The Shades Of U's Top 12 Favorite Products of 2011

Without further ado, here are my top favorite products that I actually tried or have discovered in 2011. This is in no particular order. These products made me feel excited to do my makeup or nails these part 12 months. Here goes!

1. MAC Kissable Lipcolour in Flaunting It


MAC Kissable Lipcolour in Exxxhibitionist, So Vain, Scan-delicious, Flaunting It, Super

China Glaze Eye Candy 3-D Glitters Collection Swatches and Review

China Glaze Eye Candy 3-D Glitters Collection


Lorelei's Tiara, Material Girl, Blonde Bombshell


Material Girl, Blonde Bombshell, Marry a Millionaire, Some Like it Haute


Some Like it Haute, Love Marilyn

I've been really loving glitters, and what better time to sport glitter-encrusted tips than during the holiday season! Brand after brand of nail polish has come up with their own versions of holiday glitters. Here is one of the most popular glitter collections of late, the China Glaze Eye Candy 3-D Glitter collection. Here are some swatches and my thoughts on this.


Material Girl






Material Girl







Material Girl is so pretty and one of my favorites from this collection. It's filled with pink micro-glitter with bigger silver and even bigger pink hex glitters.  Very reminiscent of Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Razzle Dazzler, but Material Girl has a better formula (longer-lasting) and more opaque.


Lorelei's Tiara









Lorelei's Tiara is a pretty clear base with silver micro-glitter and bigger light and dark blue hex glitter. Perfect for that ice queen look.


Marry A Millionaire









Hairy scary! Marry A Millionaire has small round lavender glitter and stringy gold, green, teal bar glitter with some duochrome. I don't like bar glitter so this looks really furry to me.


Blonde Bombshell







Blonde Bombshell is a clear base with gold micro-glitter, a sprinkle of gold bar glitter and round glitter. Gold overload, but great for holiday parties. Looks really clean on the hands.


Some Like It Haute







Gorgeous! Some Like it Haute has very fine dark grey micro-glitter with amazing holographic glitter that reflects green, red, orange, blue and silver light, with charcoal glitter. So beautiful.


Love Marilyn


Love Marilyn









Love Marilyn is the undisputed star of the collection. It has fine red glitter with bigger silver glitter. Similar to OPI Gettin' Miss Piggy With It and Sally Hansen Gem Crush in Cha-Ching!, but Love Marilyn has better formula than the two. The OPI and Sally Hansen counterparts are runnier and work better as layering polishes, but Love Marilyn is more opaque and looks great in two coats.

All in all, I am loving this collection. Whereas other glitter polishes look like they're good only as layering polishes, the Eye Candy collection has polishes that are opaque and can stand on their own. They are not as runny as other glitters I've tried. Better to layer a nice shiny topcoat as these suckers can be thirsty.

Note: Media samples were provided by a representative of the brand for consideration.

Recent Collective Nail Polish Haul

Here are some nail polishes I got lately. Most of them were purchased by me, some of them were sent as press samples. I will be swatching and reviewing them in future posts (so do stay tuned!), but here are some of my exciting acquisitions of late:


My Ross haul: Sally Hansen Prisms, Color Club Back to Boho collection (Sets A and B), Color Club Foiled (Molten Metals), L.A. Colors Color Craze (limited edition metallics)

China Glaze Winter 2011: 3-D Glitters Inspired by Marilyn Monroe

3-D GLITTERS ARE A GIRL’S NEW BEST FRIEND

China Glaze Introduces Six New Innovative Glitter Polishes for Winter 2011

Los Angeles, CA – (October 2011): Forget diamonds! This winter China Glaze introduces a nail industry first: utilizing 3-D glitters in its new “Eye Candy” collection. Inspired by Marilyn Monroe and her timeless allure, this innovative new glitter technology provides a knock-your-eyes-out, super sparkly effect to your manicure. Multi-sized and differently shaped glitter particles are cleverly combined to create a sexy, super decadent, 3-D finish in six bright, eye-popping shades. Whether you prefer gleaming gold or glamorous smoky grey, China Glaze’s “Eye Candy” collection adds a dazzling finish to your holiday look with a glimmer that is sure to catch everyone’s eye! Colors in this collection include:

· Love Marilyn: Vivacious Red with Shimmering Silver Particles

· Blonde Bombshell: Glistening Multidimensional Gold Flecks

· Lorelei’s Tiara: Sterling Silver Infused with Blue Sprinkles

· Material Girl: Posh pink with Holographic Bubblegum Glitter

· Some Like It Haute: Graphite Gray with Holographic Glitter

· Marry A Millionaire: Alluring Amethyst with Multi-tonal Fibers

Celebs like Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Ivanka Trump, Rosario Dawson and Emmy Rossum regularly rock China Glaze and now you can get your bling on with “Eye Candy.”

The China Glaze “Eye Candy” collection will be available in an amazing 3-D 12-piece counter display and as open stock colors.

China Glaze is free of DBP, toluene, and added formaldehyde.

China Glaze nail lacquers are available through salons and professional beauty supply stores nationwide. For more information, visit: www.chinaglaze.com or follow China Glaze on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ChinaGlaze

China Glaze is a division of American International Industries.

About American International Industries
For nearly 40 years, AII has been the leading manufacturer and worldwide distributor of innovative, quality beauty and skin care products for men and women. Our product lines include Ardell, Andrea, Body Drench, Bye Bye Blemish, Checi, China Glaze, Clean + Easy, Clubman/Pinaud, Duo, European Secrets, EzFlow, Fright Night, Gena, GiGi, Gypsy Lash, IBD, Jeris-Lustray, No Tweeze/Micro Tweeze, 'N Rage, Prolinc, RAW, Seche, SuperNail, Surgi-Care, Waterworks, Winning Nails, Woltra, Woody’s, and Youthair. For more information, visit our website: www.aiibeauty.com.