It’s safe to say that the holiday season is definitely in the air. One of my favorite times of the year –besides summer, of course! Ya’ll know I’m not so big on fall, once Fashion Week is over I’m usually counting down the days until summer comes around but something about the holidays always lifts my spirits and I can’t help but get excited.
Silly confession: I totally bring out the Christmas tunes in, like, July. I’m that girl sitting in traffic (a not-so-rare occurrence in L.A) and belting it out to my hearts content to Christmas music. Only the classics for me of course, like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra Britney and Hilary Duff. And Justin Bieber. I know.
As a total beauty-junkie and someone who tries out 100’s of beauty products every year, I decided to come up with a list of beauty gifts that any beauty-obsessed gal will totally love --no matter what your budget.
1} Clarisonic Mia 2
If you haven’t already got a Clarisonic in your life YOU NEED ONE. I don’t say that about many things, but this exfoliating/skin cleansing brush is amazing at sloughing away dull, dry winter skin revealing the most softest glowy-est skin. I got my original Clarisonic when they first came out and definitely noticed a difference after the first use, super soft skin and it really helps any moisturizer or skincare sink in so well after you use it, and you can use it with any cleanser that you have in your cabinet. The Mia 2 works just as well, and is much more affordable ($149, Sephora.com). Get one for a gift and one for yourself, I say.
2} MAC – Dazzlesphere’s
The past few years I’ve been rather underwhelmed with MAC’s holiday collections. Not this year. These Dazzlesphere’s come in cute little ornamental spheres and contain 4 mini’s for lips, eyes or nails. My personal fav’s are the lip glass ones in pink and coral. At $32.50 these are a total steal. (maccosmetics.com)
3} Chanel Le Vernis – Peridot
When it comes to the hottest nail polish colors of the season – Chanel ALWAYS knows what’s up. This year is no exception with their fall release of ‘Peridot’ – a gorgeous metallic duo-chrome of gorgeous gold and green. Whenever I wear this, no fail, at least 2 people ask me what polish it is.
4} Urban Decay 24/7 Mini Liners - Naked
When Urban Decay say’s their pencil liners last 24/7 they’re totally telling the truth. These are my absolute favorite liners EVER. The mini liners kit comes with 5 different colors that are perfect for tossing in your bag for on-the-go. You can’t go wrong with the ‘Naked’ version which comes with neutral shades like black and brown. If you’re after more colorful liners they have one for that, too. ($32, Sephora.com)
5} Urban Decay – Naked 2 Palette
Perhaps one of Urban Decay’s worst kept secrets of the year is their brand new Naked 2 palette which, like the original Naked palette comes with 12 great, high quality neutral shadows in a gorg palette. This one is already living up to the first palette’s name and is selling like hotcakes. The colors are amazing, the color payoff is great and they work on pretty much any skintone. Perfect for travelling, and even my makeup artist friends are OBSESSED. It’s the only palette they’ll use for weddings. And it comes with a matte black, which is pretty much a staple ingredient in creating the perfect femme-fatale smokey eye.
6} Forever21 - Cosmetic Bags
One of my favorite gifts to give to my girl friends during the holidays is a cute makeup bag filled with goodies like lip gloss, nail polish and candy. Forever21 has some totally cute makeup bags for super cheap, making them the perfect accessory for any beauty junkie on your list. (forever21.com)
7} Dior Holiday Eye Palette
Dior’s eye shadow palettes are amazing quality. The celebration collection holiday eye palette this year comes it a gorg tweed compact with a bow and charm. My only qualm about Dior’s holiday collections is that the packaging is so pretty I never want to use them up! But I always do –because the colors are perfectly matched together making it super easy to create a lovely shadow look.
8} Bliss Santa’s Little Helper
Something about using Bliss products always makes me feel like I’m totally indulging. The Santa’s Little Helper kit contains High Intensity hand cream and Fabulips lip balm –two totally necessary hydrating products for cold weather. At only $11 this pair makes the perfect stocking stuffer (blissworld.com)
9} Sephora by OPI Glimmer Wonderland 18-pc mini nail color set
This one is tops on my list. 18 great colors, including many of their top-selling shades like ‘Metro Chic’ and ‘Mermaid-to-Order’. Ah-May-ZING and a total steal at only $48. This is such a great way to try out some of Sephora OPI’s best shades and find out which ones you love so you can splurge for the full-size.
10}Gareth Pugh for MAC – Vacant Lipglass
MAC is known for it’s collabs with the hottest and most interesting people ever. London fashion designer Gareth Pugh is MAC’s latest collection collaborator and the result is amazing. The lipglass in Vacant is my top pick from the collection which is a perfect sheer lavender color with violet pearl –perfect for any pout. ($24, maccosmetics.com)
What beauty goodies are on your wish-list this year?
Happy Shopping!
Kelly