I have my first Holiday Gift Guide of the year with some Budget Picks $25 and Under! Rounding up some cute ideas for stocking stuffers or White Elephant options.
Sephora Sets
Lots of cute lip sets, mini palettes and some good skincare options from Sephora. If you’re shopping the Holiday Savings Event don’t forget to use code YAYHOLIDAY at checkout!
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For the Desk/Home
Cute ideas for those who work from home, yourself or co-workers!
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Nordstrom Sets
Love the hand cream and mini skincare sets from Nordstrom. Also love their good return policy which makes it easy for the recipient to exchange items without any fuss.
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Ulta Sets
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Tarte Sets
Cute ideas that are budget-friendly. Nice for teens, those who are just getting into makeup, or those who want no-fuss easy to apply formulas.
The Sephora Holiday Savings Event is here! Early Access for Rouge Members starts today from 11/5 through 11/15! I’ve partnered with Sephora to share a look at the Top 10 Beauty Sets to gift this year. There are lots of great value sets to pick from at all price points for any beauty lover.
You can shop the Holiday Savings Event with code YAYHOLIDAY online (also available in stores). You can use the code more than one time if you shop multiple times. Access dates and savings per tier this year are as follows:
Rouge Members: Save 20% off purchase from 11/5 – 11/15
VIB Members: Save 15% off purchases from 11/9 – 11/15
Insider Tier: Save 10% 11/11 – 11/15
All Sephora Collection products are 30% off (no code needed). Some exclusions and limitations apply. Rouge Members can also bring a friend to shop in store and they can also receive 20% off as long as they are a beauty insider! Here are 10 Beauty Sets to put on your radar for gifting this year!
Sephora Favorites Swipe of Lip Color Lipstick & Lip Balm Set
The Sephora Favorites Sets are pretty good this year! The Sephora Favorites Swipe of Lip Color Lipstick & Lip Balm Set ($36) comes with three full-sized lip products and two minis in a good range of colors to take you through the holiday season. It includes the YSL Rouge Pur Couture Lipstick in 70 Le Nu (mini), NARS Velvet Matte Lipstick in Cruella (full-size), Summer Fridays Lip Butter Balm in Vanilla Beige (full-size), Huda Beauty Lip Contour 2.0 in Honey Beige (full-size), Clinique Black Honey Lipstick (mini).
Sephora Favorites Bestselling Beauty Must-Haves Set
The Sephora Favorites Bestselling Beauty Must-Haves Set ($54) is another great value set with a little bit of everything including a beautyblender, Natasha Denona Mini Biba Palette, Mini Nars Laguna Bronzer along with some products for the lashes, skin and hair.
Sephora Favorites Healthy Hair Must-Haves Kit
For the hair care lover the Sephora Favorites Healthy Hair Must-Haves Kit ($38) is a great value set to give! I bought this as a gift but am considering getting another one for myself. There are a lot of items I haven’t tried that are in this kit.
Olaplex Holiday Set
Every year the Olaplex sets sell out, so I highly recommend acting fast on the Olaplex Healthy Hair Essentials ($60). This is one of my favorite brands for strengthening hair. I cannot live without their Shampoo and Conditioner!
Amika Blowout Buffet Blow Dryer Brush Set
I shopped early for myself to test a few items. As much as I adore the Dyson Airwrap Styler, I wanted to find a more affordable option for a blow-out brush that I could recommend. The Amika Blowout Buffet Blow Dryer Brush Set ($99) is a pretty good tool if you’re looking for a blow dryer + brush in one. This set has their Hair Blow Dryer Brush along with the Amika Wizard Detangling Primer and Perk Up Dry Shampoo. The brush is really easy to use and gives me a smooth blow out. I’ll towel dry hair first and then use the brush dryer in sections. If you find using a round brush + blow dryer challenging, this is a great alternative that makes getting a smooth blowout super easy.
beautyblender Sponge Set
There’s no other sponge quite as good as the beautyblenders and I’m always on the lookout for sets during the holiday. The Beautyblender Loaded Sundae Makeup Sponge Set ($49, $78 value) has three sponges, a solid cleanser and a scrub mat inside.
