2012 Beauty Favorites!

I can't believe 2012 is coming to an end already. It seriously feels like 2011 was just here and I was busy packing to move to Texas. But as it is now December 31st, I'm going to share my 2012 favorites! I have a lot more favorite products than this, and I'll do a "favorite products of all time" post eventually, but these are just the products I found myself reaching for the most this year. Some of these I only recently purchased in the last few months, but they've already become holy grail items that I'm never giving up.

Moisturizer: First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream and coconut oil.

• I LOVE the FAB moisturizer because it's not thick, but it moisturizes like a thick cream would. It has antioxidants and several ingredients that help to calm irritation on the face, which is wonderful if you have eczema like me. I find it helps to keep my itchy, dry, red patches at bay when I use it regularly. From what I have tried from First Aid Beauty so far, I love the line and their products work wonders if you have sensitive skin.
• As for the coconut oil, if you haven't heard about the benefits of coconut oil, you will be amazed at the things it does. It's super moisturizing for the skin and hair, and if you eat it, it does great things for your body from the inside as well. Here is a great article about coconut oil's benefits. You can use any kind of coconut oil, but I prefer organic as it smells nicer and doesn't have any added chemicals.

Primer: Smashbox Photo Finish Light

• I have yet to find a face primer that works as well as this one does. It's a little pricey, but totally worth it. I've tried other face primers (Prime Time by Bare Minerals, Sheer Envy by Hard Candy), but this is the best one for me. I'm sure you've heard about this one from a million other girls, so I won't go on about it. But if you have dry, sensitive skin, this is a great primer to smooth things out and make your foundation last all day.

Foundation: Laura Mercier Oil Free Tinted Moisturizer in Porcelain

• I'm lucky enough to have pretty clear skin with the exception of some redness around my nose and that general area. A full coverage foundation isn't necessary for me, though if you build this one up, it can definitely be full coverage. It isn't cakey and it dries to a powdery finish on me, and it's so moisturizing. I like to use this in the winter, as I find it can make my skin more oily in the summertime. In summer, I just use a Physician's Formula powder as my foundation, but if I need coverage, I will use this and just make sure to keep oil absorbing papers with me. One thing I love about this foundation is that my skin actually looks better than it did before I used it after I've taken it off since my skin is very dry and needs the extra moisture. This product is expensive for a tinted moisturizer and some people won't want to shell out the cash for it since it isn't full coverage unless you build it up, but I find that for me, it's worth every penny.

Concealer: Loreal Visible Lift Serum Absolute Concealer in Fair

• I use this under my eyes and on my eyelids as a primer since my Urban Decay Primer Potion dried out and I haven't gotten around to buying a new one (I want to try the NYX HD Eye Primer next). This is wonderful for brightening up the eye area and I love that it has SPF and anti-aging properties. I'm all about trying to prevent aging, so I try to make sure all of my face products have something in them that will help prevent wrinkles and fine lines, whether that be SPF, antioxidants, or a moisturizing ingredient. This does settle into creases at first, but I blend it out with my ring finger when it does that and I'm good for the whole day.

Powder: Make Up Forever HD Powder

• Another pricey product, but again, worth it! You can probably see that I like to splurge on face products. This is because I feel that a flawless canvas is essential for the rest of your makeup to look its best. And the products I use certainly help me achieve a "flawless" look to my skin. This soaks up oil all day, is translucent, and doesn't settle into pores or lines. It is a little messy— some of the product gets out and is wasted when I use it, but that's to be expected with such a fine powder like this. I used to use the Urban Decay mattifying powder, but someone recommended I try this one and I've never looked back since.

Bronzer: NYX Matte Bronzer in Light

• I only recently got into bronzer. I'm extremely pale and always the lightest shades in every face product, so I thought bronzer would make me look orange and like I was trying to fake a tan (badly, I might add). And I don't know about you guys, but I'm not fond of the orange, fake tan look. But this doesn't look like that. It's matte, which I like, because I'm not one for much shimmer on the face unless it's on my cheeks. I just put very, VERY little of this on my cheekbones, my jawline, and temples so that I'm not one pale color across my face. I find it adds dimension and warmth to my face rather than a tan, but I wasn't going for the tanned look anyway.

Blush: NYX Blush in Peach

• This is the perfect color for the skin tone. It's named "peach" but it's not as peachy a color as one would imagine peach to be. It's more pink, and it's so smooth to apply and lasts all day long. It even stayed on through a three hour nap once!

