Your 5 Faves of 2011

I've seen other blogs listing their most-read posts of this year, and it got me curious about mine. The results are pretty telling ...

1. Duping MAC Velvet Teddy had the most views by FAR - and all I had to do was buy the shade specifically created to dupe Velvet Teddy ^_^ 
2. Duping MAC Dark Side has not one, but two alternatives to the MAC classic!
3. Get Thee to a CVS featured a fantastic sale-plus-coupon haul with swatches of some great Physicians Formula finds.
4. Get the Look: Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2011 was an incredibly fun-to-write post about copycatting fashion and beauty from the spring's collection.
5. Duping Zoya Adina was so satisfying, because I had that top coat for ages and finally found the right base for it!

It doesn't take much effort to figure out that posts about "dupes," or identical alternatives to popular (usually more expensive) colors, are the ones bringing readers to the blog! Luckily, I enjoy those quite a bit myself. I have one more Zoya dupe post coming soon, and will work on finding more dupes for 2012 :)

Now here are my five favorites from 2011, in no particular order:

• Finding the best guy ever, after many years of doubting such a person could exist. 
• Watching my SFM (soul friend mate) graduate after years of studying hard, working to pay for tuition, and volunteering on top of everything. I still don't know how it was possible!
• Finding out my cousin is pregnant with the first baby of our generation!! (There are 16 of us, and she is the only one who's even married so far)
• Contributing to the mini-Awesome Box, which was a bit scary but ultimately rewarding and fun!
• Because I'm an addict, I have to mention lipstick - I discovered Revlon Colorburst lipsticks this year and subsequently bought ... well, more than one of them, and have been loving them all year!

I could list my five least favorite things about 2011, but I'm afraid that would get very lengthy, ranty and emotional. It has been a rough year for so many of us, so let's bid it "get lost!" with a cheery flipping-off, and welcome 2012 with threats of "you better be good or else!"

Pictureless blog posts make me sad, so here's a Christmas pic of my kitty. "Meowy Christmas and a happy Mew Year!" ..................... yes I did just go there

Christmas [Eve] FOTD and mani

Since I didn't have much time to get ready on Christmas Eve (which is when we dress up - Christmas day is the family party, which is very casual), I kept everything really simple and let red lips be the focus of this look. I didn't even do eyeliner :O

Christmas Eve red-lip FOTD

Flash review: Rimmel London Colour Mousse Eyeshadows in Mermaid, Galaxy, Splash

What an odd product this is. Maybe that's why it's been discontinued :/ I'm posting this anyway, because I know people will still be buying them, if only from evilBay and Amazon and blogsales!

Rimmel London Colour Mousse 8hr Eyeshadows, L-R: Mermaid, Galaxy, Splash

These are three of the Rimmel London Colour [sic] Mousse 8hr Eyeshadows. I have 014 Mermaid, 013 Galaxy and 004 Splash, purchased for me by my boy about half a year ago, when they were still being stocked in UK stores. I had wanted a few because of Lisa Eldridge's glowing recommendation. Has Lisa actually led me astray?! D:

Femme Fatale Face of the Day

I just couldn't wait to show you how my Femme Fatale Cosmetics (FFC) samples look when in use!

FOTD feat. Femme Fatale Cosmetics

I used two eyeshadows and a blush from FFC in this look. Probably should have done a less bright lip ... oh well ^_^

Give some love to Aussie indie Femme Fatale Cosmetics!

If you follow Ethereal Beauty, Phyrra, The Raven and the Rose, and/ or Toxid Lotus (and if not you should), you will have already heard about Femme Fatale Cosmetics (FFC), a newer indie based out of Australia. Sophie, the mastermind and also the blogger of Ethereal Beauty, started playing with mixing her own shadows back in July and even from her first attempts, I was hooked on the gorgeous, complex blends she had made! In fact, her very first swatch post (from before she had decided to start a business!) includes pictures of my favorite of the bunch :)

First FFC order, including cute business cards

Because FFC is in Australia, shipping is insanely expensive - but Sophie offers free shipping worldwide on sample-only orders, and as soon as I heard that, I immediately placed my first order! The $5 minimum gave me a good place to start, so I ordered samples of Unholy, Obliterate, Haunt, Heroic, and Exotic blush ($1 each) and an extra sample (Rebel blush) was included gratis :)

Interview look: outfit, styling, manicure and makeup

In September, I went to a few ... interesting ... job interviews. Although nothing more than some injuries, physical pain and emotional trauma* came of them, it still made me think that perhaps I could share some interview style tips. If you already have a job, you could consider this work-appropriate style advice, and if you're going on job interviews for the first time in your life, I hope my advice will help!

