What I Got For Christmas 2015

So I see a lot of bloggers and vloggers posting about what they got for Christmas and I find them to be such interesting posts. I really love seeing what non-beauty-obsessives buy for bloggers and vloggers for Christmas (and birthdays) so I figured I'd share. The typical disclaimer - This is not to show off, there's people in the world that get less than this but there's people that get more as well, this is just for those who might be interested.

So I still get spoilt by my parents at Christmas, even though I'm 23, I still live at home and I have siblings that are way younger than me and I think my parents just like to treat us all (I spoil them back, don't worry!). The créme-de-la-créme this year had to be a Tom Ford Eye Colour Quad in "Sahara Haze". It's neautral grey/cream/black tones wt a beautiful glitter top coat shade and it's just the perfect smokey eye palette. I'd actually go there and spend the £64 to own some more of these. Lush.

Another luxe beauty gift from the parents was Charlotte Tilbury's The Gift Of Goddess Skin gift set. This contains minis of her Wonderglow, the Goddess Skin Clay Mask and the famous Magic Cream. I haven't tried the Wonderglow and if I'm honest the Clay Mask doesn't seem too different to a standard clay mask but the Magic Cream is my new favourite. Will be buying a full size once I run out.

As for the other bits from the rents: I'll be doing a review of Sali Hughes Pretty Honest once I've read it, the Clarins Christmas Treat set was a cute little stocking stuffer with a mini Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector and a mascara and it's making me want to pick up everything in the "Instant Light" collection. I got a Babyliss Diamond Dryer hairdryer which is just such a luxury after having put up up with a broken hairdryer for the longest time (I'm so pants at choosing hair tools so my mum always comes to the rescue). And there's always the random bits: Some folding ballet flats for nights out, a Maybelline nail polish set and some matts for the floor of my car (I'm sure there'll be more on that once I actually pass my driving test...).

My sisters got me a little candle set and a cushion for my room that says "Oh! Wake Up" in white letter on the blue cushion and I love it. The cover is nicely made and the actual cushion is really nice and puffy.

My boyfriend and I don't go too crazy with each other at Christmas. This year he got me the Tata Harper Glow on Demand gift set and it's amazing. I've tried both of the cleansers and the Hydrating Floral Essence and I love all 3, can't wait to try the mask. I see a Cult Beauty order to stock up on these on the horizon. He also got me the cute fuzzy socks in the picture, he knows me well.

The boyfriends mother (there should be a title for that) got me a mini fragrance sampler set with scents by Jennifer Lopez, Paul Smith and Jimmy Choo. She also picked me up a chocolate handbag (which I'm slowly making my way through as I type this post).

My Secret Santa at work got me the Soap & Glory Bright & Bubbly set which contains minis of their Clean on Me Shower Gel, the Righteous Butter, the Hand Food and the Scrub of Your Life as well a body puff, none of which will be going to waste. He also got me a Twister Lolly air freshener for my car (and I know you're not supposed to know who your Secret Santa is, but it was a bit obvious this year. Thanks Chris!).

My auntie got me the Avon Far Away gift set, which contains a perfume, a body spray and a deodorant in the "Far Away" scent, which is actually really nice. I'm a bit rubbish with fragrance but I really like this one for a day-to-day scent (or any other occasion where it would be a bit ridiculous to be wearing Diptique or Viktor and Rolf).

Finally, my Uncle, Nana and Grandad all gave me money for the boxing day sales which I spent in the Birchbox shop - I picked up the Rituals Sakura Gift Set after testing some of the range and seeing a similar set that my mum had been gifted, and the Aromatherapy Associates Ultimate Bath Jewels, which didn't make it onto my Christmas list because I knew I'd find them somewhere for less than full price. Birchbox did a £10 off with a £50 spend and I had £10 in Birchbox points to spend so I managed to bag the set for £38 - bargain.

Days 19-24 of the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

And we're back! Sorry for the unscheduled break on Friday - I was going to do a post on the good stuff in the Boxing Day Sales but I decided that, actually, the sales this year were a bit pants and not worthy of a post and so I had a day off, but we're back. Today brings the final instalment of my Mark's and Spencer's Beauty Advent Calendar! I know that Christmas is over, but I figure you'd be interested to see what the final 5 things were, so here they all:

On day 19 I got an Autograph Ultra Shine Twist-Up Colour in the shade "Nude". This is a glossy lip pencil in a shimmery brown-neutral colour. It's a bit thin and sheer in colour but there's a nice amount of shine on the lips with this and it's comfortable to wear.

As mentioned in my Stocking Stuffers Gift Guide Post (clicky link here), I love the  L'Occitane Verbena scent, so I really excited to see that there was a nicely sized Verbena Shower Gel behind door number 20. It's not the most lather-y shower gel ever but the scent is lovely and refreshing and it isn't at all stripping on the skin.

