The Best of 2005

Happy Early New Year's! Visit these fabulous sites for a wonderful compilation of items that have captured the attention of fellow beauty, skincare, fragrance, and fashion-philes this past year! 2005 has been an awesome year of intriguing finds, and you just know that 2006 will bring us more excitement!
Meow!

• An Alabaster Brow


• Beauty Addict


• Blogdorf Goodman


• Bois de Jasmin


• Brain Trapped in Girl's Body


• c'est chic


• Crazy Jay Blue


• The Great She Elephant


• Hrmph


• Koneko's *Mostly* Beauty Diary


• Legerdenez


• Make a Mental Note


• Monkey Posh


• Mother Hen's Place


• my life my words my mind


• no one knows why the wolf laughs


• Now Smell This


• ¡Ombligo!
  


• Peppermint Patty


• Perfume-Smellin' Things


• Scentzilla!


• She'll be feverish after so much thinking


• Slap of the Day


• Victoria's Own

Koneko's Best of 2005 List

I initially started a "Best of All Time" list, but a "Best of 2005" list is much more fun for the end of the year! So the former will have to wait another time! FYI, this list is a list of items that koneko has just recently "discovered" and started to use in 2005, not necessarily released in 2005. This list is going to be a bit unwieldy (but hello, look at my blog-writing style, and the whole set-up of my blog, you KNEW this was going to happen, koneko-friends!) so I'll try to set it up in a somewhat organized manner...

Best of... Fragrances!
For the koneko, 2005 will be the year of Marc Jacobs. This beautiful gardenia scent is not too heady, and has the the fresh quality of flowing water and green nuances to tone down the creamy sweetness of the beautiful gardenia bud.
Runner-ups:
Dior Addict 2, Boucheron Trouble Eau Legere Nacree, Armani Prive Luxe Collection: Bois d'Encens, Tipton Charles Sandalwood, Serendipitous.
Special:Red Flower candles

Best of... Skincare!
- Amore Pacific Intensive Vitalizing Eye Serum - I can actually feel it work.
- Kiss My Face Liquid Rock Roll-On deoderant - My sensitive skin gets a breather from anti-perspirants every once in a while!

Best of... Fashion!
- BCBG Max Azria dresses! His styles really suited me this year!
- Hollywood Fashion Tape - how did I ever get along without this?! Those "I love this shirt but it always looks a bit awkward when I move in a certain way" moments are OVER! It really makes an outfit "finished!"
- Dansko clogs - my feet and legs are thanking me everyday.

Best of... Books!
- The Lucky Manual to Shopping- I read quite a few "fun" books this year, but this one was fun AND useful! I'm not the best with clothes, and this is essential for those who are more in the know for skincare, cosmetics, fragrances, and other concoctions but not sure what to do once all that stuff is on the skin...

Best of... Beauty!
- Nars Brush #19 - a wonderful tool for blending perfection
- Prada Beauty Reviving Concealer/Tint- for the undereye- perfect if you have mild darkness to conceal as it's a light-as-air gel-cream formula which blends like a dream. You're in luck if you match one of the three shades!
- Caron Poudre Peau Fine - radiant and light application
- Prada Tinted Lip balm (#4)- perfect "just bit into a berry" sort of look
- Armani Limited Edition Midnight White Eye Mania palette - the perfect wintry eye that's not stark white and frigid
- Shu Uemura False Eye lash flares (individuals) - the only things better are 1) the extensions (which last for weeks) are divine! and 2) having your own naturally lush lashes
- Prada Hydrating Compact Powder SPF 15 - nice powder foundation which gives a "creamy" look to skin. And what a compact!
- Milani Mango Tango blush- (powder version of Nars Cactus Flower)
- MAC Fluidline- tons of wonderful colors to choose from, and stays on quite well.
- Armani Midnight Lip Shimmers- so much sparkle! I especially love #4, a vibrant sheer poppy color. It makes my teeth look unbelievably white!
- Sanrio Hello Kitty flavored lip gloss- totally affordable lipgloss with tons of glimmery prettiness comparable to Armani's Midnight lip shimmers and with sweet watermelon flavor too! How cute can you get?!
- BeneFit Dandelion blush- instant glow

Best of... Music!
If koneko had a theme song for this year, it'd be a toss up between 3 songs: an anime song called Inner Universe (the opening song for the anime series Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex Volume 1), the frivolously fun Gwen Stefani song Rich Girl, and the kittenishly playful song Dontcha by the Pussycat Dolls! Yes, I'm lame.

Best of... Movies!
- Batman Begins -
- Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Best of... chocolate!
- Dagoba Organic chocolate: Lavender with blueberries. The only other thing the koneko could possibly think of that would make this perfect would be to add jasmine and matcha to this, but that'd probably overdo it. Or kill the koneko from too much happiness!
- Matcha flavored KitKat from Japan (alas, discontinued!), and Dark Chocolate Kitkat (also d/c'ed)