Cruel Gardenia. Notice shade tones pink v gold

Anastasia So Hollywood (third swatch) - notice lighter than MAC Oh,Darling

As I was saying, I only just got my hands of this, and it's got to be the grandaddy of these wet look highlighters! I imagine Guerlain was the first to seize upon this formula. At any rate, look out for MADE IN ITALY and the ingredients: "GLYCERIN" and also often "SQUALENE". These two moisturising and skin-loving ingredients seem to be the secret to finding winning formulas.

Guerlain Sun in the City - the most true gold. Notice more clean gold than MAC Oh,Darling

I tried to swatch Guerlain Wulong powder next to the Sun in the City (5th swatch) but it's rather faint. On the face however, Guerlain Wulong; Guerlain meteorites and pressed meteorites; Laura Mercier Secret Brightening powder; Benefit Powderflage, and the Estee Lauder loose powder from the Cyberwhite range, all give soft glowing finishes and in photos as well as real life, they make a huge difference.

Swatched here (below and between MAC Oh,Darling and Anastasia So Hollywood) I've tried to show Becca loose pigment in Hyawatha (which I pressed into a pan) but it's rather hard to detect. These are in the category of all over brightening veil rather than strategic highlighters.

Staying with loose pigments, MAC pigment in Vanilla is another safe bet. It's a pale gold with a pinky duochrome reflect.

A guilty pleasure of mine is Illamasqua Beguile pigment. It's rather gritty and sandy textured, and let's face it it's essentially a loose glitter - but I love the way it looks like drops of water. It looks terrible in daylight and rather garish at the best of times, but for nights or evenings when you feel joyful and want to let the magpie spirit free - it's such wonderful stuff! It's white - but reflects blue and green and pink and purple and gold...!

Illamasqua Beguile; MAC Vanilla 

 A frustrating and futile exercise trying to capture the mesmerising glitter of Illamasqua Beguile - here in artificial light

I must mention - without veering into favourite glowy blushers of course - the beauty of Laura Geller Blush n Brighten. I have chosen Pink Grapefruit here. I threw away all my MAC mineralised blushers! I used to adore the likes of Daft Pink and Moon River (youth, sob) but now I can only bear the super refined powders. MAC mineralised blushers and, to a lesser extent, the Milani baked blushers, are not as flattering anymore. I also like the texture of Too Faced Pink Leopard which is a similar peachy shade. I often use these lightly with a fluffy brush, as all-over brighteners when I am especially pallid.

Second row shows Too Faced Pink Leopard, Becca Hyawatha, Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Pink Grapefruit

Top row top to bottom: Guerlain Sun in the City, Anastasia So Hollywood, MAC Oh,Darling, Guerlain Cruel Gardenia. Second row top to bottom: Laura Geller Blush n Brighten in Pink Grapefruit, Becca Hyawatha, Too Faced Pink Leopard

Artficial light, L-R: Guerlain Cruel Gardenia, MAC Oh,Darling, Anastasia So Hollywood, Guerlain Sun in the City

My current favourite makeup purchase! Estee Lauder Violet Underground palette

As soon as I saw these beautiful jewel tones I knew resistance was futile. The limited edition Violet Underground palette has been out a little while - indeed, it is currently sold out on the Estee Lauder website. However, plenty of counters near me still had the odd one left, but hurry if you need this in your life! (Clue: you do.) Thankfully my EL counter girl knows me well and agreed to unofficially hold it for me until the gift with purchase at Boots (currently on, until 20th) so it is finally mine.

From the blue lid to the punk 80s lightning bolt and name, to the cool tone perfect shades - this really is spectacular. Very wearable - even the pink is surprisingly demure! I think this will be perfect for the winter months. And, I appreciate the unique consistency of the 'cyber' texture. It really resists creasing, and has a depth of colour that flat shadow falls short of. These can be used wet, but I prefer them dry. Swatches I took did not capture the vivid multi dimension that it achieves on the eyelid - but in person, these are very special indeed. There are also 2 limited edition lipsticks but I have MAC Candy Yum Yum (incidentally, another current fave) and the Estee Lauder Violet Crush seemed somewhat similar but less unique, i.e less blue toned more pink but same idea. Anyway I will let the pictures do the talking...

