Holiday 2009 Gift Guide: Best Luxury Gifts

When I think luxury, I think of products that feel like an experience–decadent, luxurious, and satisfying–and often are items I wouldn’t myself purchase but would love to receive.  In that vein, I’ve missed the price range from as low as $45 to as high as $249.  At the end of day, luxury can be incredibly personal, but these are some of my personal favorites.

Guerlain Le Rouge G de Guerlain Lipstick ($45.00 for 0.12 oz.) is a creamy, smooth, pigmented lipstick formula that applies and clings to lips without drying them. It has the most subtle, yet noticeable, shimmer that really shines without being garish. It’s really a top formula, but the price tag definitely slots it into the luxury bag.  (See some of my reviews here.)

Bliss Softening Socks ($48.00) are these awesome socks that pretty much come with this gel lining that soothes and moisturizes your feet while you wear them. Bliss says that a pair of socks lasts for up to fifty uses (not too bad!) and you wear ‘em for about twenty minutes. (You can even get them in a nifty holiday gift box at Bliss.) You can also give the same technology, but for hands (gloves, rather than socks, duh!).

BURN Candles ($60.00 for ~100 hours) come in amazing, complex scents that really waft throughout the room/rooms. I’ve found that I’ll burn one in the office, and the scent will be in the living room/kitchen and even in the bedroom. The scent is just enough to enjoy without being overwhelming. For the holidays, they’ve added the following scents: Firewood Embers, Grenadine Pomegranate and Sugar Pine Balsam. (They also have candles that burn for approximately 150 hours for $95.00 a pop.) You can also find BURN at Barneys.

Chanel Les Tissages Lames de Chanel (Shimmering Tweed Highlighter) ($60.00) is a beautiful composition of a tweed patterned highlighter that’s golden and bronze without being too much.  (You can read my full review here.)

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Holiday 2009 Gift Guide: Best Gifts for the Minimalist

Sometimes us beauty addicts just love to share our love for all that is beauty, but not everyone in our life is nearly as dedicated as us… enter beauty-themed gifts that are great to receive, even if you’re not a beauty buff.

Whenever I look to give a beauty-ish gift to someone I know doesn’t wear makeup much or isn’t big on spending that much time getting ready, I like to compromise and include a beauty gift alongside something else, so I tend to look for affordable beauty gifts that are fun to give and receive, but I won’t be devastated if they don’t use it much!

Philosophy’s The Recipe Box Set ($18.00) is not only good for your friends, but it’s something that even a minimalist might enjoy since showers aren’t reserved only to beauty addicts. It’s a cute little set in a gift-ready box and red bow tied on top. It contains two 6 oz. shower gels: Sweet Creamy Frosting and Red Velvet Cake. It is available at Beauty.com, Nordstrom, Philosophy.com, and Sephora.

Philosophy’s “A Kiss and a Wish” Set ($15.00) is a cute, easy-to-give gift that’s compact and affordable. It includes four miniature lip shines in the following scents: Raspberry Sorbet, Red Licorice, Pink Bubbly, and Candy Cane.  These are just comfortable, very sheer color that keeps lips moisturized, so even those who have no desire to pump up their lip color can enjoy these. You can find this set at Nordstrom, Philosophy.com, and Sephora.

Bath & Body Works Deep Cleansing Soap ($4.50 for 8 fl. oz.) are extremely affordable at-home-with-beauty options that work well in just about every household. B&BW has a whole slew of scents to choose from, but one of my favorites to keep in the household is Kitchen Lemon. I just love me a fresh lemon citrus smell in the kitchen!

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Holiday 2009 Gift Guide: Best Gifts for the Newly Addicted

Whether you’re shopping for a gift to give a younger sister, a darling niece, maturing daughter, or your newly-turned-beauty-addict best friend… these are some of my favorites to give to someone who’s just beginning their journey into the realm of beauty.