Day 21 brought the wonderful Pixi Glow Tonic. This has been a favourite of mine since I picked one up in the Caroline Hirons Beauty Box 2 (clicky link here). It's a lovely acid toner that you use with cotton pads after cleansing and it's gentle enough to use morning and night.

On day 22 I opened a mini size of the REN Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial, which is one of my favourite face masks. It comes out of the tube a little bit like toothpaste but it leaves your skin feeling amazing and it's a really quick fix.

I'd heard a lot about the Stila Lip Glaze and day 23 brought me shade "18 - Sugar Plum", a dusty plum-pink colour. These come off quite sheer on the lips and they're a little sticky on the lips. The click-up applicator is cool but personally I prefer the formulas of the Lipstick Queen Big Bang Gloss or the NYX Butter Gloss.

And finally, on day 24, we have a Morgan Taylor Professional Nail Lacquer in the shade "Pretty Woman" (a bright pillar box red). I must be honest, I haven't even bothered trying it, it will be given straight to a sibling, I really just don't do red nail polish :( - a really good week of picks there until that last one!

My Picks of The Lush 2015 Christmas Collection

So for me Christmas Eve is the day of preparation and family time. In the afternoon my family usually go out to see a Christmas film at the pictures or if we're feeling fancy we go for a pantomime or a play and in the evening it's all about snuggling up on the couch with our Christmas film of choice (Gremlins. Always Gremlins). But the morning is preening time. I like a nice bath and to get all nice and clean. So with that in mind, while I know it's a bit late, I thought I'd go through my picks of Lush's 2015 Christmas Collection.

While the bath bombs aren't normally my favourites (I do prefer something that will give bubble normally) the bath bombs in this years Christmas collection have pretty much been killing it. I've loved Golden Wonder for years now and I'm glad it keeps coming back. I didn't pick up Santa Claus last year because I wasn't sure I'd like it but I've seen some demos now and it's got some lovely colours to it and the scent is lovely.

I'm borderline addicted to the scent of Yog Nog. I'd have picked up the soap as well but I have enough in reserves to last me until next Christmas so I couldn't justify it. Dashing Santa isn't my favourite for scent but I like the effect in the bath so I did pick one of those up again this year too.

Anything Snow Fairy is my favourite so the Snow Fairy Shower Gel has made an appearance (although I never buy the massive ones because I have about 5 shower gels on rotation at the moment and they're quite expensive for what they are). I also picked up a Candy Mountain because the sickly sweet bubbles are just lush. Pun partially intended.

This post is also missing some products that I love: Butterbear (I was convinced I'd already been and picked some of these up!) it's my favourite for mixing with normal bubble bath for so moisture. Holly Go Lightly is also absent because as cute as it is and as nice as it smells I bathe to get clean, not to become covered in glitter. Finally, I didn't pick up a Star Dust either, because it smells lovely but it's just a white bath bomb from what I've seen and I'd already picked up quite a few bits.

I'm also a bit gutted that while Cinders has made a reappearance in the Christmas release this year, the scent seems different. I'm not sure if Lush have changed the scent or if maybe my scent preferences have changed slightly, but I used to love that one and now it does nothing for me.

Days 12-18 of the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

So today we have days 12-18 of the M&S beauty advent calendar. I can't believe how close Christmas is now. I've spent 2 whole days wrapping presents (more because I'm a perfectionist about wrapping than there being a lot of them), I've listened to "Merry Xmas Everyone" and "The Fairytale of New York" (mr two favourite Christmas songs) a few hundred times and I'm counting down the hours until my Christmas holiday begins at 4pm on Tuesday. But back to the advent calendar:

I was actually really surprised with day 12. The Diego Dalla Palma The Lipstick in shade "46" looked a bit bland when I first opened it, but after applying it for the first time and actually wearing it, I love it. The colour is a nice wearable everyday shade and the formula is so unbelievably moisturising. I've pretty much worn this constantly since I got it - and it seems to be a full size?

My sunday treat came on day 13 in the form of the Mio Liquid Yoga Restorative Bath Soak, it's like M&S knew what would happen because I had an epic handover last Sunday (thanks works Christmas do) and this was amazing for it. I've made a pretty hefty dent in the 58ml sample size with just one use but its great. Not many bubbles but a really calming, relaxing scent that just eases stress.

On day 14 I got a  Roger & Gallet Hand and Nail Balm With Shea Butter and Fig Extract. So this smells quite nice but for me the formula is a bit heavy - I don;t have particularly dry skin on my hands so for me this was a tad greasy and it lingered a bit too long for me.

Day 15 brought us something I already have: the Percy & Reed Smoothed, Sealed & Sensational Volumising No Oil Oil. I did a full review on this product (here) and while it's a like, it's not quite a love and I've barely made a dent in the original bottle I had.

My day 16 treat was the Rodial Dragons Blood Sculpting Gel, which I actually used on my trip to Amsterdam and loved - I had some little sample sachets. Really pleased to have a bigger bottle to play with as it's a really nice face cream.

