So, I split my favourite things into two posts.. the first one was Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens.

Of course, it's not exhaustive… just a snippet of the things that I love, or that make me smile on a regular basis.

First up, this silver and onyx ring.

I love this ring for so many reasons….

I love that I 'sort of' re-created it… it was actually a cheap, silver plated costume piece from Guess, and I took it to a jeweller and had it recast in solid silver. Apparently the onyx was real, so they kept that.

I love that it's really solid and heavy.

I love that it's kind of gothic looking.

I love that it's so 'me'. I think it's like my signature ring.

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Another favourite is my Cheeki stainless steel water bottle. It comes with me everywhere.

I feel terrible about the amount of bottled water I bought before I got this. Even though I always recycled them.

I threw away so many half-full plastic bottles because I left them in my car and they got warm and all plastic-tasting. I love that I can leave this in my car and not worry about leaching chemicals, because it doesn't have a plastic lining like some do, which totally defeats the purpose of getting stainless steel for health reasons.

Plus, Cheeki bottles are half the price of Sigg… so if I lose it, like I did my Sigg about two weeks after I bought it, it won't burn as much.

You can buy them from Pulse pharmacies, and they come in a whole heap of designs.

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This hand cream is not just a favourite. It's a deadset passion of mine.

It's simply not possible to find enough superlatives to describe how awesome this stuff is.

My mother was the one who introduced me to ego Skin Cream. She suffered from eczema when I was a kid, and this was the only hand cream that soothed her cracked, painful hands.

I think I've kept a tub like this next to my bed for most my life. And I've carried small tubes in my handbag for about ten years.

It's not as though I haven't tried other hand creams… I've probably tried them all. But practically none come even close when it comes to complete absorbency and total non-greasiness.

It sinks into your skin quickly, easily and without a single greasy finger mark left behind. And your hands are baby bottom soft.

I can't go a few hours without using this to moisturise my lips and my hands.

ego Skin Cream, nothing compares to you.

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I think a lot of our favourite products are things that we've used for many years, because they just work.

Denman hairbrushes are the best I've ever tried.

I know Mason Pearson are supposed to be the best, but I've never understood why.

I've always felt like the bristles are tearing my hair. And aren't long enough to brush right through all the hair to my scalp. But the bristles on Denmans are spaced far enough apart to detangle without tearing. And they're smooth enough to not scratch your scalp.

I keep one of these small ones at home and one in my car. They last forever too. I bought mine in London in 1999 (you can buy them here though )

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Blistex lip balm is pretty much acknowledged as one of the most superior lip products available.

And I agree.

The Blistex Lip Tone balm is perfection in a 2-inch tube.

No other tinted lip balm is as natural-looking as this one. They're either too bright pink or too bright/deep red. This one truly does just look like your natural lip colour, but better.

The formula is magical. Or at least, it was.

Before they went and…. yes. You guessed it.

Discontinued.

In Australia at least. Those were some very dark weeks after I found out.

So, naturally, I jumped on ebay, and heaved an enormous sigh of relief to find they're still making them in the US. I bought up in bulk.

And was disappointed to find the US-made formula is slightly thinner and a bit shinier than the Aussie formula.

But it's still better than any others I've tried.

I keep one in every handbag.

I panic if I don't have a tube of ego Skin Cream or Blistex Lip Tone nearby.

I live in fear of having dry lips. Clearly I don't have enough real problems.

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I don't wear eye shadow very often. Not because I don't like it. I just don't know how to apply it properly.

But when I do, I use Too Faced Shadow Insurance.

Because my skin is quite oily and quick to shine, eyeshadow creases and slides off in no time.

So if an eyeshadow primer can make eyeshadow absolutely immovable on me, it will work for anyone. I adore it.

A lot of girls swear by Urban Decay's Primer Potion, but after seeing photos like this, showing how much unusable product is left in the ridiculously shaped packaging, I wasn't going to be bothered with it.

My tube of Shadow Insurance would probably last me the rest of my life if it didn't ever go off.

I really must get some eye makeup lessons.

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And last of all my favourite things today is this brilliant cartoon by the genius, whimsical, cut-straight-through-to-the-marrow Mr Leunig.

I love Leunig's simple and pure insight into the human condition.

There's so much hope in this cartoon.

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Enjoy your weekend!

xx Kiki

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