Skincare Sets
The Peel Pads from Dr Dennis Gross come highly recommended but I have not tried them yet! I thought the Peel.Love.Joy Set ($34, $51 value) was a good set to try since it has all three variations for Extra Strength, Universal and Gentle.
I’m a huge fan of the Farmacy Beauty Green Clean Cleanser so I knew I had to get the Farmacy Garden Party Green Clean Trio ($42). These are mini solid cleansers in scented options (but still suitable for my sensitive skin). It makes removing makeup at the end of the day a lot more fun and the cleanser is really effective!
The Tarte Bow and Go Maracuja Juicy Lip Balm Set ($35) is something I can’t rave enough about it. You get 4 full-sized balms packaged in 2 sets of 2 which makes them easy to gift! I’m getting multiples of these to give this year as stocking stuffers. The formula is hydrating and glossy. Colors have good color payoff for a balm. The click style applicator is fun. Colors in this set are Coconut, Petal, Orchid and Wild Berry.
This holiday By Terry has some beautiful sets out including one of the best Advent Calendars I’ve seen this year! I have a look at some of the sets along with their new VIP Expert Eyeshadow Palette.
VIP Expert Bonjour Paris Palette
This holiday By Terry has launched the eyeshadow palette of my dreams with their VIP Expert Bonjour Paris Palette ($56). It has all the tones I love with a mix of bronze, gold, pink, chocolate and warm coppers. The palette is mostly shimmery with a few satin shades. Colors are blendable with really good pigment and are easy to blend. They have a nice velvety feel that adheres well to the skin. I absolutely love it.
There are a number of luxury beauty sets out this year with her best sellers packaged in giftable format. The Jewel Fantasy Tree Deco Baume de Rose ($19, 2.3 g) has a mini Baume de Rose in her tube format. The Full Size is 100% worth the splurge even though it’s quite pricey but if you’re unsure about committing to it, the mini is a nice way to try it out first.
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Jewel Fantasy Baume de Rose Duo Set ($39, 75 g for hand cream, 2.3 g for mini balm) is a pretty good deal considering the hand cream alone is $50. Both are scented in By Terry’s classic rose scent.
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Jewel Fantasy Ombre Blackstar Trio ($68) has three of her best-selling shimmery cream shadow sticks. These have crushed Tahitian Pearls for a multi-dimensional sheen. The colors are beautiful and adhere to the lids once they set, so once they dry, they are pretty much budge-proof. Frozen Quartz is a shimmery pale pink, Misty Rock is a gorgeous plum purple with silver shimmer, Bronze Moon is a shimmering taupe bronze.
Swatches of the 3 shadows below along with the color items from the Advent Calendar:
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Jewel Fantasy CC Serum Set ($91) comes with a full size + mini CC Serum in Sunny Flash. Their CC Serums are multi-tasking illuminators. I can use Sunny Flash as a liquid bronze illuminator, I can mix it in with foundation or moisturizer, it adds radiance to the skin in a super natural way with skincare mixed in. The full size is $91 individually (available in 4 colors) so with this set you get an extra mini added in.
Advent Calendar
I’ve saved the best for last and I’m thrilled to share a look at the Jewel Fantasy Advent Calendar ($205). This is the ultimate luxury gift and based on what I’ve seen this year, it’s one of the best ones out there. It’s stocked with 14 makeup items, 10 skincare essentials and a few beauty tools. It has a mix of full size items and the minis are large enough to get a good sampling of the product.
Inside you have Full Sizes of the Baume de Rose Lip Care Stick, UV Base (one of my favorite sunscreens), Baume de Rose Hand Cream, Lash Expert Mascara, Lip Expert Matte in 6 Chili Fig, Lip Expert Matte in 8 Red Shot, Lip Expert Shine in 3 Rosy Kiss, Crayon Khol Terrybly in Brown Stellar, Ombre Blackstar in Black Pearl. (The 9 full size items alone retail individually for $343.)