I was a bit confused by the Swell Ultimate Volume Masque that I got on day 17 of my advent calendar. I'm sure the full size must give you some information but this sample came with no hint as to what it was supposed to do - nor did it come with an inci list on the bottle. I tried it and it seems to be a hydrating treatment as my hair felt super soft after use but it also felt a bit greasy (after having just been washed), so maybe one for those with super brittle hair (mine is colour treated and heat styled regularly).

Finally? On day 18 we have a Crabtree & Evelyn La Source Moisturising Soap. Which I can't bring myself to use for the overpowering smell of awful. It smells like one of those old fashioned soaps that your gran might have used back in the early 90's. Definitely the worst addition to the calendar so far.

My Top 5 Festive Lip Picks

So as Christmas day gets closer and closer (one week to go!) I figured I'd go over my festive season lip product picks. The Christmas Day lipstick choice is my ultimate first-world problem because I'm the girl that wants it all with a lip product but even if you're on a chilled out Christmas day this year, I think I have a suggestion for you.

So for the girl who wants it all, I have two suggestions. We're obviously going red here and if you want that bright red lip on Christmas day I'd go for the Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet in "Hot Pepper". It's a matte finish liquid lipstick that's comfortable but wont end up all over your face when you tuck into your Christmas dinner, and the bright red shade is super festive. If that's a little in-your-face for you, the Nars Velvet Matte Lip Pencil in (you guessed it) "Cruella" is a sligtly deeper red but is still comfortable and budge proof.

If you want to go red but staying power isn't a concern (maybe you're having Christmas dinner at home then going to visit friends/family later?) then MAC's Lustre Lipstick in "Lady Bug" is a beaut. A slightly sheer, true red that's nice and glossy and almost balm-like on the lips, t;s the perfect balance between pretty and comfortable.

If red isn't your thing I think the Rimmel The Only One Lipstick in "700 Naughty Nude" would be a nice pick. It's comfortable and wears away evenly so, again, no need to worry about it going everywhere but it's a nice polished nude. If a gloss is more your thing the NYX Butter Gloss in "Tiramisu" is practically the same shade in gloss form, but that would be a sneaky 6th suggestion.

My final pick is for the lazy Christmas day. If your Christmas involves onsies, presents, food and general not-leaving-the-house, may I suggest the NUXE Rêve De Miel Lip Balm. If you're going makeup free this Christmas, the cold weather might still mean that your lips could do with some TLC and this is my favourite lip balm. AND it tastes pretty much like lemon drizzle cake.

The For Him Gift Guide

So I've done a few gift guides for the ladies this year, but I've seen a lot of people wondering what to get the men in their lives for Christmas pretty much all over social media. So I figured I best have a go with that. To be honest quite a lot of these will work for the girl who doesn't really do beauty as well. But I've even roped a real life man in to help make sure it's "him" approved (many thanks to the boyfriend) so here you have it: Christmas gifts for him.

I always think comfies make really good gifts, be it lounge wear, jogging bottoms, slippers, pj's etc. Next is a good place to pick up bits like this, they have a great selection of nightwear and jogging bottoms and a decent range of slippers as well. Comfies also work well as part of a care-package type gift. For example, gift a night-in by getting them a pair of jogging bottoms or pj's, a DVD or boxset and some of their favourite chocolate.

While toiletries for guys can sometimes be a bit difficult, I think a nice bottle of aftershave usually goes down well. If there's a fragrance they wear and they're running low on it, it's a nice thoughtful gift to restock it for them. My favourite luxe fragrance for men is Creed Aventus, although at £99 for 30ml I can imagine that's out of the budget for some and the David Beckham fragrances are actually really nice, my pick of those would be the Homme range.

There's so many gifting options out there for the man who likes a drink. From nice bottles of spirits to novelty options, it's a really big mix. A bottle of whatever he normally drinks usually works just fine, but if you're wanting to get creative The Whisky Shop has a great selection and they have a specific "gifting" tab which might give you some ideas. Selfridges has a great range of quirky alcohol options, for the vodka drinker I think this limited edition Aurora Crystal Head Vodka would make an amazing gift. Or for something more budget, supermarkets are putting out some great gifting options this year, this little Jagermister gift set would make a great stocking filler.

A new pair of trainers or some smart shoes is a good option (just make sure you get the size right). Converse, Nike and Adidas have been popular choices for years. I'd have a look at what they normally wear to get an idea.

Tech gadgets are all over the place these days and I find the main problem with this category is "what do they want VS what's in my budget". I think Tablets, Laptops and Smart Watches are the main 3 big tech toys out this year but all are pretty pricey. If the budgets a bit less than that, I think a good pair of headphones s a good option Koss Portapros are really good sound quality for the money and Sennheiser do some nice options for in-ear headphones.

