Christmas Stocking Gift Ideas

Here's some Christmas gift ideas (there's just so many amazing gifts out there this year!) These ones are ideal for stocking fillers or Secret Santa gifts and are £15 or under.

Kure Bazaar Nail Polish in Glitter Pigalle (isn't it beautiful!) 10ml (£15). The polish is clear with flecks of red glitter making it perfect for Christmas parties! This Limited Edition polish is formulated with 85% natural ingredients making it the eco-friendly polish of choice.

I had the pleasure of trying beatitude's gorgeous Christmas Crackers last year which are £10 each and include a 10ml size of one of the three bath oils - Joy (my fav), Patience or Peace. See my review HERE.

I love all the Christmassy crackers and this Hand Care Cracker from Cowshed (£12) contains Cowshed Cow Herb Restoring Hand Cream 50ml and Cowshed Apricot Nourishing Cuticle Oil 11ml which will help restore and groom the hands and nails.

AA Skincare Vitamin Boost Face Kit (£12.60) contains 100ml Sandalwood & Palmarosa Cleansing Face Gel and 100ml Sandalwood & Palmarosa Moisturising Face Lotion. This is such a great value set! (and would make an excellent Christmas gift as well as a stocking filler!)

This is a great value Apricot & Elderflower Gift Set from Benecos (£10.95) which contains mini sizes of Apricot & Elderflower Shower Gel, Body Lotion and Hand Cream.

Content Beauty & Wellbeing have some lovely small gifts including this cutely packaged Therapi Honey Lip Nectar (£9.50 - 5ml). I'd love to find this in my Christmas stocking!

Yellow Gorse have some beautiful products which would make excellent stocking fillers. I reviewed a few of their items recently - see HERE (the ones I chose were in the £3.50 - £6.80 price range and are perfect).

Do any of these make it onto your Christmas wishlist?

February Empties

Here's what I've been using up in February:

Lavera Lavender Bath Salts (single use pack) - these make for a relaxing soak and I'd buy them again.

Bodhi & Birch Siam Ginger and Ylang Ylang Incensa Bath & Shower Therapy 200ml each - unusual to finish two of these beauties in one month! I love both these scents and will buy again.

Aromatherapy Associates Support Equilibrium and Deep Relax Bath & Shower oils - again, love both of these. Will buy again.

Therapie Himalyan Detox Salts 500g - a staple - these are always in my stash. I'll be stocking up when Cult Beauty offer their goody bag with purchase next month.

Balm Balm Balance All Over Balm 30ml - with peppermint and lavender. This was lovely and uplifting as well as deeply nourishing. Would buy again.

Balm Balm Balance Bath & Shower Oil 5ml - this lavender scented oil made for a relaxing bath. 

Bodhi & Birch Flora Paradiso De-Stress Massage & Body Oil 30ml - a beautiful oil which I'd definitely buy again. It's perfect for pampering.

Make Skincare Face Smooth 15ml* - I recently reviewed this fab moisturiser (link). I'll definitely buy when I use up some of my stash.

Isla Apothecary Blood Orange & Vanilla Sugar Scrub 220g - this scrub had the perfect scrubbiness and the scent is amazing. One I'll definitely buy next time I need a scrub. See my initial thoughts HERE.

Molton Brown Coco & Sandalwood and Rosa Absolute Bath & Shower Gel (both 30ml) - I love these scents. Sure to pick up full sizes at some point.

Pureology Hydrate Shampoo 50ml - loved this and will buy full size soon.

Cowshed Knackered Cow Shampoo & Conditioner 10ml sachets - I got two uses from each of these. Very nice. Added to the wishlist.

Redken High Rise Volume Shampoo & Conditioner 5ml sachets - nice to use but not really sure they improved volume.

Neom Daily De-Stress Burst Capsule - these are amazing! I wish they sold them in a full size jar!

What have you been using up this month?

*complimentary

Advent Calendars: The first 6 days

I showed you what I got in my Advent Calendars on 1st December - see HERE. I'm doing  round up of the first six days and my thoughts on the contents:

1st December

YOU Beauty:

NUXE Creme Fraiche de Beaute Mask (50ml FS) - fairly sure I've tried this mask before. It moisturises and soothes the skin and is suitable for all skin types. Still to try but looking forward to a pampering session.

