We raved about fragrances, skincare, and bath and body, but have saved the best for last: makeup! If you are a makeup lover, you appreciate makeup for what it is: your best pick-me up accessory. Here at College Gloss, we are unbiased and want to feature the best, no matter how pricey or inexpensive. After all, every girl loves a bargain!

Dry: We love Laura Mercier Silk Creme Foundation ($43, Sephora) and Nars Sheer Glow Foundation ($42, Nordstrom). Both leave a beautiful, satin finish, perfect for combating the appearance of dryness. Both have a natural finish, are buildable and easy to blend.

Normal/Combination: Our holy grail foundation is Chanel’s Vitalumiere Aqua Ultra-Light Skin Perfecting Makeup SPF 15 ($45, Nordstrom). We cannot possibly tell you all how much we love this! It is a second skin; we find it hard to believe that a foundation can accomplish such finish, while leaving a dewy and non-greasy complexion. Although it claims to be a light coverage foundation, it covers our redness and dark spots perfectly! If you are a high coverage kind of girl, you will make any excuse for this beauty.

Oily/Acne: Chances are high that you have heard of Revlon’s ColorStay ($9.99, Amazon) foundation. It comes in an impressive range of shades! Its one flaw is that it does not have a pump, but that’s compensated in its high coverage -- and long-lasting power! Tied with Revlon ColorStay is Shiseido’s Sun Protection Liquid Foundation SPF 42 ($35, Nordstrom). This liquid foundation is sweat, water and oil resistant, meaning that your oily days are finally behind you. Give this a try, and you will love its matte finish!

Tinted Moisturizer: Although several new tinted moisturizers have been launched this year, not one has beat the classic luxury that is Laura Mercier’s Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20-Oil Free ($43, Nordstrom). We like this pick so much because it does more than even out our complexion; it has more coverage than the average tinted moisturizer!

BB Cream: We love Smashbox Camera Ready BB Cream SPF 35 ($39, Sephora) because it comes in five shades ranging from light to dark, unlike many other BB creams which only suit light and medium complexions. This beauty balm suits girlies with combination and oily skins. For a dryer skin type, we recommend Too Faced Beauty Balm SPF 20 ($32, Sephora).

Primer: Primer is a tricky thing -- it’s trickier than foundations and concealers -- but the one that always stands out is Revlon’s PhotoReady Perfecting Primer ($10.49, Amazon).

Concealer for Acne Prone Skin: For you girlies who have a hard time covering acne, we recommend Murad Acne Treatment Concealer ($16, Amazon). This concealer will treat your acne and provide you with long-lasting coverage. See below as to why we love Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer ($32, Amazon) for everything else!

Bronzer: If you are a girl who never wears blush, and exclusively uses bronzer, we love Tarte Matte Mineral Powder ($29, Sephora). This gives you an authentic summer glow without chunks of glitter. It’s a staple in our makeup bag. If you are looking for a bronzer that will solely contour your face, we love this drugstore goody: New York Color Smooth Skin Bronzing Powder ($4.41, Amazon).

Blush: We simply love Benefit Hervana and Coralista. Tied with Benefit is Tarte’s Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush ($25, Sephora). We really can’t pick a favorite shade! Its range is perfect for all skin tones and types.

Powder: Every girl knows how important it is so set their foundation to prevent oiliness. We love using Mac Mineralize Skinfinish/Natural ($29, Macy’s). This powder sets your foundation with a matte, natural finish. We promise it won’t cake on!

EYES

Concealer: For you girlies who suffered from severe dark circles, choose Make Up For Ever Full Cover Concealer ($32, Sephora). This concealer is also perfect for covering up the occurring blemish, dark spots and redness. Note that this concealer is high coverage and the best for those of you who wish to cover up any imperfections. 

Eyeshadow Palette: Our favorite eyeshadow palettes this season come from Wet N’ Wild Color Icon Eyeshadow Trio ($6.99, Amazon) in Knock on Wood and Walking on Eggshells. These drugstore beauties are heavily pigmented and long lasting!

Single Eyeshadow: We are obsessed with two colors right now. We adore Chanel Illusion D’Ombre Long Wearing Luminous Eyeshadow in Illusoire ($36, Nordstrom) for the perfect smokey eye. For review and swatches of Illusoire check out “Café Makeup!” Our other favorite for an everyday look is L’oreal’s Infallible 24 HR Eyeshadow in Amber Rush ($6.99, Ulta). For review and swatches of Amber Rush check out "Jennifae’s Beauty Blog." Both picks are incredibly long lasting even without primer -- incredible! They glide effortlessly onto your eyelid and catch the light beautifully.

