As the year winds down today, it is always fun to look back on the year and all the trends that surrounded us. With fashion and hair always revolutionizing, each year brings us new and exciting things to look forward to. Here are the trends that defined 2012, and next week look for our guest blogger from Vanilla Fringe, giving us some insight into the trends that are here to stay for 2013. 

The Ballerina Bun: the ballerina bun defined hair in 2012. With its simple and sleek look, every girl tried this style out a few times. It even got trendy renditions as the year went on.

The Peplum Top: this girly and flirty top seemed to be all the rage this year. The trend floated over to skirts and dresses, making it a must have in any girl’s closet.

Faux Fur: whether it’s a fur vest, a fur coat, or a fur scarf. Fur was everywhere this year!

Loafers: loafers definitely made a comeback. From Target to Gap, every major store was carrying loafers in solid colors, patterned designs, and crazy textures. 

Ankle Booties: ankle booties are all the rage. Every store had so many styles to choose from it was hard to find a go-to pair! 

As New Year’s Eve approaches, all girls everywhere are frantically searching for the perfect outfit to wear to the party or event of the night – and no outfit can be complete without a little sparkle! Here are our favorite ways to incorporate some glitter into your New Year’s Eve outfit.

Peplum Top: You can’t go wrong following the trend of the year – the peplum top – completely covered in sequins. Pair this top with a black or bright red skirt for a complete New Year’s Eve outfit that will keep you sparkling all night long. 

Sequin Leggings: Whether you are looking to stay warm, or wanting to dance the night away, these sequin leggings are necessary for your big night out. Complete the look with a colorful top and your favorite leather coat. 

Sequin Dress: This girly, sequined dress is a classic. You can dress it up with petite heels, or even paired with a leather coat or boots. Either way, you’ll roll into the New Year in style. 

Glitzy Jewelry: If you don’t want to follow the sparkly trend in your clothing choices, what about adding a glitzy piece of jewelry to your look? This bracelet set or chunky necklace can complete any outfit, of any color, and give your outfit the extra boost you’re looking for!

Struggling with ideas for what to get the man of the house for the holidays? Well, if it’s not on GearCulture it’s not worth having, so let us take away some of that end-of-year stress with some top tips for your festive shopping…

1. Topo Designs Duffel

Handmade in Colorado, the Topo Designs Duffel ($30) is a bag for just about every occasion and comes in a range of colors to suit all tastes and moods, including silver, black, orange and camo. Stitched from mega-tough 1000d Cordura, with a seat-belt strap, leather handles and duty metal hardware, it’ll stand just about any abuse and looks pretty damned cool slung over the shoulder too. 

2. Nike+ SportWatch GPS

Few know athletics like than Nike and few know  satellite tracking like TomTom, combine the expertise of the two and what do you get? The Nike+ Sportwatch GPS ($170). Every step, twist and turn of your sessions will be collected and calibrated for the ultimate training experience. Water resistant and powered by a rechargeable lithium battery via USB, it’ll track your heart rate and calories burned, and you can even upload your data online and challenge others to beat your personal bests. 

3. Remington FR-750

Featuring pivot and flex technology that allows it to seamlessly follow the contours or your neck, face and chin, the Remington FR-750 ($100) is so good, Santa might just be tempted to finally shave off that white fluff. It’s cordless, the rechargeable battery will last for up to ten days with an hour charge and the pop-up trimmer makes light work of neatening off sideburns and beards too.

4. Bang! Lamp

A very cool, very original idea that looks great too. The Bang! Lamp ($300) not only boasts an elegant, minimalistic pearl white design, but is controlled by a gun. Not a real gun of course, that’d be dangerous, but a remote control one. Of course, you could always not tell him about the gun and have all sorts of fun by surreptitiously killing the light at will and letting him fumble round for that “blown fuse” in the dark.     

5. Worx Semi-Automatic Screw Driver 

Home improvement made so easy, even girls will want to give it a try. The Worx Semi-Automatic Screw Driver ($50) boasts a pair of rapid reload cartridges, yes, machine-gun-like, and even a semi-automatic bit changer. Also, there’s a built-in LED light for those who like to do their screwing in the dark, and a 4V lithium battery that can hold its charge for a ridiculously impressive 18 months.  