If a games console is something you're thinking about getting him, you probably know which one he wants. Game's for the console he already has are a good gift though. If he's got a Wii U and doesn't already have Mario Maker, I'd go with that. For a Playstation or Xbox, the boyfriend recommends Star Wars Battlefront, Halo 5 and Fallout 4.

Clothes is a risky option. If you've been out together and he's pointed out something he wants that's a thoughtful gift but again, size matters here! Alternatively if there's basics he always has restocked (nice quality basic tshirts, socks/underwear) they make nice stocking fillers or add-ons to another gift. Or there's the novelty option. Fandom tshirts are great and you can pick them up in store from places like HMV, Game and Forbidden Planet. If you have time for shipping Think Geek has a great range for the nerdy t-shirt lovers.

Again more for the nerdy boys but toys and games aren't just for kids anymore. A Star Wars fan would more than likely love to see this little BB-8 Droid under the tree, at £129 it's not a cheap option but fans of the series seem to be going mad for it. Funko Pop figures seem to have become pretty popular in the nerdy arena this year too and they have options for most fandoms, Buffy, Game of Thrones, Marvel and so many more. For those with a dark sense of humour Cards Against Humanity is also a great little gift, it's pitched as a "party game for horrible people".

For the sports lover in your life, the sport is pretty important really. For the football fan, the tshirt of his favourite team might be a good suggestion. F1 fans might like a miniature of their favourite drivers car. For golfers there's some nice little stocking filler sets with tees and golfballs. Personally, I think my sporting gift options overlap massively with my final category:

Experience/subscription gifts. I think these work best as a main present when you include one of the other gifts as a wrap-up. For instance wrap up a little football gift, and have their main present be tickets to a match. Or wrap up a small bottle of whisky, and get them a night at a whisky tasting evening. Wrap up a golfing stocking filler and buy them a membership to a golf course. Wrap up a Funko figure for a Netflix show they've been wanting to watch and get them a years subscription to Netflix so they can watch it. The possibilities are pretty much endless with this one.

Days 5-11 of the M&S Beauty Advent Calendar

Part 2 of the Marks and Sparks Beauty Advent Calendar begins! (please forgive the probable spelling mistakes, this post was brought to you by post-works-Christmas-do Jodie and I'm feeling pretty fragile right now, but less of that). We've got days 5-11 today so lets get started.

On Day 5 M&S gifted me a Leighton Denny Renovate Nail Repair Cream, now while I've mentioned on here before that I'm just not that into nails - I can get behind this. I don't like painting my finger nails as I work on computers and chipping is a big issue for me so this is great. You file the ridges out, apply the cream and then buff your nails to shiny perfection. The result? Nice, neat nails that are super low maintenance.

Day 6 brought me the Rosie For Autograph Nuit Parfum, now if we're being real, this would normally be a bit heavy for me. I like my light, sweet, fruity type scents. This is a little more sophisticated than that. It's still pretty sweet but the base is quite musk-y and it's like the light-floral lovers more evening appropriate scent. I do like it and I will wear it, it's just not the light spritz on all day type scent I'd normally go for.

Now Day 7 is probably my favourite so far: the Rituals Zensation Foaming Shower Gel Sensation. This stuff smells ah-may-zing. It's a light floral and it's lovely and calming and refreshing. The texture is lovely too, lots of lather and not too drying on the skin. Will definitely repurchase once the trial size is up.

On Day 8 I opened up a Pure Super Grape Day Cream. Now unfortunately, I've been having a major skin woe this week, and my advent calendar had 3 face creams in a row so I've not been able to give any of them a fair test, but this one smells lovely (not that you'd buy a face cream for the smell) and the texture feels nice and light from a back-of-the-hand test. Will have to report back when I've had more time to play with this one.

Day 9 housed a Filorga Time-Filler Absolute Wrinkles Correction Cream, which isn't something I really need yet at 23. Again, I've tested on my hand and it's quite silicone-y in texture, like a thin gel that sinks into the skin. I'll be passing this to the mother to test (not that she needs it either of course).

And our 3rd day cream of week 2 came on Day 10 with the Neals Yard Frankincense Nourishing Cream. Another one that I'll have to check back with. On first impressions the smell is very herbal and exactly what you'd expect if you've tried anything from Neal's Yard before. This seems a little heavier than the Pure offering so possibly a good one for those with a drier skin - I'll get back to you on this though.

So I hate to end a post on a downer, but Day 11 brought a Josh Wood Full Bodied Shampoo, which smells and looks lovely, but unfortunately contains Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLS). SLS is an ingredient I stay away from as my skin doesn't get on with it at all, but I'm sure my sister will love this so I'm donating it to her beauty stash, 'tis the season and all.

The Luxe List Beauty Gift Guide (Beauty Gifts £35+)

For the final instalment of my 2015 Beauty Christmas Gift Guide is the expensive stuff. Some of these are tried and tested favourites and some have found a spot on my own personal Christmas wish list, but all of them are lovely so lets have a look.

