The Best of Craftstyle 2012

After a much needed break over the holidays and some quality time with the family, I decided it was time to reflect on 2012. I had promised that I would work harder to produce post for the blog and I managed to keep it up for a quite a while. Unfortunately, this last semester was brutal(the worst in all my time in college) and this blog suffered a little. I still had a great time writing and thinking up of new posts. Hopefully 2013 will be different and full of wonderful new things. Anyways, here's a look back at my favorites from last year.

For the compulsive cosmetics gal

Gifts under 50 for the compulsive cosmetics gal by momo-san92 featuring tarte makeup

Buried under all my schoolwork, I hadn't realized that Christmas is upon us. I'm not so much for receiving gifts as I am for giving them, so every year I have fun creating gift lists and guides for my friends. This particular occasion I've decided to start with cosmetics, because I believe it's the easiest one. Make up stores this time of year are filled with value sets and it has been my personal experience that these are always a good buy. There's also a great variety of sample and travel sizes that are perfect for stocking stuffers. Here's what caught my eye this season:

1. Tarte's Fantastic Foursome 12 hour Amazonian Clay Blush set($39)- This has been one of the most impressive sets I've seen in a while. Each blush can run up to $24 by itself and here you have a selection of the 4 most popular shades for only $39. The pigmentation in these is incredible and the lasting power is superb!

2. OCC Lip Tars Set($50/$16 if you buy individually)- If you're looking for a vegan lipstick that just won't quit, then you have to get your hands on these. The selection of shades and the color payoff are great.  

3. Korres Lip Butter Collection($19)- These have been going around the blogger community for a quite a while and I found them quite interesting. They offer a very sheer color and some of these have a really lovely scent.

4. Urban Decay's Basic Naked Palette($27)- This palette is supposed to be the matte companion to the very famous Naked and Naked2 Palette. I think this is a perfect palette for someone who is in a more professional setting and needs something clean and classic.

5. Origins Minis($10-$17)- Origins has been a very sought after skincare brand recently, and the fact that they offer smaller versions of their most popular products is definitely a plus.  

Korres Mango Butter Lipstick

Mango Butter Lipstick SPF 10 in Purple

I picked up this little guy at TJ Maxx for just $4. I've been hearing a lot about the Korres products so I thought I would try this one out. The packaging is very simple but still attractive. It claims to be a "lipstick with a rich, intense colour for a brilliant high shine and wet look" and I couldn't agree more. The color payoff is good, it's not exactly as dark as it looks in the packaging but it's still a pretty good match on the lips. It does have a very shiny finish that reminds me more of a lip gloss than a lipstick but I don't mind. I think the shine makes the color look a little bit lighter and a bit more wearable (I am really afraid of dark lipsticks, but I stepped out of my comfort zone to try this one). The lipstick is also very smooth. It glides on effortlessly and it keeps my lips moisturized as long as I wear it. It has very good lasting power, it keeps the shine and color for around 5 to 6 hours.  This product left a very good first impression of the Korres brand. I'm definitely very excited to try some of their other products, specially their famous lip butters.