Appearance is incredibly important when doing job interviews. This is not to say that the most beautiful or sexy person will win the job, although there is some evidence suggesting that to be true. But for the most part, it's the people who look put together, polished, professional, and stylish (and who smile!) who get the jobs. Showing a bit of individuality without going too over-the-top or flashy will help you stand out from the dozens or hundreds of other applicants in the mind of the exhausted interviewer or recruiter. Plus, knowing you look your best is a huge confidence booster!

Swatches from Dark Heart Designs: two glosses, two eyeshadows

A very long time ago, I asked for and received some samples from Dark Heart Designs (DHD), and it's beyond time for me to show the swatches! I've become a Facebook fan of basically every indie company I don't actively hate, so that I can follow all the updates, sales and so forth, and when I saw something posted on the DHD page about lipgloss I was interested in swatches. Since there weren't any swatches yet, DHD offered to send me samples for free. Naturally I said YES please!

Samples of Dark Heart Designs eyeshadows: Twisted Metal (top) and Pumpkin King (bottom)

Though I only asked for gloss samples, I also got two eyeshadow samples: Twisted Metal and Pumpkin King. They came in baggies with the names hand-stamped on them (the ink will rub off, so be careful or you'll get it all over your hands).

Totally 80s manicure with NERDLACQUER!

This totally awesome 80s manicure would not have been possible without the polish I won from the Concrete and Nail Polish giveaway! I won a NERDLACQUER of my choice from the Etsy shop byStringTheory, which I have been quietly stalking since it opened ^.^

byStringTheory NERDLACQUER in All of Time and Space

It was hard to choose, but the one that I first wanted was the one I chose: All of Time and Space from the Mad Men with a Box series, inspired by Doctor Who! The color is described as "sheer crystalline minty turquoise with silver shimmer, small and medium fuchsia glitter, and big silver hexagonal glitter" ... sounds super cool, right?? (Note: you can click any of these pics to make them ultra-big!)

Flash review: Sleek High Shine lip gloss minis

These miniature lipglosses were gifts with purchase from Sleek, one with each order my nice boy made for me.

Sleek High Shine Allure lip gloss minis in In Your Dreams (top) and Sweet Sixteen (bottom)

They are tiny! About the length of my thumb, to be precise. They came with a cord on the end, I guess so you can attach it to a keychain or something, but I didn't keep them on.

Swatches of 3 Simply Just Minerals shades and a giveaway

Simply Just Minerals (SJM) is a relatively new indie mineral makeup shop on Etsy that came to my attention when someone in a makeup group posted about their free sample offer. At the time*, SJM was offering three free samples of your choice, no strings attached.

Three free samples from Simply Just Minerals: Mystical, Inspire, and Key Lime

After looking through the shop a few times, I settled on Mystical, Inspire and Key Lime. At the time, I didn't see anything more exciting or interesting to try, but there are more shades available now!

Latherati closing sale

Hurry if you want to get in on this - Latherati, purveyors of literature-inspired scents in soap, perfume and lip balm form, are closing up shop and seem to be running out of stock on many scents!

Curiouser rollerball, Curiouser solid scent, and Longbourn rollerball from Latherati

I had heard of them before, but never got around to trying their products until I saw that they were deeply discounting everything in preparation for closing. Still, I waited, trying to be "good" and not order more perfume (I have ... um ... a lot already), but when it got down to 45% or 50% I caved!

Flash review: Essence gel liner in I Love NYC

This Essence gel liner is one of the things I asked my boy to bring me from the UK - this was before I realized we have Essence products in the US, too!

Essence Gel Eyeliner in 04 I Love NYC

BUT this color, 04 I Love NYC, does not seem to be available here (at least not at Ulta). Mysterious!

Awesome Box launches TODAY!

If you already know about the Awesome Box, you know the soft launch of a mini-"box" goes on sale today. As in this morning, at 8AM Pacific time. There are only 30 available and they will probably sell out in minutes, so be ready and waiting at Indie-Style.com if you want one! I'm one of the contributors and each of those 30 Awesome Boxes will contain one pair of Sailor Moon-inspired earrings from me, along with tons of other cool stuff like eyeshadow and perfume samples and coupons, all from indie sellers :)

Good luck!

Thanksgiving manicure and eye look

For this year's Thanksgiving festivities, I wanted to do something easy and sparkly.

Thanksgiving EOTD featuring Darling Ghoul Candy Corn Pixie Sprinkles

Luckily I still have my sample of Candy Corn glitter from Darling Ghoul Halloween, and the copper, green, and red sparkles seemed fitting for Thanksgiving!