Since I've mentioned them in every single gift guide this year (and will probably do the same next year - just saying) I'll start with the Luxe List gift from Aromatherapy Associates. Their Ultimate Bath Jewels is currently available in Space NK and on Cult Beauty and at £58, it's actually a pretty good deal. You get 10, 9ml, bottles of their bath oils and it's a great selection that includes all of my favourites: "Deep Relax", "De-Stress Mind", "Revive Morning" and "Support Breathe".

For the skincare lover in your life, the Tata Harper Glow On Demand kit looks lovely. At £36 it only just priced itself out of my last gift guide post so I had to mention it here. It has 4 great deluxe 15ml samples of products I've been itching to get my hands on for months: Regenerating Cleanser, Purifying Cleanser, Resurfacing Mask and Hydrating Floral Essence and contains a sample of their lip product too.

While the Nars one Shocking Moment Cheek Palette isn't strictly speaking a Christmas release, it would still make a great gift. For £45 you get 4 blush shades, a contour and highlight duo and a full sized Laguna Bronzer, all packaged up in a nice sturdy palette with a big mirror. If you want to see me full review of this one it's here: Clicky Link.

I love the Ambré Vanillé scent in Laura Merciers body products so when I saw the Sweet Temptations Luxe Body Collection, I got a little excited. For £49 you get the shower gel, body cream, honey bath and the fragrance in a pretty presentation box. The set also comes in the Almond Coconut Milk fragrance.

If you want to go to town giving someone the gift of absolute relaxation, then look no further than the Therapie Luxury Kit. At £108 it's the most expensive gifting option I'm mentioning in this post but it comes with 3 full sized Therapie products, the Hymalayan Detox Salts, the Equilibrium Bath & Shower Essence and the Uplifting Joie Bath Infusion, all of which would make nice stand-alone luxe gifts at £37, £40 and £48 respectively.

Another set on my skincare radar this Christmas is the Sarah Chapman Skinesis Facial-In-A-Box. I can see this being a great option for the girl who loves a good pampering. The set includes a 15ml Ultimate Cleanse, one of her Cleansing Mitts, 2 of the 3D Moisture Infusion Masks, 5ml of the Eye Recovery and 5ml of the Overnight Facial. I like that this is effectively an entire routine in a box from cleanse to treatment.

Diptyque seem to have launched a special edition of their Do Son Eau De Parfum for the Holiday season. Space NK have an online exclusive full size version of this fragrance for £75 in a beautiful bottle (linked). Alternatively, you can pick up the regular version for £90 in store.

The Lust List eyeshadow palette was a tough choice, and an honourable mention needs to go to the Charlotte Tilbury Colour-Coded Eyeshadow Palettes. At £38 per quad they're pretty and would make a lovely gift, but when it comes to money-no-object gift giving I figured I had to give it to the Tom Ford Eye Colour Quads. At £64 a piece they're a pricey purchase but they practically ooze luxury and would make a perfect little treasure for the makeup lover in your life. I have my eye on the shade "Orchid Haze" in particular.

I've been a big fan of Omorovicza's skincare products for a while now and their Introductory Kit is a really nice collection of some of their best products. For £59 you get a 15ml Thermal Cleansing Balm, a 30ml Cleansing Foam, a 30ml Queen Of Hungary Mist, and 20ml Balancing Moisturiser and a 15ml Deep Cleansing Mask. It's a really luxe line of skincare but I've enjoyed everything I've tried from them in the past and a lot of the thing in this kit are things I like to have in my lineup.

And finally, the luxe candle. I had to include this one because I gifted it to my mum last year and she loved it: it's the Jo Malone Home Candle, one of these will set you back £42 but the burn time is great and they kick up so much scent. I'm pretty sure it's available in all of the fragrances that Jo Malone stocks and for the candle loving recipient I can see this going down well.

The (More) Affordable Beauty Gift Guide (£15-£35)

So I feel I need to prefix this post with a: this is my "more affordable" gift guide because my next one is £35+. So while I know some people wouldn't call up to £35 "affordable" it's more affordable than my luxe guide, if that makes sense?

If £15-£35 is out of your budget, head back to my Friday post from last week which focusses on beauty gifts that are under £15, and if you want to spend a little more I have a luxe list coming up this Friday so check back for that/ I just wanted to make sure that I've got most peoples budgets covered in this series. I was trying to keep these posts to 10 items but this category had a lot of really amazing bits and I just couldn't whittle down the list that much so while the other instalments are 10, this one is 15. So lets get going.

I mentioned them in my "Under £15 Gift Guide" and I'll mention them again, for the girl who loves a nice relaxing bath: the Aromatherapy Associates Bath Jewels is the medium instalment in their Christmas releases this year and it's lovely. With 3, 9ml bottles of their amazing bath oils this is a nice treat for £28. The set includes the scents "Deep Relax", "Revive Morning" and "De-Stress Mind".

