Beauty Gifts Under $50 | Christmas Gift Guide | 2015

Welcome to the third instalment of my Christmas Gift Guides for 2015! This time we’re covering beauty gifts below the $50 mark. These are perfect for people with smaller budgets, presents for sisters or friends, or even Kris Kringle gifts! There’s something for everyone here!

The Philosophy Holiday Cookies set is the perfect gift for a sister or friend. Containing a body lotion, shower gel/bubble bath and lip gloss, this set is available from Mecca or Sephora US.
The O.P.I Colour Paints* are the perfect gift for a nail polish lover! They are intended to create gorgeous watercolour designs and would be something perfect for perhaps a younger sister or a creative type! Available from Myer and David Jones.
The Tarte Amazonian Deluxe Lipstick Kit is the perfect kit for a lipstick junkie, encasing four of Tarte’s famous lipsticks. Deluxe sized and perfectly pigmented, they’re the perfect travel sized lipsticks to take! Available online at Sephora US or instore at Sephora Australia.

The Nude By Nature Bronzed Beauty Kit* is the perfect duo for someone with a love for makeup! It has the prettiest reusable rose gold tin (I’ve got it currently storing some important documents on my desk); a pigmented blush and bronzer duo and a duo brush – perfect for bronzing and for blush. Overall it’s an awesome little kit and a perfect, on trend gift! Available from Priceline.

The Becca Glow on the Go Duo* is the perfect introduction to Becca products for any beauty lover! It contains a deluxe size of both the Pressed and Liquid forms of the famous Opal shade and is perfect to take away with you! Available from Sephora US and Australia!
The Benefit Cosmetics Sugarlicious Lip & Cheek Kit* contains miniatures of some of Benefit’s best sellers. It contains a deluxe size of both their Benetint and High Beam illuminator, as well as a small Sugarbomb blush and brush, as well as a lip gloss. It’s a gorgeous kit to give for a work Kris Kringle or to a beauty loving bestie! Available from Benefit online and Myer.

It’s no lie that I’m a candle fan, and something perfect for anyone is a candle from The Aromatherapy Co*. I’m a particular fan of the Coconut & Cacao scent, which is a soft, subtle scent but lights up the room – and I love any candle that has three wicks because it burns evenly. Available from Sephora AU and David Jones.
A gorgeous perfume for a collector or someone who’s after a new signature scent is the Guess Double Dare* perfume. I’m a personal fan of Guess perfumes, their Dare Limited Edition is my go-to scent but this is sneaking up there too! It has notes of strawberry, lychee and mandarin and is the perfect summer fragrance! Available online, and from Priceline, Myer and Westfield centres.

This L’Occitane Shea Butter Festive Ornament got me the second I saw it. I ordered it from the US but found it at my local store recently also. It has a cute reusable ornament for the tree so you can use it for years to come and to hide sweet treats. It also contains miniatures of four of L’Occitane’s Shea Butter products – the Hand Cream, Soap, Body Lotion and Shower Cream and they are the perfect size to take on a weekend getaway! Available from Sephora US or in L’Occitane stores.

Joico are one of my favourite haircare brands. They’re affordable (but on the pricer side of affordable) and fantastic quality with a variety of products for different hair types! They have some gorgeous Christmas kits out this year, including this Moisture Recovery Kit* which is perfect for those with dry and damaged hair such as myself! This contains a full sized shampoo and conditioner and a deluxe sized treatment balm. Available from Priceline.

Sukin are one of those skincare brands that don’t get enough love! They are vegan, natural and Australian owned. They’ve brought out Christmas kits this year and the Love Your Skin* kit is perfect. Containing a Foaming Facial Cleanser, Hydrating Mist Toner and Facial Moisturiser, this is perfectly inclined for someone with drier skin. My Dad actually introduced me to Sukin originally, and I reckon this could even be an awesome gift for a boyfriend to get them into a skincare routine!

There’s definitely a gift out there for everyone this year. In the under $50 category there are a huge range of gifts that can hold a special meaning to the giver and recipient. Have you tried and loved anything I’ve included this year? Is there something on this list you’re after this year?