Eyebrow Pencil: Maybelline Define A Brow in Dark Blonde

• I don't define my eyebrows too much. They're not too sparse, not too thick, and work pretty well for me on my own when I'm doing a natural look. But when I want something more dramatic, I use this pencil to fill in the more sparse areas and give my eyebrows a more defined shape so that the rest of my makeup doesn't overpower my natural looking eyebrows. The color works for me, it's not too red but not too ashy. Though my hair is brown, I found the brown shade to be too dark for me, so I recommend getting a shade lighter than your hair color.

Eyebrow Gel: ELF Eyebrow and Eyelash Gel

• This is an okay gel that I use for my eyebrows. I don't think it lasts all day, but it does the job when I want my eyebrows to stay in place. And for how cheap it is, it can't be beat.

Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

• I couldn't pick just one eyeshadow, so I chose this palette. It's expensive, yes, but probably the best thing you could spend your money on when it comes to makeup. I'm not gonna go into detail because everybody raves about this palette and I'm sure you're tired of hearing about it, but I love it and I use it almost every time I wear makeup.

Eyeliner: Urban Decay 24/7 Pencil in Zero

• This eyeliner lasts all day. It does smudge, as it is a pencil, but it smudges less than any other pencil eyeliner I have tried. I like to use this on my waterline and tightline, as well as on my lid. I use this pencil more than I do any gel or liquid eyeliner.

Mascara: Physician's Formula Organic Wear in Black Organics

• Up until as recently as about two weeks ago, I was all about Loreal Voluminous Original mascara. I still am. It's cheap, lengthens my lashes, adds volume, and even makes my lashes look fake if I put enough coats on. However, this mascara gets pretty close to the same result, and it's completely organic. When I can, I like to use organic products and eat organic food, etc. I will still use my Loreal mascara, but only when I want a more dramatic look. For everyday looks, this works just as well. The only difference is that this one doesn't give me fake looking lashes. This mascara also contains an ingredient that keeps your lashes healthy, which I love. I'll definitely be using this one more than my Loreal Voluminous from now on, and maybe I'll even use it under that one when I want more dramatic lashes.

Perfume: Miss Dior Cherie

• This will always be my favorite perfume of any year. Coach Poppy came in a close second, but I just had to go with this one. I've been in love with this scent for four years. It's appropriate for daytime, but it could work for nighttime as well depending on where you're going. I don't suggest this for a night at the bar, but for a nice dinner and movie, it works. It's a beautiful scent that I can't even begin to describe because I'm awful at describing scents.

And because I couldn't pick just one lip product...

Lipstick: Covergirl Lip Perfection in Heavenly

• For the most part, I like more natural colors for lips. I have recently been getting into more bold lips, but if you catch me out on a normal day, I'll more than likely have some nude or pink color on my lips. This is a perfect balance between nude and pink for my skin tone, and it's quite moisturizing. The lasting power isn't that great. It will definitely come off if you eat and drink, but I don't mind reapplying because being a more natural shade, it doesn't require a lipliner and the shape of the lipstick itself is nice for a quick application.

Lipgloss: NYX Lipgloss in La La

• This is more pink than natural, but I love the color. It matches my lips, but is much brighter and when I don't feel like wearing a lipstick, I'll turn to this. I'm not a huge lipgloss fan, but this lipgloss is not sticky at all and if you're not eating and drinking, it lasts for about 2-3 hours on me. Which, in my opinion, is great for a lipgloss.

Lip balm: Revlon Lip Butter in Berry Smoothie

• This is a lovely color for fall and winter. It's a more mature, pinky berry shade, but I think this shade could work on any skin tone as it's versatile. And if you haven't heard about Revlon Lip Butters (which would be so surprising because everyone raves about them), they're amazing. The lasting power isn't great, but you don't need a lipliner with these. They're somewhere in between a lipstick and a lipgloss with a balmy feel to them, and they are ridiculously moisturizing. The color payoff is great, too, and the color is very buildable. I can't say enough good things about these lip products, so if you haven't tried them yet, what are you waiting for? Go out and get one!

I forgot to include a highlighter, but I don't wear highlighter that often. I find blending my concealer where one would use a highlighter works well enough for me, but when I do want an extra dewy look, I use Benefit's High Beam. It's a liquidy texture so I just blend it into my skin and it works well enough for me, but I'm not crazy about it. I'm looking into finding a different highlighter, perhaps by Physician's Formula as I've heard nothing but good things about theirs.

That's it for my 2012 beauty favorites! Stay tuned for a 2012 non-beauty favorites, which will include everything from entertainment to food and whatever else I can think of. I hope everyone has had an amazing 2012 and is ready for a hopefully incredible 2013!