Happy 2011!

I hope you all had a good evening whatever you did.  I just stayed at home, New Year celebrations are great but the fact that it's the 31st December mean that it's cold cold cold and I am not one for standing out in the cold for anyone, celebrations and fireworks or not!  I have also still not recovered from being ill totally so it seemed a bit silly to overdo it. 

Obviously I had a few glasses of my favourite wine, which, if you were interested, is called Vina Sol and is made at the fabulous Torres vineyard in Spain.  I have been to the vineyard twice and participated in the wine tour twice (this is making me sound like a right lush) and I love their wine hopefully so I can go back there with Matt in 2011.

PRODUCTS OR BRANDS OF THE YEAR

I am not really one for product of the year posts as this is an ever evolving blog and I always find something else that I like for makeup, there's always a new eyeshadow brand to try. But for lips, nails and skincare I have found some staples and these are:

Clarins - Instant Light Natural Lip Perfecter is easy to apply, not too expensive (you can buy it from Cheap Smells) and you can put it on without a mirror.  It is a cross between a gloss and a balm and feels like a gel/gloss when you apply.  It lasts for a good couple of hours before reapplication is needed and it has three shades to suit all lip colours. Love it.

OPI and Orly Nail Varnish - the design of the Orly bottle and the amazing colours have made them firm favourites in my collection, the Summer shades are so vibrant and the Christmas shades were absolutely gorgeous.  OPI Burlesque collection polishes are my favourite collection in a very long time. The glitter shades are the best glitter nail varnish I have ever used and the metallicsare beautiful and multi faceted. I adore all of the colours in the range which is rare for me.

Gelish nails by Nail Harmony have transformed how I think about nail varnish this year.  The absolutely stunning colours, the 3 weeks of chip free colour and the quickness of application have really made a difference to my life as shallow as that sounds!

Korres Materia Herba- these products have transformed my skin and I have only had 1 outbreak of my eczema for the entire year which is fantastic (that was due to an allergic reaction to something else).  They smell amazing, feel amazing and my skin soft and smooth.  I always get compliments on my skin, which believe me is shocking to someone who previously had dry and crispy eczema on their face!  I love Korres the brand and everything they stand for but these are my favourite two products from their brand that I really do recommend to anyone with dry skin and they are ones I use daily.  A special mention goes to Korres Quercetin and Oak light cream which I also use daily.

Bioderma Crealine H2o This is an amazing cleanser. It looks and smells like water but it removes the most stubborn eye make-up with just a whisk of a cotton pad. Makeup artists use this during shows and I can see why, it doesn't irritate and is fairly cheap for a massive bottle as well. This is very difficult to buy in the UK which is so annoying. The website I bought mine from seems to have dissapeared! There is a website that you can buy it from but the postage is absolutely insane, I suppose Ebay is the way to go?!

The Green Grocery has been a lifesaver this winter with it's Avocado and Lemon Foot Salve.  I don't just use this on my feet though I have been using it on my face! It is so gentle and soothing and perfect for the chapped areas around my nose as I don't like using petroleum products such as Vaseline on my skin as they don't really work for me.  This also smells so gorgeous and comes in a massive tin.  When I was really ill in bed I would just use this for everything, lips, cuticles, chapped nose, hands and feet and it really helped me keep moisturised. Lifesaver!

RESOLUTIONS

I only have a few but I figure that writing them down might make me stick to them!

1. Ignore Negative Nellie's! If people are never positive when I tell them something- don't tell them! Who cares what they think anyway.
2. Work hard on my blog - try and put in as much effort as I did in 2010 and hopefully carry on writing things people want to read
3. Support newer bloggers - I get so many emails with people asking me for tips...but I don't know what to say that will help - I never had a 'be popular' blog plan...I need to think of a way to be helpful!
4. Go on a lovely holiday somewhere hot - Matt and I need this and I will work my butt off to make this possible
5. Work hard at my mobile beauty business - I enjoy it SO much and love beautifying people. I will work hard and go on many more courses to further my knowledge in 2011.

What are your resolutions?  If you have any ideas how I can support other bloggers or where the heck to buy Bioderma then please comment and let me know.

Have a fabulous 2011.  Sarah xx