If you're wanting to gift a simple but lush set of skin saviours, the Kiehl's Pamper Yourself Body Gift Set has you covered. For £30 you get a 125ml Créme De Corps, a 75ml Ultimate Strength Hand Salve, a 30ml Ultra Facial Cleanser and a 30ml Ultra Facial Moisturiser.

Now the Charlotte Tilbury K.I.S.S.I.N.G Mini Lipstick Trio nearly had a place in this lineup but after seeing it, while the mini lipsticks are cute and the packaging looks great, the shade selection it includes is (in my opinion) pretty poor. "So Marilyn" "Penelope Pink" and "Bitch Perfect" are the shades included and the only one I personally would wear out of the 3 is "So Marilyn", so maybe check the colours out first. I personally think if you're wanting to gift some Charlotte Tilbury this year, one of her full sized lipsticks would be a way better choice, her Matte Revolution Lipsticks and the K.I.S.S.I.N.G Lipsticks are both available for £23 a piece and you can pick the perfect shade that way.

I've loved the Soap & Glory "Sugar Crush" range ever since it launched so I was super excited to find their The Zest A Girl Can Get set for £16 in Boots. It contains a 300ml bottle of their Sugar Crush Body Wash, a 300ml pot of the Sugar Crush Body Butter Cream, 100ml of the Sugar Crush Body Spray and a little pink rubber duck. I think it's really great value for money compared to the Get A Smooth On set (the larger "Sugar Crush" gift set this year) simply because that one is £35 so £19 more expensive and for that you get 1 extra product, and then a bit more of the Body Wash (200ml more) and the Body Butter Cream (50ml more).

If the lip lover in your life prefers a lip gloss, my favourite lipgloss range ever has been made into a Christmas quartet this year and it looks amazing. The Lipstick Queen Galactic Gorgeous set contains 4 of their Big Bang Lip Glosses in the shades "Infinite", "Energy", "Black Hole" and my personal favourite shade "Creation". The lip glosses are miniatured but considering for the full size you pay £22 and here you get 4 minis for £20 I think it's a great deal. These lip glosses are smooth and balmy on the lips and shimmery but not chunky, love.

For the lip lover who wants a bit of everything the Clarins Lip Collection "Perfect Lips" set is lovely. For £20 you get a mini (1.4g) Rouge Eclat Lipstick in the shade "13 Rosewood," a mini (2.5ml) Gloss Prodige in "04 Candy" and 2 mini (5ml) Instant Light Natural Lip Perfector lip balms in "06 Rosewood Shimmer" and "01 Rose Shimmer".

I love the Urban Decay 24/7 Eyeliners and their christmas set is always something that catches my eye. This year there's two collections of the Urban Decay 24/7 Glide On Eyeliner Set and they're £25 each. The "Delirious" set comes with their "Perversion" (matte black), then "Muse" (brown), "Accuse" (blue), "Zodiac" (green) and "Delirious" (purple). If neutrals are more your thing, the "Cosmic" set includes "Zero" (slightly lighter black), "Stag" (dark brown), "Supply" (medium brown), "Trick" (copper) and "Cosmic" (white).

Another pick from Clarins would be their Body Care Collection "Spa Treats" Gift Set. For £30 this contains a full sized Tonic Bath & Shower Concentrate, 30ml of the Tonic Body Treatment Oil, a 30ml tube of their Moisture Rich Body Lotion, a 100ml bottle of the Exfoliating Body Scrub and a 50ml Hand and Nail Treatment Cream. The Bath and Shower Concentrate is £20 alone so when you break it down the set is a really good value.

NYX has finally made it over to the UK while it's not a Christmas release, I think that their Butt Naked Eyes Palette would make a really great gift. For £20 you get 4 blush shades, 2 highlights, a bronzer and 15 shadows. It's every colour cosmetic you need in one compact palette.

Then my final makeup gift for this category would be the By Terry Ombre Blackstars. At £29 each they're a proper treat type product, but they're lovely and if you know someone who's into eyeshadow, they need to at least try one of these. Anyone looking for shade recommendations: "Misty Rock", every time.

I have two candle picks for this post and the first is the Jar Candles from Yankee Candle. Depending on the size you go for these will set you back up to £21.99 a piece but can often be found on some kind of deal. My favourites are "Christmas Cookie", "Candy Cane Lane" and "Fluffy Towels", but they do a whole host of scents so there should be something for everyone. They also have sets of Two Medium Jars this year for £27.99.

If you're looking for a more indulgent candle option then the Diptique Scented Candles, they have 3 holiday released this year "Sapin", "Oliban" and "Liquidambar" which are all £28 for the 70g size. Alternatively, their standard collection candles are £20 for the 70g, my favourite is their "Tubereuse" scent but I know "Figuier", "Baies" and "Ambre" are all popular scents in the line.

