2011 - these lip products & nailpolishes were THE BOMB.

LIPSTICKS

i'm not an avid lipsticks-user, i tend to go for subtle colours and finishes that are easy to wear and flatter many different looks. they should just let my lips appear fresh and healthy instead of dominating and directing the overall look.

gold medal - Chanel Rouge Coco Shine in #54 Boy, the universally flattering, and #57 Aventure, lovely for the summer. i like the sheer pigmentation, the glossy finish and the hydrating formula.

silver medal - Dior Addict in #343 Miss Dior, a juicy peach colour and #564 Model, a fresh summer-pink. the packaging and extensive colour selection are amazing, but the formula is not as moisturizing as Chanel's.

bronze medal - SUQQU Creamy Glow Lipstick in #06 Umegasumi and #12 Hiwada. these are amazing lipsticks, but i don't own them long enough to push them onto the throne. will review them soon!

LIPGLOSSES

gold medal - Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss in #52 Génie and #56 Imaginaire. i highly enjoyed the semi-opaque, non-shimmery colours, the creamy texture, the great finish.

silver medal - Essence Stay With Me Longlasting Lipgloss, all 7 of them. reviewed here and here. these are fabulous drugstore alternatives to the Chanel Rouge Allure Extrait de Gloss. super affordable (makes trying out the more striking colours much easier ;)), great consistency and lovely colour selection. they all are shimmer-free and semi-opaque, just like the Chanel version. i love the half balm, half gloss finish.

NAIL POLISHES

i have been loving the unusual pearl shimmer effects in my polishes, out of my whole collection i loved these the most:

gold medal - Estée Lauder Surreal Violet. i love love love this polish! it's a dusty lavender with copper pearl. i'm so glad that i bought a back up of this LE colour since i'm almost out of my first bottle. do you know of an affordable, high quality exact dupe for this? i'd feel weird to start my back-up-bottle without having another secured ;)

silver medal - Essence frankenpolish of VIP Appeal (i wanted to dupe Chanel Riviera). i loved how this frankenpolish turned out. too bad it's almost used up and i don't remember the "recipe" anymore, plus the base polish itself has been discontinued.

bronze medal - Rival de Loop #51. a neutral greige with gold pearl. it's a boring-but-not-so-ordinary-colour that goes with everything. i love this colour!

nominee - P2 Rich & Royal as representative for all my grurples.

nominee - Yves Rocher Taupe Grise the perfect taupe/greige. i love this colour but hate the micro-bottle and -brush!

special mention - fast-drying top coats. my top picks are Seche Vite (which i have stored a huge family-size bottle of) and Essie Good To Go (i'm on my 2nd or 3rd mini bottle of this).

now i'm almost through this series, stay tuned for the last episode on brushes and tools!