6. Sea Doo Dolphin Sea Scooter

It’s safe for all over the age of 8, but let’s face it, he’ll be having far too much fun with this to ever let the kids get anywhere near it. The Sea Doo Dolphin Sea Scooter ($185) is a lightweight water propulsion machine that can be used in pools, lakes or the sea. One and half hour charge and capable of plunging to a depth of 15.5 feet, it’ll do 2 mph, which may not sound fast, but it’s not bad in the wet and certainly a hell of a lot quicker than his breast-stroke.

7. Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS

Verging on indestructible, this is a camera of near super-hero capabilities, the ideal gift if your man fancies himself as an action photographer and/or is a bit of a klutz. Bursting with countless settings, all sorts of gadgetry and video-recording capabilities, the Olympus Tough TG-1 ($400) produces high-end images and is also waterproof, shockproof, crushproof, dustproof and freezeproof. They’re not lying either, we had all sorts of fun testing out those brags, though not sure the camera did.

8. Jawbone Big Jambox 

With a sound that is as epic as its aesthetics, the Jawbone Big Jambox ($300) is the perfect festive gift for your music-loving man. With its incredible gadgetry, it will turn any phone or tablet into a blood pumping sound system and boasts a rechargeable battery that will last up to 15 hours, which should cover just every party wherever it may be. A built-in mic even allows for calls and Skype and its online capabilities means that the latest apps are only a click away. 

9. Pinnacle Foosball Coffee Table

Possibly the most man-friendly piece of furniture ever made. The Pinnacle Foosball Coffee Table ($510) is a cool, quality piece built from solid hardwoods, with each individual player expertly hand carved and lovingly hand painted. Want to finally get him to start using those coasters? Then buy him one of these, trust us, he’ll love you for it.

10. ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A

Tough, but unimaginably slender with a gorgeous metal finish of precision etched concentric circles, the award-winning ASUS Zenbook Prime UX31A ($1,200-$1,400) packs some serious hardware into a very, very compact space. One of the top notebooks out there from one of the top brands, it’s fueled by the 3rd generation Core i7 processor with Intel Turbo Boost up to 2.6GHz, has audio by Bang & Olufsen and features a 6GB Solid State Drive. Weighing in at less than three pounds, it’s the ultimate machine for the ultimate man on the go.

As the holidays rapidly approach, you may find yourself fresh out of gift ideas for your mom, best friend, or girlfriend. There is nothing worse than feeling stressed out around the holidays, so here are a few gift ideas for that special woman in your life.

1. iPhone Case - A girl can never have too many iPhone cases. For protection and an adorable pattern, you can’t go wrong. The website, society6.com has thousands of prints available as iPhone cases or skins. 

2. Turnlock Checkbook Wallet - This classic wallet is adorable with a turn-lock ornament on the front. It will hold everything a girl could need, and fits snuggly in her bag. 

3. A.V. Max Wire Word Bracelet – This delicate “Love” bracelet is the perfect gift for that special girl in your life. It comes in “Love”, “Believe”, and “Dream”. 

4. Half-Dozen Egg Crate - For the girl with tons of jewelry? This stoneware egg crate is perfect for all of those small pieces. It will organize and keep all of her jewelry safe, and will look great sitting on her vanity!

5. Draped Sequin Tee - This sequin knit top is the ideal holiday party top. It will keep your favorite girl warm and stylish all winter long. 

6. Xhilaration Pajama Set - A new pajama set is a classic holiday gift. This charming pattern makes for a great gift for any girl. Target.com

7. Two-Toned Leather Tablet Case - Is a girl in your life getting a tablet for the holidays? Complete the gift with this two-toned leather tablet case. It comes in this purple/navy combination, and four other colors. 

8. Aerie Marled Faux Fur Snood - Faux fur is all the rage. This scarf is reversible with a knit pattern on one side, and faux fur on the other. Warm and so chic!  

9. Holiday 15-Piece Nail Polish Set - This limited edition Holiday 15-piece Nail Polish Set has every winter nail color a girl could need. Extra bonus – the price is unbeatable! 

10. Tartan Mug Set - This seasonal mug set has such a sweet pattern that is ideal for the holiday season. You could even complete the gift with a package of your favorite cocoa or coffee. 