Now for skincare gifts, I struggled in this category. Brands this year have really gone to town with their miniatures and their tree trinket gifts but the majority of these are under £15, and then for the most part the actual sets are above that £35 price limit, but I did find a couple of nice bits. The REN Pure Glow Trio Kit is at the top end of the budget at £35, and contains 100ml of their Rosa Centifolia Purity Balm, the Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask and their Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial Mask. I've only seen this on Space NK and I'm not sure if the picture is just misleading but the desciption says you get 50ml of the Glycolactic and 20ml of the Flash Rinse, but in the picture the Flash Rinse seems to be the 50ml product and the Glycolactic seems to be 20ml. Either way, both are great.

Skyn Iceland have a lovely little skincare set this holiday season in their Skin Hangover Kit. So if you know someone who could probably use a hangover remedy on Boxing Day morning this might be a nice pick for them. At £17.50 it's a decent price and you get a nice selection of Skyn Iceland products. The kit includes two pairs of the Hydro Cool Firming Eye Gels, an Icelandic Relief Eye Pen, two Fresh Start Face Masks and an Antidote Cooling Daily Lotion (which conveniently isn't sold separately, thus the lack of clicky link).

And then really, I thought that this price bracket was a good one for just getting a full size of something for the skincare lover in your life. Loads of my favourite skincare items are in the £15-£35 bracket like the Oskia Renaissance Cleansing Gel (£28), Indeed Labs Hydraluron (£24.99) or the Pixi Glow Tonic (£18).

The M&S Beauty Advent Calendar (Days 1-4)

So to kick of another little festive series on here (don't worry, the last two installements of the gift guides are coming!) I've decided to share what I got in my Beauty advent calendar. Every Monday until Christmas Day I'm going to be revealing my weeks worth of beauty goodies, so lets get going.

So day 1 of the M&S beauty advent calendar was the Philip Kingsley Elasticizer Geranium and Neroli. This actually featured in my Stocking Stuffers Gift Guide (clicky link here) and it's a nicely scented version of the original Elasticizer hair mask which is a pre-shampoo treatment. It's meant to treat damaged hair and is suitable for coloured hair but I personally have always found pre-shampoo treatments to be a bit of a faff so this wasn't my favourite.

Day 2 brought me the Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream, now this is something I can get behind. As a nail biter I really struggle with the skin around my nails, especially in winter, and this has been nice to keep on my desk at work and rub into my fingers every now and again. The product is a solid balm that melts into an oily texture that isn't sticky on application and I have no trouble typing whilst using it. It's nicely moisturising and the smell is also lovely.

I've been a fan of Cowshed body creams since my first experience with their "Blissful" scent so I was excited to see that door number 3 housed a generously sized bottle of their Grumpy Cow Uplifting Body Lotion. The texture is light and absorbs quickly but is still nicely hydrating and the scent is really nice as well.

And finally for this post, day 4 brought me the Pür Volume Vixen Mascara, which I'm sad to say I'm really not a fan of. The brush is massive, the formula is just too dry, it does nothing for my lashes. I've come to enjoy a worn-out damp mascara these days because they have enough about them to build on themselves without taking ages to set, and I prefer a smaller bristle or a rubber wand. So this ticked none of the boxes for me which is a shame. Check in next Monday to see what days 5-11 bring.

The Beauty Stocking Fillers Guide (Beauty Gifts Under £15)

So to kick things off with my Beauty Christmas Gift Guide I thought I'd start with the lower-cost options and move into more indulgent items as we go along. So today we're looking at gifts under £15, on Wednesday next week I have gift ideas between £15 and £35, and if that's not indulgent enough for you, check back Friday next week for my gift ideas over £35.

So the product that kicked off my skincare obsession was the Emma Hardie Amazing Face Moringa Cleansing Balm, and this year she's released a tree ornament gift with a mini 15ml pot of this amazing cleanser for £10. It's cute (if a little bit of an awkward shape to wrap) and contains a decent amount of an amazing product. So if you know someone who's either into skincare and hasn't tried this, or loves the cleanser and could do with a travel size, I think this would be a good pick.

Last year I was gifted a set from Aromatherapy Associates and that's where my love for their products was born. They've released a mini bottle of one of their scents in a tree ornament for the last few years and this year their The Star gift contains a 9ml bottle of their "Revive Morning" scent. For £10 it's a more affordable way to gift someone the Aromatherapy experience and I just love these.

In-keeping with the Christmas tree ornament theme I also have a body pick that you can hang on your tree: the L'Occiatane Verbena Festive Ornament. I haven't tried everything in this set out yet (although I must admit, it's a gift to self) but I have tried the Verbena Body Lotion and it's a lovely thin texture that instantly absorbs but that leaves the skin hydrated. The set also includes the Verbena Shower Gel, the Verbena Cooling Hand Cream Gel and the Soap With Verbena Leaves and the scent on this stuff is insanely good, reminiscent of sorbet lemon sweets.**

** Eek! I picked this set up last week and it's already sold out! Sorry! This one is very similar but sadly just a bit over the £15 limit - LINK and I've linked the individual products above - most are under £15 each.