These are the types of gifts and products I look out for when I’m giving beauty products to someone who is just starting out:

• Palettes/sets – particularly if they come with explanations or obvious color combinations
• Sheerer lip color, easy to work into any look
• Affordable, products with more bang for your buck
• Color – particularly if I’m giving to someone younger, I always try to give gifts with lots of color, so they can experiment

NARS Love Me Set ($49.00) is a great introduce-yourself-to-NARS set with a blush/highlighting duo featuring Orgasm (yes, the famous shade!) and Albatross, along with Orgasm lipgloss. I also find NARS Cosmetics Palettes make great gifts with their sleek, no frills packaging and the shades included. Just in time for the holidays, NARS launched two to celebrate their 15th anniversary (Everlasting Love and Wild at Heart–each retailing for $75). However, my top palette pick for the newly addicted is their Essential Eye Palette ($55.00), which includes eyeshadows in Unconditional Love, Night Star, Galapagos, Nepal, Ondine, and Thunderball. You can find NARS’ palettes at NARS Cosmetics and Nordstrom, and Sephora.

CARGO Essential Eye Shadow Palette ($32.00) is totally makeup-made-easy. These palettes include four shades of eyeshadows, and they’re set-up in a way that’s pretty much paint-by-numbers… just with eyeshadow instead. It contains a shade for the brow, lid, crease, and outer corner.  The palette is available in three variations: Warm, Cool, and Dark.

Stila Barbie Loves Stila Palette ($28.00) is one of the most amazing eyeshadow palettes I’ve had the pleasure to come across. It’s vibrant, has a good variety of shades housed inside of it, and the quality is superb. They’re ultra soft, smooth shadows with incredible pigmentation that blend seamlessly.

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Holiday 2009 Gift Guide: Best Gifts for Friends

There are a few characteristics that come to mind when I’m looking for gifts to give my favorite gal pals:  cute, fun, and budget-friendly. Even though we’d all love to lavish our friends and family with any gift they desired, it’s easy for holiday spending to get out of control.  I always make sure to set aside a budget for friends and I try to determine a good spending level and keep it equal.  (Of course, that very best friend might get a little extra!)

Philosophy Gift Sets are one of my favorite gifts to give (and receive!). Philosophy does an amazing job creating cute, holiday-themed packaging and keeping their sets high on the value side while they’re at it. They also have special scents/flavors that only pop up during the holiday season, too.

• I like their Holiday Cookbook ($35.00) is a six-piece shower gel set (each with 2 oz.) housed in a cardboard “cookbook.” It contains the following scents: Red Velvet Cake, Cinnamon Buns, Spicy Pear Cobbler, Pumpkin Spice Muffin, Gingerbread, and Double Rich Hot Cocoa. Delicious!  (You can read my review of last year’s here.)  You can find this gift at: Nordstrom, Philosophy.com, Sephora.
• My next recommendation is The Recipe Box Set ($18.00) is a good option if you’re on a slimmer budget (or you just have a lot of friends and would like to spread the love a bit more). It’s a cute little set in a gift-ready box and red bow tied on top. It contains two 6 oz. shower gels: Sweet Creamy Frosting and Red Velvet Cake. It is available at Beauty.com, Nordstrom, Philosophy.com, and Sephora.

Korres has a lot of value-packed sets available for holiday as well as year-round (nothing wrong with giving one of those, y’know), so if you’re thinking about giving the gift of Korres this holiday season, there’s a good variety of sets to choose from.

• Korres Cherry Lip Kisses ($19.50) is a trio of Korres’ Cherry Oil Lipgloss (includes Fuchsia, Natural Purple, and Nude shades). These are fun glosses, and when they’re available in a set? Totally worth it!  (You can read my full review here.) You can pick this set up at KorresUSA.com (save 30% on $35 or more with code TEMPTALIA til 12/31!) and Sephora.
• Another Korres set I’m loving for an affordable gift set is their Best Of Korres ($25.00) which gives a nice taste of Korres’ product line without splurging on full-sizes. It’s a particularly nice set to receive, too! I also like it because it is travel friendly, and I know I can never have too many travel-sized products.

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Here are five holiday palettes perfect for holiday giving and receiving!

1. Chanel Essentielle de Chanel Palette ($85.00) comes in Lumiere Romantique and Lumiere Tendresse. Each one contains four eyeshadows, four lip colors, and one blush.

2. Dior Deluxe Travel Palette ($70.00) contains a color powder blush, sun powder, six eyeshadows, deluxe travel-size DiorShow Blackout mascara, and a Ultra Gloss Reflect for lips.

3. Dior Gaucho Palette ($55.00) consists of four eyeshadows in wine and rose tones, plus two creamy lip colors. Nordstrom exclusive palette!

4. YSL Ombres 5 Lumieres ($56.00) features ridiculously smooth and soft eyeshadows. Each one features five eyeshadows in total, and there are six different versions available. I love Indian Pink–so gorgeous.