Top Five Friday – Nars

Nars is one of those high end brands that I just simply adore. The packaging is sleek and simple, with the black and white, and the quality of the products are just on another level and I’m always impressed. I have a smaller Nars collection but what I do have is well loved, so what better to do than show you my Top 5 Nars products!

In case you can’t tell by the fact that I’m hitting major pan, I simply adore the Laguna Bronzer. It’s the perfect shade for my pale skin, and gives a bronzed glow without turning me orange. I’ve been using this every day for the last couple of months and I will need to invest in a new one soon!
The Madly Blush I picked up after seeing Kathleen Lights rave about it on YouTube – and I understand why! As a blush, this suits me more when I have a bit more of a tan, but at my palest like I am now this is the perfect all-over colour. I love this for a lazy day to use as a blush/bronzer combination – it provides a gorgeous wash of colour. It looks a bit ‘meh’ in the pan and in swatches but trust me, it’s perfect on the cheeks!
Their Sheer Glow Foundation is one of my favourite foundation formulas. I don’t find it necessarily sheer or glow-y, but it just creates the perfect coverage and makes my skin look perfect every time, I don’t know how it happens! I apply it with either my fingers or Beauty Blender for flawless application.

I have two of their eyeshadow duos that I adore, but my favourite is definitely Charade. (The other I own is St Paul de Vence) Charade I picked up a while ago now as a gift and has two shades that I never used to wear regularly – hence why I got it, to pull myself out of my comfort zone! I’m in love with the shadows, the formula is amazing and blendable and the pigmentation is great!
Their Tasmania Lipgloss I had to pick up for the name, I’ll be honest! Living in Tasmania, owning a gloss of the same name was a no-brainer! It isn’t super pigmented in colour but is a high gloss formula, a gorgeous peachy-pink that isn’t too sticky and is the perfect topper for a nude lip!

These definitely have to be my favourite Nars products. Next on my list are more eyeshadows, their primers, their setting powder and the dual intensity line!

Bondi Box Review | December, 2015

I was recently contacted by the team at Bondi Box to see if I was interested in trying out their subscription – which after I researched I jumped at the opportunity!

Bondi Box is run by Britt and Alex, two girls with a love of health and fitness. The box offers 5-7 lifestyle and health products per month as well as a fitness accessory. It costs $34.95 including shipping through a courier (way more reliable than Australia Post, am I right?!) and you can check out their website here. I was gifted the December box, so let’s see what I got!

Koja Sesame & Almond Salad Topper – a mix of nuts and seeds perfect for going on top of salads for added nutrition. I think this might actually go to my Dad as part of his Christmas gifts because he’s a salad freak and I know he’d love this! (retails for $12.95)
DrinkMaple Maple Water – similar to coconut water but made with maple. Contains vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, prebiotics and more manganese than a cup of pure kale. (retails for $23 for a pack of 6, value is $3.85)
Invisible Zinc – the perfect inclusion coming into summer, SPF50+ and watear resistant. (retails for $21.99)
Fit Mixes Protein Ball Mix – cookie dough flavour, yes! I’m so excited to try these out – protein balls are the best! (not quite full size, value approx. $7.50)
Slim Secrets Bare Bar – a double chocolate protein bar, I’ve tried these before and they’re delicious – hard to believe they’re good for you! (retails for approx. $5)
Coconut Magic Coconut Oil – this is the cutest little jar of coconut oil ever. It’s the perfect travel sized hair treatment, or good for trying its use for cooking! (unsure of retail value, so super cute though!)
Power Foods Caccao Nibs and Maca Smoothie Blend – two little sachets perfect for sampling! I’ve wanted to try both of these so they’re a welcome addition!
Bonus – Bondi Box Sports Towel – it’s given a retail value of $14.95, which I’d definitely pay for a good quality gym towel. I can never find any of mine so this has gone straight to my gym bag!

The box works out at roughly $70 value when estimating for sample sizes, and I think that’s an awesome value! I’d definitely be happy if I’d purchased myself, and plan to for next month!