Happily straddling the worlds of skincare and make-up, and promising (though not always delivering) a fresh and luminous visage for all, BB or Blemish Balm Creams started hitting the shelves in their droves in 2012.

Image source: Rimmel London

Armed with a sense of adventure - and a handful of Kevin Murphy's Colour Bugs - we went wild for rainbow-bright dip-dye hair colours. Tones of pink and blue were popular with celebs such as Kate Bosworth, January Jones and Amber Le Bon.

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2012 was a game-changing year, as global beauty brands such as Estée Lauder, YSL and Chanel finally decided to widen their make-up selections to include colours for darker skin tones. About time too!

Image source: Bobbi Brown

By far the biggest hair trend of 2012 was the easy-peasy top knot. Worn by A-listers, off-duty models and every other street-style superstar, this effortless 'do will be hard to, erm, top come 2013.

Image source: Rex

With the rise in popularity of Pinterest and Tumblr, nail art inspiration came from far and wide. We pondered, 'just how on earth did that blogger manage to create such an amazing design?', and the answer came back in the form of a whole host of jazzy new nail wraps for us to try...

Image source: ASOS

And nail art pens...

Image source: Topshop

And more cheap, yet oh-so cheerful, nail decals and 3D decorations than we could handle!

Image source: Nail Rock

The contrasting 'accent nail' (normally the ring finger) was perfect for those that wanted to show off just how creative they could be, and became a celeb trend with everyone from Rihanna to Anne Hathaway.

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Lana Del Rey and Lady Gaga inspired some of us to try out the pointed or 'dagger' nail look.

Image source: WAH Nails

While others took a softly-softly approach with new textured nail finishes, ranging from flock and velvet to vampy patent and leather.

Image source: Ciaté

Never before has chubby looked quite as good as it did when Clinique (hotly followed by Revlon and a bunch of other brands) launched its gorgeous little Chubby Stick lip shades. Grown-up lip colours a child could apply - anywhere, anytime. Yep, even half-asleep going to work on the bus.

Image source: Clinique

Whether you call it the Scouse Brow or the 'statement brow', eyebrows saw less action at the beauty parlour as we happily embraced the catwalk trend to wear them big and bold.

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The floral crown became this summer's must-try hair accessory at festivals and weddings alike.

Image source: hairromance.com

It was no coincidence that as the UK's GDP went down, sales of at-home hair colourants went up.

Image source: Clairol

Inspired by the spring/summer catwalks and a crop of petal-worthy lipstick shades, when the summer finally put in an appearance, we went big on bright pink lips.

Image source: GoRunway

But by the autumn and the beginning of the party season, we were happy to go back to a classic red pout.

Although in official beauty circles ombré hairstyles was 'so last year', we carried on rocking that cool beachy look - though with varying results. Some were a bit more two-toned than tonal!

Image source: Rex

The return of Downton Abbey and The Hour to our screens, plus excitement for Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby reaching fever pitch this summer (we're still waiting for the film though Baz!), we also had fun trying out retro hairstyles, from flirty flapper to 40s screen siren.

Image source: film trailer

With celebrities such as Rihanna, Anne Hathaway, Lily Collins and Scarlett Johansson rocking the shade, as 2012 comes to a close, we expect to spot many a deep berry lip at New Year's Eve parties this month.

Image source: Rex

In a Jubilee and Olympic-filled summer, who could forget covering our faces and painting our nails in patriotism!

Image source: Getty