Favourite products in 2011

I've never done a favourites post before, but seeing as the year is nearing its end I thought I may as well do a round up of products I've either discovered or carried on loving this whole year. Rather than a regular post with lots of pictures I've made a video about this.
It's only my second ever Youtube video and there are still a lot of things that annoy me about it, but hopefully I'll learn and they'll keep getting better. In the meantime, enjoy and let me know about any thoughts or questions on any of the products mentioned:

No7 Heavenly Hydration Moisture Mask

I wrote a few words on this in a haul post a while ago, but I feel that I've had enough time to play around with this face mask in order to be able to write an honest review. I've also been using this as a little Sunday treat for my skin, so what better day to write this post than on a Sunday?

This costs £14 for 100ml and like all No7 products is available at Boots. It comes in a pump dispenser which makes it nice and hygienic to use, though it can leak a little bit if it's not stood upright. It's a funky looking product in the tube, as it's layered in a spiral with a clear liquid, but once you press it out you get a very smooth, slightly runny pink cream.

You can apply this in a thick layer on your face and leave it in for 3 - 10 minutes, depending on how much hydration you think your skin needs. Alternatively, you can also apply a slightly thinner layer and leave it to sink in over night for a bigger moisture hit.
I use this as a thick mask and leave it on for about 10 minutes before wiping off excess and then splash my face with water to get off the last of it.

I have to say I have fallen in love with this product a little bit. First of all, let me tell you about the texture: It is literally the smoothest, silkiest thing I have ever put on my face - it is a dream to apply.
Afterwards, my skin feels moisturised and fresh. It also gets this glowing, dewy look which is so hard to recreate with make-up.

What impressed me the most, however, was how it dealt with my skin when it had another rebellious phase. Last week my face basically got fed up of long-haul flights and a mixture of chlorine, air-conditioning, frosty winds and sweat. It reacted with a ridiculously oily phase - it was so bad it looked like I'd smeared lipgloss all over it. I was really unsure whether to use this mask or not, as it seemed that it needed a thorough deep cleanse rather than moisture, but I gave it a go nonetheless. It not only managed to calm down my complexion, but got rid of all the grease for good! What's not to love?

I would thoroughly recommend this product for normal, dry and even oily skin and I'll definitely go back to Boots once this runs out to buy another one to rescue me from my skin dilemmas.

NOTD #02 Betty Blues

I dug through my nail polishes recently and realised that I don't have too many wintery shades when I found this one that I'd completely forgotten about! I bought this ages ago and only wore it about once or twice, so decided to give it another go.
It was only after applying it that I remembered why I hadn't used it for so long. You can tell a little bit from the photo, but in the bottle the polish is a gorgeous dark blue shade with a tiny hint of blue shimmer. Unfortunately, this doesn't translate to the nails. It tried forever to find a light in which my nails wouldn't look black until I eventually gave up realising that they simply look black, no matter how you look at it.

Application was a nightmare as the varnish had a thick and gloopy consistency. The good thing was that I got a solid colour from the first application (apart from on my little finger, which I only noticed looking at the picture now) - but I also had to sit around all evening waiting for it to dry and when I finally went to bed after three hours I still managed to damage it.
I tried to apply thin coats by wiping the brush on the bottle like mad, but the result was streaky, messy and still gloopy.
I also spent quite a bit of time cleaning up the mess left behind by blobs of product.

This is a major disappointment for me, as I fell in love with a set of No.7 mini polishes that I received for Christmas last year. I just don't seem to be so lucky with any of the full sized products that I've bought since. On the plus side I found this fairly long lasting, but I think I'll be taking it off tonight anyway considering the mess it's left.