M&S:

Philip Kingsley Geranium & Neroli Elastizicer (40ml trial size) - I absolutely adore the original version so I know I'm going to love this!

4160Tuesdays:

The Sexiest Scent on the Planet Ever (IMHO) (2.25ml) which has a heady bergamot top note, with a heart of woods and base notes of vanilla and ambergris. This one I've not really tried yet.

2 December

YOU Beauty:

Molton Brown Festive Frankincense & Allspice Hand Wash (100ml) this has a spicy scent which is a little bit masculine. Huge fan of MB hand washes so it will get used!

M&S:

Burt's Bees Lemon Butter Cuticle Cream (FS) I've used this before and loved it. Happy to see this included in the calendar.

4160Tuesdays:

Silk, Lace & Chocolate (2.25ml) which is a blend of cocoa absolute with a touch of strawberry and a hint of bergamot. I quite like this one although I find the strawberry note a touch artificial.

3 December

You Beauty:

Cowshed Cow Pat Handcream (50ml) with a extra for £5 off your next order voucher code. I've used the cowshed handcreams before and have enjoyed them.

M&S:

Had to laugh at two Cowshed products today! Inside is a 100ml bottle of Cowshed's Grumpy Cow Body Lotion which is my favourite scent from the brand. It has uplifting notes of red mandarin, grapefruit and petigrain.

4160Tuesdays:

Shazam! (2.25ml) which reminds me of Chai Latte Tea! With notes of amber, spices, orange, black pepper and incense.  I really like this one.

4 December

YOU Beauty:

Sally Hansen Complete Manicure (Blue Streak FS) I'm not a fan of polish so this one will be gifted on.

M&S:

Pur Volume Vixen Mascara (mini) always happy to try a mini mascara. Not heard of this brand before.

4160Tuesdays:

Doe in the Snow (2.25ml) this is one of my favourites a sweet scent which was inspired by fruity chypres of the 60s and 70s and has notes of citrus fruits, flowers and woods and is "stirred with an icicle". I'd buy this one.

5 December

YOU Beauty:

HD Brows Bronzer in Light/Medium I very happy with this as was needing to buy a new bronzer.

M&S:

Leighton Denny Renovate which comes with a nail buffer I've used this before and was impressed with how it left my nails feeling. My New Year resolution is to grow my nails and I'm sure this will certainly help.

4160Tuesdays:

London 1969 (2.25ml) this is my absolute favourite so far and I will be purchasing a bottle of this! It has top notes of orange, lemongrass, grapefruit, mandarin and cedrat with a heart of Moroccan cedarwood, sandalwood, incense, lavender and violet with base notes of Indian patchouli, labdanum and musk.

6 December

YOU Beauty:

ila Bath Salts for Cleansing (50g) this was one of the items I was most excited about in the calendar. Ila also offer £10 off any purchase online with a voucher code. These salts smell amazing - along with Himalayan Salt crystals there is wild-crafted Juniper Berry and Geranium. 

M&S:

Rosie for Autograph Nuit Parfum (15ml) with centifolia rose, jasmine and musk. Looking forward to trying this one.

4160Tuesdays:

Dirty Honey (2.25ml) with pure white mock orange blossom and honey notes. I like this one and I'll definitely consider picking it up.

What do you think of the selection for the first 6 days? If you got an advent calendar which one did you chose and what are your thoughts on the contents?

Bath Time Treats

Here is my current bath-time stash. One of my favourite beauty pastimes is a long soak in a fragrant bath.

Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts - one of my all time favourites and always in my stash. They just work! See my review HERE.

Ravenscourt Apothecary Indian Jasmine Bath Salts - pretty pink Himalayan salts scented with jasmine petals and essential oil. Makes for a relaxing soak. See my initial thoughts HERE.

Humble Rose & Frankincense Bath Honey* - simply adore this. See my review HERE.

Senspa Himalayan Bath Salts - I picked these up at Waitrose when they were on offer. Makes for a relaxing soak. 