Eye Primer: We have two favorites -- you will be surprised to know that we love E.L.F.’s Eyelid Primer ($1, Target). Its staying power and high quality beats out favorites like Urban Decay’s Primer Potion! And for you girlies whose greasy lids combat every primer, we love Nars Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base ($24, Sephora).

Mascara: Mascara is every girl’s favorite item, and it's even for those who wear minimal to no makeup. So, we could not resist and chose three favorites! Our favorites are CoverGirl Lash Blast ($8.65, Amazon), L’oreal Voluminous Original Mascara ($5.84, Amazon) and Lancôme ‘Définicils Precious Cells’ Mascara ($29.50, Nordstrom). All these cult favorites are classics, and they have our approval for their magic touch in volume and length!

Fake Eyelashes/Glue: For those of you who like experimenting with fake eyelashes, we recommend Ardell Fashion Lashes Strip-Black 105 (Amazon) for its natural, yet noticeably thick and long look. Plus, these are reusable, unlike other brands! For its application, we like Ardell Duo Eyelash Adhesive Dark Tone ($5.49, Amazon).

Liquid Eyeliner: For you ladies who want your eyeliner to last during your school day and work day, try Mac Liquidlast Liner ($18.50, Nordstrom). It is precise, and we promise it will not smudge or magically evaporate!

Gel: If you are anything like us, we guarantee you don’t want to wear liquid liner everyday -- enter gel liner! We use Maybelline Gel Eyeliner ($7.94, Amazon) in black, brown and eggplant!

Color/Pencil: For you girlies who like a little more spice and color in your life, we strongly suggest you spoil yourself and try out Make Up Forever Aqua Eyes ($14.35, Amazon); it comes in 25 different colors ranging from black to hot pink and green. We are in love with its staying power. This is one of the few products that does what it claims -- it really is smudge proof!

MULTITASKERS

Our favorite blush, which doubles as a lipstick is Stila’s Convertible Color ($35, Zappos). We are totally infatuated with every shade and its creamy, non-greasy texture. We are always surprised that this beauty does not receive more attention. It’s great for all skin types/tones and gives you a natural, long-lasting radiance!

Our favorite eyeshadow and eyeliner in one is NYX’s Jumbo Eye Pencil ($4.49, Ulta) in all shades! These babies make for great bases under your eyeshadows and can also be applied as shadows and liner!

Another multitasker that we could have not ignored is Benefit’s Posietint and Benefit’s Benetint ($29 each, Sephora). We just love their pink perfection so much! We love applying these tints on our lips and cheeks! It is super long-lasting, and did we mention, the color is to die for! It looks like your natural flush, sans makeup!

Bobbi Brown’s 24k Shimmer Brick ($42, Sephora) is one of our favorite products of all time, and of makeup artists, too. It is great for highlighting and for creating the ultimate brightening eye look. We wish we could just pick one palette, but we can’t! This will give you the ultimate glow and is a product that every girl should try at least once.

LIPS

Lipstick: We love the many shades of CoverGirl Lip Perfection Lipstick ($5.99, Amazon) and its velvet texture. For a lipstick alternative, we are addicted to Revlon Color Burst Lip Butters ($7.49, Amazon).

Balm: Even though there’s a wide variety of lip balms to moisturize our lips, our personal favorite is Nivea’s A Kiss of Berry Swirl Vitamin Enriched Lip Care SPF 10 ($8.97 for pack of 3, Amazon). We are loving the extra SPF and its yummy smell! It is super long-lasting and does not need to be reapplied every hour! Trust us, you will want to add this baby to your collection. For extra moisture, we love C.O. Bigelow Rose Salve ($5.50, Amazon).

Stain: Our favorite stain by far is Revlon’s Color Stay Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain ($7.29, Amazon). It is moisturizing, long-lasting and does not need to be sharpened!

Lipgloss: Our favorite lipglosses this season are NYX’s Mega Shine Lip Glosses ($5.49, Amazon), especially in beige, a subtle pink color. These glosses are better than many high end picks. Its non-sticky, moisturizing and pigmented formula makes this the clear winner in the market!

There you have it, our makeup obsessions from the past year! No matter drugstore or high-end, you’ll look beautiful using these picks. Click here to check out our past 2012 Best of Beauty articles. We can only dream of what will happen in the makeup world next year!

By: Ivanna Coello | Images: Source, listed retail stores