My last tree-trinket gift is the Philip Kingsley Geranium and Neroli Elasticizer Duo. Does what it says on the tin essentially, it's a little ornament that contains two 40ml bottles of the geranium and neroli scented hair mask. So for £12 you actually get more product in this set than you do in their full sized product (75ml) and that's priced at £18.

Possibly my favourite little kit this year is the REN Glow and Go gift set. For £14 you get a 20ml Flash Rinse 1 Minute Facial and a 20ml Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask. These are two of my all time favourite masks and it would be a great way to let someone trial them.

It's not quite Christmas until Space NK bring back their Shimmering Spice Candle, The 75g one is £15 (but I suppose if you wanted to you could pick up the bigger one for £25) and it just smells like Christmas. It's spicy and sweet with a sugary cinnamon type scent that I just love, and the glass jar that it comes in is so beautifully packaged.

And then the rest of the picks here are just regular available-all-year-long type items that I think would make lovely gifts. For example the L'Oreal La Palette Nude or any of the items in their La Palette range are nice for £14.99. You get a whole host of shades and the quality of the shadows is nice, and they don't look cheap by any means, they could easily slap a high end name on this and it wouldn't look out of place at all.

You could create your own bathing gift with a gift box and a few pieces from Lush's bath range. Their Bath Bombs, Bath Melts and Bubble Bars are lovely and range from around £2-£6 a piece. If you picked out 2-4 from the range that would create a lovely thoughtful gift from under £15.

Similarly to the L'Oreal pick, some of the palettes Revolution have been putting out lately are lovely and quite a few of them look more expensive than they are. These range from £4-£8 and you can pick up everything from eyeshadow palettes to blush and face powders. My favourites are the Highlighter Palette in "Radiance" (£8) and the Icon Blush Bronze & Bright Flush (£4). The Redemption Palettes are also really nice for £4 but I think these look less expensive than the other picks.

And finally, we have another makeup item that looks more luxury than it costs. I think that KIKO's range of lipsticks are amazing value for money. Their Intensely Lavish, Velvet Mat Lipsticks, Luscious Cream, Luminous Chrome and Crystal Sheer formulas are all £6.90 and as well as the formula being top notch, the packaging these are housed in looks and feels so high-end. They have magnetic closures, buttons you push to remove the lids and they're weighed nicely as well. Unbelievable quality for the price. Their Cosmic Starlets Collection also has sets where you get a lipstick and either a lip pencil or a nail polish for £10.90.

November Favourites

So with the 30 Lips Challenge over I'm back to my usual schedule of Monday, Wednesday and Friday posts (because as much as I love writing posts, a post everyday when you work full time is just really difficult to keep up with). And despite my manic lip-product-testing extravaganza, I still managed to find a few products I've been using and enjoying pretty consistently this month.

So my absolute favourite of this month has to be the Steven Klein for Nars One Shocking Moment Blush Palette, I did a dedicated review post to this in late October when I first got the palette which you can find: here. All in all, I love it. It's everything you need for colour complexion colours from contouring/highlighting, bronzing and there's a good selection of blush colours in there too. Everything else in my cheeks drawer this month has been feeling pretty lonely since this hit my collection.

Another pick from the Steven Klein for Nars collection that I've spent the month falling in love with is the Single Eyeshadow in "Stud". This is an absolutely amazing shade and it's quite unique as well. It's a wearable cool taupe shade with flecks of glitter running through it that I can imagine looking great on most skin/eye colours. I just love how it's so wearable but it still manages to have that "wow" factor about it too.

For skincare I've been gravitating to a lot of exfoliating products and I've been using the Pixi Glow Tonic at least every other day, it's gentle enough to use morning/night but still leaves the skin feeling smooth and it still manages to have a light, pleasant scent to it. I can see this being a staple in my skincare stash.

When i want something that packs a bit more of a punch for exfoliation, I've been going for the REN Glycolactic Radiance Renewal Mask. This mask doesn't smell the best and it doesn't have the "pampering yourself" feeling because it's so gloopy and sticky on the skin, but as soon as I take it off my skin feels amazing. If I use this before I go to bed I see a noticeable difference to the look and feel of my skin the next day and I've just been really impressed with this product lately.

And finally, since November is my birthday month and I generally have a lot going on, I like to take a bit of time off to pamper myself, get my Christmas shopping sorted and generally sort my life out a bit, and since I've been having a couple more lazy morning than usual this month I've made a dent in my Sarah Chapman Skinesis Morning Facial. I think it's a bit heavy to wear under makeup but if you're having a day in the house or you're going to be doing your makeup later on in the day this is lovely. It smells great as you massage it into your skin and just gives a nice amount of hydration and glow to the skin. Facial oils are a winter skincare essential for me and this is a really nice one.