My Current Favorites: 2012 Edition

It has been a looooong time since I updated my list of favorite products. And while everyone else is posting about their favorite products of the year, I fully admit that I can't always remember what year things came out. And let's face it, you don't care that I like some cleanser that came out in June if there's one that came out in 2011 that I like better. Right?

So, here they are, the top 10 products that I find myself reaching for over and over. I have to hide them from myself when I am testing other products (totally true!) but I break them out in between testings and sometimes on days that I just need my favorite eye liner. I'm sure I've received these as samples from the companies, but I've bought them myself. Over and over and over...

1. Neutrogena Naturals Cleanser: This has a permanent spot on my counter. While it doesn't remove the most stubborn of eye makeup, it does remove everything else (such as normal, every day stuff) quickly and easily with just a washcloth or my Clarisonic.

2. CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara: Yes, you really can wear 30 coats of this stuff without a clump in site. You don't really need to though. I'm a big fan of layering my mascaras, and this is now my daily go-to mascara. I just grab randomly for the other one (I'm slowing working through my giant mascara drawer to find a killer combo), but this one is always there.

3. Revitalash: Yes, it works. I just reordered mine (I'm buying from Drugstore.com now, it is much cheaper there!) but this is definitely my secret weapon.

4. Milk of Magnesia: I'm not even that oily, but no mattifier has ever come close to the results I get from using Milk of Magnesia as a primer. I don't really use it in the winter, but this is a must for summer!

5. Kiehl's Ultra Facial SPF 15: I've lost track of how many posts I've featured this moisturizer in at this point. I love it. This is my go-to daily moisturizer.

6. Kiehl's Midnight Recovery: I won't travel without this product. I swear that airplanes actively pull moisture from your body, my skin hates it. I use this about once every 2 weeks or so throughout the winter, though now that my toddler wants to play in the snow I'm sure that my frequency will increase this winter.

7. Elizabeth Arden Smoky Liner: You may have noticed that I include this liner in a lot of my looks, though it doesn't have its own review post. I have it in black, brown and navy, though I'm thinking of picking up a few other colors. This liner is perfect for pushing into my lash line, it is just soft enough and is just smudgy enough and it lasts by far the longest on my water line. I just bought a back up black a few weeks ago, despite the huge number of black liners already in my eye liner drawer (yes, I have a drawer. Ok, it is half of a drawer, the other half is mascara. But, I still have issues.)

8. NYX Eyeshadow Base: This is another product that I break out almost every day, but only feature in looks on the blog. I use the skin tone version of this, it comes in a little pot and I swear that I have over half of it left despite nearly daily use for about 18 months. It has the consistency and coverage of a concealer, which is perfect since I have some visible vessels on my eyelids and covering them before my eye shadow looks a lot better. I do get a little better wear for my shadows when wearing UDPP or TFSI, but the NYX covers the vessels and my shadow is about 95% intact at the end of the day.

9. MAC Mineralize Eye Shadow in Family Silver: I've been wearing this shadow for years, and I would love MAC to re-issue it. While it isn't super pigmented, somehow this is the shadow that pulls everything together and makes it all look more polished. Half is a grey with metallic, the other half is an off white, faintly silver color, again with some coppery-gold highlights. Somehow when my shadow isn't quite right, a little of the light or darker grey and some blending makes it all better.

10. Wet'n'Wild Nutty Shadow: This is my perfect crease color. For under $2.