As I get older I always say to family & friends “let’s not do gifts this year lets just get together and enjoy a meal and a few drinks”. I especially love Christmas for giving us so many excuses to spend time together and it makes me so grateful for all the amazing people I have in my life. That being said it is nice to have something under the tree to open on Christmas morning even if it just one lovely gift, and my husband always gets the most thoughtful presents for me. I like to ask for something special, something I don’t often buy myself and for me that is perfume.
A fragrance for me is such a treat and that’s what makes it the perfect gift to both give and receive. There are so many incredible scents and this year I wanted to add back to my collection a scent that I used to wear a lot a few years ago. We all have that one perfume which never gets old and that for me is Marc Jacobs Daisy. It is such an iconic scent and the bottle is instantly recognisable with the cap adorned with pretty daisies, I haven’t owned it for so long but I’m thrilled to have it for 2018.
It is beautiful, timeless fragrance and one that can be worn by all ages. It is such a mix of fruity, floral and fresh notes that it never smells overpowering of too intense. It reminds me of so many happy moments, birthdays, holidays and getting my job at RBS. It has been a favourite of mine for so long and it was my Mum that first introduced me to it and she still wears it too, so we have the same great taste in perfume.
Top notes of wild berries and soft white violets
Heart notes of velvety jasmine
Base notes of sandalwood
What perfume would you love to receive this Christmas? do you have your heart set on a new release or a classic, iconic scent?
This year the beauty industry seems to have stepped it up a gear in regards to their festive offerings, so many brands have released fantastic gift sets and one-off products for Christmas and I have fallen in love with so many of them.
I have a few gift ideas I wanted to share with you and so this is the first in a series of Festive Gift Guides that I will be posting over the coming weeks. I’d also love to hear what is top of your beauty wish list this year & what gifts you are most excited to give to family and friends.
Perfume is always top of my Christmas list because it is one of those luxury items you don’t often get around to purchasing for yourself and at this time of year fragrance gift sets are everywhere. They are often fantastic value for money so make sure you keep an eye out for those! I was recently introduced to a new release, The Girl by Tommy Hilfiger EDT which I think would be a lovely gift for teens & young adults. It has top notes of green pear, violet leaf and fig leaf. Heart notes of jasmine petals and silky muguet. Base notes of cedar wood and cashmeran. So its quite a crisp fresh scent but it settles down to be more of a rich warm scent. This is a very easy perfume to wear and would make an ideal daytime fragrance.
This year British skincare experts Bee Good have released some super cute Christmas Gift Sets, they come nicely packaged in a hexagonal box with a honeycomb pattern (which is a nod to the bees) and the contents are equally as lovely. I have the Travel Trio Set and this includes 3 must have youth enhancing essentials for anyone that wants to combat the early signs of ageing. In this set you get,
Hydrate, Smooth & Prime Serum 10ml
Plump & Firm Moisturiser 15ml
Lift & Brighten Eye Cream 5ml
These products will help hydrate, revive and brighten the skin which is perfect for this time of year and protecting our skin against the effects of dry, cold weather. These products are formulated with no Parabens, synthetic colour, mineral oil, silicon’s SLS or SLES.
Dr. Bronner is such a cult brand and they always deliver on quality. In terms of gift ideas, they have such a fantastic selection of products and any of them would make lovely Stocking Fillers. I have their Peppermint Lip Balm which smells just like candy canes and feels so hydrating and protecting on the lips. They’re made with organic beeswax, organic jojoba, avocado and hemp oils. You can never have too many lip balms during the Winter, especially ones that smell like Christmas!
I also have one of the Dr Bronner hand & body lotions in the Orange Lavender scent and this feels wonderfully nourishing on the skin and the scent is a nice mix of zesty and floral. It’s quite a relaxing scent and so I have been using this in the evening before bed just to ensure I get a good nights sleep. I also really like that this comes in a handy pump bottle which makes it so fuss-free to use! Again this would make a fab Stocking Filler or Secret Santa gift, especially if that person likes to use cruelty-free, organic brands. This comes in four softening scents including,Organic Lavender & Coconut, Organic Patchouli & Lime and Organic Peppermint.
How cute is this DHC Christmas Bento Beauty Box!? What a great way to introduce people to a Japanese beauty brand they may not have tried before. Inside this limited edition box you get a nice collection of travel size DHC essentials and some of their best selling products – which includes:-
If I had to recommend one beauty product from 2016 it would 100% be this beautiful eyeshadow palette from Urban Decay. Not just because the packaging is beyond gorgeous and very, very festive but the quality of the shadows is unbeatable. I do not own many matte eyeshadows so this palette more than makes up for that. You get 12 all matte, easy to wear shades and they are so versatile too. This would be great for makeup fans of any age and it’s a bit of a show stopper in my opinion and a gift that would be very much loved by whoever receives it. I do have a full review of this with swatches if you want to read that —-> Urban Decay Ultimate Basics Review
Stila is one of my favourite makeup brands and each year they release some fantastic beauty gifts. This year is no exception. Although I really like their gift selection I simply love their classic Lip Glazes and each year I like to give my close friends/family one each in their stocking. I like the simplicity of the brown card packaging and these come in a whole range of pretty shades too, 24 colours in total (I think). The formula gives a nice long lasting shine to the lips without them feeling sticky or drying out. It’s a fab product to pop into a stocking or as part of a bigger gift, it has become a bit of a tradition for me to gift them & I always get myself a few new shades whilst I am buying them.
What’s at the top of your Christmas wishlist and do you have a tradition of gifting something each year? Let me know in the comments.