REN Moroccan Rose Otto Bath Oil - this is my favourite REN product and I've mentioned it numerous times on the blog. Makes for a delicious rose scented soak and it's one I never tire of.

Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath & Shower Oil - Tracey at Face Up Beauty sent me this. I'm a huge fan of the range. My all time favourites are Inner Strength and Deep Relax.

Weleda Arnica Muscle Soak* - one of my favourite bath products this year. See my review HERE. 

ila Bath Soak Pure Relaxation* - which came in the fab Naturisimo De-Stress & Unwind Discovery Box* it's already a firm favourite having used it several times before. It really does relax and calm and is perfect to use before bed.

Cowshed Moody Cow Balancing Bath & Shower Gel - I like to use this in the bath as it soothes and calms.  My friend Julie gave this to me at my birthday. It contains rose geranium, linden blossom and frankincense which help to unwind.

Salcura Bath Oil* - which soothes, calms and moisturises itchy skin. See my review HERE.

Jo Malone Grapefruit Bath Oil - I've had this for what seems like forever! One of my favourite Jo Malone scents it leaves the skin nourished and lightly scented.

Dr Organic Rose Otto Bath Oil - a perfect dupe for my favourite REN. This in its own right is pretty gorgeous too. Makes for a perfect rose scented soak.

Bloom Remedies Serenity Slumber Bath Oil* - Marie very kindly sent this to me when I was having trouble sleeping. Perfect to use before bed for a restful night's sleep. See my mini review HERE.

I nearly forgot Olivine's Love+Peace Sparkling Pink Butter Bath! See my initial thoughts HERE.

What's in your bath-time stash?

*PR samples

Travel Treats Selection

You can see my birthday swap from my friend Julie HERE. She gave me a box of Travel Treats which I'm showing you now in this post. It's jam-packed!

There's a load of travel size sachets which will be great for my next holiday. Including hair goodies from Kerastase, Ojon and rahua. Dr Bronner's peppermint pure castile soap is my product and scent of choice for cleaning my make up brushes. There is also a cute mirror, some Quintessentially English bath salts, Murad Oil Control Mattifier sachets and a Kiehl's Line Reducer concentrate sachet.

I was really pleased to receive Aromatherapy Associates Instant Inner Strength Roll on which helps in times of stress and their Inner Strength Bath Oil (my fav AA bath oil scent!). There is also a Deep Relax Balm which helps to relax and calm. I already love Jurlique's Rose Love Balm and Nuxe's Huile Prodigieuse.

DHC Deep Cleansing Oil, Kiehl's Nashi Blossom & Grapefruit Body Cleanser (I've got the perfume of this scent - see my review of it HERE), Kiehl's Creme de Corps, Gardener's Hand Healer, Nuxe's Youth Radiance Revealing Cream and a Cowshed Lippy Cow Lip Balm.

balance me's latest Revitalising Hand & Body Wash, Hotel Chocolate's Ti Jardin Conditioning Body Butter (this smells lush), my favourite (and now discontinued) Neom Complete Bliss Hand Cream review HERE and my essential Therapie Himalayan Detox Salts review HERE.

Korres Citrus Shower Gel, Little Body Milk and a Calendula Softening Soap. 

Dior Addict Lip Colour in Rose Nuisette which is a pretty shimmery shade - ideal with a tan!

Thanks again Julie. Really love everything you picked for me!

A Birthday Swap

It's now become tradition that my good pal Julie and I do a birthday (and Christmas) swap. You can see what she gave me last year at my birthday here. We met on Monday and spent a lovely day having lunch at The Murrayfield Hotel, sitting outside enjoying the sunshine, each others company, a few bottles of wine and lots of unwrapping (naughty for me considering today's the day!) 

She totally spoiled me - too much to put in one photo and I don't think I'll need to buy any beauty again this year (or ever haha).

Abahna Travel set in Frangipani & Orange Blossom which is my favourite Abahna scent (shower gel, body lotion, soap, hand cream, mini mirror and wash bag) and a hand wash in the same scent. I've not had these in my stash for ages. The travel kit is so handy for weekends away and holidays. See my review of the minis here.

