Last Minute Gift Guide

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Its officially twelve days to Christmas! If you haven’t yet purchased all your gifts yet then its time to head online and buy up with a couple more days left to guarantee delivery. Most of us will head to brave the shops to buy these last minute gifts.

Ive put together a list of products that represent great quality and or great value. I would love to receive any of these gifts from a friend or family member.

Please note that any item marked with an asterisk were sent to me for my consideration, anything else was purchased by me.

A full list of all products with links and prices mentioned in the video or blog post can be found at the bottom of this post.

Makeup.

While makeup is an incredibly personal thing a little bit of luxury never goes unappreciated. Choosing something small (or large) with beautiful packaging goes a long way.

This year the shiny has become a common theme. In fact MAC Cosmetics have named their holiday collection The Shiny Pretty Things Collection.

This collection features reflective silver packaging and powder products are embossed with a beautiful gift bow design. My top picks of the season are one of their Extra Dimension skin finishes (the shade Oh Darling pictured above) As well as the Party Favours Lip sets that can be given as a whole gift or broken up and shared with a few friends.

If you’re after something small but mighty in terms of shine. Mecca Cosmetica have jumped of the pots of glittery goodness with their Enlightened Luminating Eye pots, you can pick up one for $30 but the gift pack containing two for $50 is better value. Popped on the lid with your finger tips they add instant christmassy goodness to any eye look.

If youre looking for a big ticket item to really wow I don’t think you can go past Hourglass as a brand. This year they released to Ambient Lighting Edit Palettes as well as Confessions lipstick set to quench our holiday thirst.

I picked up the Hourglass Ambient Lighting Edit Unlocked Palette as soon as it was released this year. Its a great gift for anyone with light to medium skin tones and contains a whole face of powders in the one palette.

For all over sparkle this year Too Faced expanded on their super popular Peach collection to release the Peach Tinsel gift pack which contains a super sparkly all over shimmer powder (check out the video for swatches) with a gorgeous application poof and one of their Peach Kiss Moisture Matte Lipsticks in the shade Sunday Funday. Its so pretty and displayed so nicely in the matching sparkly box its a treat for those who love to sparkle.

As usual Lipstick lovers are in for a treat this year with a range of gorgeous lipstick sets available from most brands.

Bobbi Brown have released their Mini Luxe Lip Colour collection which as last year features ten of their super popular luxe lipsticks in a range of shades.

Nars always gets my dollars with their Limited Edition Holiday Audacious lipstick. This year the theme was quite edgy and punk inspired with products such as the studded feature on packaging as well as on these lipsticks

Their Orgasm Infatuation Palette is also a great gift as it contains three high quality face powders in gorgeous reflective pink studded packaging. This is small enough to pop into a handbag for touch ups (although in my experience NARS blushes generally don’t fade as much as some others.)

Something a little out of the box (although it obviously comes in a box) is another super luxurious product from Bobbi Brown. The Travel Brush set comes in a beautiful dusty blue velour case and contains five high quality brushes. I for one will be taking the brushes out of the case and using the case to hold some delicate jewellery items from my collection. The brushes are a great size for travel and while the price tag is a little hefty at $250 the brushes will last years and years if taken care of.

Skincare Gift Sets

For something a little safer than choosing a colour cosmetic for a loved one, you cant go wrong with a little self care. One of my favourite things to gift are beautifully nourishing products that I myself use and love. Luckily during the holidays brands, both high end and drugstore release great value packs.

Luxury brands such as Tatcha and Drunk Elephant have released value packs choc full of full size and mini products to try.

While more affordable brands such as Trilogy and Essano have put together packs of their best selling items for the face and body at special prices.

One of my favourite hair care brands bhave have bundled up some of their great products in packs designed to fit your hair concern. I got the Rescue Repair set which comes with a full shampoo, conditioner and treatment and a free lunch bag while saving you about $35.

And then there is The Body Shop who have completely outdone themselves with the vast number of gift sets available at all price points. This years special edition fragrances include the scrumptious Peppermint Candy Cane, Berry Bon Bon and Vanilla Marshmallow.