While San Francisco doesn’t get the coldest of cold winters, we definitely had a temperature drop around mid November that called for a beauty regime change. This year, one day it was 80 degrees, and the next it was 50. Brrr. The cooler, dryer temperatures call for a switch to thicker lotions and creams and a careful exfoliation of that dry, flakey skin. Here are a few of my favorite winter products to protect your nails, hair and skin:

1. Bliss 24-'Heaven' High Intensity Healing Balm

This powerful body butter is all you need to cure dry hands, feet, legs, elbows, knees, and everything in between. It is super thick and luxurious, sure to banish your winter blues. I slather it on my feet and hands before bed and wake to soft, subtle skin. The secret is that it not only has strong moisturizers like oatmeal, shea and cocoa butter, but it also has lactic acid, to help exfoliate and slough off those dead, dry skin cells. Bliss 24-'heaven' high intensity healing balm is available at Sephora, sephora.com, Bliss Spas and on blissworld.com for $35 for 8 oz.

2. Davines MOMO Shampoo and Conditioner

This pair of Davines’ MOMO shampoo and conditioner is sure to banish any dry, brittle locks you might experience during the winter months. I love this Italian line of hair products and dyes because they are not only natural but aimed at performance, not just being earth friendly. Davines’ moisture-rich MOMO shampoo and conditioner contain natural ingredients to restore the depleted elements dry hair needs. The shampoo contains vitamins C, B, and PP to protect hair, sweet almond proteins to hydrate and restore body, and olive ampho acetate to non-aggressively clean, leaving it soft and silky. The MOMO Conditioner contains milk thistle oil, panthenol and jojoba oil to moisturize, soften and add shine without weighing down your hair. MOMO is available at fine salons or on barneys.com for $24 for 250ml  for the shampoo and $10 for 75ml for the conditioner.

3. l’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream

One of the first signs of winter for me is using lots and lots of hand cream. I find come mid November, my consumption of the stuff goes up two or three fold. The hand cream I continue to buy over and over again is l’Occitane’s original Shea Butter Hand Cream. It is my standby, no matter how many new and fancy hand creams I try. I love the size of the tube, since it fits easily into a small or large purse. But just because it is small, doesn’t mean it doesn’t last, a little of this rick cream goes a long way to soften my hands and cuticles. I am always tempted by the variety of scents l’Occitane releases each year in their hand cream collection, but I always end of preferring the original shea butter formula. It smells hardly at all, so your cubicle mate won’t be offended, and it seems to be the thickest and longest lasting of the bunch. You can buy l’Occitane Shea Butter Hand Cream at your local L’Occitane or Sephora store or online at loccitane.com or sephora.com. It is $10 for 1 oz.

4. Lumene Sensitive Touch Instant Relief Serum

If you are like me, colder weather brings irritated skin. No one looks good with a red blotchy face, often due to constant temperature changes (inside warm, outside brrrr) and dryness. Lumene’s Sensitive Touch Instant Relief Serum is my answer. I use this serum every morning, after I wash my face and before I put on a moisturizer (with sunscreen of course… even in the winter you can’t forget your SPF!). It calms any irritation my face might be experiencing and feels gentle and soothing in the process. No to mention this serum is free from alcohol, colourants, perfumes, parabens, paraffins and silicones. You can find Lumene Sensitive Touch Instant Relief Serum at your local drugstore or on dermstore.com for about $19.99 for 1 floz.

5. Algenist Triple-Action Micropolish & Peel

With all the dry skin you experience in the winter, moisturizing isn’t the only answer. You must exfoliate! This microdermabrasion peel by Algenist contains a 10 percent acid duo - patent-pending alguronic acid and glycolic acid.  That, in combination with a 10 percent fruit enzyme complex and micro polishing crystals helps to transform your skin from dull winter to bright and clear. The formula exfoliates and resurfaces, improving texture and tone for smoother, brighter, more radiant skin. I think I’ve found my favorite exfoliator in this tube. It is so powerful, and yet doesn’t irritate my skin at all. I use it in the shower twice a week or so and am thrilled with the result. Algenist Triple-Action Micropolish & Peel is available at Sephora and on sephora.com for $75 for 2 oz.

Well, there you have it. A few products to keep your winter skin from drying and dulling-out. Stay vigilant and you’ll last through till spring, I promise you.

Winter Lovely!