Sunday 19 October 2014

Christmas Beauty Gift Ideas 2014

When it comes to Christmas, beauty gifts are a very common choice, and why not? Everybody loves a bit of pampering!




However, it can be overwhelming when trying to choose the perfect beauty gift. There is so much to choose from which in itself can make a decision difficult, but then there may also be restrictions such as skin types, personal preferences and budget restrictions. Will the product be suitable for dry skin? Will somebody who loves gourmand fragrances enjoy this one? Can I afford it?

What starts off as a simple job can simply make you want to bash your head against a wall - why can’t it just be a little simpler?

Well hopefully this post can help you out. I’ve come up with a list of a whole range of Christmas beauty gift ideas just for you! From fragrance to makeup, skincare to body care. I have also included some extra bits for money saving purposes at the end because let’s admit it, who doesn’t like saving some extra pennies? Hopefully somewhere upon this page will be the perfect gift or the spark of inspiration that you need to find it elsewhere. 

Let’s make somebody’s Christmas!


Please note: All prices and offers were correct at the time of writing and posting.

Female fragrance

Perfume is a great place to start upon the journey for the perfect beauty gift. Pretty much everybody appreciates receiving a bottle of some great smelling juice (especially perfume addicts), and it also doesn’t have to cost you an absolute fortune. For example...




L’Artisan Parfumeur fragrances for £19.99 at TK Maxx

A 50ml bottle of a L’Artisan Perfumeur fragrance will usually set you back around £60. Not if you manage to catch one of these bottles at TK Maxx, though.

When these types of deals appear at TK Maxx they don’t tend to last very long. For only £19.99 you can get a fantastic deal on a niche fragrance that will put a huge smile on somebody’s face. 

You can check out the notes and extra information about each of the fragrances by checking out Fragrantica.




Big discounts on niche perfumes at All Beauty


All Beauty occasionally get some niche fragrances in and when they do they tend to be sold at some brilliant discounts.

For example, you can find Annick Goutal fragrances at up to 42% off and Juliette Has a Gun's Citizen Queen with 36% discount.



Jean Paul Gaultier Classique EDT for £19.95 at All Beauty

JPG's Classique is a popular fragrance, so popular that it has a huge collection of flankers to bank in on its success. You can get the 20ml EDT version for a steal at All Beauty during it's Autumn saving sale!



Top Avon perfumes that are currently available



Avon is another place to pick up some great little gift sets for your loved ones. Especially fantastic if you don’t want to break the bank!

I recently typed up a post discussing the top Avon fragrances that are currently available, so if you are interested in an Avon scent then take a look at some more detailed reviews over here.




Others

Alongside the perfumes listed above, it’s great to keep in mind the new releases. Yves Saint Laurent have released a new Opium flanker called Black Opium this winter. It features top notes of pear, pink pepper and orange blossom, a heart of coffee and jasmine and a base of patchouli, vanilla and cedar. Coffee and vanilla are the standout notes to my nose. 



You can purchase a bottle of YSL Black Opium from £43.50 at Boots.

If you can’t afford Black Opium then last year Diesel released a flanker for Loverdose called Loverdose Tattoo. I find them incredibly similar, so this is a good choice too for somebody who likes the Black Opium type of scent.

You can currently purchase Diesel’s Loverdose Tattoo 50ml for £29.99 from Boots, which is the same price as the smaller 30ml bottle.

Another standout new release for me is Narciso Rodriquez - Narciso. It’s very musky with complimentary notes of gardenia, woods and rose.  


"I wanted to create an extremely sexy fragrance that would turn a man’s head,” announces the designer, with the description, “The sensuality becomes a little bit more sexy, a little bit more intoxicating.” - source Fragrantica.

You can purchase a bottle of Narciso from £38.50 from The Fragrance Shop.

A new range entirely to Boots is the new Library of Fragrance collection, known as Demeter Fragrance Library elsewhere. 

Each scent is based around an individual theme or item such as Thunderstorm, Jasmine or even Fireplace. You can wear each one individually or you can create your own bespoke scent by mixing and matching. Each bottle costs just £15 and you can get them here, so you can either buy just one or buy a collection that will give the recipient the option to get creative. Boots currently have an offer to purchase two bottles for £25.