My favourite Shay & Blue fragrance Salt Carmel. All I can say is WOW. Thanks so much Julie. See my review here.

By Terry Rose Balm Tinted Lip Glosses - these are gorgeous. Looking forward to trying them out! I've tried the pale pink so far. Pretty glossy shade with a hint of rose. Love!  Shu Uemura Eyelash Curlers - I've wanted to try these cult beauties for ages!  Love Korres body products and tinted lip balms so looking forward to trying their mascara.

Nip+Fab Multi-Fix Oil - I've not tried much from this brand so looking forward to trying. Two Cowshed bath & shower gels in Moody Cow & Lazy Cow. Huge fan of the brand and always looking for nice shower gels - thanks Julie!

Park's Aromatherapy Candle with Frangipani, Rose, Freesia and Lily. This smells gorgeous and I'm looking forward to burning it.

A lovely quirky tin tray and coaster. Made me smile!

Lots of beautiful stationery items - these always make my heart sing!  As well as a colouring in book - bliss!

Yummy edibles - The Marshmallow Lady Prosecco & Rose Petals Mallows (these are my all time favourites), a half bottle of the gin I discovered I loved after trying it in the Ginvent Advent Calendar, Tarquins Handcrafted Cornish Gin, Belgian Chocolate Praline Egglets, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups (nom), a lovely little chocolate bunny, eggs & Rose & Violet Creams!

She also gave me this!

I'll take you through the contents in another post!  I was well and truly spoiled! Thanks so much once again Julie!

Beauty Wishlist

I'm trying not to buy any beauty products as I'm saving for my summer holidays. These are the products I'm lusting over right now.

Weleda Evening Primrose Age Revitalising Body Oil (£17.56 - 100ml) - I'm loving using body oils at the moment and this new one from Weleda sounds gorgeous.

source

I dropped by Neal's Yard on the way home from work on Thursday for a browse. Their Wild Rose Body Elixir (£29 - 150ml) has my name written all over it! It is a light rose scented serum which absorbs instantly leaving the skin soft, moisturised and smelling of roses. What's not to love!

Skin & Tonic Travel Kit (£45) - I totally adore their Steam Clean Cleanser so I'd love to try the rest of the range.

source

Cowshed Grumpy Cow Uplifting Bath & Shower Gel (300ml - £16) after having tried a sample of this a while back this shower gel has been on my wishlist. It is great to use in the morning for an uplifting and awakening shower.

source

JOIK Damascus Rose Soy Candle (145g - £17.50) I've tried JOIK's wonderful bath truffles and definitely want to try more from the brand. I love rose scents so I know I'd love this candle.

source

What's on your wishlist right now?

My Favourite Stocking Fillers under £10

Here's my choice of stocking fillers which are under a tenner:

Sweet Cecily's Secret Santa Gift Bag (£7.95) - this little bag contains two cute products. First up is Limited Edition Chocolate Orange Lip Balm (10ml) and I chose a pot of Sea Buckthorn Berry Hand Cream (50ml) from a choice of two scents. It comes in its own little bag complete with gift tag.

Onnen Organics Olive Oil Bar Soap with Jasmine Flower & Orange Blossom (both 100g - £7 each)* - made with moisturising Greek Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Ghanaian Virgin Coconut Oil and Welsh Mineral Water.  The soaps are perfumed with pure botanical essential oils and are handmade in Wales using the highest quality ingredients.  I'm a huge fan of bars of soap and would be happy to find one of these in my stocking!  You can buy at Love Lula.

Bee Good Honey & Crambe Daily Hand Cream (50ml - £9)* - this super nourishing hand cream absorbs easily leaving the hands nourished and soft. The cream is packed full of good things for the skin including British Wild Flower Honey, British propolis, Pro-Vitamin B5, Vitamin E, British Crambe, Borage and Camelina Oil.

I picked up a couple of these Love Lula sample packs (£5) recently.  These have now sold out but you can still pick up stocking filler box and ultimate luxury box see here (though they cost more than a tenner!)

I love trying out new samples (some of these are old favourites too!) and find them great to pack for holidays and weekends away.

