2012 Besties Awards

 I came up with this catchy name for this short little series I am doing on my favorite products from 2012. There may not be something from every category, but each one of these things I have used and loved all last year. A lot of times, I get swept up in brand new products and love them to death for the first couple weeks {honeymoon phase} then they seem to fall by the wayside. Everything in the Besties Awards have been long lasting romances throughout the whole year. These are things I go back to time and time again.

Best Setting Spray

Urban Decay De-Slick: 

I have tried the All Nighter Setting Spray from Urban Decay and ELF's Setting Spray and this one was my favorite. Surprisingly, I have dry and oily skin. I found that De-Slick made my makeup last longer than any of them and gave my face a nice matte finish. I used this during the summer too and it was a life saver! Here's the full review.

Best Concealer

Maybelline Instant Age Rewind Treatment:

Maybelline's concealers are a long time favorite. This concealer is perfect for underneath the eyes. It is really thin but gives full coverage and seriously brightens underneath my eyes. The only down side is that the packaging on mine is broken so I have to work at it to twist up more product. If your looking for a good concealer for both under the eyes and on dark spots/pimples, try Maybelline's 24/7 Concealer.

Best Foundation

Revlon Color Stay:

I have tried so many foundations in the past couple of years and I always end up going back to this. Nothing is as full coverage as Color Stay. When they say color stay, they mean it! It dries rather quickly so blending it right away is a must. Once it is actually set, it makes my skin look flawless and gorgeous and covers everything and will stay put all day long.

Best Highlight

ELF Radiance Enhancer in Spotlight: 

Another thing from the Holy Grail page. This is one of those highlighters that have a duo-chrome finish. I wouldn't say this is glittery, instead shimmery. When it hits the light, it really does radiate. For $3, it really doesn't get any better. The packaging is sleek, it has a brush tip applicator, and is really creamy and extremely easy to blend. Any beginner wanting to dive into the whole contour/highlight process, this would be a perfect place to start. I want to do an updated review and demo using both colors ELF has to offer on the Radiance Enhancer range. Coming Soon (: For now, grab yourself a Radiance Enhancer. You won't regret it!

Best Bronzer/Contour Powder

Laura Gellar Baked Blush n Brighten in Honey Dipped: 

I got this in my Birch Box in June of 2011 and it was the sole best thing I have ever received in any box. Even though it has shimmer in it, I find it to be the perfect contour powder for me. Any matte contour powder or bronzer I have tried just looks really tacky and muddy next to my fair skin. In the summer time, this is the perfect all over bronzer because I am a little bit darker. The powder is really nice and is easy to blend. After the 2 years I have had it, it is still my absolute favorite bronzer and I use it more than any other one I have. I have yet to even think about hitting the pan. Talk to me in 2015. Maybe I will hit pan then. Probably not. I have swatched this before here

Best Blush

YBF Golden Gleam Bronzer & Baby Pink Blush Duo: 

The bronzer side is nice, yes, but I want to pay tribute to the blush side. This is the blush I kept on going back to all year last year and will most likely continue to do so in 2013. When ever I can't make my mind up, this is my go to blush. It is such a pretty shimmery baby pink color that creates this beautiful flush on my cheeks. The phrase "lit from within" was made for this blush. I don't hear much about YBF Beauty but the company is a diamond in the rough! Check out HSN. They sell YBF (which is where I purchased it) value kits for a really good prices. Here's everything I got in my value kit when I ordered along with swatches of this duo. It's a really good blog post.

left: ybf blush/bronze duo. right: laura gellar baked blush n brighten

Best Eyeshadow

 Stila Eyeshadows

Yes, I own the Naked Palette and it's great and all, but not as great as the Stila eye shadows I own. The lighter shades in the Naked Palette aren't as pigmented as Kitten from Stila . Same thing goes for the matte shades. Stila's Kitten is my absolute favorite eye shadow in the world and thats because it doesn't take much to get pigment on my eyes. All of the Stila eye shadows I own are always so velvety, creamy and pigmented and I almost always use at least 1 of them on a daily basis. Here's a swatch I did of Kitten, Terracotta + Jezebel.  I would gladly do a blog post on my full Stila eye shadow collection. Those swatches are old. I can do a better job! Let me know if your interested.

Best Eye Liners
Any of the Physician's Formula Shimmer Strips

I picked these because they are the only drug store eye liner I used in 2012 that stayed in my water line the whole day and kept the pigment and didn't run down my face. I actually had a lot to say about these, so check out the review I did for them a couple days ago. You can also find swatches there too.

Best Mascara
Physician's Formula Organic Wear

I did a full review complete with pictures of the brush and it on my lashes. Check it out.

Top 10 Nail Polishes and Favorite Lip Products deserve their own separate blog post. Otherwise this blog post would be way too long! It might be labeled "Bestie's Award's" and it might not be. It depends on how long it takes me to get them up (: Don't worry! It will only take a couple weeks, tops.

What was your favorite product from last year?
Would you be interested in a Stila eyeshadow collection blog post?

till next time,
Erica