Men’s gifts

Whilst this blog is predominantly targeted towards women, I think that mentioning a couple of men’s gifts is a good idea. Beauty gifts are not exclusive to women after all, and good offers can be found here too!



Joop Homme for just £12.80 at Boots

Everybody knows about Joop. However, did you know that Boots currently have it on sale for £12.80? 

A safe bet, but what a fantastic price!




Marc Jacobs Bang for just £16.40 at Boots

Along with the offer on Joop, Boots currently have an offer on Marc Jacobs Bang, reducing it to £16.40. This is actually the lowest price that I have ever come across for a Marc Jacobs fragrance, so if you are interested then make sure you grab a bottle fast as I can’t imagine they will last out forever!




L’Occitane gift sets


L'Occitane is a brand that I rate incredibly highly. Their products are usually of a fantastic quality and their gift sets allow the recipient to try out some of their best products in miniature form. They have a whole range of great men's gift sets available on their website from £23.50.
 


Makeup

Whilst not every woman wears makeup, a lot do and will be very happy to receive some new pieces for Christmas. 

The main issue that we have in regards to makeup though is pretty obvious - unless you are 100% certain on a person’s regular “shade” (foundation shade, concealer shade etc) then you can easily mess up. You may accidentally gift something that makes them either look like a ghost or like a tangerine and that could result in a waste of money. Therefore, if you do not know a person’s shade and are really bad with guessing it, I recommend steering away from foundation and concealer related gifts.

If you are adamant on a gift that does require shade knowledge, I then recommend either a gift voucher, taking the person with you or asking for a gift receipt, just to be on the safe side!

These restrictions don’t completely ruin all Christmas gift ideas though. Safer options include nail polish, lipstick and pretty much all other types of makeup. 

OPI Nail Polish collections at Nail Polish Direct



OPI is one of the leading nail polish brands. Their polishes are of top quality and are also the big “3-free," which means that they don't contain toluene, dibutyl phlthalate or formaldahyde. 

Each season they release new collections and with each new collection they release miniature nail polish collection boxes. They’re great for the indecisive, but they’re also brilliant for gifting. What is even better though is the price that they are offered at Nail Polish Direct.



Benefit gift sets

Benefit is a brilliant makeup brand that do a whole range of quirky gift sets. They also release a particular range of them just for Christmas, too, including their Christmas Beauty Advent Calender!

Check out the Benefit gift sets available at Debenhams



For people who love eye makeup

You know that you’re buying for somebody who loves eye makeup when you pretty much never see them without some form of eye makeup on. Whether that be eyeshadow, mascara or eyeliner, there are lots of eye makeup gifts to choose from.

A few notable gift sets that I have come across include:



The Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara gift set is a set that contains the Iconic Overcurl Mascara and that also comes with a small eyeshadow palette. I have previously written a review on Diorshow Iconic mascara, whilst not being exactly the same may still provide some insight into the Dior mascara range. 

You can purchase the Diorshow Iconic Overcurl Mascara gift set for £24.50 from Debenhams.

The Lancome Hypnose Classic Mascara gift set which comes with the Hypnose mascara, Mini Kohl Crayon and Bi-Facial eye makeup remover, it covers all but the eyeshadow.


You can purchase the Lancome Hypnose Classic Mascara gift set for £22.50 from Debenhams.

If eyeshadow is important though, then you can’t go far wrong with an Urban Decay Naked palette. There are now three palettes that you can choose from and they are three of the best-selling eyeshadow palettes.


You can purchase either Naked, Naked2 or Naked3 for £37 each from Debenhams.



For people who love lip makeup

Just like the people who love eye makeup, if you are buying a present for somebody who you rarely see without some form of lip product on, then definitely consider the following:

The Clinique Whole Lotta Chubby Gift Set contains a toiletries bag and four miniature Chubby Sticks, which are lip colour balms that provide moisture to dry lips as well as a pop of colour. Two of the Chubby Sticks are of the Intense variety which provide extra colour. I have a serious soft spot for the Chubby Stick so I do wholeheartedly recommend this gift set, and at £20 I think it’s pretty good value! A full size Chubby stick retails at around £17.

At the time of writing, you can also receive a free Clinique gift upon purchase of 2 or more Clinique items if you purchase from Debenhams.