John Masters Organics Honey & Hibiscus Hair Reconstructor 10ml

John Masters Organics Blood Orange & Vanilla Body Milk 10ml

John Masters Organics Rose & Apricot Hair Milk 5ml (review)

Sante Bio-Goji & Lemon Shower Gel 5ml (not tried this brand before)

Cowshed Wild Cow Invigorating Body Lotion 10ml

Cowshed Knackered Cow Relaxing Bath & Shower Gel 10ml

Suki Purifying Acne Serum 1ml

Suki Concentrated Clarifying Toner 1ml

Funny Bee Pretty Power BB Creme 1.5ml

Green People Age Defy+Purify & Hydrate Cream Cleanser 1ml

Green People Age Defy+Soft Buff Skin Exfoliator 1.5ml (review)

NUXE Moisturising Tinted Cream Tanned Glow 2ml

NUXE Fondant Firming Cream 7ml

What's your favourite stocking filler this year?

*PR samples

YOU Beauty Discovery Box - Handbag Heroes - October

This month I picked:

Spiezia's Facial Cleanser 10ml (worth approx £5) - this is a much loved cleanser of mine and I always have a full size pot in my stash (this one's going in my travel bag). See my review here.

Crystal Clear Intense Anti-Ageing Serum 30ml (which is worth a whopping £29.99) - a powerful anti-ageing complex which contains high levels of proven actives to help repair and firm skin. Review will follow!

The extras this month:

A bottle of Gold Collagen which is an anti-ageing beauty supplement and a sachet of Cowshed's latest launch - Anti-Ageing Perfecting Night Serum.

Sign up here and pay only £6.95 a month including P&P.

Did you get the box? What did you chose this month?

Travelling Light

I'm just back from an amazing trip to London (a post about what I got up to will follow). Here's the beauty products I took with me & the hotel ones that I acquired! 

The Cowshed sachets came from July's Love Lula box and were lovely to use. I've definitely got some favourites - I'll be picking up Grumpy Cow Uplifting Bath & Shower Gel and Wild Cow Invigorating Body Lotion at some point.

I also packed the pai travel kit - see my review here. I'm a huge fan of all three products and I enjoyed using them.

I love the John Masters Organics sachets which you can pick up at a low cost from Naturisimo or free with order from Love Lula (subject to availability).  I also packed a Lavera rose repair shampoo sachet - I'm keen to try this full size. I also popped in JMO citrus & neroli detangler and a sachet of Argan Dew's Replenising Hair Mask.  My final hair item was John Frieda's Flyaway Tamer Smoothing Wand which is fantastic for these pesky flyaway hairs.

Scent wise my beloved kai perfume oil and a sample vial of Jimmy Choo came with me and I couldn't travel without the very fab Schmidt's natural deodorant* - See my review here.

I can't go anywhere without a lip balm. I've been testing Portland Bee Balm* in Oregon Mint flavour which is super moisturising on the lips - a review to follow shortly!

I packed a couple of eye care samples - Oskia's Eye Wonder eye serum and Kahina's Eye Serum. I only used the Oskia one.

Nourish's Illuminating Golden Glow Face Shimmer is one of my most favourite products ever! See my review here. I also tucked in a sachet of Madara's fab Moon Flower Rose Beige Tinting Fluid.

Make up wise my liquids (we only took hand luggage) were Dermalogica primer, Better than Sex mascara, 3 x Bite Beauty Glosses, BareMinerals Bareskin Foundation and Armani concealer.

I always pack Aromatherapy Associates Support Breathe Essence* which is great for destressing and calming - see my review here.  

At St James' Court Hotel the plentiful toiletries were by a company I haven't heard of before - Plantation London in Darjeeling scent - an aromatic scent with lemongrass, lemon, nutmeg and tea tree. The products are free from parabens, sulphates and artificial colours.  

When we nipped across town to watch the Dolphins v Raiders at Wembley we stayed at the Hilton London Wembley.  The toiletries provided were by Peter Thomas Roth, a brand I've heard of before but haven't tried.

I think in the end I took too much. Are you able to travel light when it comes to beauty products?

*PR samples