Minis include Travel Sizes of the Baume de Rose Bi-Phase Makeup Remover, Baume de Rose Micellar Water, Brightening CC Serum, Ombre Blackstar in Bronze Moon, Mascara Terrybly, Hylauronic Hydra-Primer, Tea to Tan, Hydra-Pressed Powder, Hydra Powder, Baume de Rose Glowing Mask, Global Face Cream, Mini Kabuki Brush, Double Ended Eye Brush, Beauty Sponge and small flat Cheek Brush.
Wearing the three Lip Expert Colors in the Advent Calendar: Lip Expert Shine in Rosy Kiss, Lip Expert Matte in 8 Red Shot and 6 Chili Fig
Overall love the look of this year’s holiday offerings! There are some really great items for the luxury beauty lover. The Eye Shadow Palette is a winner for me. If you haven’t tried much from her line I think the Advent Calendar is an excellent way to try a wide range of makeup and skincare. Available online at ByTerry.com.
The Sephora Holiday Savings Event starts tomorrow for Rouge! I’ll have a recommendations post up later today and another one tomorrow!
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By Terry Holiday launches provided by By Terry for review. As always all opinions are my own.
Hourglass launched three palettes for Holiday 2021 and today I have swatches of all three. There are two larger palettes with 5 shades each, and one palette in a trio format.
Two of the new palettes are 5-pans, one in a light/medium option, the other in a medium/deeper option. Each one contains 1 Ambient Lighting Powder (for setting/blurring), two blushes, one bronzer and one highlighter. The lighter variation is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Face Universe ($80). Colors in this palette:
Ambient Lighting Infinity Powder – color is a mix of Diffused Light, Dim Light, and Hypnotic Strobe Light, pale sheer ivory (repromote)
Ambient Strobe Lighting Blush in Vibrant Heat – raspberry and light pink swirl
Ambient Lighting Blush in Luminous Rose – described as a soft plum, but mine pulls more golden peach with the swirl pattern
Colors performed well. The Ambient Lighting Infinity Powder looks really pale for a finishing powder but I find it sheer enough to use even on my medium-tan skin. It has a soft diffused finish I can use to set foundation or use as a very soft glow highlighter/diffuser.
Blushes perform well on my skin although the plum rose shade looks a lot warmer and almost bronzey on my skin compared to what I see in the pan. Overall really pretty, but not entirely unique. You may want to wait for a Friends and Family sale that happens during the holiday season.
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Face Universe Unlocked
The deeper variation is the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Face Universe Unlocked. This looks like it has deeper tones for medium to tan skin tones. I was surprised to find this wearable for me since the colors looked a bit dark, but the plum and rose blushes make for a really pretty look. I do wish that they had all new colors instead of repromotes, but out of the two palettes I prefer this one.
Ambient Lighting Powder in Radiant Light – soft golden beige bronze (repromote)
Ambient Lighting Blush in Rose Heat – deep berry satin
Ambient Lighting Blush in Coral Flush – bright peony
Last is a look Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette Vol III which is a finishing and highlighting palette for deep skin tones. A deeper palette like this from Hourglass has been long overdue and I’m glad they’ve started to add darker variations. Since this is a deeper toned palette and I have medium-tan skin, the colors are too dark for me to try as a finishing or blurring product but the powders seem smooth and finely milled. I did try as a bronzer but found colors a bit on the warm side for me. I think I could probably use this on the eyes as a deeper brown/bronze palette for my skin tone.
Here is a side by side of the palettes Vol 1, Vol 2 and Vol 3:
I ordered my 5-palettes Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Face Universe and Universe Unlocked from Nordstrom. Also available at other retailers like Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Space NK and Ulta. The Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Palette Vol III seems to be available only at Hourglass Cosmetics right now.
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Have you checked out the Hourglass Holiday palettes yet? What did you think? Are there any other palettes you have on your radar?
Christmas is quickly approaching and if you’re looking for some last-minute gift ideas I have some cute ones to share from The Body Shop! They have tons of great gift sets and bundles at multiple price points. There is something for everyone whether you’re shopping for a loved one, friend or looking for something to treat yourself.