Another lip product that I highly recommend is the Clarins Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector, which is why I am listing the Clarins All About Lips gift set which includes two miniatures in different colours. Along with the miniatures, the set includes a miniature lipstick, miniature gloss and a toiletries bag. 

You can buy the Clarins All About Lips gift set for £19.50 from Debenhams.

Yet another product that I highly recommend are the Benefit tints which are liquid tints that are suitable for both lips and cheeks. The Benefit Sweet Tintations set includes two miniature tints as well as two corresponding lip balms. You really can’t go far wrong with this gift! 

You can grab a Benefit Sweet Tintations set from Debenhams for £19.50.






A makeup applicator

Just as important as the makeup itself, the right applicators are key in perfecting a look.

My two favourite applicators are the BeautyBlender  and the MAC 187 brush. However, both come at a price that puts some off. Therefore, gifting them to somebody who loves makeup and who may not be able to buy them otherwise or who would rather spend that amount of money on something more important is likely to be well received. 


You can buy the BeautyBlender from £14.40 at Beauty Bay and the MAC 187 Stippling Brush for £34.50 from Debenhams.

Along with those, there are also brush sets that can be great gifts. The Real Techniques brush sets make good gifts and are at a much friendlier price point for the pocket. Alternatively, if the recipient is keen on keeping the environment green, an Ecotools set may be a better option.


You can buy the Real Techniques Core Collection set for £16.99 from Amazon or the Starter Kit for eyes for £13.25 also from Amazon.

You can buy the Ecotools Fresh and Flawless set from Amazon for £10.34.



Skincare

Neal’s Yard Remedies Skincare Discovery Kit



I recently picked up a Neal’s Yard Remedies Skincare Discovery Kit for Oily & Combination skin and I absolutely adore it. I have written an extensive review of it on the blog, but they also have more than this one kit.

No matter what skin type the recipient of your gift has, you can find a corresponding discovery kit at Neal’s Yard Remedies. 

Even better is that all of Neal’s Yard Remedies products are natural and organic, so they’re perfect for those who refuse skincare with harsh ingredients!


You can pick your perfect skincare kit from Neal's Yard Remedies from £15.


 
Benefit Skincare Kit

Whilst primarily known for their makeup, Benefit also provide a skincare line.

They do provide particular items that are suitable for oily and combination skin types, but I personally find the range to be better suited to those with normal skin. The exception to this is the eye cream, It’s Potent!. Other people may disagree with me, but it’s down to a matter of personal preference by the recipient which can be difficult to be aware of when buying a present for somebody.

To me, though, this is a fantastic set to consider for those with normal skin. It features miniatures of the Foamingly Clean facial wash, Refined Finish facial polish, Moisture Prep toner, Triple Performing Facial Emulsion SPF15 PA++, Total Moisture face cream and It’s Potent! eye cream - all for £14.50 from Debenhams.



Electronic Skin Cleansing Brush

If you aren’t aware of the gift recipients skin type, you could always purchase a gadget such as this.

It’s the type of gift you should buy for somebody if you want to give them something useful that they can use daily and that they can reap some benefits from. If you know the sort of person who loves receiving those types of gifts, then this is great to consider.

The downside? Well, they’re pretty expensive, and even then the heads will need replacing so the gift recipient will need to continue purchasing those. It’s worth keeping that in mind!


Check out the range of Electronic Skin Cleansing Brushes from Debenhams.



Money saving

Topcashback

How would you like to receive money back every time you shop online? That very simple premise is the whole meaning behind Topcashback.

My nephews fiancĂ© introduced me to this amazing website and already I have saved up a bunch of money that would have been lost to me otherwise. 

Whilst it doesn’t provide cashback for every single website, it does for the majority. Therefore, if you decide to do your Christmas shopping online, then this website is a must. 

For every present you buy, you get a little money back. Who doesn’t love getting money back!?

You can sign up to Topcashback here.


So there we have it! 


If I come across any more fantastic offers and deals, I'll be sure to add them onto the list.

Meanwhile, have you come across a fantastic gift idea that I haven't mentioned? If so, don't hesitate to leave a comment and I shall update the post (with full credit to you, of course!).


Zoe. @Beautifinous

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