5. Guerlain Mysterious Butterfly Palette ($57.00) stands out for its ultra elegant design overlaying the eyeshadows.

Tawaka “The Ball” ($65.00) is a totally, unapologetically indulgent gift. Whether you’re receiving or giving, it truly is a luxe item to keep near your shower. Those wary of the price will at least be happy to know that The Ball lasts for ages. I’ve had mine for months, and it still has plenty to go. It’s a great product for buffing and mildly exfoliating the body!

Calvin Klein Delicious Light Glistening Lip Gloss ($16.00) is my new favorite lipgloss. Oh, I’ll always have a spot in my heart for MAC lipglass, but Calvin Klein’s lipgloss is ridiculously pigmented, so smooth, and wearable on its own or paired with a lipstick. I just bought three more earlier this week! It is a non-sticky, fragrance free gloss — I know those are selling points for some of you!

T3 Bespoke Labs Featherweight Dryer ($200.00) is a standout dryer. Talk about taking my hair drying time from thirty minutes to mere a five to seven minutes. Hello, time savings? So worth $200. It also helps that it is extremely lightweight!

Make Up For Ever Dany Sanz Limited Edition Palette ($390.00) is for the beauty addict who already has everything. This limited edition palette contains twenty eyeshadows/blushes and ten diamond shadows. Only 100 of these babies are available!

Clean & Clear Oil Absorbing Sheets ($5.29) is a gift most people can appreciate. Who wants an oily face? Exactly. These are excellent stocking stuffers or great to add to a lil’ gift basket you’ve put together for your favorite teenager.

H20 Anti-Acne Clarifying Mask ($25.00) is an excellent mask designed to help clean out your pores, remove excess oil, and help minimize the appearance of acne-related blemishes. My skin always feels so smooth and clean after using this!

LUSH Mmm Melting Marshmallow Moment Bath Melt ($7.95) is totally cute and girly–which means I love it. Deliciously scented sweetness that dissolves as you relax in a hot bath.

Clinique Acne Solutions Clear Skin System Starter Kit ($32.50) is a great way for teenagers and young kids to learn how to start taking care of their skin. Three easy steps and all the products you need to do them with.

on10 Disney Snow White & the Seevn Dwarves Lip Balm Set ($38.00) is a cute and easy way to look glamorous with an assotment of colors and scented lip balms. Each lip balm also has SPF15 as an added bonus!

ChapStick True Shimmer Botanical Berry ($2.99) adds just a touch of shimmer to lips, but none of the hassle of color or gloss. Don’t worry about it fading, because you can easily reapply without a mirror any time you want!

Kiehl’s Delights Set ($35.50) includes Creme de Corps (4.2 oz.), Ultimate Strength Hand Salve (2.5 oz.), Original Lip Balm #1 (0.5 fl. oz.), and Olive Fruit Oil Nourishing Shampoo. It’s a great to introduce a little beauty into someone who’s routine is slim to zilch.

Hair Rules (varies) is a brand devoted to keeping hair healthy and happy in a “multi-textural world.” Make your morning a little less fussy with shampoo with your hair type in mind!

PureAyre ($24.99) is all about keeping your home clean and odor-free, and what better way to do it than with products that are safe to use in your home and around your furry friends?

Slatkin & Co. Concentrated Room Spray in Frosted Cranberry ($5.00) is a great stocking stuffer for the person you know who needs to have a clean house.  These room sprays come in a variety of scents and pack a whopping 400 hours of scent-lovin’ time in each bottle.

Pacifica Soy Candle Gift Box ($50.00) contains 3 oz. sizes of Brazilian Mango Grapefruit, French Lilac, Waikiki Pikake, Bali Lime Papaya, Hawaiian Ruby Guava, Tahitian Gardenia, Vanilla Vera Cruz, Malibu Lemon Blossom and Nerola Orange Blossom.  Each candle burns for approximately 25 hours.  What I’ve always liked about Pacifica’s scents as they all have a lot of depth.

Slatkin & Co. Snowflake Light-up Wallflowers Diffuser ($12.50) is the lazy way to keep your place smelling its best.  (You know, so this is my choice in scented house products!)  I love the holiday wallflowers, because they’re cute and festive while keeping your home smelling of winter.

Clean Fresh Laundry Eau de Parfum ($76.00) smells exactly as it is named–the scent of fresh laundry, straight from the dryer.

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