The Body Shop Holiday Gift Guide: Little Gift Box
One of my favorite sets is the Warm Vanilla Little Gift Box ($25). They’ve packaged up some great body products in a Shower Gel, Body Yogurt, Hand Cream and mini Body Scrub. The shower gel is really amazing, and I love that this vanilla is warm and well-balanced. The Body Yogurt is a lightweight moisturizer and absorbs beautifully into the skin. They carry this set in a other scents too like the Nourishing Shea, Soothing Almond Milk & Honey, Hand-Cracked Coconut and a few others too.
Mask Duo
For the skincare lover the Day and Night Mask Duo ($45) has a Nicaraguan Coffee Intense Awakening Face Mask for day and the Hemp Overnight Nourishing Rescue Mask. The coffee mask is a gentle warming exfoliating mask you leave on for 5-10 minutes. It has sesame seed oil, cocoa and shea butter to soften the skin – I was so impressed with this one! It’s gentle on the exfoliating properties and after rinsing off my skin felt so incredibly smooth, soft and refreshed. The overnight mask is made with Hemp Seed oil and aloe vera to help soothe dry skin. It has a soothing earthy scent to it and very hydrating.
Hair Care Set
For the hair care lover they have some cute hair sets! I tried the Puree Bliss Banana Hair Care Duo ($20) which comes with the Nourishing Shampoo and Conditioner along with a fun banana print hair wrap. Both have a fresh fruity banana scent that lathers up nicely in the shower or bath. They rinse out to leave a subtle scent so it’s not too fruity. My hair really likes both for a good clean feel.
Sharable Hand Cream Set
The cutest gift set is the Squeeze and Share Hand Cream Cracker Set ($28). It comes with six individually boxed hand creams. They’re perfect to split up for stocking stuffers or to give as gifts to coworkers! The Almond Milk and Honey is my favorite – it has a really nice scent with a light almost gel-like texture. It absorbs into the hands well leaving them soft, hydrated and not sticky.
I hope you enjoyed this holiday roundup! If you’re doing last minute shopping I suggest you order soon! Also don’t forget to check out their Special Offers/Sale Page to see what GWPs and sales they have going on!
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Many thanks to The Body Shop for partnering to sponsor this post.
Happy Wednesday! If you’re looking for some gifts for the hair care lover here are some things I’ve used and love. There are tons of sets at the $25 and under price point so if you’re looking for something more budget-friendly I’ve linked a bunch below. IGK, Living Proof and Briogeo have tons of minis and sets to pick from.
For hair accessories I’ve been loving the hair clips from J.Crew – I find they are pretty good quality and hold up well for my hair. I like that they have different sizes available and the tortoise print ones are pretty! I’m a huge fan of Slip Scrunchies because they won’t tug or pull my hair. They will stretch out with use, but still retain their elasticity for me.
For a round blow dry brush I can’t use one that is too wide because it’s just hard for me to do on my own. I really like the T3 Volume Round Brush and the Sisley Blow Dry Brush No 2. For a regular vent brush the Yves Durif Brush has been my go-to for a while now.
For a luxurious treat, my favorite lines are Oribe and Sisley. I don’t think you can go wrong with either brand. I love the Oribe Gold Lust line and their Styling Set. For oils I think the Sisley Hair Oil is the best one I’ve tried out of any brand. I can’t recommend it enough (review here in case you missed it a few years ago).
In terms of hair styling tools, I’m on the hunt for some new ones. For hair dryers I’ve still been using the Harry Josh and Dyson but I’m looking for something new. I haven’t quite decided what to buy next but if you have any you really love let me know in the comments! I stopped using a curling iron as I found my hair became a lot more fragile after color treating it. For straighteners I like the HAI Convertible Iron and the Dyson Corrale Straightener but am super interested in the new L’Oreal Steampod. If I end up getting anything new I will be sure to review it!
If you’re looking for more in depth hair care reviews, I have some linked below:
I’m wrapping up my holiday gift guides with a few more roundups! Today I’m sharing my favorite luxury candles for the holidays. If you’re looking to splurge on something nice for the home or as a gift here are my favorites.
