2009 in Retrospect: Beauty & Beyond

2009 was a relatively normal year for me. No  earth-shattering events this year (read: break-ups, family emergencies) though I still had my share of ups and downs.

Year 2009 in the eyes of a beauty product addict though is an entirely different matter altogether. Lots of new discoveries, renewed interests, and dwindling addictions.  Here are my 2009 Beauty Statements that sum up the past 12 months, after the jump.

I now surrender to this fact: I do not have the patience and extra minutes everyday to do eye make-up.  Hence I had to purge most of my eye makeup stash and finally stopped buying those fabulous bright eye colors that eventually gather dust in my already-messy room.  Thank god for eyeliner, brightens things up in a 2 minutes!

My favorites/staples:

• Urban Decay Primer Potion.
  Makes my eye makeup last and last. I want to try the new variant, Sin, but I vowed to finish my tube first before buying again.  I’m glad they now have the XL size!

  

• Maybelline Volum’ Express Hypercurl Mascara.
  The only mascara that comes close to my discontinued fave, Sky High Curves. I refuse to spend more than 500 pesos on something I will only use for 3 months. This does the job well – holds the curl, defines lashes and stays put.

• MAC eyeshadows.
  With a hundred finishes and a million colors – what’s not to love?

• MAC Fluidlines.
  Lost the patience for eye pencils a long time ago.  Gel liners rule my world! All those gel liner wannabes of other (cheaper) brands pale in comparison to MAC’s – with a fabulous formula that doesn’t dry up as easily as its competitors.

  

• L’oreal HIP Cream Eyeliners.
  I own all the colors of this fabulous product.  Each pot is huge, formula is oh so creamy, and pigment is awesome!  I’m praying to the eyeliner gods that L’oreal comes out with more colors, as colorful as their eyeshadow duos!

I do not like heavy coverage and despise powder foundation. Ever since I was in junior high, my Mom insisted that I should use those pancake type/powder type foundations for special events since I had oily skin as a teenager.  Sorry, Mom – I couldn’t do it! They’re just not for me!

To the guy (or gal) who first came up with Tinted Moisturizers, I officially love you! Here are my fave foundation-esque products:

• Revlon Colorstay Active Light Makeup. I dislike the heavy feel of the original, but I love love this. Stays put a long time too.

• Neutrogena Healthy Skin Enhancer. I’ve been hanging on to my last few bottles since they discontinued this product line.  It has retinol too, which is a plus. The finish is very natural on me.
  

• Nivea Tinted Moisture Care. It’s cheap, readily available everywhere, and does the job. Who wouldn’t be happy? I’m so glad they brought this back in the market!

I now stick to skin care products that really work for me.  I don’t like running to the department store/boutique to buy skin care staples. After trying out so many products the past few years, I finally realized that I had relatively simple wishes: oil control and brightening effect during the day, blemish treatment and breakout prevention at night.  I have also come to the realization that I needed my skin care “regulars” to be readily available in drugstores/groceries – no need to go to a boutique/department store.

Having said this, here are some of my favorite products – cheap and works well for me!

• Neutrogena Deep Clean Foaming Cleanser.  I’ve tried a lot of facial stuff and still come home to this. Controls oils without drying skin.  Love the feel after washing.

• Anything w/ salicylic acid works well at night. I have tried these types of cleansers and moisturizers from Garnier (Pure line), L’oreal (Pure Zone), and Clean & Clear (sorry the exact name escapes me at the moment) – they all work well.

• L’oreal Derma Genesis Day Cream.  This really worked in brightening my complexion with regular use. No breakouts.  I love the light texture and it comes in a version with SPF too.

Most significant Beauty Milestone for 2009: my renewed interest in NAIL POLISH.  Nail Polish is such a cheap way to change my look without overhauling my wardrobe! I used to spend a zillion bucks on shoes and clothes and later regretted more than half of my purchases.  I have since learned to just buy the basics and spruce up with accessories, including colorful nails!

I have always liked having my nails done, but I never dared to do it myself because I sucked in application big time and was clueless about cuticles and filing. Being spoiled by cheap manis and pedis here in Manila didn’t help.  However, with a little bit of practice, trial and error, and research, I was able to do my own nails well in no time at all!  It was then that I started changing the color of my tips everyday and turned my computer table into a mani station!

Some nail care products that I tried during the year:

• Treatments: Nailtek Intensive Therapy II (for my soft, peeling nails), OPI Nail Envy Sensitive & Peeling, China Glaze Calcium Gel Fortifier
• Top Coats: Orly Glosser, Seche Vite, Poshe, Out the Door, Creative Nail Design Super Shiney, Sally Hansen Insta-Dri, Caronia Fast-Drying, Nubar Diamont, Essie Good To Go, Zoya Armor
• Base Coats: Essie First Base, Orly Bonder, Nubar Foundation, Essie Protein, Caronia Nail Hardener & Base Coat, Zoya Get Even, OPI Natural Nail Base Coat
• Polishes (that I only discovered this year): China Glaze, Zoya, Color Club, Creative Nail Design, Misa, L’oreal, Chanel, Nubar, Sephora by OPI, Rescue Beauty Lounge, Lippmann Collection, Nicole by OPI, Sparitual, NYX, Milani, CHI, Sinful, and Rimmel. (Phew!)

I will reserve my best of the best post on nail care in the future, and hopefully individual reviews of the products mentioned here.

I got some new year resolutions coming up, too!

Welcome and thanks for hanging out with me!