I love creating gift guides for Christmas and this year I'm doing it in a different way. Focusing solely on beauty, I've picked out some of my favourite items this year to recommend to any beauty junkie, or for someone stuck for a gift to give that needs a little help. I've chosen to include fragrances, palettes, beauty tools and makeup so there should be something for everyone here. I'll start off with two new releases from 2016; the Urban Decay Blackmail Vice Lipstick Palette* (£31.50) and the Too Faced 'The Chocolate Shop' (£45) or similarly, the Too Faced Merry Macaroons Set* (£28). The Urban Decay Blackmail Vice Lipstick Palette has twelve different lipstick shades inside so you can guarantee someone who likes makeup would be over the moon with this. It's a great travel palette as it comes with a mirror and brush too. The Too Faced Christmas sets come with mini items included and a ton of different eyeshadow shades, and once you remove the palette from the packaging it's so compact and thin that you could take it anywhere with you and is such good value for quality Too Faced shadows.
For makeup tools and accessories, a well known applicator that is very well known is the
Beauty Blender (£16). I picked one up when I went to
Los Angeles and it was a total game changer when applying my foundation. You can pick different colours and sizes up in Boots and I'll definitely be picking up more of them. If you're more into brushes, Beaubelle have pretty rose gold brushes that are really lightweight and fluffy. I'm yet to post my full review but I would definitely recommend them so far! Finally, the
Mac Brush Cleanser (£12) is the best product to thoroughly cleanse your brushes in my opinion. I've been using it for so long now I can't even remember when I first bought it, but it does the job, especially on stubborn makeup like foundation and concealer. I tend to receive one at Christmas every year as it tends to be an item I only remember to replace once I've ran out.
Lipsticks are a great stocking filler, so of course I'm going to recommend
Mac lipsticks (£15.50) as they have a ton of different colours and finishes, with sleek packaging and limited editions to choose from if you're looking for something different. My newest shades are Kinda Sexy, Whirl and Velvet Teddy which I think would look amazing on everyone. For a touch more luxury, pick up a
Tom Ford Lipstick (£39). My one is an Ultra Rich Lip Color in Les Mepris which is more of a spring/summer shade but there are plenty of shades available to pick up a colour to suit your recipient. If the person you're buying for is more into subtle lip products, try the
Lancome Juicy Shakers* (£18) as they are basically lip oils with different shades and scents. They moisturise the lips and are incredibly natural looking, and even perfect for underneath lipstick.
A lot of people receive fragrances at Christmas time, as it's a product that not many people tend to pick up for themselves. Two favourites of mine this year have been the YSL Black Opium Eau de Parfums* (Ranging in price depending on the ml) as they're not sickly sweet but smell luxurious, with Black Opium Nuit Blanche being my current favourite. Another gift to buy is the Monsoon Rose Gold Fragrance Set* (£28.50) that comes with a large edition of the Rose Gold Perfume and 100ml of the corresponding Body Lotion and is packaged to match the products inside.
A final gift choice that I would encourage you to pick up is the GlamGlow Gift Sexy Treatment Set* (£39) that comes with four of their mud treatments to leave you with 'sexy Hollywood skin' and I've really enjoyed using them this month. It's getting colder and your skin reacts to the weather, so having mud masks to help nourish and exfoliate is a lovely gift. You can also buy this in Boots and I'm going to pick up the SuperMud treatment as I've nearly ran out already! It's amazing at eliminating spots and imperfections which is what I've needed for party-ready skin this festive season.