 Only one swatch (dry) so I know it looks a little underwhelming... but on the eye this is all you need and it transforms. These can be built up to be very intense but I prefer to use them more subtle. Here is the pink alone, just a light wash looks so pretty:

£40, Available at Estee Lauder counters where stocks last! I can't wait to see the Christmas sets coming up, as Estee Lauder really know how to impress. I know that I will be using this palette a lot, and unlike most palettes there isn't even one dud shade!

Favourites of 2011

I have been mulling over my standout products from the year that has gone by - 2011. I hope everyone had a great New Year's eve!

Skin care wise, I mourn the one cruelly taken from shelves worldwide: Nivea Fluid. This had been my standby, my trusty cheap n' effective stalwart moisturiser. The closest I can find now is La Roche Posay Effaclar K, which seems promising so far - although I am now on a Clinique routine, so I'll be interested to see how that compares. But enough pessimism; let this post be one for rejoicing! [Ed- might have let a few disgruntled comments in at the end.]

The best skincare find is my Origins £35 eye cream.



I blogged about this earlier and can now say decisively that it has managed to cure some of the fine lines. Hurrah! I would prefer it to be around the £20 mark, but I think it is worth it. I'm currently testing a Clinique one, but I have set the bar so high, I'm already considering my Origins backup...

Another excellent skincare item is Clinique's All About Lips (12ml, £16.)
It is unlike other lip balms, as in fact there is nothing oily or even emollient about it - in fact it actually seems rather odd putting a standard thick white cream on your lips. But - it sinks in and smoothes chapped lips ever so delicately. I believe it has fruit acids and gently exfoliates as it soothes. And, it really does allow your lipstick to adhere better too.

Hair-wise, the absolute godsend has been those Innova Repair capsules.

My hairdresser was amazed to see me come in with growing, healthy hair. Often she has sent me packing, refusing to dye my hair because it is so weak. (I wash and blow-dry my hair mercilessly using powerful salon-grade supplies without the technical know-how.) I have blogged about this great product here.

Now onto the makeup! My surprise find is Michael Todd. I bought these simply because they were on sale, yet they have become firm favourites that I reach for everyday. The concealer (I use shade Cornsilk) is one of the best I have ever tried.


I wish I had bought the entire stock load! Excellent lasting power, coverage, and I even like the pot packaging as it screws tight enough to keep the product fresh. It also contains vitamins A and E. You get a lot of product in there (10g) and it is lasting very well, despite such regular use. I also love Bone lipstick, a pale pinked nude which blanks my pigmented lips prior to another colour, or delivers a flattering nude 'mod' lip.

It is a lot like MAC Fleshpot but somewhat peachier, almost a cross between Myth and Fleshpot (pinker than Myth) but the texture is far superior and less drying. Also, I love the short stubby retro 80s packaging! (So out of date that it's trendy!) Besides, 'Fleshpot' reminds me of serial murderers who become cannibals along the 'continuum of violence'.

MAC Stone lip liner is also worth the hype.

You can use a good ashy brown eyebrow pencil to achieve the same effect. However, I have yet to find a good ashy brown in drugstore version (more on that in a moment) so you may as well just get this one. Just very daintily draw along the outskirts of your lip line: it does work to give the illusion of plumper lips! - Thanks Nicola Pixiwoo!

I have Louise Young to thank for recommending Kryolan TV Paint stick in shade 'AL', an ashy greyed brown that in the same way, perfectly mimics natural shadow and allows me to somewhat soften Le Nose.