DIPTYQUE
Baies is my favorite of all the Diptyque scents, it’s great for holiday because it’s a unique mix of roses and blackcurrant. It’s a green and berry mix which I think is interesting and perfect year round. I’ve bought this in multiple sizes and adore the Baies Room Spray. Available in multiple sizes. In case you are not a fan of blackcurrant or rose, I’ve included a few others.
Vanille is a unique vanilla in the sense that it’s a smoky leathery one with a hint of spice. It’s not sweet like other vanilla candles.
Ambre is one of the prettiest holiday scents to me. It’s a warm mix of amber and musk giving it a cozy feel.
Feu de Bois is the best firewood scent in candle form. It has a smoky earthy kind of wood smell.
Santal is one of the softest sandalwood scents I’ve tried. Sometimes sandalwood can be a bit strong in other candles, this has good throw but has a well-rounded feel. It has a bit of a velvety feel to it.
A few other fun things to check out:
Best of Baies Set (has a small candle, mini room spray and scented oval)
Scented Candle Trio with their Holiday Candles (I did not have a chance to burn yet, probably will not be able to before Christmas, but I buy them almost every year)
Tree House is one of my favorite woodsy kind of candles, this year I opted to buy the Tree House Room Spray and am so impressed. It has the longest lasting power of all the room sprays I’ve tried. It smells just like the candle and is quite potent. It has a mix of pimento, bamboo, cedarwood, guaiac wood, sandalwood and leather. The Room Spray comes at quite a steep price but it is cased in a large glass spray bottle and I feel it will last a long time.
Bibliotheque is one of my favorites for the holiday, it has a really unique mix, almost like a more intense less sweet version of their Bal D’Afrique perfume. Bibliotheque notes are peach, plum, peony, violet, leather patchouli and vanilla. It is available in the standard 8.5 oz size and also in the mini 2.5 oz (shown here). Minis are harder to find sometimes as they sell out, but you can find them at Byredo, Violet Grey, Lucky Scent, Space NK.
Maison Francis Kurkdjian
The Maison Francis Kurkdjian Baccarat Rouge 540 Candle was a gift from my bestie and it is AMAZING! I just bought the perfume and fell in love with it. The candle smells exactly like the perfume – woody, amber, floral and sweet with extremely good throw. It is quite a splurge but I would not hesitate to buy on my own. She bought it from Saks.
CIRE TRUDON
There are so many things I want to try from Cire Trudon but I keep going back to my one favorite, Ernesto. Cire Trudon makes the best of the best in terms of how elegant and unique their candles are. They have the strongest throw out of the ones I have tried. I fell in love with Ernesto thanks to one of my readers who kept nudging me to try (she even offered to buy me one if I didn’t order one lol!). I eventually splurged and have never looked back. This year they launched Ernesto in a beautiful Alabaster vessel with a lid. It’s truly glorious. I ordered it over Cyber Week for some savings. It is like a beautiful work of art.
For Christmas, I have also tried Gabriel, Nazareth and Fir – all are truly lovely for the holiday season.
ACCESSORIES
A few accessories I love:
Diptyque Photophores are the prettiest ones I’ve seen and are extremely sturdy, they come with a fitted base – available in the sizes for the small candles and standard candles
Matches from Tommy Bahama are the most sturdy matches I’ve found that are the longer style, they don’t break when I strike them (versus other cheaper alternatives which frequently break on me)
That wraps up my holiday candle favorites! I hope you enjoyed the roundup!
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GIVEAWAY
I’m hosting a giveaway! I’m giving away one $100 eGift Card to Nordstrom. ONE person will be selected at random to win and contacted by email from me ([email protected]). All you have to do is follow the steps in the widget below. The more steps you complete the more entries you receive. Open internationally but you must be 18 years or older to qualify. Not sponsored or affiliated. Runs through 12/21/2020 11:59 PM EST. Winner will be selected by 12/22 and will need to respond to my email within 3 days to claim prize or another winner will be selected in their place.
