My top 12 products of 2012

Just thought I'd share my top 12 products of the past year. These are not listed in the order of favourites, but more in the order in which I use them throughout the day. With my shopping addiction, I was surprised that I consistently liked a few products, and today I will reveal which ones they are :D

11 of the 12 products, I thought that the sheet masks would take up too much space

The first fave product is actually one that I use first thing in the morning, that is my Hello Kitty Cleansing paste. Although I am not particularly fond of the scent I can overlook it because it makes my face feels so clean and soft afterwards. I like using this so much I already have a back up of it... I actually have a mini review of this here if you are interested in reading more about it.

One of my rare finds of 2012 was the H2O Face Oasis shine-neutralizing gel. I stumbled on this because I had purchased the wrong moisturizer for my friend, so instead I decided to keep it for myself. Boy am I glad for this mistake. This oil-free gel is an amazing moisturizer that not only keeps my face matte, but hydrated all day long.

Vaseline lip therapy lip balm Cocao butter - 2012 was a year that I dedicated to finding awesome lip treatments for my super dry lips. On my hunt, I found this cute little tub that was pretty good at keeping them happy. This product is good at retaining moisture in the lips but does not really add hydration to it and it worked a lot better after my lips are healed. It is great at 'sealing' the lips so that I may occasionally wear a lip products that contain beeswax.

Kose Suncut Essence in UV Protect Milk SPF50 PA+++ Waterproof is a very lovely dupe of the Shiseido Sunscreen that I adore for half the price. This product was especially awesome during the summer time, a sunscreen with decent SPF and none of the oily feeling. 

YSL anti-cernes multi-action concealer in Nude Beige - Love this creamy concealer, can't believe I spent so much money on something so little... but it is great at concealing dark circles, and it can last at least 4 hours on if I don't set it with a powder and almost twice that when I do. It has very minimal creasing and it has been my most successful concealer so far.

TheBalm Balm Shelter Tinted moisturizer - At the beginning of 2012, my skin was not at it's happiest, lots of breakout, redness and scarring so this was not enough coverage for me. However, with continuous use, my face slowly cleared up and by mid to end of 2012 my face required very minimal coverage. Between the H2O moisturizer and this TM, my skin's been feeling happy and not overloaded. I've reviewed this product here.

Shiseido eyeshadow quad in Desert Winds - I was surprised by this, but I reached for this palette more often than not. The colour in this palette is very wearable on a daily basis, the shadow last all day even without a primer. I was suprised at its pigmentation, lasting ability and its lovely texture. This palette wowed me and I dread the day I finish any of the shadows on this perfect palette!

d.j.v. Beautenizer mascara - I enjoyed this mascara more than any other fiberwig I've tried so far. When I'm finished the stash of mascara I've hoarded over the last while I will definitely consider repurchasing this. I love the fact that it does not clump when I apply it, nor does it smudge on me throughout the day although I wish that it was a darker black, since my Asian lashes are barely visible regularly. 

Too Faced Lip Crème in Naughty Nude - I'm usually a coral kind of girl, but since I found this lipstick, I've really start digging nude lips. It might also be because I've been wearing more smokey looks and this lipstick just goes so well with them without making me look like a zombie~ Swatches and my little obsessive post can be found here, just in case you want to read more ;) I actually really enjoy the rest of my Lip Crèmes which includes; Spice Spice Baby, Nude Beach, I Want Candy and Coral Fire. :)

This is the only tool in my list of products, the Clarisonic Mia. I had started using it late 2011, but results didn't show until early-mid 2012. This tool is golden! I use it in combination with several different cleanser and it does the job of removing guck and makeup off my face very well. You can see the foundation or cheek colour on the brush (which looks nasty) but makes me glad to have proof of how much was on my face. After using it my skin is clean and ready for moisturizers and face masks... which leads to my next fave...

My Beauty Diary masks - I like their entire range of masks. My skin feels pampered, moisturized and satisfied every time. I'm not sure about any lasting effect, but my skin feels and look awesome the next morning. These masks also have a very lovely scent to them. My only gripe with this? I feel like so much product is wasted as there is always a lot left in the package!

Laura Mercier Lip Silk - When my lips were super dry and everything irritated it, this was my savior. My lips are much better now, but I still use this at night when my lips needs a little pampering. Although expensive, this tube has lasted me quite a while. So for extremely dry lips (that is allergic to beeswax) do consider this awesome lip balm for supple and happy lips. :)

Is text enough or do people prefer pictures? :) Let me know if it matters :D

Random samples: first impressions

Here's my 2 cents of product samples I've used in the past few months.

Caudalie eye and lip cream - This cream feels so nice and light weight, and does a great job at moisturizing. I've only used it for a week and noticed very slight difference in my dark eye circles. However, I'm not sure if I am willing to splurge $49 on it...

Nars Radiant Tinted Moisturizer in Alaska - I wanted to love this because I've heard so much rave about it, however I can't. Within 3 hours of using this TM I start getting oily on my T-zone and cheeks. This has not happened with my theBalm TM... I like the higher SPF, but I find that it made my skin look more dull despite the oil pool later on.

Dior Hydra Life BB creme - This BB cream broke me out :( I really wanted to like this product, because I wanted to get it when I was in the US, but the results were disappointing. I'm just so glad I got to try a sample of it before purchasing the full size (a whooping $56USD!)

Phyto Phytopolleine Universal Elixir Scalp stimulant - I got this in one of my monthly subscriptions and I really love it. I have troubled skin and my scalp was not spared (please excuse me) but my scalp flakes like crazy! After my first use of this I was extremely happy that it worked so well. I will be purchasing purchased the full size of this product. It has a very strong but not unpleasant smell of eucalyptus and work quite well to maintain a healthy scalp.

Suisse Programme Gigawhite Fresh UV Shield Moisturizer SPF15 - I had a 2ml sample that lasted me 3 applications. This product smells awesome and has a little bit of SPF which I like, however I was surprised to find that it wasn't quite moisturizing enough for me... Certain areas on my face dried up throughout the day. At a whooping 83$ on Sasa, I will not be purchasing~

Neutrogena Ultra Sheer Dry-Touch Sunscreen Lotion SPF55 - This is a nice sunscreen with high SPF and covers both UVA and UVB. It dries non-sticky and smells okay for a sunscreen. I would so purchase this product if I wasn't already overstocked with them :) This is something to keep in mind next summer as it is both waterproof and sweatproof (tested from all the swimming and tubing down while on vacation.)

Apologies for not having any pictures for this post as they are mostly samples, perhaps I should take a pictures of samples before I try them out next time :)

Haul: L'Oreal and Lancome warehouse sale 2011

Biggest haul (yet)

This was my big splurge of the year and surprisingly it was not just on makeup! I've picked up quite a few sunscreens since we have plans to go camping / white water rafting and other outdoor activities this summer. At a very decent price of $3.38 each for the face sunscreen I just had to get a few to share. :D

Another sunscreen I will be trying out is the one from Biotherm on the bottom left corner. The set is sold for $39 regular but I got it for $21.50 at this sale and it includes a body wash and a body lotion.

I also stocked up on La Roche Posays' Toleriane Dermo face cleanser @ $13.50, regular is $28. One for my bf and one as gift. :)