My MUD Book (reviewed here) has helped me perfect a technique (drawing a narrowing triangle.) The book does caution though, that nothing can be done to help a profile. Oh well, it's a start.

After recklessly assuming gel liners are all created equal, nothing could be further from the truth. MAC Blacktrack is simply the original and best.

Even Blitz and Glitz, a more interesting and less dramatic black fluidline from MAC, does not last quite so long and essentially lacks the resolute refusal to smudge.

Similarly key to defying the rules of makeup fading, Stila Beach Tint has been a great find.

I apply it under my blusher and it acts as a magnet to keep my rosy cheeks - rosy. There is after all, nothing worse than being confronted by your sallow faced reflection, is there?

Youngblood Liquid Mineral Foundation has been a pleasure to use.
When my skin is looking its best, I adore the light coverage this gives and the faith I have that it acts as skin care with all its infused sea minerals. I use shade Pebble and although a little yellow, it does not oxidise, so I can control it with a little pink-toned powder (MAC Pretty Baby.)

I have really enjoyed my Guerlain eye shadow palette.
Yes it seemed a crime to wreck its beautiful almost jewellery-like design, but the colours do not disappoint: it was worth defacing. The orange is pure and rich; the browns are both very classic; the navy is a subtle inky shade which works with the brown or with the orange. I like that this doesn't waste time on a highlighter (we all have a million of those bland shades) and instead offers you the option of a brown smokey eye or an adventurous orange and blue eye, or a mixture thereof.

I went away over Christmas and took my Trish McEvoy Emergency Eye card (I always wonder what a 'normal person' would make of it if they saw the palette and only caught sight of the name. "What hideous trauma is this that needs an emergency card at all times?? Oh, I see.") The card holds a fantastic and readily available eyebrow shade, perfect for my brows, 'Natural eye definer/ Brow shaper'. I would use it daily but far simpler to pencil them in; I have taken to using Estee Lauder's Automatic brow Duo, a refillable eyebrow pencil in 'Soft Brown'. My Clarins favourite is Chatain, but I've had trouble finding it - so this is a great replacement and very recommended.


I took my Bare Minerals Bare Escentuals brush kit on a long weekend and wondered if I would miss any of my brushes...

The stunning gold sparkle never fails to cheer one's day, and the brushes themselves were all I needed. The Kabuki brush is a particular favourite. Soft, durable, and well designed for easy and neat application.

Illamasqua's Theatre of the Nameless was a collection brimming over with excellent items. (I reviewed this here.) My favourites are the pigments in Berber and Beguile, and the precision ink liner in Havoc. Havoc is a very striking aubergine shade with just the right depth. It stays shiny and deep for hours; I like to wear it alone so it really stands out. What I love about both Beguile pigment and Havoc liner, is that they look very natural and prim: Beguile makes a very usable every day highlighter as the glitter is so very fine - but in the light - it glimmers lurid green! Havoc looks like any black liner, until you notice it is in fact red blooded! I just love that subversion of a classic.


Probably the overall 2011 winner is .... L'Oreal 4D mascara.
(I reviewed this here.) I have a feeling this may actually be my main mascara from now on. It never smudges, and it is buildable and deep black. I highly recommend it, and I usually hate drugstore mascaras for one reason or another.

So just a final word on some disappointments...

Guerlain Black Frida - nothing special and not worth the price. Their Parure de Nuit highlighter this year also was a step down from their brilliant Serie Noire blusher. Their Terra Inca Sublime radiant powder was also a let down for me, as it was way too golden and warm - so unflattering. Chanel nail polish in Black Pearl chipped almost the instant it was applied. MAC creme d'nude has such a legion of fans, yet on me it is very underwhelming and sheer. Rimmel Nude Delight was too orange for a nude, and the smell was the furthest thing from 'delight'.

But, all in all, another great makeup year! Let's hope 2012 holds some good makeup treats.


...Please share your makeup finds and fails below?